Terms Flashcards
A Love Supreme
an album released by John Coltrane’s quartet with the style of a combination between hard bop and free jazz
alto saxophone
a very common type of saxophone that is bigger than the soprano but smaller than the tenor
arco
the technique of playing a stringed instrument with a bow
avant-garde
improvisation not tied to any progression of chords that was agreed upon before the performance; also called free jazz
bar
a segment of time given by a designated number of beats
bebop
the style associated with Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell, Dexter Gordon and Sonny Stitt
big band era
a period of time generally associated with swing with an excess of big bands (jazz bands with ten or more people)
Birdland
a fusion hit by Joe Zawinul from Weather Report
Birth of the Cool
Miles Davis’ famous album that some consider to mark the beginning of the cool jazz era
Bitches Brew
Miles Davis fusion album, which was his first that went gold
blue notes
a pitch somewhere between a major third and minor third or between a major seventh and minor seventh step of the scale
blues
a simple, funky style of black music separate but coexistent with jazz
bongos
a set of two drums of different sizes
brass bands
a form of band characterized by its African and New Orleans influence that has a high concentration of brass instruments
bridge
a contrasting section of music that prepares for the return of the original section of music: the B in A-A-B-A form
call-and-response
one member or section of a band offers a musical phrase that another member or section answers by playing a corresponding musical phrase
Chameleon
a funky composition performed by Herbie Hancock
chord progression
when one chord changes or “progresses” to another
chorus
a single playing of the structure being used to organize the music in an improvisation
Coltrane’s Classic Quartet
Coltrane’s most famous group consisting of himself, Mccoy Tyner (piano), Elvin Jone (drums), and Jimmy Garrison (bass)
comping
syncopated chording which provides improvised accompaniment for simulraneously improvised solos, flexibly complementing the rhythms and implied harmonies of the solo line
conga drum
a tall, narrow, and single-headed drum
contemporary jazz
music associated with the modern, smooth form of jazz
cool jazz
a modern, post-WWII style of jazz that is often characterized by its relaxed melodies and Miles Davis
cornet
a trumpet-like instrument that has a mellower sound and is more compact than a trumpet; originally popularized by Bix Beiderbecke
Creoles of Color
blacks with little to no white ancestry
cup mute
a mute for horns that attach to the end of the horn
double time
the feeling that a piece of music of a player is going twice as fast as the original tempo, although the chord progression continues at a normal rate
form
the overall structure or plan of a piece of music (AABA, AABB, etc.)
free jazz- term
an approach associated with Ornette Coleman and Cecil Taylor, in which the music contains improvised solos which are free of preset chord progressions, and sometimes also free of preset meter
Free Jazz- album
an avant-garde style album released by Ornette Coleman
French Quarter
a very old neighborhood in New Orleans often associated with its high-caliber jazz clubs
funk
a rhythmic, danceable variation of jazz that was derived from jazz in the mid-to-late 1960s
fusion
a synonym for jazz-rock style
Giant Steps
a hard bop style album released by John Coltrane (tenor saxophone), Paul Chambers (double bass), Tommy Flanagan (piano), and Art Taylor (drums)
half step
one of the intervals in the major or minor scale
hard bop
the jazz style associated with Horace Silver, Art Blakey, and Cannonball Adderley
harmony
motion
head arrangements
a band arrangement that was created extemporaneously () by the musicians and is not written down
Heebie Jeebies
an album released by Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five in the mid 1920s that popularized scat singing
Hot Five
Louis Armstrong’s band, with pianist Earl Hines and trombonist Kid Ory
Hot Seven
Louis Armstrong’s band following the Hot Five, including Johnny Dodds, Pete Briggs and Baby Dodds
imaginary concerts
concerts played to an invisible audience; meant for practicing performances in front of a live crowd
improvisation
performers create their parts as they play them
In a Silent Way
a fusion album by Miles Davis
interval
the difference between two pitches
jazz-rock
