1. Jam Sessions and the transition to Bebop
MUH 271

2. Jam Sessions Jazz was always a commercial/entertainment music
At least until the 40s, jazz musicians did not think of themselves as “artists”
early competitions:
Competition between bands in New Orleans
“Battle of the Bands”
Competition between solo pianists
Expectations of musicianship
“jazz education” informal; oral tradition

3. Nat Hentoff on jazz musicians
Jazz is not so casual a vocation as it has often been described. The standards of most of the professionals are demandingly high. To achieve their most basic satisfaction, jazzmen try to impress other musicians. Whether the audience or the critics have caught a clinker, the musician knows that his colleagues have, and usually he’s ashamed. The jazz man can be irresponsible in his personal life, but he generally retains considerable pride in keeping his music up to the level he’s set for it. The man who coasts too long may retain the admiration of the critics long after he’s lost the respect of other musicians. “He’s not blowing nothing” is one of the most damning judgments a musician can deliver on one of his contemporaries.

4. Jam sessions Could follow one another immediately
“after hours” opportunities for jazz musicians to play together
Recreation
Education
Competition
Noteriety
Kansas City
A Kansas City “specialty”
Divided into “classes”
Horn players predominant focus; rhythm section often an accompaniment role
Could follow one another immediately
Could trade back and forth
Could more easily appropriate and adapt musical ideas
Jam sessions

5. Jam Sessions in New York
Attending multiple sessions in an evening
Union “walking delegates” - employed to fine musicians who were playing in public venues without a contract
“sitting in”

6. Monroe’s Uptown House
Located in Harlem near the Apollo, the Cotton Club, and the Savoy
“a place where musicians of somewhat lesser talent or reputation could gain experience by sitting in with a small house band”
Stayed open past 4:00 AM curfew
Included noted big band players as regulars
Charlie Parker participated regularly before being invited to Minton’s

7. Minton’s playhouse Birthplace of bebop Opened in 1938 by Henry Minton
First black delegate to Musician’s Union Local 802
Minton’s somewhat protected from Union walking delegates due to connections
Monday “Celebrity Night” jam sessions
Regulars included both established jazz musicians and younger musicians who would establish bebop
House band included Kenny Clarke and Thelonious Monk

8. Musical developments and Innovations
Desire to cultivate and refine one’s ability
Challenge self and others
Faster tempos
Alterations to harmonies, substitution of chords or sections of songs
Calling standard songs in unfamiliar keys
“eliminate the dead wood”

9. Audiences
Stories differ on whether audiences were forbidden, tolerated, or encouraged
Jam sessions considered the most pure form of jazz
Public jam sessions
“jam session” recordings
The Bebop style grew out of the jam session format
Small combos
Emphasis on the solo
Music for listening
Instrumental acts exempt from the wartime cabaret tax (20-30%)