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| The JAZZ Storyfeature him regularly, perhaps because he felt that the white dancers for whom his band performed were not ready for Louis' innovations. During his year with the band, however, Louis caused a transformation in its style and, eventually, in the whole big band field. Henderson's chief arranger, Don Redman, (1900-1964) grasped what Louis was doing and got some of it on paper. After working with Louis, tenor saxophonist Coleman Hawkins (1904-1969) developed a style for his instrument that became the guidepost for the next decade. While in New York, Louis also made records with Sidney Bechet, and with Bessie Smith (1894-1937), the greatest of all blues singers. In 1925, he returned to Chicago and began to make records under his own name with a small group, the Hot Five. Included were his wife Lil Hardin Armstrong (1899-1971) on piano, Kid Ory, Johnny Dodds, and guitarist Johnny St. Cyr. The records, first to feature Louis extensively, became a sensation among musicians, first all over the United States and later all over the world. The dissemination of jazz, and in a very real sense its whole development, would have been impossible without the phonograph. KING LOUIS The Hot Five was strictly a recording band. For everyday work, Louis played in a variety of situations, including theater pit bands. He continued to grow and develop, and in 1927 switched from cornet to the more brilliant trumpet. He had occasionally featured his unique gravel voiced singing, but only as a novelty. Its popular potential became apparent in 1929, when, back in New York, he starred in a musical show in which he introduced the famous Ain't Misbehavin' singing as well as playing the great tune written by pianist Thomas (Fats) Waller (1904-1943), himself one of the greatest instrumentalists-singers-showmen in Jazz. It was during his last year in Chicago while working with another pianist, Earl (Fatha) Hines (1903-1983), that Louis reached his first artistic peak. Hines was the first real peer to work with Louis. Inspired by him, he was in turn able to inspire. Some of the true masterpieces of Jazz, among them West End Blues and the duet Weatherbird, resulted from the Armstrong-Hines union. THE JAZZ AGE Louis Armstrong dominated the musical landscape of the 20's and, in fact, shaped the Jazz language of the decade to come as well. But the Jazz of the Jazz Age was more often than not just peppy dance music made by young men playing their banjos and saxophones who had little understanding of (or interest in) what the blues and/or Louis Armstrong were about. Still, a surprising amount of music produced by this dance-happy period contained genuine Jazz elements. PAUL WHITEMAN - King of Jazz? The most popular bandleader of the decade was Paul Whiteman (1890-1967), who ironically became known as the King of Jazz, although his first successful bands played no Jazz at all and his later ones precious little. These later bands, however, did play superb dance music, expertly scored and performed by the best white musicians the extravagant Whiteman paychecks could attract. From 1926 on, Whiteman gave occasional solo spots to such Jazz-influenced players as cornetist Red Nichols, violinist Joe Venuti, guitarist Eddie Lang (1904-1933), and the Dorsey Brothers' trombonist-trumpeter Tommy (1905-1956) and clarinetist-saxophonist Jimmy (1904-1957), all of whom later became bandleaders in their own right. In 1927, Whiteman took over the key personnel of Jean Goldkette's Jazz-oriented band, which included a young cornetist and sometime pianist and composer of rare talent, Bix Beiderbecke (1903-1931). Bix's very lyrical, personal music and early death combined to make him the first (and most durable) jazz legend. His romanticized life story became the inspiration for a novel and a film, neither of them close to the truth. Bix's closest personal and musical friend during the most creative period of his life was saxophonist Frank Trumbauer (1901-1956). Fondly known as Bix and Tram, the team enhanced many an otherwise dull Whiteman record with their brilliant interplay or their individual efforts. THE BEIDERBECKE LEGACY Bix's bittersweet lyricism influenced many aspiring jazzmen, among them the so-called Austin High Gang, made up of gifted Chicago youngsters only a few of whom ever actually attended Austin High School. Among them were such later sparkplugs of the