exam 1 Flashcards
What was the minstrel show?
Early live performances of entertaining music.
Used blackface to make fun of african-american culture
Birthed the character of Jim Crow
Guy known as the first great American composer?
Stephen Foster, who was known for: Oh! Susanna Old Folks at home My old Kentucky home Jeanie with the light brown hair etc
4 things to listen out for with music
instruments (including what they’re doing)
Form (what happens and when)
texture (everyone’s roles)
timbre (mood or aesthetic)
Kinds of musical texture
monophony - single melodic voice with no accompaniment
homophony - a single melodic voice with accompaniment
polyphony - multiple melodic voices
Three streams of music influence in 19th century america
African-american
european-american
latin-american
African-american cultural centres
deep south
appalachia
new orleans
Describe spiritual music
a type of music that resulted from slaves being stripped of their identity and forced to adopt euro-christian beliefs
musical devices originating from spirituals
improv
call and response
rhythmic usage
components of jazz
Most definitions of jazz include something about the use of african and carribean rhythms mixed with european and classic harmony mixed with folk and blues
first popular music genre after classical
ragtime
components of ragtime
lots of syncopation left/right hand difference breaks heavily accented beats long runs of fast notes
famous scott joplin piece
maple leaf rag
features of new orleans in the early 20th century
mix of different cultures and musical interpretations after the louisiana purchase
congo square was the big music meeting point
military and naval bases meant for higher population
lots of bars and brothels to play music in
“inventor” of jazz?
what did he use in his music?
Jelly Roll Morton
known for the jelly roll blues
Used breaks, eighth note runs, orchestration, blending of forms and other ragtime components
Key instruments in early 20th century new orleans brass bands and their roles?
trumpet - melody
clarinet - obligato
trombone - tailgate (slides)
Early famous jazz trumpeters?
Buddy Bolden
Freddie Keppard
King Oliver (NOLA)
Louis Armstrong
Describe the origins of Tin Pan Alley
Originated from Jewish immigrants in the late 19th century who often went to the same Manhattan street to play music (28th street, which was referred to as Tin Pan Alley)
Describe the music style of tin pan alley
Included multiple pianos playing melodies at the same time, usually in a bar-like setting
what were Race Records?
Race Records was a promotional catchphrase designed to promote music significant to black communities.
The styles included blues, jazz, gospel, vocal quartets and early folk
Classic blues?
never written by the performer
typically recorded in high profile cities
created national stars out of blues performers, including Bessie Smith
who was the Father of the Blues?
W.C. Handy
Wrote famous pieces such as the Memphis Blues and the St Louis Blues, which was performed by Bessie Smith and Louis Armstrong
Everyone went to Handy for all their blues-writing needs
Country Blues?
Less formal, rarely written down
deeply personal
typically just a singer and his guitar/banjo
Famous country blues singers?
Blind Lemon Jefferson (black snake moan) Robert Johnson (me and the devil)
When was radio invented/popularised?
1906
Prior to the 1920s was only really popular in Pittsburgh, Detroit and New Jersey
By 1927 there were 1000 radio stations nationally and Disc Jockey became a real profession
First popular dancers of the dance craze?
Verne and Irene Castle
popular ballroom dancers that spread the idea of the American social dance to Paris
Who was James Reece Europe?
bandleader, violinist and composer
his bands that performed in social dances were larger and more orchestral versions of what we know as jazz bands today
Who was Paul Whiteman
“the king of jazz”
dance band leader and music businessman
sold 2 million records in 1920
writer and composer of many early jazz pieces
How did the idea of New York Stride become popular?
After the NY invasion of the Ragtime craze, many artists began to add their own elements to the genre, includng Jelly Roll Morton and the whole of Tin Pan Alley
Who was James P. Johnson?
early prominent Stride pianist
studied ragtime in his youth
recorded at the Black Swan label in the 1920’s and even included many of his own compositions
Two other notable Stride pianists?
Fats Waller (ain't misbehavin, honeysuckle rose) Art Tatum (known more for his general ability and chromatic harmonies than his compositions)
Famous TPA composers?
Irving Berlin (blue skies, white christmas, no business like show business) George Gershwin (rhapsody in blue, which transformed american music as we know it) Cole Porter (what is this thing called love, night and day, begin the beguine)
What kind of bands hailed from Kansas City in the 20s and 30s?
territorial bands, which were just like the dance bands of NYC and Chicago except they constantly toured the midwest
Who was Tom Pendergast?
influential politican / mobster from KC
controlled everything, most importantly the KC music scene.
during his power peak, KC had 300-500 nightclubs, and musicians were treated well
when he was taken down for tax evasion in 1937, the KC jazz scene was never the same
What is boogie-woogie?
a piano-heavy jazz style influential to later forms of jazz as well as rock ‘n’ roll
Describe the biggest band in KC during the 20s and 30s
Bennie Moten’s orchestra
Bennie ruled KC, and was so competitive in his music that he would often steal members of other bands
When he died in an accident, pianist Count Basie took over, and they became national stars
Peaked in the 30s but died down when the war started, only to be brought back up in the 50s when working with Sinatra and others
Who was in the band’s rhythm section and why is this worth remembering
Drums = "papa" jo jones bass = walter page guitar = freddie green Was the first time these instruments had any sort of significant role in a band besides chords and bass lines Sounded just like the big bands of today also paved the way for rock music
Two more influential KC jazz personalities?
Joe Turner
(first to transition into r’n’b)
Lester Young
(first great sax player on the tenor and an inspiration for soloists everywhere. member of Count Basie’s band)
describe swing
encourages listeners to dance
typically associated with jazz
come on you know this shit
notable big band entrepreneurs?
Fletcher Henderson
Started a band in NYC when he was a piano player in the 20s
collaborated with guys like Louis Armstrong, Coleman Hawkins and Don Redman
Glenn Miller
trombonist and bandleader who worked in NYC
known for his military-themed jazz arrangements
died during ww2
famous jazz clarinet players?
Benny Goodman (known as the King of Swing) Artie Shaw (begin the beguine)
(these two were both instrumental in incorporating black performers into their bands even though the stage owners disapproved)
What were some popular dances of the dance craze era?
turkey trot
tango
grizzly bear
all of which were deemed problematic and a threat to public morality. the turkey trot was even banned in one brooklyn neighbourhood
What were creole bands?
Bands made up of creole members (mix of european and black heritage) normally based in New Orleans
King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band
Notable Latin band leaders
Don Azpiazú and his Havana Casino Orchestra
(known for his hit song El Manicero)
Xavier Cugat’s Waldorf Astoria Orchestra
Famous early soloist that paved the way for bebop?
Coleman Hawkins
tenor sax
known for ‘body and soul’
chord soloing
helped shift jazz from dancing only to improv
Two notable bebop musicians?
Charlie Parker - alto
Dizzy Gillespie - trumpet
describe the music style of tin pan alley
the clanging sound of many pianos simultaneously playing songs in a variety of keys and tempos
define syncopation
a feature of many african music genres where sounds produced by musicians are played very precisely apart from or against the underlying steady pulse of the music
