Dixieland

 

Early jazz is often referred to as "hot jazz", and sometimes "Dixieland music." Also called "New Orleans style". It included the fast and spirited nature of ragtime, and the use of trumpets, trombones, drums, saxophones, clarinets, banjos, and either a bass or a tube (Teichroew). It was developed in the early 20th century. Dixieland had four main influences, ragtime, military brass bands, the blues and gospel music. The instruments used in the bands included the trumpet (or cornet), clarinet, trombone, piano, string bass (or tuba), drums and the banjo (or guitar). This style of jazz was typically played at parties and commonly for funerals (The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz).  It was around the 1960's many black musicians stepped away from the term 'Dixieland' because of the racial overtones. Yet younger New Orleans musicians picked up the style, playing second line parades and jazz funerals (Branley). It was popular in the 1920's but the 30's saw a new musical movement appear on the scene: swing. Many musicians merged into larger groups, Big Bands.

 

Works Cited

Branley, Edward. Dixieland Jazz: Innovation in New Orleans Music HIstory. 15 July 2013. 30 December 2015 <gonola.com/2013/07/15/dixieland-jazz-innovation-in-new-orleans-music-history.html>.

Teichroew, Jacob. Born in New Orleans. 2015. 9 December 2015 <jazz.about.com/od/historyjazztimeline/a/EarlyJazz.htm>.

the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz. Early Jazz (Dixieland). 2015. 9 December 2015 <www.jazzinamerica.org/jazzresources/stylesheets/7>.

Big Band

 

"Big Band refers to a jazz group of ten or more musicians, usually featuring at least three trumpets, two or more trombones, four or more saxophones, and a "rhythm section" of accompanists playing some combination of piano, guitar, bass, and drums (All Media Network, LLC)." Big Band jazz started in NOLA in 1898 at the end of the Spanish-American war. African Americans used the old military band instruments to learn how to play and eventually formed bands. The music was not bound by European traditions of form and was loosely structured. Many of the bands arranged their music by rehearsing it by ear many times until the musicians all agreed on the sound. Fletcher Henderson whom formed his band in the early 1920's was the first to arrange music in the style "big band" (Thomas). It is said that Big Band sounds still hold a special place in the hearts of many Americans because of the positive and optimistic music. It was an inspiration to millions during the Great Depression, World War II and the post-war recession (Weinstock).

 

Works Cited

All Media Network, LLC. Big Band/Swing. n.d. 30 December 2015 <www.allmusic.com/subgenre/big-band-ma0000002461>.

Thomas, Bob. The Origins of Big Band Music: A History of Big Band Jazz. 1994. 9 December 2015 <www.redhotjazz.com/bigband.html>.

Weinstock, Len. The Big Band Era. 1991. 30 December 2015 <www.redhotjazz.com/bigbandessay.html>.

Jazz Christmas Concert

The Christmas concert 

We focused much of our music blog around jazz music so we found it as a great asset that we were able to attend a jazz Christmas concert in the oldest functioning cathedral in the United States.  Below is my personal blog post about the experience:

The St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans was established in 1720 and is still in use today. Walking into this Catholic cathedral could leave just about everyone speechless. The ceiling center has a large painting of Jesus surrounded by apostles. The boarder was a detailed design consisting of red and gold. Throughout the cathedral there were many French (I am assuming) sayings such as "paissez mes agneaux, paiisez mes been is." I obviously had no idea what the saying meant so I used my little friend Google and learned that it meant "feed my lambs, feed my sheep."  The artwork does not stop there though. On the other edges of the ceiling are multiple paintings of Jesus.  Also attached to the ceilings were multiple gold chandlers that were slightly swaying due to the doors being open. The real reason I was there to listen to a Jazz-swing Christmas concert. Oddly enough the woman who was performing is the daughter of a musician we learned about during our music tour with Milton, Louie Prima. Lena Prima sang Christmas carols and some of her fathers music during the one hour show. Her voice was beautiful and really traveled in the cathedral. Her band was amazing and she split much of her performance with them which I thought was amazing but in all reality it seems to be the attitude of New Orleans and jazz music. Those who attended the concert seemed delighted and happy to be there. I had two older couples behind me that were singing along and dancing in their seats. They were extremely nice individuals  when I spoke with them afterwards the concert. I walked outside to wait for the rest of my classmates when we were finished and just stared of the outside of the cathedral. I had such a deeper respect and awe of St. Louis Cathedral after experiencing it from the inside. 