Swing Era as drummers Gene Krupa (1909-1973) and Dave Tough (1908-1948); clarinetist Frank Teschemacher (1905-1932); saxophonist Bud Freeman (1906-1991); pianists Joe Sullivan (1906-1971) and Jess Stacy (b. 1904); and guitarist-entrepreneur Eddie Condon (1905-1973). Their contemporaries and occasional comrades-in-arms included a clarinet prodigy named Benny Goodman (1905-1986); and somewhat older reedman and character, Mezz Mezzrow (1899-1972), whose 1946 autobiography, Really the Blues, remains, despite inaccuracies, one of the best Jazz books. Trumbauer, though not a legend like Bix, influenced perhaps as many musicians. Among them were two of the greatest saxophonist in Jazz history, Benny Carter (b.1907) and Lester (Prez) Young (1909-1959). BLACK & WHITE A great influence on young Goodman was the New Orleans clarinetist Jimmie Noone (1995-1944), an exceptional technician with a beautiful tone. Chicago was an inspiring environment for a young musician. There was plenty of music and there were plenty of masters to learn from. Cornetist Muggsy Spanier (1906-1967) took his early cues from King Oliver. In New York, there was less contact between black and white players, though white jazzmen often made the trek to Harlem or worked opposite Fletcher Henderson at the Roseland. When a young Texas trombonist, Jack Teagarden (1905-1964), came to town in 1928, he startled everyone with his blues-based playing (and singing), very close in concept to that of Henderson's trombone star, Jimmy Harrison (1900-1931). These two set the pace for all comers. Teagarden, alongside Benny Goodman, worked in Ben Pollack's band. Pollack, who'd played drums with the New Orleans Rhythm Kings, was quite a talent spotter and always had good bands. When Henderson arranger Don Redman took over McKinney's Cotton Pickers in 1929 and made it one of the bands of the `20s, his replacement was Benny Carter. Carter could (and still can) write arrangements and play trumpet and clarinet as well as alto sax. For many years, he was primarily active as a composer for films and TV; but in the late 1970's, Carter resumed his playing career with renewed vigor. (Editor's Note-Carter just turned eighty and is still playing and recording.) THE UNIQUE DUKE Another artist whose career spanned more than fifty years is Duke Ellington (1899-1974). By 1972, he was one of New York's most successful bandleaders, resident at Harlem's Cotton Club--a nightspot catering to whites only but featuring the best in black talent. Ellington's unique gifts as composer-arranger-pianist were coupled with equally outstanding leadership abilities. From 1927 to 1941, with very few exceptions and occasional additions, his personnel remained unchanged-- a record no other bandleader (except Guy Lombardo, of all people) ever matched. Great musicians passed through the Ellington ranks between 1924 and 1974. Among the standouts: great baritone saxist Harry Carney (1907-1974), who joined in 1927; Johnny Hodges (1906-1970), whose alto sax sound was one of the glories of jazz; Joe (Tricky Sam) Nanton (1904-1946), master of the "talking" trombone; Barney Bigard (1906-1980); whose pure-toned clarinet brought a touch of New Orleans to the band; Ben Webster (1909-1973), one of Coleman Hawkins' greatest disciples; drummer Sonny Greer (1903-1982), and Rex Stewart (1907-1967) and Cootie Williams (1910-1985), an incomparable trumpet team. Among the later stars were trumpeter Clark Terry (b. 1920) and tenor saxist Paul Gonsalves (1920-1974). Ellington's music constitutes a world within the world of Jazz. One of the century's outstanding composers, he wrote over 1,000 short pieces, plus many suites, music for films, the theater and television, religious works and more. He must be ranked one of the century's foremost musicians, regardless of labels. His uninterrupted activity as a bandleader since 1924 has earned him a high place in each successive decade, and his achievement is a history of Jazz in itself. Three outstanding contributors to Ellingtonia must be mentioned. They are trumpeter-composer Bubber Miley (1903-1932), the co-creator of the first significant style for the band and, like his exact contemporary Bix Beiderbecke, a victim of too much, too soon; bassist Jimmy Blanton (1918-1942), who in his two years with Ellington shaped a whole new role for his instrument in Jazz, both as a solo and ensemble voice; and Billy Strayhorn (1915-1967), composer-arranger