The Changing Sounds of Jazz
The sounds of jazz, its unique rhythms, instrumentals and vocals, while a musical mainstay in America, having made its way to and having become firmly implanted in Europe as well; remains a mystery to many even today. However, it is more through a lack of understanding of the sounds of jazz, perhaps even the history of the music that casts it into the category of musical mystery for those less gifted, but who nonetheless appreciate good music. Jazz, in fact, is the rendering of a sound and style of music that comes from the many bits and pieces of all music traditions. It has, like other cultural traditions, been the focus of attention and maybe greater passion at times throughout its history; and these, as with other forms of art and passion, are times that serve to broaden, enlighten, and develop the music. Two such moments in the history of jazz are the Dixieland revival period, or the "Swing Era," during the early 1930s and going into the 1940s1; and the blues revival of the 1960s. A look at these two periods of musical history is interesting, and a music lover's delight, and informative when considering the influence both periods had on what is jazz today.
Ellington's orchestra held the greatness of no less than 14 instrumentalists and one vocalist, and under Ellington's masterful leadership, emerged individual artists like Lawrence Brown, the trombonist and vocalist who delivered the band's ballad and lyric in a style and way that enthralled audiences and served to heighten the frenzy that swelled during the swing era. 17 While innovations in instrumental effects, the use of slides and tremolo effects as perfected by B. 16 Ambiguous or contentious as that may be, it nonetheless serves as a marker for what is surely one of the most significant forms of music in America; the blues. 4 Each of these names contributed to what would build itself into a music frenzy during the 1930s, culminating into what would be described by historians as the "Swing Era," or that period between 1930 and 1945, when jazz became irrevocably rooted and appreciated in American, and the world, music tradition. During the years following the 1930s Dixieland revival and the 1960s blues revival years, jazz has reached every corner of the world, integrated film to an inextricable extent and way, and what we have now is a blend of sight, sound, and, with technology, innovation in technique and delivery that some of the greatest music in history has been produced. Mediated by the phenomenon of 'hot jazz,' a small-group genre that was itself split between "Dixieland" traditionalists and swing-inflicted modernism, the shift from swing to bop marked a change in jazz from a mainstream popular music to an explicit art form, which was, (at least initially), assertive black, and (at least nascently), cultural-nationalist. One of the significant periods in history where the blues experienced both a revival in sound and style, and from which, like the Dixieland of the 1930s, emerged new figures of greatness; and a time that greatly influenced and helped spotlight once again jazz, is the 1960s. rendering of the blues, came to us from a time and place that reflects a mixing and blending of cultural identities, instruments, and people. 3 It was, after all, during the 1930s that America experienced a thrust forward in its jazz history with the emergence of several important names who would serve to innovate the sound, and whose great talent and skills would expand and solidify the public's passion for the sound of jazz; those names are Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and Bennie Moten. Conclusion From the Dixieland revival of the 1930s and the blues revival of the 1960s, we have the present day - although, less spotlighted in these contemporary times of punk, "goth" and head-banger anger; a strong body of work in jazz that sustains the diminishing populations of both eras. Other Ellington band members like bassists Billy Taylor and Wellman Baud, and others, although changing over the years, helped the Ellington band firmly establish itself and Ellington as a great innovator and designer of Jazz movements that became the staple in the places they played, like the Cotton Club, in Harlem, which was at the time the heart of the black cultural explosion in music, art and performance. Perhaps what can be said, without contention and without setting historians and musicians alike into a tailspin, is that the blues, like Dixieland, have experienced peaks and low in musical history, and has contributed and influenced the heart of jazz. In 2002, "The Molde International Jazz Festival is one of seven festivals that enliven the endless summer days in Norway, testifying to the widespread interest not only in traditional jazz but in new and unproven music as well. Whether viewed in performance, depicted on a cover of a score card, or suggested by program notes or the words of a radio announcer, the 'look' of music influences how listeners categorize what they hear.
Common topics in this essay:
Conclusion Dixieland,
Duke Ellington,
Dixieland Revival,
Blues Revival,
,
Jammin' Blues,
Swing Era,
Ellington Basse,
Lawrence Brown,
BB King18,
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dixieland revival,
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duke ellington,
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passion times,
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sound style,
1930s swing era,
jazz dixieland revival,
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Acceptance Essays
