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unit 8: Jazz music history

1. Jazz: the free music 1900-1930: DIXIELAND 1930-1940: SWING ERA 1940-1960: BEBOP AND COOL JAZZ 1960-1990: FREE JAZZ AND FUSION

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Basic Vocabulary

Arrangements: arreglos. To become (became, became): llegar a ser. To blend: mezclar. Call and response: llamada y respuesta. To challenge: retar. Learned by ear: aprender de odo. Loose: suelto. Marching bands: bandas de pasacalle. Merely: meramente. Nonsense: sin sentido. Primarily: principalmente. Roots: races. Slave: esclavo. Stage: fase. Unlike: al contrario. Whereas: mientras

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1. Jazz: the free music

Jazz is primarily an American musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in slave communities in the Southern United States from a mix of African and European music traditions. Blues, worksongs, spirituals and gospels are in the roots of jazz.

1900-1930: DIXIELAND
Early Jazz - or Dixieland - developed in the early 20th century (1900 1930); its four main influences were ragtime, military brass bands, the blues and gospel music. Improvisation was very important in the early stages. In Dixieland jazz, musicians all improvised at the same time and the bands were originally small marching bands.

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1930-1940: SWING ERA

By the swing era (19301940) big to bands depend were on

beginning

arranged music: arrangements were written or learned by ear and memorized - many early jazz performers could not read music. The most common number of instruments in a big band was (and still is) 17:

1. Five saxophones (two alto saxes, two tenor saxes and one baritone sax) 2. Four trumpets 3. Four trombones 4. Four "rhythm" instruments (piano, bass, drums, guitar).

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"Call and Response" was a common musical theme: one section (say, the brass section, i.e., trumpets and trombones) would play a musical phrase and it would be answered by another section (say, the saxes); the first phrase is the call, the answer is the response (like a musical conversation).

1940-1960: BEBOP AND COOL JAZZ

Bebop became important from 1940 1955. Bebop was primarily played by small groups (combos). A typical Bebop combo consists of two wind instruments (e.g., trumpet and saxophone) and rhythm section (piano, bass and drums). Jam sessions are informal concerts where the musicians play

together, challenge each other and learn from each other. Bebop was, and still is, the music that is most played at jazz because musicians need to know the song's main melody and chords. Scat singing is a vocal style where the vocalist imitates the style of Bebop jazz solos (as played by instrumentalists) using nonsense syllables. Scat solos, like their instrumental counterparts, are improvised. One of the most important scat singers was Ella Fitzgerald. Whereas Big Band Swing was considered entertainment (i.e., dance music), Bebop was considered art music (like classical music, bebop was for listening only); Bebop musicians considered themselves artists, not merely entertainers. jam all sessions the

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Cool Jazz was developed from 1949 1955. Whereas Bebop was hot (i.e., loud, exciting and loose), Cool Jazz was cool (i.e., soft, more reserved and controlled). Two important aspects in Cool jazz is the improvisation and the arrangement. Cool Jazz was a blending of jazz and classical music.

1960-1990: FREE JAZZ AND FUSION

Free Jazz was the most popular style from 1959 1970. Unlike previous styles of jazz whose compositions were based on a series of

predetermined chords. Free Jazz compositions were not based on anything. It was called Free Jazz because the musicians were "free" to play whatever they wanted. Fusion is the blending of jazz with other styles like rock, pop, flamenco, etc.

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Activities
1.- True or false. Correct the false statements The origins of jazz are located in the north of the US. ____

Jazz origins are a mixture of Western and African musical traditions. _____

Blues, worksongs, spirituals and gospels are not in the roots of jazz. _____

In the Dixieland period the improvisation was very important. _____

In jazz roots, the first bands were Big Bands. _____

In the history of jazz, we call The Swing Era the 1930s. _____

The most important characteristics in the 1930s were the swing rhythm and musical arrangements. _____

A combo is a large musical ensemble. _____

Scat singing is a vocal improvisation. _____

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Cool Jazz was a blending of jazz and classical music. _____

Free jazz is based in arranged music. ______

2.- Match with arrows:

Slave communities Dixieland Big Bands Ella Fitzgerald Bebop 1959 1970

Swing Era Free Jazz Combos Spirituals and worksongs Marching bands Scat singing

3. Short answers When did jazz music begin? How many musicians can you find in a Big Band? How did the jazz performers learn music? Which is the main way (musical technique) that jazz music is played?