Singing the Blues
The “blues” came to life in rural parts of the American South, improvised by people who usually had no musical literacy (who thus couldn’t write down their music), and performed before recording technology was widespread. Once the first recordings were made in the 1920s, the blues quickly grew to be one of America’s most influential types of music, impacting many styles: jazz, rock, gospel, and so on. At some point in the nineteenth century, blues songs began to develop into a recognizable subtype of African-American singing. It was an undocumented tradition in its earliest days, but many of the first blues singers seem to have resided in the Mississippi Delta region.
The “blues” came to life in rural parts of the American South, improvised by people who usually had no musical literacy (who thus couldn’t write down their music), and performed before recording technology was widespread. Once the first recordings were made in the 1920s, the blues quickly grew to be one of America’s most influential types of music, impacting many styles: jazz, rock, gospel, and so on. At some point in the nineteenth century, blues songs began to develop into a recognizable subtype of African-American singing. It was an undocumented tradition in its earliest days, but many of the first blues singers seem to have resided in the Mississippi Delta region.
Over time, certain features of blues songs became standardized, and typically the characteristics are the same: the singer is usually male, and he often sings alone, perhaps accompanying himself with a guitar or a harmonica. He sings in informal situations—picnics, parties, and roadhouses. Sometimes he sings about love gone sour, but he also might choose more political topics, complaining about poverty or mistreatment by the government. The rhythm is usually quite free, as will be seen in Robert Johnson’s “Cross Road Blues” (Listening Example 3). Johnson was from Mississippi and recorded only twenty-nine songs before he died suddenly at age 27. Despite his short career, Johnson’s releases had a widespread impact.
As in most country blues songs, Robert Johnson is the sole performer in “Cross Road Blues.” Johnson took liberties as he performed the song, adding nuances and decorative fills in the guitar line, and letting these last as long as his inspiration wished. There has been endless speculation about the meaning(s) of “Cross Road Blues.” “Standing at the crossroads” has long been a metaphor for being at a point where one must choose between various courses of action (and itinerant musicians such as Johnson often encountered literal crossroads as they wandered the countryside). Even more specifically, in West African traditions, a crossroad is a symbol representing a place of uncertainty, danger, and opportunity, as well as a symbol of destiny. Some theories concerning this song are less credible, especially the frequent speculation that Johnson had gone to the crossroads to meet with the devil, exchanging a longer life for more skill as a guitarist. Despite some of these wilder theories, however, this song and the twenty-eight others recorded by Johnson are an important legacy. As Larry Starr observes, Johnson’s recordings “seem to point almost spookily toward the future. Indeed, no country blues artist had a greater influence on later generations of blues and rock musicians than Johnson.”
All Jazzed Up
Jazz resembles classical music in many ways. It is a broad term that encompasses a great many sub-styles, and jazz often requires considerable musical knowledge to be fully appreciated. Jazz is one of America’s most celebrated contributions to the world of music and was a style that truly thrived thanks to advances in recording and broadcast technology.
Jazz resembles classical music in many ways. It is a broad term that encompasses a great many sub-styles, and jazz often requires considerable musical knowledge to be fully appreciated. Jazz is one of America’s most celebrated contributions to the world of music and was a style that truly thrived thanks to advances in recording and broadcast technology.
Jazz, like virtually all the popular styles of music in the early twentieth century, is the product of blended techniques of music-making. The earliest hub of jazz activity was centered in the city of New Orleans.
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The city hosted a particularly concentrated “red-light district,” called Storyville, where nearly all the city’s bars were situated. Soldiers stationed in the area were frequent patrons of Storyville, where they enjoyed two main types of performers: 1) solo piano and 2) combo, using instrumentation borrowed from marching bands. These performers were in competition with each other, which spurred them onward to be more and more inventive.
The music in this part of New Orleans was intended to please the customers—and this meant that it was inevitably quick and lively. Piano players incorporated “swing” rhythms and improvisation, and would also imitate the ambiguous blue notes heard in country and classic blues by playing the raised and lowered versions of a pitch simultaneously. Combos did the same, but multiple instruments meant that even more effects were possible: they employed call-and-response techniques, or they let players improvise simultaneously to create heterophony. The layered effect of this collective improvisation resembled the terraced percussion of both Latin American and African traditions. It is clear that this new music drew from many sources for inspiration.
The earliest performers of this new style were all African American, and they were largely self-taught musicians with little or no formal training. White musicians knew a good thing when they heard it, however, and the style was quickly imitated. Since white musicians often had more training in how to read music, their performances sometimes incorporated less improvisation and more pre-planning.
Heading North
In 1917, when the United States entered World War I, the Secretary of War demanded Storyville’s closure so soldiers could focus on their duties. New Orleans was quick to comply. The closure was financially devastating to musicians. Certainly, there were other places to play jazz in New Orleans—in cafes, dance halls, and hotels—but the loss of Storyville was still profoundly felt.
In 1917, when the United States entered World War I, the Secretary of War demanded Storyville’s closure so soldiers could focus on their duties. New Orleans was quick to comply. The closure was financially devastating to musicians. Certainly, there were other places to play jazz in New Orleans—in cafes, dance halls, and hotels—but the loss of Storyville was still profoundly felt.
