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Unit 5: Party Music (Listening guide- Strayhorn: Take the A Train, by the…
Unit 5: Party Music
Listening guide- Strayhorn: Take the A Train, by the Duke Ellington Orchestra
February 15, 1941
Big-band jazz
at 17 seconds, A-repeated (eight bars)
introduction- four measures in piano (Ellington), with syncopated, chromatic motive
at 28 seconds, B-contrasting episode in saxophones; syncopated melody with low brass and rhythm section
at six seconds, A- unison saxophones state the disjunct melody, in the key of C, with interjections from muted trumpets and trombones (eight bars), against a steady rhythm accompaniment
at 39 seconds, A- saxophones restate main melody with a new rhythmic figure from the brass; rippling piano figures
at 50 seconds, chorus 2 (A-A-B-A). Ray Nance on muted trumpet, accompanied by saxophones and rhythm section; trumpet solo in second phrase, with bent pitches
at one minute, 35 seconds, the interlude- four measures, sustained, accents as though in triple rather than quadruple meter
at one minute, 41 seconds, chorus 3 (A-A-B-A). A- saxophones play a version of main theme (four measures); followed by unmuted trumpet solo (Nance).
at one minute, 52 seconds, A-trumpet solo continues, with sustained chords in saxophones
at two minutes, 14 seconds, A-original theme played by saxophones in a new key (E-flat); brass interjects, alternating with muted and open notes
at two minutes, 4 seconds, B-trumpet solo with countermelodies in saxophones and trombones, closes with fanfare without rhythm accompaniment; punctuated by cymbal crash
at two minutes, 26 seconds, coda- two repetitions of A (eight bars each), first mezzo piano, then softer, with a final closing saxophone riff
End of chapter 51, & chapter 56: Jazz & Blues Tradition
Pre-Jazz: Ragtime Dances
1890s
African American style that modified Euro-American traditions
Rhythmic and melodic variation
Pianists accompanying social dancing
Scott Joplin (1868–1917)
Left home at age fourteen; played in honky-tonks and piano bars
Notice-Performed ragtime at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893
Born in Texas
The “King of Ragtime”
Strove to elevate ragtime to a serious art form
Balanced phrasing and key structures with highly syncopated melodies
Joplin’s Maple Leaf Rag
Piano roll performance
Published 1899
Syncopated melody with steady accompaniment
4 sections
A-A-B-B-C-C-D-D
Maple Leaf Rag sold a million copies
Joplin insisted on royalties rather than a flat payment
Jazz Roots
Jazz traditionally associated with the U.S.
Roots
West African traditions from 18th century slaves
Call and response
Vocal inflections
New Orleans
Euro-American vernacular traditions
Keeps evolving by incorporating many styles
Famous Jazz Artists
Louis Armstrong
Ella Fitzgerald- SCAT
Billie Holiday
Duke Ellington
Blues Roots
Blues traditionally associated with the U.S.
Roots
Civil war: Mississippi Delta Blues
Voiced difficulties of everyday life
Three-line stanzas
Twelve-measure harmonic patterns (12 bar blues)
Famous Blues Artists:
Charlie Patton
Bessie Smith
B.B. King
Louis Armstrong (1901-1971)
Trumpet player
Band Leader
New Orleans Jazz scene
Singer
Actor
Trumpet player
Billie Holiday (1915-1959)
1933 discovered by a talent scout who arranged to record with Benny Goodman
1935 recording with best jazz musicians of her day
Moved NYC- sang at clubs in Brooklyn and Harlem
Most famous song: Strange Fruit (1939)
Born in Philadephia, PA
Billie’s Blues
Intersection between jazz and blues, also jazz and dance
Intersection between jazz and blues, also jazz and dance
1936
12 bar blues
Six choruses
Pattern of melody and harmony pattern
Short intro
The Swing or Big-Band Era
1930s-40s
Written, arranged, and composed vs. improvised
Larger group of players
2 Trumpets, one cornet, 3 trombones, 4 saxophones (double on clarinet), 2 basses, guitar, drums, vibraphone, and piano
Wide audience- both white and black cultures
Dance association
Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington (1899–1974)
Studied piano
1920s played in NYC jazz clubs
Washingtonians
Born in Washington, D.C.
