Chapter 3THE ROOTS OF JAZZCopyright 2015 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Jazz CultureAs we discussed earlier, Jazz is an American Cultural creation, not a racial one.There were five main musical cultures that came together to create Jazz Music:Blues/Folk MusicClassical MusicRagtime/Popular MusicGospel MusicMarch MusicEach of these musical cultures were prevalent in Jazzs birth place, New Orleans.

Folk/Blues TraditionsThe oldest musical tradition in New Orleans were the various Folk and Blues songs.Many of these songs were birthed from the days of slavery in the south and dealt with topics ranging from escape from their hard lives to finding salvation in religion.Some of the early song forms that existed during these days were:Ballads: local history through long songs; often include braggadocio. (Boastful story telling)Work songs: accompanied manual labor.Field hollers: unaccompanied, rhythmically loose, designed to accompany farm labor.Spirituals: call and response, with religious poetry. Two types: polished Fisk Jubilee Singers style and orally transmitted Pentecostal church singing. By the 1920s, gospel music had developed. Spirituals are highly interactional, which strongly influenced jazz musicians.

Folk/Blues Traditions

Copyright 2015 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.Perfect example of a folk ballad is the Ballad of John Henry.The legendary steel driver John Henry has endured as the most frequently reimagined mythic figure in American history, a symbol not only of the brawny ethic of African Americans but of mankinds struggle withtechnology.He has been the subject of books and plays as well as music and art, including this 1945 lithograph by the politically engaged painter and cartoonist William Gropper.

The legendary steel driver John Henry has endured as the most frequently reimagined mythic figure in American history, a symbol not only of the brawny ethic of African Americans but of mankinds struggle with technology. He has been the subject of books and plays as well as music and art, including this 1945 lithograph by the politically engaged painter and cartoonist William Gropper.WILLIAM GROPPER/THE GRANGER COLLECTION, NEW YORK

Folk/Blues TraditionsThe Buzzard LopeFrom the relatively isolated Georgia Sea Islands (Gullah culture).These African immigrants were brought to the Americas to farm for rice on the islands off the coast of the Carolinas and Georgia.After the civil war these slaves were abandoned on these islands by their masters and forced to make a life for themselves with very little connection to the mainland.In the 1920s, a bridge was built from the mainland which lead many to come and explore these remote islands.A Quaker and music historian, Lydia Parrish, researched the music and wrote a book called Slave Songs of the Georgia Sea Islands in 1942. She also established a vocal ensemble entitled the Georgia Sea Island Singers.In 1960, Alan Lomax and Zora Neale Hurston came to the island with recording equipment, determined to capture the unique sound of the islands.

Folk/Blues TraditionsCopyright 2015 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

The Buzzard Lope (contd)When slaves would die, their bodies were thrown into the fields rather than being buried. The Buzzard Lope is a spiritual dance representing buzzards devouring slave bodies left in the fields.Prominent displays of call and response, polyrhythmic background, and syncopation.The song is meant to be uplifting and speaks about how King Jesus will protect all slaves.The syncopation in this piece is done in a 3+3+2 pattern notated below.

The Buzzard LopeCopyright 2015 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

The Buzzard LopeCopyright 2015 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

The BluesThe Blues was born from many of the folk influences of the south and the hardships and struggles of the slaves in America.Unlike a folk ballad, the blues is personal, which reflected the cultural shift from slavery to a persons ability to live ones own life.The main theme in the blues is The Blues aint about making you feel worse; its about making others feel better.

The BluesOne of the defining factors of the blues is the three-line (A A B) stanza that make up its 12 bar form. These songs are also commonly strophic. (meaning the harmony/melody stay the same but the words change every chorus)The blues also has a distinctive chord progression.Commonly the chords are I-IV-V in the following pattern:Section A: 4 Bars of the I chordSection A: 2 Bars of the IV chord and 2 Bars of the I chordSection B: 1 Bar of the V chord, 1 Bar of the IV chord, and 2 bars of the I chord

The BluesCountry BluesOr Delta Blues as it is known, is a combination of folk elements (e.g., field holler and spirituals) and access to musical instruments, namely the guitar.Performed by solitary musician accompanying themselves on guitar, these blues tunes have very loose forms and are rarely counted in exact number of measures.Robert Johnson is seen as the grandfather of this style of Blues.

