1. Jazz Music THE LOS ANGELES JAZZ SOCIETY PRESENTS
A Look at America’s National Treasure
Jazz Music
Developed by Dr. Thom Mason, Professor of Jazz Studies at the University of Southern California
Presentation created by Dessa Drake, Fifth Grade Teacher
Canoga Park Elementary School

2. What is Jazz? Where did it come from?

3. Where did Jazz originate and how did it spread in the US?

4. What instruments do jazz players play?
Piano
Guitar
Bass

5. What instruments do jazz players play?
Tenor Saxophone
Baritone Saxophone
Alto Saxophone

6. What instruments do jazz players play?
Trumpet
Trombone

7. Who are some of the important people in the history of Jazz Music?

8. Louis Armstrong The first great African American jazz musician
A trumpet player and singer
Referred to as the 1st genius of jazz for the things he did that are now standard in jazz
Hit records in every decade from the 1920s until his death in the 1970s

9. Bessie Smith The most famous blues singer
Called the “Empress of the Blues”
The highest paid jazz singer in the 1920s
1st hit record “Downhearted Blues” sold over 800,000 copies in 1923, saving a record company from going out of business

10. Duke Ellington The most famous big band composer
Composed over 1500 original songs and instrumental pieces
Many people consider him the most important composer of American music in the century
Many of his band members stayed with him for over 40 years

11. Ella Fitzgerald The most famous female jazz singer
Won a talent contest in Harlem when she was 18
Joined Chick Webb’s band, and after he died, she became the 1st woman to lead a jazz big band made up completely of men
Nicknamed “The First Lady of Swing”

12. Charlie Parker The most famous Modern Jazz saxophone player
Nicknamed “Bird”
The 1st great modern jazz soloist
Played with such a high level of technical skill that many thought his records were doctored up

13. Miles Davis One of the most famous trumpet players of Modern Jazz
Called the founder of “Cool Jazz”
One of the 1st jazz musicians to blend jazz with pop and soul music

14. Al Aarons & the LA Jazz Caravan
Listen for:
the saxophone
the trombone
the trumpet
the electric guitar
the piano
the drum

15. Styles of Jazz

16. Jelly Roll Morton’s Red Hot Peppers
Dixieland Style
The 1st style of jazz for instruments
The horns in the front often “jam” solos at the same time, called “collective improvisation”
After collective improvisation at the beginning, each player takes a solo, followed by another collective improvisation
Louis Armstrong was the 1st jazz soloist to make this style important
Most of this style of jazz was created in New Orleans, “the birthplace of jazz” and in Chicago, “the home of the blues” during the 1920s and 1930s
Jelly Roll Morton’s Red Hot Peppers

17. Blues Style The 1st style of jazz for singers
Began in the 1920s with “Race Records,” which were meant for the black community
First blues recording was “Crazy Blues” by Mamie Smith
Women were the most famous blues singers of the 1920s, while men became famous in the 1930s
The main feature of this style is the use of blue notes, which give the music a sad or “blue” quality
Blues solos bend notes, falls, and smears and often repeat an idea over and over

18. Big Band Swing Style Brought instruments and singers together
The most popular music in America from the 1930s until the end of World War II
Big bands had as many as 20 or more musicians in them
Sounded more modern than Dixieland jazz
People loved to dance to the sound of big bands
The most famous had singers as well as soloists
Performed in ballrooms

19. Famous African American Big Band Leaders
Count Basie
Cab Calloway
Duke Ellington

20. Big Band Swing Style
Most big bands were either all black or all white until Jewish clarinet player Benny Goodman began hiring African Americans for his big band in the mid-1930s
He did not believe anyone should have to experience prejudice
Big bands have been integrated ever since

21. Modern Style BeBop, the music of the 1940s, started this style
It brought jazz to the highest technical level possible
Players work hard to create complex solos
Saxophonist Charlie Parker and trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie first established this style, performing together in NYC in the 1940s

22. Latin Jazz Uses the rhythms of Central and South America
Musicians play the rhythms of Cuba, Brazil, and other Latin-American countries, while soloists create the technical and complex solos of modern jazz
Dizzy Gillespie was one of the 1st to perform this style
Popular in Los Angeles

23. What is Jazz? How is it done?
Jazz music begins when one or more jazz musicians create original music together
Each member makes up his or her part at the very moment they play it
Each performer has a special role or part, while they remain aware of what the other members are doing
The music they create is organized around a musical form, but the notes, rhythms, melodies and harmonies are being created “on the spot”
The solo is when one musician is featured while the other musicians play back up
During the solo the musician takes several ideas and repeats them or changes them in different ways

24. Bass Players “Walking”
Playing one note for every beat of music as they “walk” around on the different notes in the chords
Listen to “Saturday Night Shuffle” with Leslie Baker “walking” to accompany the piano

25. Groups of notes that are organized into rhythms that repeat
Bass Players
“Patterns”
Groups of notes that are organized into rhythms that repeat
Used in Latin Jazz
Listen to “Paradox,” which begins with a pattern. Can you tell when it changes to a walking style?

26. Piano Players “Jabbing”
Players lead with their right and jab with their left
Players usually solo with their right while the left hand accompanies
Listen to “Saturday Night Shuffle” with Phil Wright jabbing on the piano

27. Piano Players “Blocking”
Players often play both hands together to make block chords
Often happens in Latin Jazz
Listen to the two handed block chords in “Paradox”

28. Piano Players “Improvising”
Players mix right hand leads with occasional two handed block chords to create interesting solos

29. Guitar Players Strum chords and pick their leads.
When accompanying another soloist, they often strum chords on each beat or make up rhythms for the soloist
When they solo, they string single ideas with a pick
Listen to Terry Evans in “I Got It Bad” and “That Ain’t Good,” showing the single string solo style

30. Keep the time and play patterns
Drummers
Keep the time and play patterns
Listen to Jack LeCompte in “I Got It Bad” and “That Ain’t Good,” using the basic cymbal pattern most of the time

31. Trumpet Players Play all their notes with three fingers
Usually the lead instrument, meaning they play the melody
They also solo on most songs
Listen to Al Aarons soloing in “I Got It Bad” and “That Ain’t Good” – listen for the repeat ideas and the movement of ideas from place to place

32. Trombone Players
Push the slide around to different positions to get different notes
Able to “smear” between notes by moving the slide slowly
Tone can be cool and mellow or hot and brassy
Listen to Thurman Greene soloing in “Lazy Day” – listen for the cool and mellow sound and the South American influence

33. Listen to Carl Randall soloing in “Stop It!” in the modern blues style
Saxophone Players
Press their keys; combinations of fingers pressing on keys form the different notes
Sometimes play the lead but will play a supporting role to a trumpet until the solo
Listen to Carl Randall soloing in “Stop It!” in the modern blues style

34. Learn songs and then change them to their liking
Jazz Singers
Shout it out
Learn songs and then change them to their liking
Listen to Barbara Morrison singing “Back Door Blues,” a down-home blues tune
Listen for the horns playing the repeated ideas (called “riffs”) behind her