Swing Bands Chapter 7 From Jazz to Swing

Swing Bands Chapter 7

From Jazz to Swing • Distinguished from jazz of the 1920 s, the 1930 s period is known as the Swing Era. • Swing music: – Was primarily performed by larger, “big bands” featuring instrumental sections of reeds, brass, and rhythm. – Was derived from music of the 1920 s.

From Jazz to Swing • Swing music: – Retained rhythmic contrast, bluesy phrasing, and balance between improvisation and composition. – Developed a more commercial profile. – Preferred homophonic textures, bluesy riffs, clearly defined melodies, and dance grooves.

From Jazz to Swing • Swing was bounded by two events. – The first was the Great Depression, which started in 1929 and deepened into the 1930 s. Swing, like other popular culture forms, acted as a counterstatement to the deep anxiety caused by the Depression. But swing also demanded action in the form of exuberant and partly improvised dance. Moreover, it was teenagers’ music, the first in the nation’s history.

From Jazz to Swing • Swing was bounded by two events. – World War II was the second major event. After four years of fighting and devoting the nation’s manpower and production capabilities to the war, the country demilitarized. As servicemen and -women returned home, the dancing culture flared, and, with it, the economic basis for swing.

From Jazz to Swing • During the war, swing was very popular. For many it symbolized the strengths of American democracy: it was participatory, informal, and built community.

Swing and Economics • The Depression almost destroyed the record industry, along with the availability of free music on the radio. Familiar companies went bankrupt or were bought out. By the mid-1930 s, things were beginning to look up due to the popularity of the jukebox.

Swing and Economics …Price reductions were also initiated by a few of the surviving recording companies: Decca plus two firms owned by radio networks (Columbia by CBS; Victor by NBC). These were three major players.

Swing and Economics • Industry concentration also occurred in the radio business, Hollywood movies, and Tin Pan Alley. All of these intersected: pop music depended on radio, and movies often premiered songs. Stars moved back and forth from radio to Hollywood.

Swing and Economics • Jazz, then, was part of a popular entertainment network whose products were shared by the nation. Some saw this homogenization of jazz as a loss, similar to fascism, or at the very least considered it demeaned through commercialism. In this context, big-band music can be thought of as pop with occasional jazz interpolations.

Swing and Economics • However, commercialism made this jazz possible in that it attracted many musicians from all over, and as competition increased, so did the musical standards in terms of technical reading ability.

Swing and Economics • Swing played both sides of the race card. – On the one hand, it was a symbol of black culture: its dance steps were developed by black teenagers; its call-and-response, riffbased performance practices mimicked black church music; and it boosted the careers of some black bandleaders.

Swing and Economics • Swing played both sides of the race card. – On the other hand, whites didn’t know the black origins of the music, the dance, or the language (“jive”) that went with it; black bands had to tour the Jim Crow South; and some black musicians felt the music had been stolen from them.

Swing and Dance • Swing was characterized by a four-beat foundation, perfect for dancing. Although not new, it was firmly established by the early 1930 s.

Swing and Dance • Swing dance came out of Harlem’s Savoy Ballroom. A block long, luxurious, and charging a modest entrance fee, one could hear two bands a night there and enjoy them in a mixed ethnic and social environment.

Swing and Dance • Social dancing at the Savoy was communal and intense. Thousands packed the huge dance floor, with the best dancers doing their best moves right next to the bandstand often rehearsing in the afternoons at the Savoy.

Swing and Dance …In both cases, communication between dancers and musicians on issues of tempo and groove was typical.

Swing and Dance • The new dance style was called the Lindy Hop. It was more African—lower to the ground, with more flexibility in the hips and knees. It also allowed for improvisation during the breakaway. As the dance grew more athletic, “air steps” started to be used. White commentators were amazed.

Swing and Dance • To accommodate the new groove, the tuba made way for the string bass, which was now easily recordable with the invention of electrical recording technology.

Swing and Dance …The string bass has a more percussive quality than the tuba, adding to the excitement of the music to match the Lindy Hop’s energy. It could also play a steady four-to-the-bar beat throughout an entire performance.

Swing and Dance • The guitar took over from the banjo. Again, because of electrical recording technology, the raucous loud sound of the banjo was no longer necessary to cut through the sound of the band. The guitar added a more subtle and secure sound to the music.

Swing and Dance • Louis Armstrong’s influence led many arrangers, like Benny Carter, to create elaborate solo lines for an entire section— soli—that were harmonized in block chords, and to creatively orchestrate and harmonize their arrangements. At the same time, simpler, orally derived arrangements, or “head arrangements, ” were also popular.

Fletcher Henderson • Fletcher Henderson, the most prolific black recording artist of the day, used both written and head arrangements. Most of his hits were head arrangements of older tunes such as Jelly Roll Morton’s “King Porter Stomp. ”

Fletcher Henderson • His arranging style was characterized by short, memorable riffs typically in call-andresponse fashion. He often transformed the melody into short bursts of notes, and his arrangements left considerable room for solos, for which he wrote either heldchord or riff backgrounds.