The BluesVaudeville (Classic) BluesWhen blues crossed over into pop music, jazz musicians became involved. For example, Gertrude Pritchett (Ma Rainey, 18861939) heard blues in St. Louis and transformed it into a theatrical form for the black vaudeville circuit during the 1910s and 1920s, featuring a female singer and small band.Copyright 2015 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

The BluesVaudeville (Classic) Blues (contd)Blues became more codified (12-bar stanzas, written harmony), more closely resembling the basic blues form known and practiced today.W. C. Handy: cornet player who heard the blues in Mississippi. He started writing and publishing blues for dance ensembles, and a number of them became hits.Handylater known as the Father of the Bluesbegan publishing blues-related popular songs, including Memphis Blues (1912), Beale Street Blues (1917), and the smash hit St. Louis Blues (1914).

Bessie Smith (18941937)Bessie Smith was the most popular classic blues singer of this period.Born in Tennessee, she started as a stage professional on the Theater Owners Booking Association (TOBA) vaudeville circuit.Her first recordings were in 1923 and scores of jazz musicians sought to emulate her phrasing and copy her tone.Instrumentalists found accompanying her a challenge, but found her musical style to be irresistible.Her career peaked in 1929. In the same year, she starred in the short film St. Louis Blues.

Bessie Smith (18941937)Copyright 2015 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Known as the Empress of the Blues, Smith made over 200 recordings between 1923 and her death in 1937.Her unique vocal power, loud enough to be heard over the band without a mic, and her graceful vocal style, made her recordings instant classics.After the jazz age began and record companies turned their attention to swing, Smith tried to bridge the gap in musical styles.She was not well received in the jazz idiom and struggled during the 30's to make money.In 1937, on her way to a gig in Mississippi, her car hit a truck. Her arm was torn off in the accident and she died from blood lose on the way to the hospital.

Bessie Smith beams in her only film appearance, St. Louis Blues (1929). When her dance partner (played by Jimmy Mordecai) abandons her for another, she pours out her heart in a performance of the title tune, composed in 1914 by W. C. Handy. FRANK DRIGGS COLLECTION

Bessie Smith (18941937)Copyright 2015 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Smith's last record producer John Hammond wrote an erroneous account of Smith's death claiming that she was refused medical treatment at a "whites only" hospital.Even though the account was obviously false, since no black person would try and enter a "white only" hospital, the news story became wide spread and cause great outrage for the treatment of Blacks in the south.

Bessie Smith beams in her only film appearance, St. Louis Blues (1929). When her dance partner (played by Jimmy Mordecai) abandons her for another, she pours out her heart in a performance of the title tune, composed in 1914 by W. C. Handy. FRANK DRIGGS COLLECTION

Bessie Smith (18941937)

Bessie Smith (18941937)

Popular MusicPopular music after the civil war came in a few important varieties:Minstrel ShowsDance MusicMarch MusicRagtimeEach music brought southern artists and art forms closer to the larger and wealthier northern cities that held more opportunities for musicians with recording facilities and many more performance venues.

MinstrelsyMinstrelsyDuring the Slave Era, as well as after Abolition, many black performers found they had greater opportunities to make money by performing for white audiences.Because racism made it difficult for black performers to succeed, many performers found it necessary to exagerate their "blackness" to attract broader audiences.This meant wearing goofy clothes, acting foolish and comical, and darkening their skin with soot to appear "darker."White performers soon took to emulating these black styles and began performing music and comedy using banjo and "bones".In 1843 a white troupe know as the Virginia Minstrels performed in New York for sold out audiences. It was wildly popular and began Americas craze for Minstrel Shows.

