JAZZ AND BLUESBY:

JOSHUA JAMESON-WALLIS

JAZZ - BRIEF HISTORY• Jazz is a very well known and diverse genre of music, which had its roots back in the 1800’s, when

New Orleans was the main gateway for trade in the USA. There were several cultures living there at the time, and the invention of the railroad led to them all coming together and creating music (New Orleans Jazz).

• This became popular after World War 1, and at the same time artists such as Louis Armstrong moved North to Chicago and New York (1920’s). The type of bands called ‘Big Bands’ were formed, introducing different arrangements into songs and playing larger venues.

• In the early 1930’s the Great Depression began and, by 1935, the radio had been invented, which was a great medium for Big Bands to showcase their music. Big Band music of the late 30’s was known as Swing. 1935-1945 were the Golden years of jazz (people expecting to dance to swing).

• The Glen Miller Band marked the beginning of the end for Swing. Therefore, talented musicians (Thelonius Monk and Charie Christian) started meeting up in clubs around Harlem and continued jamming/improvising at high speeds. This was known as Bebop Jazz. This was also the beginning of several Modern Jazz styles (Cool Jazz, Modal Jazz and Fusion Jazz). People who liked Bebop didn’t want to dance but appreciated good musicianship and talent.

• These are the main styles of Jazz, and they are all still played today in various venues by talented musicians.

BLUES - BRIEF HISTORY

• Blues music was a major contributor to the origins of Jazz, and was mainly performed by African-Americans around the USA. It was developed in the south of America at the end of the 19th century, and was about the hope of being freed as slaves and having better living conditions. It came from the slaves’ work songs, and was often played using broken guitars, bottlenecks to imitate vocals and stomping for drum beats.

• Blues music then went on to develop as a genre, and fused with many other musical styles in order to form brand new ones. The first example of this is when Blues eventually became Rhythm and Blues (R+B) in the 1950’s. It now used more electric instruments and had a more defined structure for dancing. Rockabilly was the first example of blues forming with another genre, as in this case of country music. Elvis Presley’s first records were written in this genre of music.

• You then had the formation of different R+B styles imitating each other. First there was Black R+B which imitated American R+B, then British R+B which imitated American R+B, and then the Americans imitated us back!

• The Blues still remains a very popular genre nowadays, played by some of the greatest guitarists of all time (Eric Clapton). It is a great style to learn when you are beginning to play guitar!

ICONIC SONGS/ALBUMS

• 1920’s Big Band Jazz - Duke Ellington: ‘Take the A Train’ + ‘It Don’t Mean a Thing’

• 1935 - Benny Goodman’s ‘Lets Dance’ program: ‘Sing Sing Sing’

• 1938 - Glen Miller Band: ‘In The Mood’ (#1 hit in U.S for 13 weeks)

• 1950’s R+B - B.B. King: ‘The Thrill Is Gone’

• 1950’s Rockabilly - Carl Perkins: ‘Blue Suede Shoes’ (http://promfih.com/data_images/main/carl-perkins/carl-perkins-02.jpg)

• 1960’s Black R+B - Yard Birds: ‘For your Love’ (http://www.formidablemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/formidablemag-yardbirds-28.jpg)

B.B. KING - THE THRILL IS GONE

B.B. King is an American Blues guitarist, singer, song writer and musician. He is very well known and admired for his simplistic but unique and soulful guitar style. He has worked with many other musicians before and is constantly gigging even at his current age of 88.

MICHAEL BUBLÉ – SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWNMichael is a Canadian big band singer, songwriter and actor. His famous album titled ‘It’s Time’, secured him a worldwide audience and from then on his success grew and grew as he realised more albums. Michael is a modern popular jazz singer, and his success still continues today. LINK

MATTHEW MORRISON – IT DON’T MEAN A THINGMatthew Morrison is an American actor, dancer, musician and singer-songwriter. He has starred in the Fox television show Glee, and several other Broadway and Off-Broadway productions. The link is to his cover of the Duke Ellington song ‘It Don’t Mean a Thing’, and he is known for doing covers of already famous pieces of music. LINK

CODES AND CONVENTIONS • Camera Angles: Most music videos within these genres begin with some sort of establishing shot (wide/long shot), in

order to set the scene for the video and the atmosphere for the music. The common shot used to show the artist performing within the video is a medium shot, so we can clearly see them playing their instrument or singing. If the artist is a singer, a tracking shot is frequently used to follow them as they dance to the beat of the music. More close up shots are used in music videos for Blues, as it builds up/accompanies that soulful aspect of the style, allowing the audience to personally experience it. There are more physical movements by the camera in Jazz videos as the style naturally has a more up beat tempo, just as the camera will follow the player’s movements on the guitar as he/she plays over the neck.

• Editing: The pace of the transitions in the Jazz videos are quite fast as they need to keep up with the pace of the music, and show the story at the same time. If the shots are longer, it is usually because there is a lot of acting and dancing involved in the current scene. The editing in the Blues videos is at a medium pace, as there is more emphasis on the playing and feel of the music, rather than the production and dancing.

• Representation: In the Jazz videos I have watched, the singer has been at the centre of the performance, with the other actors and band members evolving around him/her. They are all presented as the cast of the music video production, and they fit into the film by performing as they usually would live, but it has definitely been choreographed so that it is consistent with the story. The representation in Blues videos is much more minimal and simplistic. The artist would play in a normal fashion, without any extra costume or over the top production involved. This is done because you don’t want the video to distract the viewer from the quality of the music.

• Mise en scene: The location of the music video definitely depends on the song itself. For example with B.B. King’s The Thrill Is Gone, the setting is quite dark and isolated as the song is by no means upbeat or happy. On the other hand in the Jazz videos, the song is brighter and faster paced, so therefore the setting is in a more cheerful environment.

• Audience: In both genres of music, there is definitely a personal connection created with the audience through the use of the artist looking directly into the camera, giving us a feeling of intimacy and individual attention. The record labels know that we like to see good quality and memorable music videos which enhance the impact of the song, in terms of its meaning and background. In a way, the audience is part of the music video as the artist is performing specifically for us.

• Expectations: If we were creating our own music video in the genre of Blues, we expect to see a heavy emphasis on the artist performing and possibly showcasing some of their musicianship, while also showing a coherent story which provides a knowledgeable background about the song. In the case of Jazz, it is a similar story for the artist in terms of seeing their ability to perform and play at the same time, but also creating a dramatic production to accompany the music and emphasise its groove.

THANKS FOR LISTENING!