and Ellington alter ego who contributed much to the band from 1939 until his death. STRIDE & BOOGIE WOOGIE Aside from the band, for which he wrote with such splendid skill, Ellington's instrument was the piano. When he came to New York as a young man, his idols were James P. Johnson (1894-1955), a brilliant instrumentalist and gifted composer, and Johnson's closest rival, Willie (The Lion) Smith (1898-1973). Both were masters of the "stride" school of Jazz piano, marked by an exceptionally strong, pumping line in the left hand. James P.'s prize student was Fats Waller. New York pianists often met in friendly but fierce contests--the beginnings of what would later be known as jam sessions. In Chicago, a very different piano style came into the picture in the late `20s, dubbed boogie-woogie after the most famous composition by its first significant exponent, Pinetop Smith (1904-1929). This rolling, eight-to-the-bar bass style was popular at house parties in the Windy City and became a national craze in 1939, after three of its best practitioners, Albert Ammons, Pete Johnson and Meade Lux Lewis, had been presented in concert at Carnegie Hall. KANSAS CITY SOUNDS Johnson was from Kansas City, where boogie-woogie was also popular. The midwestern center was a haven for Jazz musicians through-out the rule of Boss Pendergast, when the city was wide open and music could be heard around the clock. The earliest and one of the best of the K.C. bands was led by Bennie Moten (1894-1935). By 1930 it had in its ranks pianist Count Basie (1905-1984) who'd learned from Fats Waller; trumpeter-singer Oran (Hot Lips) Page (1908-1954), one of Louis Armstrong's greatest disciples; and an outstanding singer, Jimmy Rushing (1903-1972). The city was to put its imprint on Jazz during the `30s and early `40s. DEPRESSION DAYS The great Depression had its impact on Jazz as it did on virtually all other facets of American life. The record business reached its lowest ebb in 1931. By that year, many musicians who had been able to make a living playing Jazz had been forced to either take commercial music jobs or leave the field entirely. But the music survived. Again, Louis Armstrong set a pattern. At the helm of a big band with his increasingly popular singing as a feature, he recast the pop hits of the day in his unique Jazz mold, as such artists as Fats Waller and Billie Holiday (1915-1959), perhaps the most gifted of female Jazz singers would do a few years later. Thus, while sentimental music and romantic "crooners" were the rage (among them Bing Crosby who had worked with Paul Whiteman and learned more than a little from Jazz), a new kind of "hot" dance music began to take hold. It wasn't really new, but rather a streamlining of the Henderson style, introduced by the Casa Loma Orchestra which featured the arrangements of Georgia-born guitarist Gene Gifford (1908-1970). Almost forgotten today, this band paved the way for the Swing Era. THE COMING OF SWING As we've seen, big bands were a feature of the Jazz landscape from the first. Though the Swing Era didn't come into full flower until 1935, most up-and-coming young jazzmen from 1930 found themselves working in big bands. Among these were two pacesetters of the decade, trumpeter Roy (Little Jazz) Eldridge (1911-1989) and tenorist Leon (Chu) Berry (1908-1941). Eldridge, the most influential trumpeter after Louis, has a fiery mercurial style and great range and swing. Among the bands he sparked were Fletcher Henderson's and Teddy Hill's. The latter group also included Berry, the most gifted follower of Coleman Hawkins, and the brilliant trombonist Dicky Wells (1909-1985). Another trend setting band was that of tiny, hunchbacked drummer Chick Webb (1909-1939), who by dint of almost superhuman energy overcame his physical handicap and made himself into perhaps the greatest of all Jazz drummers. His band really got under way when he heard and hired a young girl singer in 1935. Her name was Ella Fitzgerald (b. 1917). THE KING OF SWING But it was Benny Goodman who became the standard-bearer of swing. In 1934, he gave up a lucrative career as a studio musician to form a big band with a commitment to good music. His Jazz-oriented style met with little enthusiasm at first. He was almost ready to give it up near the end of a disastrous cross-country tour in the summer of `35 when suddenly his fortunes shifted. His band was received with tremendous acclaim at the