MinstrelsyCopyright 2015 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Long after minstrel stage shows had passed into memory, minstrelsys grotesque smile still remained in films like the 1939 Swanee River, a fictional biography of Stephen Foster, featuring Al Jolson in blackface. THE GRANGER COLLECTION, NEW YORK

MinstrelsyAs the popularity of Minstrelsy rose, characters like Zip the Coon, Mr. Bones and the crippled farm hand Jim Crow.The character of Jim Crow also took on the infamous title of the oppressive segregation laws passed in the south.As circuses became a popular form of entertainment in the US, Minstrelsy came along with it.Although minstrelsy was on its last legs by the time jazz came along, its racial stereotypes persisted in vaudeville, film (The Jazz Singer), and radio (Amos and Andy).Although most jazz musicians were not entertainers and therefore avoided perpetuating minstrel stereotypes, musicians who acted in film, such as Louis Armstrong, were compelled to play into these stereotypes.Copyright 2015 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Dance MusicAfter the civil war and before recordings, one of the only social escapes for people was dancing.Emancipated slaves tended to find work as servants, butlers, laborers, and musicians.Musicians took on a level of status for blacks because they were needed at society functions and dressed in livery (formal dress that denotes your allegiance to an organization. In this case a tuxedo.)These musicians were treated better, payed better, and allowed greater freedom than their blue collar comrades.

Dance MusicUp through the 1960s, dancing was very popular and also very organized.Dance moves tended to be taught by experienced dancers and were graceful and innocent.This changed however as young socialites began to experiment with the dance moves of middle and lower class blacks.Many of these animal dances were seen as wild and exciting, which made middle class whites feel like they were breaking rules and acting out.The dances also featured more physical contact with your partner, as well as more use of the legs and hips.

Dance Music

Dance Music

James Reese Europe (18811919)Copyright 2015 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

One of the most recognized experts in the dance world were Irene and Vernon Castle.The Castles worked to bring much of the high energy dancing of the African Americans to main stream America.They pledged to tone the movement down for their white students while simultaneously exploiting the source materials exotic and savage appeal.The musical style they often danced to was ragtime and their band was led by the creative and masterful James Reese Europe.Born in Alabama, Europe moved to New York to begin a career in Black Theaters but soon became their conductor.The Castles hired Europes band because they could play so precisely and with such fire and passion.The musicians were all forced to memorize their music because white audiences did not think black musicians could read and it helped boost their mystic by appearing to do everything by ear.

James Reese Europe (far left) was a stellar musician, conductor, arranger, and administrator. In World War I, he also proved to be a brave soldier, fighting in the trenches of France. Here he conducts his 369th Infantry Band, known as the Hellfighters, in Paris, 1919. FRANK DRIGGS COLLECTION

James Reese Europe (18811919)Copyright 2015 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

World War I broke out and James Reese Europe formed the 369th Infantry Band, the Hellfighters.This group paved the way for march music to transition into popular music and blend ragtime music with traditional marches, which hinted at the jazz music that was to come.Europes legacy left behind two types of dance bands: small and inexpensive, (suited for jazz) and the large dance orchestra (e.g., Will Marion Cooks Southern Syncopated Orchestra). Both types show up in later jazz.

James Reese Europe (far left) was a stellar musician, conductor, arranger, and administrator. In World War I, he also proved to be a brave soldier, fighting in the trenches of France. Here he conducts his 369th Infantry Band, known as the Hellfighters, in Paris, 1919. FRANK DRIGGS COLLECTION

James Reese Europe (18811919)

James Reese Europe (far left) was a stellar musician, conductor, arranger, and administrator. In World War I, he also proved to be a brave soldier, fighting in the trenches of France. Here he conducts his 369th Infantry Band, known as the Hellfighters, in Paris, 1919. FRANK DRIGGS COLLECTION

March MusicAfter the civil war, the country was overloaded with army surplus instruments.Every civil war regiment had a band so their were thousands of cornets, saxophones, tubas, and percussion instruments available at affordable prices.This made brass bands and marching bands a natural choice for many communities.It also became part of the public education of students to learn music using these instruments.

