The JAZZ Story

Oliver's as the crowning glory of the New Orleans tradition and one of

the

great achievements in Jazz.

LOUIS IN NEW YORK AND BIG BANDS ARE BORN

That tradition, however, was too restricting for a creative genius

like Louis

Armstrong. He left Oliver in late 1924, accepting an offer from New

York's most prestigious black bandleader, Fletcher Henderson

(1897-1952). Henderson's band played at Roseland Ballroom on

Broadway and was the first significant big band in Jazz history.

Evolved from the standard dance band of the era, the first big Jazz

bands

consisted of three trumpets, one trombone, three saxophones (doubling

all

kinds of reed instruments), and rhythm section of piano, banjo, bass

(string

or brass) and drums. These bands played from written scores

(arrangements or "charts"), but allowed freedom of invention for the

featured soloists and often took liberties in departing from the

written

notes.

Though it was the best of the day, Henderson's band lacked rhythmic

smoothness and flexibility when Louis joined up. The flow and grace of

his

short solos on records with the band make them stand out like diamonds

in

a tin setting.

The elements of Louis' style, already then in perfect balance,

included a

sound that was the most musical and appealing yet heard from a

trumpet; a

gift for melodic invention that was as logical as it was new and

startling,

and a rhythmic poise (jazzmen called it "time") that made other

players

sound stiff and clumsy in comparison.

His impact on musicians was tremendous. Nevertheless, Henderson didn't

feature 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

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