Composer/arranger
Concern for structure resulted in complex forms
Composed music for his band with Billy Strayhorn
Major figure in the Harlem Renaissance
Take the A Train
Billy Strayhorn composed
32-bar song form –AABA
Intro followed by three choruses then coda
Swing style
Lush, composed-out jazz style
Call and response
Syncopation
Still some elements of improvisation
Riffs-repeated phrases
Bent Notes-in and out of pitch
Shakes-brass extreme vibrato
Glissandos-fast up and down of pitches
listening guide 42- Joplin: Maple Leaf Rag
1899
Piano rag
starts off in A. strain 1. syncopated, middle-range ascending melody, in A-flat major; accompanied by a steady bass; begins with an upbeat in bass; Joplin adds ornamental flourishes in left hand
at 22 seconds, A-strain 1 is repeated
at 44 seconds, B, strain 2- similar syncopated pattern in melody; begins in a higher range and descends; steady bass accompaniment; in A-flat major
at one minute, 6 seconds, B-strain 2 is repeated
at one minute, 28 seconds, A- return to strain 1
at one minute, 50 seconds, C- strain 3, also called the trio- in D-flat major; more static melody; new rhythmic pattern with right hand playing on downbeats; bass accompaniment is more disjunct
at two minutes, 12 seconds: C-strain 3 is repeated
at 2 minutes, 34 seconds: D, strain 4- returns to A-flat major, with a contrasting theme; its syncopated pattern is related to strain 1
to end: D-strain 4 is repeated
Listening guide 47- Holiday: Billie's Blues
1936
12-bar blues
introduction starts with 4 bars- bass and piano
at 7 seconds, chorus 1- ensemble (12 bars)
at 32 seconds, chorus 2- vocal (12 bars)
at 56 seconds, chorus 3- vocal (12 bars)
at one minute, 21 seconds, chorus 4- solo clarinet improvisation (12 bars)
at one minute, 45 seconds, chorus 5- solo trumpet improvisation (12 bars)
at two minutes, 11 seconds, chorus 6- vocal (12 bars)
Listening guide 28- Foster: Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair
1854
Parlor song
the song starts with a piano introduction
at 12 seconds, the verse starts
has an A section then B section, then back to A
at one minute, 13 seconds there is a piano postlude
the opening of the verse, with a descending melodic line
B section has a wavelike line
Chapter 37: Early 19th Century American POP Music
19th Century American Music POP Culture
European immigrants brought cultivated repertories to the US
Opera, chamber music, symphonies
American Style Developed
Vernacular
American popular identity
Lighter music
Popular = Belongs to the People
POP Music:
MinstelShows
Parlor Songs
Marketing and POP Culture
Marketing
Minstrel- Variety shows
Black face
Plantation life
White Performers
Publishing Companies
Parlor Songs
Amateurs at home
Stephen Foster (1826-1864)
Pittsburgh, PA
First hit: Oh! Susanna
Professional Songwriter
Songs from minstrel shows published later as ballads and love songs
Mostly wrote parlor songs but some for minstrel shows
Sympathetic to abolitionist cause
Foster’s Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair
Parlor Song
Wrote 1853-54 after separate from wife
Bittersweet tone
Anglo-Irish folk song tradition
Strophic A A’ B
Voice and piano
Major key
Homophonic
Chapter 51: End of and Era: Late 19th Century American Pop Music
The Band Tradition
Music for brass bands in Britain
Roots:
Revolutionary War regimental bands18th century US Marine Band
18th century US Marine Band
Civil War era bands
Concert & dance assemblies
Patrick S. Gilmore- leader
John Philip Sousa (1854-1932)
Born in Washington, DC
The “March” King
Wrote over 130 marches for band
Semper Fidelis
The Liberty Bell
Stars and Stripes Forever
The Washington Post
Conducted US Marine Band
1892 Formed civilian group
Toured extensively
Sheet music sold incredibly well
Mass-marketing of recordings