Palomar Ballroom in Los Angeles. It seems that the band's broadcasts had been especially well timed for California listeners. Whatever the reason, the band, which included such Jazz stars as the marvelous trumpeter Bunny Berigan (1908-1942) and drummer Gene Krupa, not to mention Benny himself, now scored success after success. Some of the band's best material was contributed by arrangers Fletcher Henderson and his gifted younger brother Horace. As the bands grew in popularity, a new breed of fan began to appear. This fan wanted to listen as much as he wanted to dance. (In fact, some disdained dancing altogether.) He knew each man in each band and read the new swing magazines that were springing up--Metronome, Down Beat, Orchestra World. He collected records and listened to the growing number of band broadcasts on radio. Band leaders were becoming national figures on a scale with Hollywood stars. OTHER GREAT BIG BANDS Benny's arch rival in the popularity sweepstakes was fellow clarinetist Artie Shaw (b.1910), who was an on-again-off-again leader. Other very successful bands included those of Jimmy Dorsey and Tommy Dorsey, whose co-led Dorsey Brothers Band split up after one of their celebrated fights. First among black bandleaders were Duke Ellington and Jimmie Lunceford (1902-1947). The latter led a highly disciplined and showmanship- oriented band which nevertheless spotlighted brilliant jazz soloists, among them saxophonists Willie Smith and Joe Thomas and trombonist Trummy Young (1912-1984). The man who set the band's style, trumpeter-arranger Sy Oliver (1910-1988), later went with Tommy Dorsey. A newcomer on the national scene was Count Basie's crew from Kansas City, with key soloists Lester Young and Herschel Evans (1909-1939) on tenors, Buck Clayton (1912-1992) and Harry Edison (b.1915) on trumpets, and Jimmy Rushing and Billie Holiday (later Helen Humes) on vocals. But important as these were (Lester in particular created a whole new style for his instrument), it was the rhythm section of Basie that gave the band its unique, smooth and rock-steady drive--the incarnation of swing, Freddie Green (1911-1987) on guitar, Walter Page (1900-1957) on bass, and Jo Jones (1911-1985) on drums and the Count on piano made the rhythm section what it was. Basie, of course, continued to lead excellent bands, but the greatest years were 1936-42. EXIT THE BIG BANDS The war years took a heavy toll of big bands. Restrictions made travel more difficult and the best talent was being siphoned off by the draft. But more importantly, public tastes were changing. Ironically, the bands were in the end devoured by a monster they had given birth to: the singers. Typified by Tommy Dorsey's Frank Sinatra, the vocalist, made popular by a band affiliation, went out on his own; and the public seemed to want romantic ballads more than swinging dance music. The big bands that survived the war soon found another form of competition cutting into their following--television. The tube kept people home more and more, and inevitably many ballrooms shut their doors for good in the years between 1947 and 1955. By then it had also become too expensive a proposition to keep 16 men traveling on the road in the big bands' itinerant tradition. The leaders who didn't give up (Ellington, Basie, Woody Herman, Harry James) had something special in the way of talent and dedication that gave them durability in spite of changing tastes and lifestyles. The only new bands to come along in the post-war decades and make it were those of pianist-composer Stan Kenton (1912-1979), who started his band in 1940 but didn't hit until `45; drummer Buddy Rich (1917-1987), a veteran of many famous swing era bands and one of jazzdom's most phenomenal musicians, and co-leaders Thad Jones (1923-1990), and Mel Lewis (1929-1990), a drummer once with Kenton. Another Kenton alumnus, high-note trumpeter Maynard Ferguson (b. 1928), has led successful big bands on and off. THE BEBOP REVOLUTION In any case, a new style, not necessarily inimical to the big bands yet very different in spirit form earlier Jazz modes, had sprung up during the war. Bebop, as it came to be called, was initially a musician's music, born in the experimentation of informal jam sessions. Characterized by harmonic sophistication, rhythmic complexity, and few concessions to public taste, bop was spearheaded by Charlie Parker |
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