Fletcher Henderson …His arrangements also featured a final driving, riff-based climactic chorus often termed a “shout chorus. ”

Benny Goodman (1909– 1986) • Through the 1930 s, the music industry was divided by race. Because of racial stereotyping, black bands specialized in “hot” dance music.

Benny Goodman (1909– 1986) • There is a long history of white musicians listening carefully to black musicians and thereby learning how to play jazz. – Many white musicians learned how to play “legit” and then copied whatever “hot” jazz they could find, having to save its performance for fun, at after-hours jam sessions. But playing jazz made them outsiders to the community.

Benny Goodman (1909– 1986) – Their “day gig” was generally to play in commercial ensembles like radio orchestras or dance bands. This all changed with Benny Goodman and the breakthrough he achieved with his white orchestra, ultimately probing well beyond dance music to help real jazz become mainstream to white audiences.

Benny Goodman (1909– 1986) • Goodman grew up poor in Chicago but found he could escape a life of menial labor through music. By the 1920 s, his exposure to the jazz idiom had begun with work in Ben Pollack’s band.

Benny Goodman (1909– 1986) • Goodman wanted to lead a band that bridged the jazz he loved and the commercial music realties of his day. – Mildred Bailey suggested he hire some black arrangers, many of whom were out of work due to the Depression. He hired some of the best: Benny Carter, Edgar Sampson, and Fletcher Henderson.

Benny Goodman (1909– 1986) – In 1935, the band was featured as the “hot” orchestra on the radio program Let’s Dance! They went on a national tour that summer to a dismal response until they played the Palomar Ballroom in Los Angeles, where they were an immediate hit, probably due to the fact that their late-night radio broadcasts were aired at prime time in California. White teenagers launched the Swing Era.

Benny Goodman (1909– 1986) • The band applied jazz arrangements to current pop songs. Arrangements usually started with a clear rendition of the melody, but in later choruses the tune turned into swing. Goodman was viewed as someone who could take black music and use it in such a way that whites could dance to this liberating and exciting sound.

Benny Goodman (1909– 1986) • Goodman brought dance music into the mainstream. His band played a successful concert at Carnegie Hall in 1938, cementing their respectability.

The Goodman Trio and Quartet • Goodman launched a number of small groups that emphasized the soloist, renewing an interest in improvisation. Some of them were interracial.

The Goodman Trio and Quartet • Goodman jammed with pianist Teddy Wilson (1912– 1986) and was impressed with his polished, inventive improvisations. He was also dismayed by the possibility of forming a mixed-race trio with his white drummer, Gene Krupa, and African American Wilson.

The Goodman Trio and Quartet • The trio recording sold well, so rather than putting Wilson in the big band, Goodman brought him on as a special guest. This “band within a band” concept soon caught on with other bandleaders.

The Goodman Trio and Quartet • In 1936, Goodman added vibraphonist Lionel Hampton (1908– 2002) to form a quartet. He later formed his own band took part in early rhythm and blues.

The Goodman Trio and Quartet • “Dinah” – A 32 -bar, AABA pop song composed in 1925, it became a standard. It has the feeling of a jam session about it. Goodman starts by playing the melody but then plays a busy bridge. Hampton uses riff figures and complicated harmonic substitutions.

The Goodman Trio and Quartet • “Dinah” – Krupa starts interacting rhythmically while Goodman improvises. Wilson adds a brief solo. By the end, the three are playing polyphonically. Other recordings show them ending on riffs. This is a polished style and a relaxed feeling.

John Hammond and Other Fans • Hammond was a longtime music entrepreneur and activist. He was important in many musical careers and styles, including boogie-woogie, Kansas City jazz, Billie Holiday, Bessie Smith, Fletcher Henderson, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Bob Dylan, and Bruce Springsteen.

John Hammond and Other Fans • He was born into a wealthy New York family. He was attracted to the black music of Harlem from an early age. After graduating from Yale, he became a jazz reporter and, eventually, a record producer.

John Hammond and Other Fans • His two passions were a hatred of racial injustice and a love of black folk music and jazz. The latter especially led him to believe that black music was better than white music.

John Hammond and Other Fans • He joined Columbia Records and scouted out new talent, which, one way or another, he recorded. However, some black musicians resented his aristocratic insistence and patriarchal attitude.

John Hammond and Other Fans • Hammond was one jazz enthusiast among many. – A growing legion of jazz record collectors started searching for old recordings. This led to the first jazz reissues, which preserved the jazz of the 1920 s. Some collectors noted the discographical details of each recording they found. This led to the beginnings of jazz discography, the science of jazz record classification.

John Hammond and Other Fans • Hammond was one jazz enthusiast among many. – They also formed “Hot Clubs” in the towns across the United States. – New magazines such as Downbeat and Metronome were formed to meet the reading needs of these fans and from their pages came the first jazz critics.

