Music 308 History of Jazz

Day 8, February 21:

Early Jazz: King Oliver, Louis Armstrong
• 

 Quiz #2 Thursday Feb. 28
•  Eight listening identifications
•  All from Unit 2
•  4 questions about musical form
 Our story so far: Roots of Jazz
–  Rural Roots
•  Lomax documentary, “Land Where the Blues Began”
•  African retentions
•  Work Songs
•  Blues
•  Religious Services
–  Urban Roots
•  Blackface Minstrelsy
•  Marching Band Music
•  Ragtime
•  “Coon songs”
•  Urban Blues: Mamie Smith, Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith
•  New Orleans Street Bands
•  The first jazz player (never recorded), Buddy Bolden
–  Early New Orleans Jazz
•  The Original Dixieland Jazz Band (ODJB)
 Jazz in the 1920’s
•  The Great Migration
1916-1930’s
–  Millions of African-Americans
left the South for Northern
cities (Gioia p. 43)
–  Jazz moved North with this
diaspora
•  The music changed when it
moved
•  Less emphasis on collective improvisation
•  More emphasis on the “star” soloist
•  Shift from rags and blues to popular song forms
•  Growth of large dance bands
•  Increased importance of recordings in the spread of the style
 The first great jazz recordings:
King Oliver and Louis Armstrong
•  King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band
–  Gioia p. 44-50
–  Joe “King” Oliver from New
Orleans;
–  Moved to Chicago 1918, started
band in 1920
–  1923 Recordings considered
classics
–  Repertoire: Rags, Blues,
Marches, Popular Songs
•  Personnel:
–  "Front line"
•  Oliver and Louis Armstrong,
cornets;
•  Johnny Dodds, clarinet,
Honore Dutrey, trombone;
–  Rhythm section:
•  Lil Hardin Armstrong, piano,
Bill Johnson, banjo; Baby
Dodds, drums
 “Dippermouth Blues”

•  King Oliver's most famous recording

–  As "Sugarfoot Stomp," became a staple of swing bands
–  2 versions edited together:
•  April 6, June 23, 1923. Listen for differences
–  (Timings given to help find these sections)
•  Form: Intro - 9 choruses of blues - Coda
•  2 choruses “Collective improvisation” (4-part polyphony)
–  Learn to listen in depth; focus on a particular instrument,
–  then re-listen focussing on a different instrument
–  April: (0:00)
•  2 cornets clearly heard, but so tightly woven hard to distinguish
•  (Oliver plays tune, Louis mostly plays below, sometimes above)
–  June: (0:37)
•  Faster, more clearly recorded, but Louis barely audible
•  (His sound was so powerful he was told to stand 15 feet behind
the rest of the band)
(Dippermouth Blues continued)
•  2 choruses: solo by Johnny Dodds
–  (chords in brass instruments)
–  Built of 2 elements: long blue notes and 8th note
arpeggiations of the chords
•  Gioia: this is typical of early Jazz clarinet playing
–  April: (1:13)
•  The two choruses are different
–  June: (1:46)
•  The same chorus is played twice.
•  A "routine," not an improvisation. Common in
1920's
•  1 chorus by Louis Armstrong
•  An ornamented version of the basic tune
•  Dodds and Dutrey play very active counterpoints
–  April (2:17) and June (2:34) versions very similar,
but end differently
•  (June: melody goes up instead of down)
 (Dippermouth Blues continued)
King Oliver's Solo

–  Transcription of April (2:46)

–  Famous solo, much copied
by later players
–  Very simple; built on
variations of a few basic
blues licks
–  June (3:38) differences in
some details, but basic shape
is exactly the same
 (Dippermouth Blues continued)
King Oliver's Solo

•  Ends with shouted Break - (“Oh, Play That Thing!”)

•  Final chorus, collective improvisation with coda
–  (April - 4:22, June - 4:43)
 King Oliver and Louis Armstrong: Collective
improvisation vs. solos
•  Gioia p. 48-49
–  Armstrong, "the first great soloist in the history of
jazz
–  "refined his talents in an ensemble that featured few
solos
–  "Oliver conceived of jazz as collective music making
•  Instruments interdependent
•  no one horn allowed to dominate
–  Armstrong especially constrained as 2nd cornetist
•  expected to add supporting line or harmonic fill
under Oliver's lead line
•  But his more powerful tone & greater technical
facility made him a poor choice for a subservient
role
–  At times the 2nd cornetist clearly overpowers the
bandleader
•  Example: the trio from "Mabel's Dream"
Oliver and Armstrong duet on "Mabel's Dream"

