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Popular Song Context (Origins of Blues + Jazz (1930s/40s (Blues began to…
Popular Song
Context
Ella Fitzgerald
1917-1996
Cole Porter Songbook
First album she recorded for Verve
Los Angeles 1956
First of 8 songbook albums she recorded
Accompanied by studio orchestra conducted + arranged by Buddy Bergman
Some numbers accompanied by accompanist Paul Smith
Influential in the decision to set one composer from jazz canon
Setting of reworked standards from the Great American Songbook became a popular album format
Granz inspired by Sinatra's success with albums which grouped songs under themes
Vocal Style
Highly vocally accomplished
Warm vocal tone with clear, youthful quality
Wide range over 3 octaves
Very accurate sense of pitch across registers
Very flexible vocal agility
Sure sense of swing + syncopation enabling her to place notes precisely + naturally
"Truthful" approach to music allowing the melody to speak for itself rather than overly embellishing the music
Excellent scat singer using her experience as a band singer + knowledge of bebop to perform extended scat sections
Scat: Nonsense syllables, improvisation in style of instruments
Bebop: Style of jazz developed early to mid 1940s featuring songs characterized by fast tempo, complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes + numerous key changes, instrumental virtuosity, improvisation based on combination of harmonic structure + scales + occasional references to melody
History
Brought up in Yonkers, New York
Mother died 1932
Learnt to sing from performing gospel music in church + emulating popular singers of the day
Age 17 entered talent competition
Met Benny Carter - Became lifelong friend + introduced her to people who could launch her career
Met Chick Webb while performing at Harlem Opera House
Worked with him + his band
Became leader when Webb died
Made her first recording with them in 1935
Also recorded "A-Tisket A-Tasket" with them in 1938
Reached no.1
Set a trend for female vocalists to look for simple melodies
Managed for many years by Moe Gale
Overlooked taxes - received request for back payment
Taken over by Norman Granz - paid off debt
Origins of Blues + Jazz
1910s
Vaudeville - Variety Show
Tin Pan Alley in New York
-Where many of the Jazz Standards that form the Great American Songbook were created
Production of sheet music + arrangements
Development of piano roll with popular songs for player pianos
Acoustic recordings on wax cylinders
High level of degradation to sound
No editing possible
1920s
Blues
Origins from Spirituals + Work Songs
Brought over by African slave trade
Also folk songs from European immigrants
Developed by African-American people in US Southern States
Early blues accompanied by guitar
Often mournful or ironic lyrics to reflect situation
Scat singing
Call + Response
12 bar blues harmonical/structural feature
C7C7C7C7 F7F7C7C7 G7F7C7C7
Blues scale
Eg. C Eb F Gb G Bb C
"Blues Queens" Ma Rainey + Bessie Smith
Dixieland Jazz
Origins from New Orleans
Instrumental Jazz
Small ensemble
Front line: Clarinet, Trumpet, Trombone
Rhythm section: Piano, Double Bass, Kit
Horn section refers to solo wind instruments
Eg. Clarinet, Trumpet, Sousaphone (later Saxophone)
Collective + Solo improvisation
Call + Response
Recording
Radio proliferates through the US
Gramophone
78s allowed for 6minutes of recording (3 a side)
1930s/40s
Blues began to diversify
Big bands + vocal genres become fused with dance numbers
Musical theatre develops
Bridges the gap with Swing music
Technology develops rapidly
Microphones = Amplified singers
Electrical recording supports increased 'fidelity'
Vocalists no longer have to project over big bands = more flexible
New popular "crooners" Bing Crosby + Frank Sinatra
Development of film tracks - silent movies/Hollywood
Another commercial route to introduce audiences to music
Big Band
Horn section: Trumpets, Trombones, Clarinets/Sax
Rhythm section: Double Bass, Piano, Kit, Guitar
Shuffle rhythm, Swing rhythm, Emphasis on back beat (2+4)
Benny Goodman, Count Bassie, Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller
1950s
Commercial proliferation
Singles, Jukeboxes
Magnetic tape allows editing + multi-tracking
Better quality recording
LPs - 12" vinyls with 20 minutes a side
Cole Porter
1891-1964
History
Born into a wealthy Indiana family
Studied music + English at Yale
Then Harvard Law School
Went to live in France when US joined WW1
Wrote for musicals for Paris, Broadway + London
Became one of the leading song composers in US
Musicals
1928 Paris
1934 Anything Goes
1944 Seven Lively Arts
1949 Kiss Me Kate