Big Band Jazz - The Swing EraThe Swing Era, The Period Of Big Band Jazz, Was An Exciting Time For Both Jazz Musicians & Jazz Fans. Famous Band Leaders Like Duke Ellington, Count Basie & Benny Goodman Played Great Music For All.
WHY THE SWING TO BIG BAND JAZZ In New Orleans, where jazz was born, some jazz musicians formed groups that were larger than the usual jazz ensembles. Their purpose was to explore more complex jazz rhythms and arrangements. Modelled on the prevailing dance bands, these larger groups were then called "big bands" that became very popular. Big band jazz was the rage among jazz lovers from the 1920s to the 1940s - the period being dubbed the "big band era" or "the swing era".
The big bands differed from the New Orleans ensembles in both size and musical composition. The ensembles had four or five players, whereas the new big band jazz groups featured 15 or more musicians. Also, the New Orleans style pracitsed group improvisation; the big jazz bands featured tight written arrangements, but allowed space for star players to solo and improvise.
A typical jazz big band had three sections: brass ( trumpets & trombones), reeds (saxophones & clarinets), and rhythm (drums, bass, guitars & piano).
By the late 1920s, New York was the heart of the music industry and some of the best bands flourished there.
In the US Midwest, meanwhile, regional big bands or "territory bands" were very active in many towns along the Mississippi River - San Antonio, St Louis, Oklahoma City and elsewhere.
By the early 1930s, jazz music had reached the American masses via radio and, in 1933, the first jazz swing band was broadcast over the airwaves. Eventually, more big bands achieved popularity and the music was spread country-wide through radio, records, the jukebox and concert tours. And so, big band jazz continued to swing until the early 1940s.
The Kings of Swing, who provided all the popular entertainment of big band jazz, included such greats as Fletcher Henderson, Bennie Moten, Duke Ellington, Count Basie & Benny Goodman, and others like Ben Pollack, Paul Whiteman, Benny Carter, Lionel Hampton, William McKinney, Tommy Dorsey and Gene Krupa.
The upheavals of World War II rocked the jazz boat and big band jazz, as it similarly affected other spheres of life.
In the mid-1940s, after the war, smaller groups featuring star soloists found favour. Then there emerged a new jazz idiom, bebop. This, together with the rock and roll fever of the 1950s, sounded the death knell of the big band swing era.
The vast popularity of big band jazz, lasting till the early 1940s, spurred many jazz musicians to excel in building up numerous big bands, in composing great jazz pieces and in innovating other aspects of jazz music. The following is a summary of some of the great jazz big bands and their illustrious leaders.
Henderson played a very significant role in the transition from the New Orleans style to big band jazz. He was also the first to perform and record orchestral jazz in New York in the early 1920s.
By the late 1920s, he led a 14-piece band that featured tight musical arrangements. His players could read music. And he made room for his star musicians to improvise solo. His music arranger, Don Redman, was key to Henderson's success.
Henderson talent-spotted Louis Armstrong (trumpet) from New Orleans in 1924. It was Armstrong who invented "swing" - that propulsive rhythm of true jazz.
Several other soloists in Henderson's band included Benny Carter (saxophone/trumpet), Charlie Green (trombone), Chu Berry (saxophone), Buster Bailey (clarinet) and Joe Smith (trumpet).
His recordings include "The Fletcher Henderson Story".
In his five-decade career as a jazz musician, Duke Ellington made a huge impact on 20th century jazz. His era spanned the 1920s New Orleans jazz to the 1960s free jazz. Through his efforts, jazz music acquired international respect and attained the status as America's classical music.
In big band jazz, Ellington's band was hailed as the "king of big bands". He turned his big band music into a most sophisticated art.
From a six-piece unit in New York in 1922, his band expanded to 12 members by 1926. This later become the resident band at Harlem's Cotton Club. A master composer, Ellington wrote several categories of jazz music, which had a loose, steady swing. His partner in writing was Billy Strayhorn.
Ellington introduced many innovations and inventions in jazz music and big band jazz. For instance, his players were also his partners in music composing. He gave special space for his star soloists to improvise. And he was among the first to equate the singer's voice to a musical instrument. Finally, he placed the bass on par with other instruments.