a variety of styles beginning in the late 1960s that use electric instruments, funk rhythm accompaniments and jazz improvisation; also known as fusion music
Kansas City Style
a bebop style with hard-swinging and big bands; often the style Charlie Parker performed in (Kansas City is Charlie Parker’s home town)
Kind of Blue
a modal jazz album released by Miles Davis’ sextet, including Bill Evans and John Coltrane
Lush Life
a song written by Billy Strayhorn and performed by Duke Ellington’s orchestra
Milestones
an early album by Miles Davis featuring him on the saxophone and Paul Chambers on double bass
measure
a segment of time defined by a given number of beats
modal
music in which the melody and/or harmony is based on an arrangement of modes (i.e. the extensive repetition of one or two chords)
pedal point
low-pitched, repeated and/or sustained tone; common with John Coltrane
pentatonic scale
la musical scale or mode with five notes per octave in contrast to a heptatonic (seven note) scale such as the major scale and minor scale
pizzicato
the method of playing a stringed instrument by plucking instead of bowing
pocket trumpet
a very compact-size horn that has the same playing range as a trumpet
polyrhythms
several different rhythms sounding at the same time
ragtime
a popular 1890s-1920s style of written piano music involving pronounced syncopation
Porgy & Bess
a jazzy musical written by George Gershwin
rhythm changes
a sudden change of rhythm between or in the middle of pieces
rhythm section
the group of players whose band function is accompanying (piano, bass, drums)
ride rhythm
the timekeeping rhythms played on cymbals
riffs
a phrase, melodic fragment, or theme
Round Midnight
a composition by Thelonious Monk, often referred to as his most famous song
sax section
the section of big bands that are dedicated to saxophonists
rubato
free of strict adherence or constant tempo
Sheets of Sound
a description about the new, unique improvisational style of John Coltrane
scat singing
jazz improvisation using the human voice as an instrument, with nonsense syllables instead of words
solo breaks
when the rhythm section stops playing for a period of time while the soloist continues playing
Sketches of Spain
a fusion album originally recorded by Miles Davis
smooth jazz
a designation for the styles of music played on radio stations subscribing to ““The Wave” format of the 1980s and 1990s
snare drum
a widely-used, pitchless drum
soprano saxophone
a type of saxophone that is smaller than an alto, therefore giving it a higher scale
Spinning Wheel
a contemporary rock album by Blood, Sweat, and Tears
stop time
a period of time where the beat stops to allow another instrument to prevail
swing
a music style with a rhythmic groove and inconsistent lengths of notes
stride piano
an East Coast style of piano playing where the right hand plays the melody and the left hand plays bass notes
swing era
a time from the early 1930s to the late 1940s where swing music was most prevalent
syncopation
stress on a portion of the measure least expected to receive stress
tag
the changing up of chords and/or repetition of a short section at the end of a song (at least I think. He went over it in class but I didn’t really get it)
tempo
the speed or rate at which the beat passes
tenor saxophone
a saxophone that is bigger than the alto and soprano yet smaller than the baritone, releasing a somewhat deep tone
texas tenor
a very robust, raw-sounding style of saxophone playing
The Empress of the Blues
a very common nickname for Bessie Smith
ttimbre
the characteristic of a sound which enables the listener to differentiate one instrument from another, and, in many cases, one player from another
tonality
a particular kind of sound and structure given by the relationship of the notes on the major scale
trading fours
a style of playing jazz where one musician plays four measures, another plays the next four, and so on
vamp
a short chord progression which is repeated many times in a sequence
verse
a portion of a song that makes up the main body of the song and generally does not repeat
vibrato
the slight fluctuation of a tone’s pitch, alternating above and below its basic pitch
West Coast jazz
the jazz style associated with Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker during the 1950s
West End Blues
a tune originally recorded by Joe Oliver and popularized by Louis Armstrong and Earl Hines
whole step
a musical interval encompassing two semi-tones
