2 The Jazz Age and The Swing Era - Student Reproducible Activity 2

ACTIVITY TWO: LISTEN UP!

Listening One

The improvised solo is a cornerstone of jazz. Instrumentalists, accompanied by a rhythm section or an entire band, perform spontaneous solos over chord changes (the harmonic structure of a tune). The extended improvised jazz solo developed, in part, from breaks, or short phrases performed while the band stops for one or more measures.

Listen to the following excerpts and observe how the soloists play through the breaks. Count the number of beats or measures per break and note the instruments that solo through the break. How does each soloist approach the break? How do the other instruments support the soloist?

James Reese Europe’s Hellfighter Band, “Memphis Blues”
Jelly Roll Morton, “Black Bottom Stomp”
Jelly Roll Morton, “Original Jelly Roll Blues”
Count Basie and his Orchestra, “Jumpin’ at the Woodside”

Listening Two

Stride pianists used their left hand to play low bass notes on beats 1 and 3 and chords in the middle register on beats 2 and 4. At the same time, they would play melody or improvise with their right hand. Listen to the following three masters of stride and jazz piano. Try to distinguish the chords from the melody, and describe how the musicians use either bass notes or chords to support their improvisations.

Fats Waller, “Handful of Keys”
Art Tatum, “Get Happy”

Listening Three

Jazz band arrangers employed various techniques to develop a driving sense of swing and to highlight improvised solos. For instance, arrangers used syncopation (offbeat rhythms), riffs (short melodic phrases played repeatedly over a series of chords), and call and response (phrases by a soloist or section that are answered by another section). Listen to the following excerpts and compare how the different bands and arrangers varied the instrumentation (musical instruments used in the arrangements), rhythms, and the interaction between sections (such as brass or reeds) and soloists. Note techniques such as the use of riffs and call and response.

Fletcher Henderson and his Orchestra, “Keep a Song in Your Soul”
Benny Goodman and his Orchestra, “King Porter Stomp”
Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra, “Lonely Melody”
Count Basie and his Orchestra, “Jumpin’ at the Woodside”
Duke Ellington and his Famous Orchestra, “The Mooche” or “Take the ‘A’ Train”