Ellington's star soloists in big band jazz included: Bubber Miley (trumpet), Cootie Williams (trumpet), Rex Stewart (cornet), Juan Tizol (trombone), Johnny Hodges (saxphone), Barney Bigard (clarinet), Jimmy Blanton (bass) and Adelaide Hall (vocalist).
His recordings include:
..... Okeh Ellington
In the mid-1920s, Moten led a 10-piece "territory band" in Camden, New Jersey. He set high standards for big band jazz.
His music had a buoyant, explosive rhythm that was a model for other big bands. He imposed a fine balance of solos among the different instrument players.
Count Basie, that future jazz legend, played the piano in this band. In 1935, he was to model his own band on Moten's.
His recordings include:
..... "Bennie Moten" (1923-1932)
In 1935, on a momentous day in August, the swing era was officially launched. Benny Goodman's band achieved sudden popularity at the Palomar Hotel, Los Angeles. That was a big breakthrough for big band jazz since its emergence in the late 1920s. And Goodman was crowned the "King of Swing".
Goodman's band played precise music with a vigorous swing. He re intepreted the music scores of Fletcher Henderson and gave them a new lease of life. He aso hired the services of Henderson (whose group disbanded in 1934).
He was one of the first bandleaders to showcase star soloists. And he was the first to lead a high-profile integrated orchestra, bringing in well-known black jazz musicians.
Goodman scored another first in 1938. His became the first jazz orchestra to perform at the prestigious Carnegie Hall, and thus confirmed jazz as a respected music.
His success and popularity spawned hundreds of other groups playing big band jazz. Such a roaring hunger developed for swing music that, by the late 1930s, the entire country was swing-crazy.
Many famous musicians were in Goodman's band, including the following: Lionel Hampton (vibraphone), Gene Krupa (drums), Fletcher Henderson (former bandleader), Bunny Berigan (trumpet), Harry James (trumpet) and Teddy Wilson (piano).
Recordings of significance include:
..... Live At Carnegie Hall 1938
Basie's band was considered the greatest of great swing bands that played big band jazz. It was described as the most magnificent "swing machine". In the early 1930s, after a stint in Bennie Moten's band, Basie formed his own small band in Kansas City, Missouri. By 1937 he had expanded to a full-sized swing band. He laid strong emphasis on solos by his star players. Count Basie's band was so popular that it kept performing and touring until his death in 1984. He also continued composing jazz masterpieces long after the big band jazz era was over. His strong cast of soloists included Lester Young (saxophone), Jo Jones (drums), Jimmy Rushing (blues singer), Thad Jones (trumpet), Dicky Wells (trombone), Walter Page (bass), Freddie Green (guitar) and others. His recordings include: ..... The Essential Count Basie
* best-known leader of very popular band in 1920s & 1930s
* explored fresh avenues for musical expression
* incorporated semi-classical music into jazz
* famous band members: Bix Beiderbecke ( ex-bandleader), Joe Venuti (violin), Eddie Lang (guitar), Bill Challis (arranger) & others.
* multi-talented: played saxophone & trumpet; was composer & arranger
* long career spanning various eras of jazz history
* arranged music for Henderson and McKinney in 1930s
* to London in mid-1930s; influenced European jazz
* in New York, later, led popular big band; still active in 1990s
* recordings:. . . . Benny Carter (1929-1940) & Advanced Swing
* his band, Cotton Pickers formed in 1923, regarded as rival by Henderson and Ellington
* based in Detroit with 10-11 members
* his composer/arranger: John Nesbitt
* most famous vibraphone player in late 1930s
* one of earliest racially-mixed bands to tour the US in mid-1930s
* recordings:. . . Slide, Hamp Slide & Lionel Hampton (1939-1940)
* first famous jazz drummer
* in Goodman's band in 1930s; formed own band later
* renowned band members: Roy Eldridge (trumpet/singer), Anits O'Day (swing singer)
* recordings:..... Drum Boogie & Drummer Man
* famous on the trombone
* led smooth and popular big band in 1930s
* brother of Jimmy Dorsey (clarinet)
* well-known members: Frank Sinatra (teen singer), Bunny Berigan (trumpet), and Bud Freeman (saxophone).
* gifted clarinet player
* his big band one of the best in 1930s
* took risks: played the new music, bebop, with his big band; one of few bandleaders to do so
recordings:. . . . Greatest Hits
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