Essay Topics

1. Fletcher Henderson Fletcher Henderson, the most prolific black recording artist of the day, used
both written and head arrangements. He had a stable of very good arrangershis brother Horace, Carter, and Redman-but most of his hits were head
arrangements of older tunes such as "Sugar Foot Stomp" ( derived from
"Dippermouth Blues" ) and Jelly Roll Morton's "King Porter Stomp." Eventually,
after he started to arrange for the band, Henderson notated these
arrangements. His arranging style was characterized by short, memorable
riffs typically in call-and-response fashion. He often transformed the melody
into short burst of notes. He left lots of room for solos, for which he wrote
either held-chord or riffs backgrounds. His arrangements also featured
driving, riff-based climactic choruses.
Benny Goodman The band applied jazz arrangements to current pop songs. Arrangements
usually started with a clear rendition of the melody, but in later choruses the
tune turned into swing. Goodman was viewed as someone who could take
black music and use it in such a way that whites could dance to this liberating
and exciting sound. Goodman brought dance music into the mainstream.
"Sweet" bands were considered corny. But Goodman could play both "hot"
and "sweet," and he programmed his music to match the tastes of a broad
audience. His band played a successful concert at Carnegie Hall in 1938,
cementing their respectability.
2. Compare Louis and Bix's instrumental styles.
Armstrong even in his earliest recordings is an instrumental virtuoso. He was
a technical master of his horn. Louis stretched the boundaries of what his
instrument could do. He had a fabulous range, endurance, density and
amplitude of sound. His influences were King Oliver, Buddy Petit and Chris
Kelly. His rhythms were based on the swing feel and was very outgoing in his
improvisation styles.
Bix used his instrument more a conduit and an outlet but in a solid way. Bix's
playing is characterized in a great emotional complexity. His tone was warm,
dry and bell-like. With his moderate range, Bix was very reflective in his
improv style. His rhythms were based on the the ragtime era and was
influenced by Nick LaRocca, Emmett Hardy and all of ragtime in general.
3. He is the most important figure in the history of jazz.
He transformed a social music into art and a place where a musician,
regardless of race or geography, could find a voice.

He was a central influence as an instrumentalist and as a vocalist.

He was also very popular at a time when jazz was considered primitive and
degenerate.
1. Primary Innovations :: Proved that improvised music could have the weight
and durability of written music.
2. Blues:: established it as jazz's harmonic foundation when most saw it as a
mere fashion
3. Improvisation:: established jazz as music that prizes individual expression,
above and beyond technique
Singing :: introduced a jazz vocal style using scat, loose phrasing with lyrics,
which influenced later vocal stars such as Bing Crosby and Billie Holliday
Repertory :: created masterworks based on Tin Pan Alley songs, not just
original New Orleans themes, showing that jazz could expand musically and
commercially
Rhythm:: introduced swing.
These five contributions were introduced in ways defying conventional ideas
about art and put American music on a par with European and Russian music.
4. Benny Goodman's role as mediator between black musical styles and
white audiences.
Benny's music had roots in the southern jazz forms of ragtime and dixieland
while its structure adhered more to arranged music than its more
improvisation jazz counterparts. This gave it an accessibility that appealed
American audiences on a wider scale. Benny's band became hugely
successful among listeners from many different backgrounds all over the
country. During this period Benny became famous for being 'colorblind' when
it came to racial prejudice. He hired black musicians to play in his band and
while this group was not the first to feature both black and white musicians,
Benny's national popularity helped to make racially mixed groups more
accepted in the mainstream. Benny once said, "if a guy's got it, let him give
it. I'm selling music, not prejudice."