Many unemployed African-American musicians travelled to cities that were more welcoming, especially Chicago. Early jazz continued to evolve—and sometimes rapidly. Therefore, when jazz first burst into national prominence via recordings that were made in Chicago in the early 1920s, some of the original features had already been lost. One of the effects of the move north was increased sophistication; the players were growing more expert on their instruments, as audience (and their own) expectations increased. Musical literacy was improving, so more music was being arranged and notated before it was performed, reducing the amount of improvisation. Because the earliest instrumentalists weren’t always very adept, solo breaks—in which one person is showcased—were brief and not too frequent. In Chicago, the solos grew longer, usually lasting for an entire chorus, and the amount of collective improvisation was much smaller. The musical changes from the South to the North mounted up, and set the stage for the next jazz sub-style: swing.
The “Swing-novators”
For many Americans, the origination of jazz in Storyville was seen “as a symptom of civilization’s decline.” It didn’t help that Livery Stable Blues seemed to parody music-making by featuring all sorts of animal sounds: the clarinet mimicked a rooster, the trombone produced cow-like mooing, and the cornet “neighed” like a horse. Many people therefore viewed jazz as merely a hilarious novelty. Racism also played a role, since jazz had been cultivated initially by African Americans. In the mid-1920s, however, a number of musicians began to experiment with a new jazz sub-style, swing, that would, in time, break free from the stigma suffered by earlier types of jazz.
For many Americans, the origination of jazz in Storyville was seen “as a symptom of civilization’s decline.” It didn’t help that Livery Stable Blues seemed to parody music-making by featuring all sorts of animal sounds: the clarinet mimicked a rooster, the trombone produced cow-like mooing, and the cornet “neighed” like a horse. Many people therefore viewed jazz as merely a hilarious novelty. Racism also played a role, since jazz had been cultivated initially by African Americans. In the mid-1920s, however, a number of musicians began to experiment with a new jazz sub-style, swing, that would, in time, break free from the stigma suffered by earlier types of jazz.
Three individuals were the primary influences in the early development of swing: Fletcher Henderson (1897–1952), Duke Ellington (1899–1974), and Count Basie (1904–84). Each man experimented with various aspects of what was to become “big band” jazz. They wrote music that alternated between arranged and improvised passages, emphasizing chords—not just single notes—and richer harmonies. They reduced syncopation, emphasizing the strong beats more, and making music more “danceable.” Many of these ideas could be found in keyboard swing music as well, but it was the bandleaders who caught the public’s attention the soonest.
Fletcher Henderson
Posterity calls Fletcher Henderson the “Father of Big Band Jazz” because of his early work with swing. Henderson and his arranger Don Redman (1900–64) are credited with four primary innovations. First, Henderson started increasing the size of the band. Second, Henderson and Redman began to employ sectional writing, also known as block voicing. This approach meant that instruments that belong to the same “family,” such as all of the saxophones, played similar music. Third, those sections often participated in call-and-response patterns. And lastly, they wrote the first big-band pieces to use the riff extensively. All of these traits are found in The Stampede (1926), which can be heard in this video.
Posterity calls Fletcher Henderson the “Father of Big Band Jazz” because of his early work with swing. Henderson and his arranger Don Redman (1900–64) are credited with four primary innovations. First, Henderson started increasing the size of the band. Second, Henderson and Redman began to employ sectional writing, also known as block voicing. This approach meant that instruments that belong to the same “family,” such as all of the saxophones, played similar music. Third, those sections often participated in call-and-response patterns. And lastly, they wrote the first big-band pieces to use the riff extensively. All of these traits are found in The Stampede (1926), which can be heard in this video.
Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington
Duke Ellington’s is one of the best-known musicians of the twentieth century, composing around two thousand pieces of music. However, his band’s arranger Billy Strayhorn (1915–67) wrote the number that became the Ellington band’s theme song in 1941: “Take the A Train.” Ellington was an especially beloved bandleader, whose players often stayed with him for decades, and he ensured that they were among the highest-paid musicians in the business.
Duke Ellington’s is one of the best-known musicians of the twentieth century, composing around two thousand pieces of music. However, his band’s arranger Billy Strayhorn (1915–67) wrote the number that became the Ellington band’s theme song in 1941: “Take the A Train.” Ellington was an especially beloved bandleader, whose players often stayed with him for decades, and he ensured that they were among the highest-paid musicians in the business.
One of Ellington’s particular gifts as a leader was his ability to showcase the musicians effectively. He often expanded pieces beyond the three-minute time limit dictated by audio technology of the day. Those longer works gave him the space to feature a string of successive solos from his outstanding players. In 1931, Ellington arranged the first big-band piece with “swing” in its title: “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing).” [The 1932 recording has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame; Video above.
William “Count” Basie
Both Henderson and Ellington were active largely in New York, whereas Count Basie built his career in Kansas City, Missouri, after getting stranded there in 1927. He began developing his approach in Benny Moten’s Kansas City Orchestra and went on to lead his own band after Moten’s death in 1935. By 1937, the Count Basie Orchestra had become one of the nation’s leading bands. While listening to the exuberance of Moten Swing, which can be heard in the video below, we might forget that 1932 was in the heart of the Depression and that people were going hungry. It is easy to understand how this lively style of jazz helped to keep up spirits.
Both Henderson and Ellington were active largely in New York, whereas Count Basie built his career in Kansas City, Missouri, after getting stranded there in 1927. He began developing his approach in Benny Moten’s Kansas City Orchestra and went on to lead his own band after Moten’s death in 1935. By 1937, the Count Basie Orchestra had become one of the nation’s leading bands. While listening to the exuberance of Moten Swing, which can be heard in the video below, we might forget that 1932 was in the heart of the Depression and that people were going hungry. It is easy to understand how this lively style of jazz helped to keep up spirits.
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