March Music

Composers and band leaders such as John Philip Sousa took this trend and popularized March Music.It became Americas popular music and set in motion a nation craze for parades, marching bands, and march music.Many of these ensembles lead by Sousa, Henry Filmore, and others became very successful and the premier venue for virtuosic wind players to perform.

John Philip Sousa brought military music to the concert stage.FRANK DRIGGS COLLECTION

March Music

In addition to the social craze for the music, people started to associate Marches with the American Identity, particularly due to the many military actions taken between 1865 and 1970.Marches such as "The Star and Stripes Forever," became symbols of American Pride.These musical pieces also became the basis for who jazz music would be written.

John Philip Sousa brought military music to the concert stage.FRANK DRIGGS COLLECTION

March Music

John Philip Sousa brought military music to the concert stage.FRANK DRIGGS COLLECTION

RagtimeWhere marches gave jazz its formal structure and instruments, Ragtime gave jazz its lilt and swing.Like jazz, ragtime embodied the mix of African American and white art, popular, and folk musics.The name comes from ragged time. This meant that the music did not contain a precise division of the beat, but rather a ragged version of the time.The music started out as simple music improvised by players but later was refined and written down.During the Civil War it was mostly played on the banjo. Later it was played on the piano, where the left hand kept a steady two-beat rhythm between bass notes and chords while the right hand created contrasting rhythms.This piano playing was known as Stride piano.

Ragtime

RagtimeScott Joplin (18681917)Improvised piano ragtime was toned down and translated into sheet music starting in 1897. It was wildly popular and featured many composers, of whom Scott Joplin was the best known.Born in east Texas, Joplin believed in racial uplift, studied with a local German piano teacher, turned pro, and toured along the Mississippi River. In 1893, he performed at the Chicago Worlds Fair.In 1894, he settled in Sedalia, Missouri, where he led a black marching band and studied composition. In 1899, he wrote Maple Leaf RagJoplin defied convention for African American composers of the period. He insisted on royalties instead of a flat fee for the piece. His strategy paid off well.

RagtimeScott Joplin (18681917)He moved to St. Louis and then New York, publishing many rags, a ballet, and two operas. In 1903, he published The Entertainer, which would be popularized by the 1970 film The Sting.Joplin died in 1917 of syphilis just as recordings started totake over from sheet music as the preferred means of distribution.Though many other fine pianists played ragtime, few of them recorded, so much of this vast repertoire has been lost.

RagtimeWilbur Sweatman (18821961)Wilbur Sweatman represents the new generation of musicians who used recordings rather than sheet music to transmit and transform their music.A clarinet player in show business, he became well known around 1910.Sweatman, who was friend to Scott Joplin, began by playing in Minstrel Shows and for Circuses. His gimmick was to play 3 clarinets at once.His compositions favored a new bread of Ragtime called Secondary Ragtime where a grouping of 3 notes is put against the steady march feel in the lower instruments.

RagtimeWilbur Sweatman (18821961)Although not a famous as Scott Joplin or James Reese Europe, his music exists as a direct link between improvised Rags and Jazz music of the 1920s.Down Home Rag (1911) provides an example of this style in which his cross-rhythm places three-note melodic figures against the underlying duple rhythm. This approach was also known as novelty ragtime.This Rag includes many Blues style embellishments that also hint to the change in musical styles.

Down Home RagCopyright 2015 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Down Home RagCopyright 2015 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Down Home Rag

Additional ListeningCopyright 2015 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

http://digital.wwnorton.com/jazz2Copyright 2015 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

LG01 The Buzzard Lope (Throw me anywhere, Lord)Bessie JonesThe Norton Jazz Recordings1960Jazz121212.18eng - Courtesy of Odyssey ProductionsMalted Milknull228455.3LG02 Reckless BluesBessie SmithThe Norton Jazz Recordings1925Jazz182971.67eng - Originally released 1925. All rights reserved by Sony Music EntertainmentLG03 Down Home RagWilbur SweatmanThe Norton Jazz Recordings1916Jazz98201.23