A Few Major Swing Bands (Among Many) • As the dance business boomed, so did the proliferation of dance bands, often from within the ranks of established ensembles such as Benny Goodman’s.

A Few Major Swing Bands (Among Many) • Artie Shaw (1920– 2004) – Shaw was Goodman’s chief rival, having come from the same kind of background, studied clarinet, and learned from the great African American musicians of Chicago.

A Few Major Swing Bands (Among Many) • Artie Shaw (1920– 2004) – He led a double life: one as a jazz musician playing with Harlem musicians such as Willie “The Lion” Smith, and one as a member of the CBS staff orchestra playing commercial music.

A Few Major Swing Bands (Among Many) • Artie Shaw (1920– 2004) – Never expecting to make much out of his music, he nevertheless had a huge hit in 1938 with “Begin the Beguine. ” He became a major celebrity, which he felt got in the way of the music. He particularly detested jitterbugs. He retired from music in 1954.

A Few Major Swing Bands (Among Many) • Artie Shaw (1920– 2004) – “Star Dust” • Shaw was a skilled improviser. He sometimes played raucous music, but at other times, he played music that tried to bridge the jazz and classical worlds. In 1936 he wrote a piece for clarinet and string quartet, and in 1940 he added a nine-piece string section to his band, which was well used by arranger Lennie Hayton.

A Few Major Swing Bands (Among Many) • Artie Shaw (1920– 2004) • “Star Dust” comes from this period and provides a new sound for a swing band. It focuses on the melody rather than the dance-evoking, riff-based arrangements of many bands from that period. All of the solos are restrained.

A Few Major Swing Bands (Among Many) • Jimmie Lunceford (1902– 1947) – Lunceford did not fit the bandleader mold: he was not a star performer, and although he learned to play a number of instruments, he did not play in his own band. Moreover, he was university-educated high school music teacher before he started to lead his own group.

A Few Major Swing Bands (Among Many) • Jimmie Lunceford (1902– 1947) – Lunceford was a strict disciplinarian in terms of music, appearance, and behavior. While putting on a show, the performers played hard -driving swing music.

A Few Major Swing Bands (Among Many) • Jimmie Lunceford (1902– 1947) – A black band such as Lunceford’s had to tour continually, and the leader lost many of his best men to other bands owing to his predilection for stingy salaries.

Glen Miller (1904– 1944) • Probably the most celebrated bandleader of the 1940 s, Miller had no intentions of forming a jazz band. He aimed for the white American middle class. Born in the Midwest, he developed a liking for jazzy dance music. During the 1920 s, he was both an arranger and a soloist, working at various times with Goodman, the Dorsey Brothers, and Ray Noble.

Glen Miller (1904– 1944) • In 1938 he started his own band, which played clear melodies in a smooth, danceable rhythm with a distinctive sound. He created this sound by combining the saxophone section with a clarinet. He also added vocals to some of his arrangements. This combination resulted in a great number of hits during the 1940 s.

Glen Miller (1904– 1944) • Miller also worked with the armed services. His 1942 Glen Miller Army Air Force Band, a large ensemble that included strings and brass, featured an eclectic mixture of music. In 1944 Miller disappeared over the English Channel.

Cab Calloway (1907– 1944) • To whites, Calloway represented an entrée into African American cultural life; to blacks he represented the hope that a man with talent and ambition could rise to the top.

Cab Calloway (1907– 1944) • He grew up in Baltimore. He studied classical singing but sang jazz at night. – In the 1920 s he met Armstrong, from whom he learned about scat singing. His band, the Alabamians, played New York’s Savoy Ballroom but were viewed as corny.

Cab Calloway (1907– 1944) • He grew up in Baltimore. He studied classical singing but sang jazz at night. – In 1930, he took over a swinging band from Kansas City, the Missourians. It was this band that was asked to replace Duke Ellington at the Cotton Club.

Cab Calloway (1907– 1944) • Here, he joined up with songwriter Harold Arlen and lyricist Ted Koehler to create a number of pieces that depicted imaginary Harlem scenes. Calloway’s exuberant personality and scat singing added excitement to the songs.

Cab Calloway (1907– 1944) • He was a very good singer with a broad range. He was also a good businessman, hiring the best musicians he could find. His band toured the South, evoking oftenhostile reactions to their New York hipness. But at least they traveled in style, on their own Pullman car.

Cab Calloway (1907– 1944) • By the 1930 s Calloway started to focus on jazz. He hired the best jazz musicians, including a young Dizzy Gillespie. The quality of the music, including some of Gillespie’s first arrangements, was always high, and there were plentiful opportunities to solo.

Cab Calloway (1907– 1944) …Calloway later played the role of Sportin’ Life in the 1950 production of Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. He also appeared in the 1980 hit movie The Blues Brothers.