The ceiling of the cathedral

The back of the cathedral at night

Rock N' Roll

In the late 1940’s and early 1950’s a new form of music was founded.  Rock n’ roll was given its name by a disc jockey in Ohio named Alan Freed in 1951 (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame & Museum).  Rock n’ roll was a mix of blues, country, gospel and jazz.  The new type of music had many parents concerned that their children were being corrupted by the noise.  The birthplace of rock n’ roll is still be debated, some say Memphis, others say New Orleans or Detroit.  There are many of people who believe that rock n’ roll began in Hattiesburg, Mississippi with the Graves Brothers and their songs “I’ll Be Rested” and “Woke Up this Morning (With My Mind on Jesus)” in the late 1930’s (Cook).  Though New Orleans wasn’t considered the birthplace of rock n’ roll, it played a large part in its evolution.  Cosimo Matassa was a sound engineer that realized that artists with a new sound were migrating down to New Orleans.  He also identified the importance of the radio and the positive effect it could have on music and opened J&M Recording Studio on Rampart Street in the mid 1940’s.  Fats Domino recorded “The Fat Man” at this studio and sold over a million copies which is credited for putting New Orleans on the map for rock n’ roll (Branley).  New Orleans attracted many notable rock n’ roll musicians such as Elvis Presley and The Beatles. 

Elvis Presley before his performance in New Orleans

Branley, Edward. "NOLA History: Rock and Roll in New Orleans." GO NOLA. New Orleans Tourism Marketing, 21 Apr. 2014. Web. 29 Dec. 2015. <http://gonola.com/2014/04/21/nola-history-rock-and-roll-in-new-orleans.html>. 

Cook, Alex V. "Hattiesburg: Birthplace of Rock N' Roll." Country Roads. N.p., July 2013. Web. 28 Dec. 2015. <http://www.countryroadsmagazine.com/culture/visual-performing-arts/hattiesburg-birthplace-of-rock-n-roll>. 

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame & Museum. "The Big Bang! The Birth of Rock and Roll." The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. N.p., 2015. Web. 28 Dec. 2015. 

Musical Styles

Funk

 Dixieland Jazz

 

Big Band Jazz

Zydeco

Blues

Rock N Roll

Congo Square

It's probably safe to say that New Orleans is most well known for it's influence in the emergence of jazz music. But, since the beginning, New Orleans has had a huge influence on music as a whole. Let's go back a little further into the history of jazz... like before it existed. 

In 1819, Benjamin Latrobe arrived in New Orleans. He had been appointed the task of constructing the city's municipal water system. When acclimating himself with the city, Latrobe heard what he described as the, "most extraordinary noise." In following the noise, Latrobe came upon Congo Square. At the time, this was a grassy plain where African American slaves were permitted to dance and sing on Sundays. Latrobe described the experience like this,

"The music consisted of two drums and a stringed instrument... [one of which was] a cylindrical drum, about one foot in diameter... They made an incredible noise. The most curious instrument, however, was a stringed instrument, which no doubt was imported from Africa. On the top of the finger board was the rude figure of a man in a sitting posture, and two pegs behind him to which the strings were fastened. The body was a calabash. It was played upon by a very little old man, apparently 80 or 90 years old... A Man sang an uncouth song to the dancing which I suppose was in some African language for it was not French, and the Women screamed a detestable burthen on one single note. The allowed amusements of Sundays, have, it seems, perpetuated here those of Africa among its inhabitants (Architect of the Capital)."

As time went on and other cultures began to move into NOLA, so did their own musical styles and instruments. This is how jazz came to be. By the 1890's, new musical styles had been introduced - The first was the music of the Baptist church. Along with that, the blues were introduced. The blues could be about anything — a beautiful woman, a mean boss, the devil himself — but they were always intensely personal, meant to make the listener feel better, not worse — and each performer was expected to tell a story. The blues were considered to go hand-in-hand with the music of the church. Jazz was described as both of these together. The sacred and the secular. Like the city that gave it birth, like the country that would soon embrace it, this new music would always be more than the sum of its parts (Public Broadcasting Service).

This short video goes into a little bit more detail about Congo Square:

("Congo Square")

This is an audio of some early jazz music. Take a listen.

("King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band:- "Dipper Mouth Blues" (1923)")

Works Cited:

Architecht of the Capital. "Benjamin Henry Latrobe." Architect of the Capitol. N.p., 2015. Web. 14 Dec. 2015. <http://www.aoc.gov/architect-of-the-capitol/benjamin-henry-latrobe>.

"Congo Square." YouTube. N.p., 17 Jan. 2010. Web. 14 Dec. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fv3OU1QBX8E>.

"King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band:- "Dipper Mouth Blues" (1923)." YouTube. N.p., 30 Apr. 2010. Web. 14 Dec. 2015.

Public Broadcasting Service. "JAZZ A Film By Ken Burns: Places Spaces & Changing Faces - New Orleans." PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. N.p., 2015. Web. 14 Dec. 2015. <http://www.pbs.org/jazz/places/places_new_orleans.htm>.