•  Form of "Mabel's
Dream" is like a Rag
•  Several strains
•  This excerpt begins
with an 8-bar interlude
•  Then the 3rd strain – 16
bars
•  Interlude repeated, then
the full band plays the
3rd strain twice
•  (transcription by
Gunther Schuller, from
Early Jazz)
Louis Armstrong in New York, 1924-25
•  Armstrong joined the Fletcher
Henderson band
–  More about that band and
Armstrong's role later
•  Gioia (p. 54-57)
–  Armstrong didn't exactly take
New York by storm
–  But exerted growing influence
on other players and arrangers
•  We've heard examples of
Armstrong's work from this
period:
–  "Texas Moaner Blues" 2
recordings with Sidney Bechet
–  "St. Louis Blues" with Bessie
Smith

 Red Onion Jazz Babies: "Cakewalking Babies from Home"
•  Red Onion Jazz Babies not a working band; assembled to make
recordings
•  Opening instrumental:
–  Still New Orleans "Collective improvisation" texture,
–  Individuality of the players is shining through
–  Louis Armstrong plays a very swinging version of the tune
–  Sidney Bechet (soprano sax) and Charlie Irvis (trombone)
weave a New Orleans polyphony around the tune
•  Vocal chorus:
–  Alberta Hunter - we heard her on "Texas Moaner" - duets with
Clarence Todd
–  melody and vocal style old-fashioned - turn of the century
–  Simple, ragtime-like syncopations
–  Contrast to the blues singing we've heard before
–  "Cakewalk" a dance, first popularized through minstrelsy
•  Instrumental chorus:
–  3-part polyphony.
–  Bechet, Armstrong, and Irvis get solo breaks
 Louis Armstrong’s
“Hot Five” and “Hot Seven” Recordings
–  See Gioia, p. 57-64
–  Recorded in Chicago 1926-28; Enormously popular and influential
–  A “Studio Band”
•  Armstrong’s live appearances were with a larger band playing written
arrangments
•  Johnny Dodds, clarinet; Kid Ory, trombone; Lil Armstrong, piano; and
others
 "Heebie Jeebies" (Hot 5, 1926)

•  An enormous hit (as a "race" record)

–  “Race” records - recorded for & sold to African-Americans
–  (Needless to say, most of the profits went to white-owned record
companies)

•  One of the first recorded "Scat" vocals (begins 1:20)
•  Demonstration of how advanced Louis' sense of rhythm and swing
was:
–  Toward end: after a half chorus of Johnny Dodds and Kid Ory
alone
–  listen to what happens to the band when Louis kicks in (2:25)
 "Big Butter and Egg Man" (Hot 5, 1926)
•  A slang term meaning “a wealthy, unsophisticated man who
spends money freely.”
•  Vocals by May Alix and Louis
–  32-bar ABCA' form
•  Louis' solo at the end (starts 1:56) considered a masterpiece
–  Not spectacular sounding, but amazingly logical and tightly
organized
–  Three "calls" at beginning, each slightly different
–  Variations of a 3-note "turning" motive throughout the solo
–  The motive continues differently each time
“Big Butter & Egg
Man” Solo
"Hotter Than That" (Hot 5, 1927)
•  Lonnie Johnson, guitar, added to band
–  Our first look at Jazz guitar solo styles
•  Form:
–  32 bar ABAC chorus,
–  8 bar intro; 1st chorus Armstrong, 2nd chorus
Johnny Dodds (clarinet)
–  2-bar breaks at end of each half
–  2d break introduces next soloist
•  3rd Chorus: (1:19) Louis Armstrong scatting;
Johnson on guitar
–  Striking use of polyrhythms
–  Louis' sung melody is a lot like what he plays
on the trumpet
•  16 bar interlude: trading of solo breaks
•  4th chorus
–  Kid Ory, trombone, 14 bars; Louis takes the
break
–  Last half: full ensemble
–  Coda - more solo breaks - ends “up in the
air”
From "Satchmo" (documentary by Gary Giddins)
“West End Blues” (Hot 5, 1928)

•  Video: from “Satchmo” (by Gary Giddins)

–  Joe Muranyi (clarinetist with Armstrong) and Wynton
Marsalis on significance of this record
–  Visuals: Electrical Recording equipment c. late 20’s
–  Doc Cheatham: “You couldn’t buy those records”
–  Because they sold out so quickly


Louis Armstrong and his Hot 5: “West End Blues” (1928)
•  Famous solo introduction

•  Chorus 1 – tune composed by King Oliver

 (West End Blues, continued)

•  The "Hot 5" was a different band in this recording:

•  Chorus 2 - Trombone solo (Fred Robinson)
•  Chorus 3 – Clarinet (Jimmy Strong) plays tune; Louis scatting
responses
•  Chorus 4 - Piano solo - Earl Hines.
–  Flowery runs
–  Double-time feel in 2nd 4 bars
•  Chorus 5 – Begins with spectacular held high note
–  explodes into a lyrical, descending phrase

•  Coda - piano interrupts the end of Chorus 5 with descending chord

progression; ending in free time