Jazz Music

Ragtime• Popular in late 1890's up until about

1918.

• Piano music with a "ragged" or syncopated rhythm.

• Commonly heard in speakeasies, which became hugely popular during prohibition.

• Scott Joplin - most famous ragtime player/composer.

• "Maple Leaf Rag" became an international hit.

Military Surplus Instruments

• After the Civil War, instruments that had been used by the Union military bands were circulating in NO

• Many African Americans gained access to second hand cornets, trombones, and clarinets

• 1898 - as jazz started to develop, another wave of surplus instruments hit NO. Access to these instruments became very common.

Dixieland

• Originated in New Orleans in the early 1900's.

• Upbeat, improvised music.

• Commonly heard at New Orleans funerals.

• Trumpet/cornet, trombone, clarinet, drums, and piano.

• Original Dixieland Jass Band released the very 1st jazz recording ever, "Livery Stable Blues."

Swing

• Popular in the 1930's

• Upbeat dance music with improvised solos

• Featured "big bands"

• Key figures of the era were Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, and Count Basie

• Started to see mixed race groups

Bebop• Developed in the early/mid 1940's

• Music for musicians, not mainstream audiences

• Faster tempos

• Use of chromaticism and dissonance

• Drumming was more subdued than in swing music

• Featured longer, more involved solos

• Key figures of the era were Charlie Parker and Dizzie Gillespie

Cool Jazz• Originated in NYC

• Started following World War II

• Dominated the jazz scene in the 1950's

• Smoother, calmer sound

• Based on longer melodic lines

• Miles Davis, Bill Evans, and Dave Brubeck were key figures of the cool jazz movement

Free Jazz

• Developed in the 50's and 60's

• Pushed beyond the limits of bebop

• No structure

• Mostly improvisation

• Key figures are Ornette Coleman and Cecil Taylor