 It was interesting to visit a place that we had researched for our Music Blog.  Louis Armstrong Park/Congo Square was the first time I really felt the city speak to me.  The park released a feeling of free and calm that is difficult to put into words.  While we were there for our first visit, there was the sounds of a man beating a drum and when you turned around to see where the beat was coming from a man was dancing around for a small crowd.  During our tours with Milton, we received a better understanding of the history of jazz music.  While in the park we were able to see that statues of Louie Armstrong and Charles "Buddy" Bolden, both are individuals we discussed in our blog.  He also taught us about jazz funerals and how natives believe that it tradition is important as long as it done properly and respectfully.  Milton really explained the information that we put in our blog in a very interesting way which made us more eager to learn.

Charles "Buddy" Bolden: his statue has three heads due to his mental illness: Schizophrenia 

Statue of Louie Armstrong 

We learned that the reason for the handkerchief over his hand was so other musicians can't see the notes he is playing.  

New Orleans Jazz Funeral

 

“This tradition greatly grew throughout the 20^th century.  The music and dancing of the jazz funeral were intended to both help the deceased find their way to heaven and to celebrate the final release from the bounds of earthly life, which had, in the past, included the release from slavery (Funeralwise LLC).”

Around the middle of the 20^th century as the movement increasingly caught on, clubs and insurance policies erupted to help the underprivileged afford these funerals. This in return gave rise to the most celebrated funerary jazz bands, the Dirty Dozen brass Band (Funeralwise LLC).

These funerals could last up to a week and sometimes included a parade. It would typically start with a slow march from the home to the church or funeral home. Somber music would be played during this time up until the coffin was placed into the ground or the church was out of sight. Then the music would become wilder with tambourines and drums. This was the time for mourners to have release and a celebration of a life well lived (Funeralwise LLC).

One of the largest and highest honor funerals was held on August 29,2006 in memory of the 1700 victims of Hurricane Katrina (Funeralwise LLC).

 

 

Works Cited

Funeralwise LLC. New Orleans Jazz. 2015. 9 December 2015 <https://www.funeralwise.com/customs/neworleans/>.

Music Legends

 

 Louis Armstrong-(1901-1971)

            Born in New Orleans in a poor section nicknamed ‘the battlefield”-difficult childhood, father abandoned family soon after Louis’s birth. Mother turned to prostitution, frequently left him with his grandmother. Obligated to leave school in 5^th grade to begin working. After being arrested for firing a gun in the air on New Year’s Eve in 1912 he was sent to the Colored Waif’s Home for Boys. It was there he received musical instruction on the cornet and fell in love with music. During 1918 he replaced Oliver in Kid Ory’s band, at the time the most popular band in New Orleans. In 1922, he joined King Oliver in Chicago to play in his Creole Jazz Band. On April 5, 1923, he earned his first recorded solo on “Chimes Blues.” In 1924 he cut ties with Oliver and joined Fletcher Henderson’s Orchestra. Armstrong left Henderson in 1925.

• Became popular in 20s    
• A trumpeter, bandleader, singer, soloist, film star and comedian. 
• Considered one of the most influential artists in jazz history.       
• Songs-“What a Wonderful World”, ‘Stardust” and “La Via En Rose”

(A&E Television Networks, LLC)

Jelly Roll Morton (Ferdinand Joseph Lamothe)- (1890-1941)

            Born in New Orleans, an early innovator in the jazz genre, he rose to fame as the leader of Jelly Roll Morton’s Red Hot Peppers in the 1920s. He learned to play piano at the age of 10 and within a few years was playing in the red-light district where he earned his nickname “Jelly Roll”. He fell out of the limelight and struggled during the Great Depression. He managed a jazz club in Washington, D.C. in the late 30’s and died from poor health in 1941.

• Popular in 20s
• A pianist, songwriter  
• He was mix of African, French and Spanish

 (A&E Television Networks, LLC)




 

Charles “Buddy” Bolden- (1877-1931)

            Considered to be the first bandleader to play the improvised music known as jazz. He was the first “King” of cornet in New Orleans. His band started around 1895, in New Orleans parades and dances, and eventually rose to become one of the most popular bands in the city. Unfortunately, in 1907 his health deteriorated and he was committed to a mental institution (Louisiana State Asylum in Jackson) where he spent the remainder of his life.

• Played the cornet
• Known for the playing a whole lot of blues     
• Sadly there was never a recording made of his music    
• Some claim Bolden was the recipient of a voodoo curse

 (National Park Service)

 

Works Cited

A&E Television Networks, LLC. Jelly Roll Morton Biography. n.d. 9 December 2015 <www.biography.com/people/jelly-roll-morton-9415945>.

—. Louis Armstrong Biography. N.d. 9 December 2015 <http://www.biography.com/people/louis-armstrong-9188912>.

—. Charles "Buddy" Bolden. 2015. 9 December 2015 <www.nps.gov/jazz/learn/historyculture/bolden.htm>.