Post World War II Big Band Music

By Liam Callan

The Birth of Bebop

The American economic and social boom after the Second World War and its musical implications.

Audio 1.1 Maynard Ferguson’s‘Say it with Trumpets

The Birth of Bebop

Post War America

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After WWII The American economy exploded. Society

was prosperous, and the ever growing upper middle class of

the United States prompted a major change in Post war

society. The American Dream had arrived.

With American soldiers returning home, government

projects began to reintegrate them into society. Large

compounds of houses with white picket fences were made for

GIs and their families. This expanding middle class needed a

form of entertainment, which reopened the door for various

musical styles to develop through the patronage of the middle

class white family. One such genre was Bebop. Bebop music

began to develop as a genre defined by fast moving melodic

lines, heavy syncopation, and complex harmony.

V-J Day in Times Square, NY

Gallery 1.1 The American Dream

Many new genres emerged in the late 1940s and early 1950s that

revolutionized the musical landscape in America. Styles such as Rock and Roll,

Doo Wop, Pop, Rockabilly and Bebop dominated the music of the time. Each of

these genres was built on the shoulders of what had come before, but with the

advent and development of new music technology, these genres could be taken

to the next level.

The electric guitar in its modern form came along in 1936 with the creation

of the Gibson’s ES-150, but its popularity didn’t surge until the early 50s when the

Gibson ‘Les Paul’ hit the scene. With this newfound ability to amplify the sound of

a guitar beyond shoddy microphones, new doors were opened for nearly every

genre. For Big Band, this change came in the form of a restructured rhythm

section.

Up until that point Big Band rhythm sections featured an upright bass, a

drum-set and a piano, but with the advent of artificially amplified instruments,

electric guitar and electric bass could be added into the mixture. This set up of a

piano, drum-set, upright/electric bass, and electric guitar has remained the

standard rhythm section set up even until today.

The Birth of Bebop

Breaking New Ground

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Review 1.1 End of Chapter Review

Check Answer

Which of these inventions facilitated a musical revolution in mid 20th century America?

A. Harpsichord

B. Nuclear Energy

C. Electric Guitar

D. Heroin

The Birth Of Bebop

The Not-So Secret Recipie

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Saxes

Trombones

Trumpets

Rhythm Section

Interactive 1.1 What makes up a Big Band?

1 2 3 4

Chapter 2

Leaders of the Era

Band leaders of the 2nd half of the 20th century would constantly reinvent the genre of Big Band music and bring unique personalities and characteristics to their bands, creating a huge variety and depth in orchestral jazz that had never been seen before. These are just a few of the leaders that revolutionized the genre.

Charles Mingus, born April 22, 1922 in Nogales Arizona, was an incredible innovator in the world of mid century big band jazz. A virtuosic composer and upright bassist, as well as a master of jazz counterpoint, Mingus’ original compositions and unconventional arrangements of popular standards took the jazz world by storm.

Considered too ‘hard’ for many common listeners, Mingus’ palate was composed of influences from Hard Bop, Free Jazz, Classical Music and Gospel Music. Charles Mingus once cited the Church and Duke Ellington as his two greatest influences.

As ‘hard’ as his music was, Mingus’ character was even harsher. Becoming known as ‘The Angry Man of Jazz’, Charles Mingus was known as a ruthless band leader who would accept nothing less than a player’s best, and could be incredibly brutal with players who didn’t meet his very high expectations. Occasionally Mingus’ temper got too far out of hand, such as the time in 1962 when he was charged with assault after punching trombonist Jimmy Knepper in the mouth, breaking his teeth resulting in a ‘permanent loss of the top octave of his range’.

That being said, Charles Mingus was also known for hiring unknown players to give them exposure, and gave many little-known musicians a massive head-start to very successful careers in jazz.

Charles Mingus was a massive advocate for giving players as much freedom in their performance as possible while still maintaining structure. A large proponent of this is collective improvisation, where several members of the ensemble improvise at the same time. Mingus used this technique extensively, as can be seen in audio file 2.1 Moanin’.

Leaders of the Era

Charles Mingus

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Audio 2.1Moanin’(Original composition)

Audio 2.2 Take the A Train (Arrangement)

Stan Kenton, born December 15th, 1911 in Wichita, Kansas, and later raised in Colorado then California had quite the interesting upbringing. As he was born out of wedlock, Kenton’s parents disguised his actual birth date by fabricating the date as February 19th, 1912 to be after their wedding. This fake date would be the one Kenton would acknowledge throughout his life, featured on albums, and finally even his gravestone.

Stan Kenton began his Jazz Orchestra in 1941. It became one of the most well known jazz bands on the West Coast, and earned the title ‘The Wall of Sound’

Known for his Big Band arrangements of popular musical theatre pieces (see audio 2.3 ‘I Feel Pretty’, an arrangement of Leonard Bernstein’s ‘West Side Story’ classic.) as well as various classical pieces (see Audio 2.4, an arrangement of Richard Wagner’s infamous ‘Ride of the Valkyries’). Kenton’s original pieces featured on their own albums and were masterpieces of brass writing and rhythm, as featured in audio 2.5 ‘Decoupage’ from album ‘Kenton ’76’.

Labeling his own music as ‘Progressive Jazz’, Kenton’s orchestra was focused on being a concert orchestra rather than a dance band, preferring his audiences be seated and enjoy the music rather than dance and treat the music as a background to an event.

Using unconventional instrumentation (often a full 16 piece string section, a woodwind section, and french horns on top of the normal big band set up), Stan Kenton’s sound was very unique among Big Bands of the era.

Kenton preferred to have high profile players join his ensembles at various times to bring attention to the band and the works. Some of his featured players (among them other band leaders) were: Trumpeter Maynard Ferguson, Drummer Art Blakey, Baritone Saxophonist Pepper Adams, and Trombonist Carl Fontana.

Leaders of the Era

Stan Kenton

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Audio 2.5 Decoupage (Original Composition)

Audio 2.3 I Feel Pretty (Arrangement)

Audio 2.4 Ride of the Valkyries (Arrangement)

John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie was born on October 21st, 1917 in Cheraw, South Carolina, the youngest of nine children. Trumpeter, Bandleader, and Composer, Gillespie’s contributions to jazz were enormous. As a player, Dizzy was hailed as one of, if not the best, jazz trumpet players of all time, adding harmonic complexity to his playing that was new and innovative in the genre.

As a young player, Gillespie featured in Cab Calloway’s orchestra in 1939, starting his meteoric rise to being one of the most influential players and band leaders in modern jazz.

Viewed along with Charlie Parker as one of the major figures in the development of bebop, Gillespie taught and influenced musicians such as Miles Davis, Clifford Brown, and Arturo Sandoval.

Many of the players that Dizzy had mentored went on to have incredibly successful careers in jazz, and would return to play in Big Band Projects with Dizzy from time to time.

Known for compositions that integrated standard big band set up with Bebop harmony, and featured soloists, Gillespie’s music featured a more ‘concerto for instrument’ style where one instrumentalist was featured on each piece.

The video to the right is of Dizzy and former student Arturo Sandoval playing one of Dizzy’s best known pieces: ‘Night in Tunisia’

Leaders of the Era

Dizzy Gillespie

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Movie 2.1 Dizzy Gillespie and Arturo Sandoval ‘Night in Tunisia’

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