Ragtime (1895—1918)
Along with the blues, ragtime was an important pre-cursor
to jazz. While it could be played with other instruments,
ragtime is primarily music for the piano. The defining
feature of ragtime is a syncopated rhythm — accenting the
notes that aren’t usually accented which gives the music an
offbeat feel. The techniques used by ragtime pianists would
influence later jazz pianists.
Artist You Ought to Know
Scott Joplin. “The King of Ragtime.” Composed two of the
most famous pieces of ragtime music (see below).
Songs to Check Out
•“Maple Leaf Rag” Scott Joplin
•“The Entertainer”
New Orleans Jazz (1900-1920)
Jelly Roll Morton’s Red Hot Peppers
New Orleans Jazz originated with the black brass marching bands of New Orleans.
Consequently, instruments like the cornet (very similar to trumpet) would become a
staple in jazz. As ragtime swept the nation, these New Orleans brass bands began
composing and playing more syncopated pieces. In addition to ragtime, band
musicians blended in the bent notes and cords of the blues.
The invention of the Big Four beat by musician Buddy Bolden gave room for artists to
improvise, and made the jazz we know today possible.
New Orleans jazz bands were typically small and consisted of a “frontline” of a
cornet/trumpet, clarinet, and trombone, and then a “rhythm section” that had at least
two of the following: banjo, string bass, drums, and piano. This group of instruments
was the primary vehicle in New Orleans Jazz. Improvisation was collective and would
be heard when a lead instrument would engage in a spontaneous counterpoint to
another instrument. The jazz soloist had yet to take center stage.
The spread of New Orleans Jazz across America was quick thanks to the invention of
the phonograph player. Many New Orleans Jazz musicians left New Orleans and set
up shop in Chicago and New York during the Great Migration.
Artists You Ought to Know
Buddy Bolden. Sometimes called the Father of Jazz; discovered or invented the Big Four beat that made jazz
possible.
Joe “King” Oliver. Cornet player and bandleader; pioneered the use of mutes (placing something like a hat over the
end of the trumpet to muffle the sound a bit); mentor and teacher of Louis Armstrong.
Jelly Roll Morton. Began as a ragtime composer; the first jazz composer; loosened up the syncopated rhythm of
ragtime so there was more of a “swing” in the music.
The Original Dixieland Jass Band. They weren’t actually the original — they called themselves the originals for
marketing; band consisted of all white members; made the first jazz recording ever; helped popularize jazz music
among white Americans.
Songs to Check Out
•“Dipper Mouth Blues” by Joe “King” Oliver featuring Louis Armstrong
•“King Porter Stomp” by Jelly Roll Morton
•“Wolverine Blues” by Jelly Roll Morton
1920’s
• Jazz bands in Chicago differentiated themselves from New Orleans bands in several ways, such as replacing the banjo with
a guitar, adding a saxophone to the horn section, and changing from a 4/4 beat to a 2/4. But the most important change to
come out of Chicago was the ascendency of the individual solo.
• And the man who pioneered and mastered the jazz solo was Satchmo himself: Louis Armstrong.
• Artist You Ought to Know
• Louis Armstrong. Trumpet player; pioneered the jazz solo; had talent for melodic improvisation and an unmistakable
voice. While Armstrong is closely associated with New Orleans Jazz, it was in Chicago that he made a name for himself.
• From Chicago, jazz traveled to New York where even more innovations occurred, the most important being the
development of stride piano, a style which would play a prominent role in jazz from then on out. Larger bands began
forming in New York City, which paved the way for the Big Band Era of the 1930s.
• Artists You Ought to Know
• James P. Johnson. Considered the father of stride piano. Wrote “The Charleston.”
• Duke Ellington. Moved from Washington D.C. to NYC in the 1920s. Considered one of the greatest jazz composers ever
and many of his songs have become American standards. Ellington and his orchestra was the house band at the famous
Cotton Club in 1927.
• Songs To Check Out
• “The Charleston” by James P. Johnson (stride piano example)
• “Carolina Shout” by James P. Johnson (stride piano example)
• “Flaming Youth” by Duke Ellington (this is the song we use as the introduction of the AoM podcast)
Swing and the Big Band Era (1930-1945)
Benny Goodman and His Orchestra
Up until the 1930s, jazz music was enjoyed primarily by a specific sub-culture of the US population. Its associations
with the seedy side of life as well as African-American culture made it unpalatable to much of mainstream white
America. That changed with the rise of the Big Band Era in the 1930s. Because the Great Depression put so many
regional jazz bands out of work, jazz musicians were plentiful and cheap during the 30s. Consequently, a few
prominent jazz bandleaders were able to build large orchestras.
Instead of the more syncopated, “hot” style of earlier jazz, Big Bands played a looser, flowing style called swing.
Swing music is primarily dance music and several new styles of dance were inspired by swing music including the
Lindy Hop and the jitterbug. In addition to jazz, Big Bands also played American standards, often giving them a
jazzier feel in the process.
After WWII when the economy picked up, putting together a large orchestra became much more expensive and Big
Band and swing music died out.
Artists You Ought to Know
Fletcher Henderson. Credited with establishing the formula of swing music; formed one of the first Big Bands;
considered (along with Duke Ellington) one of the greatest jazz arrangers ever.
Benny Goodman. Called the “King of Swing”; one of the greatest jazz clarinet players ever; first jazz musician to
play Carnegie Hall; because he was white, Goodman helped popularize jazz music with white Americans; one of
the first bandleaders to lead an integrated orchestra.
Count Basie. Piano player and bandleader; had a much more sparse playing style than Ellington.
Duke Ellington. Duke Ellington continued to be an influential voice all throughout the Big Band Era.
Cab Calloway. Bandleader and singer; prognosticator of jive talk and “hi di hi di hos”; wearer of zoot suits; Cab
Calloway and his orchestra was one of the most popular big bands during the swing era.
Songs to Check Out
•“It Don’t Mean a Thing” by Duke Ellington
•“Sing Sing Sing” performed by Benny Goodman
•“Minnie the Moocher” by Cab Calloway
•(also check out “Reefer Man” if only for the laughs)
• What’s bebop?
• What’s cool jazz? Name one artist from this type
• Hard bop
• Modal
• Free jazz
• Fusion
Theory
• Jazz Scales
• When it comes to improvising in jazz, scales lay the basic framework. For example, if you’re
playing a C-F-G progression, you will only use:
• notes in the C Major Scale to improvise while the C Chord is being played,
• notes in the F Major Scale while the F Chord is being played, and
• notes in the G Major Scale while the G Chord is being played.
• However, jazz reaches outside of typical diatonic scales and into scales with more
accidentals and possibilities! We’re going to talk about the three following types of scales:
1.Pentatonic Scales
2.Blues Scales
3.Modes
• Major Pentatonic Scales use scale degrees: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6
• Minor Pentatonic Scales use scale degrees: 1, 3, 4, 5, 7
• Extended Harmony
• Jazz music uses a lot of extended chords, such as:
• 7th Chords
• 9th Chords
• 11th Chords
• 13th Chords
• 7th Chords are structured as major, minor, dominant, half-diminished, or diminished.
The easiest way to identify 7th chords is to look at the structure of 3rd within the
chord. 7th chords are extremely common in jazz theory and should be understood and
memorized before adding even further extended harmony.
• the important notes to keep in the chord are:
• The Root
• The 3rd
• The 7th
• Whichever note is specified in the chord symbol (for example, if it reads C13, then you will
need a 13th)
