A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with playing jazz music and which became popular during the Swing Era from the early 1930s until the late 1940s. Jazz is an American Musical art form which originated in the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States Year 1920 ( MCMXX) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display 1920 of the Gregorian calendar The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The saxophone (commonly referred to simply as sax) is a conical- bored transposing Musical instrument considered a member of the Woodwind A brass instrument is a Musical instrument whose tone is produced by vibration of the lips as the player blows into a tubular Resonator. A rhythm section is the Musicians in a Popular music band or ensemble who establish the Rhythmic pulse of a Song or musical The guitar is a Musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles The piano is a Musical instrument played by means of a keyboard that produces sound by striking steel strings with Felt covered hammers The double bass is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed String instrument used in the modern symphony orchestra. The vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a Musical instrument in the mallet subfamily of the percussion family A drum kit (also drum set or trap set) is a collection of Drums Cymbals and sometimes other Percussion instruments such as cowbells The 1920s is sometimes referred to as the " Jazz Age " or the " Roaring Twenties " when speaking about the United States and Canada The 1950s Decade refers to the years of 1950 to 1959 inclusive Jump blues is a type of Up-tempo Blues music influenced by Big band sound Swing music, also known as swing jazz, is a form of Jazz music that developed in the early 1930s and had solidified as a distinctive style by 1935 in the United A musical ensemble is a group of two or more Musicians who perform instrumental or vocal Music. Swing music, also known as swing jazz, is a form of Jazz music that developed in the early 1930s and had solidified as a distinctive style by 1935 in the United A big band typically consists of approximately 12 to 25 musicians and contains saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. The saxophone (commonly referred to simply as sax) is a conical- bored transposing Musical instrument considered a member of the Woodwind The trombone is a Musical instrument in the brass family Like all brass instruments it is a lip-reed Aerophone: sound is produced when the player’s A rhythm section is the Musicians in a Popular music band or ensemble who establish the Rhythmic pulse of a Song or musical The terms jazz band, jazz ensemble, stage band, jazz orchestra, and dance band are also used to refer to this type of ensemble. This does not, however, mean that each one of these names is technically correct for naming a 'big band" specifically.

In contrast to smaller jazz combos, in which most of the music is improvised, or created spontaneously, music played by big bands is highly "arranged", or prepared in advance and notated on sheet music. Improvisation (also called extemporization) is the practice of acting singing talking and reacting of making and creating in the moment and in response to the stimulus of In Music, an arrangement refers either to a rewriting of a piece of existing Music with additional new material or to a fleshing-out of a compositional sketch such Sheet music is a hand-written or printed form of Musical notation; like its analogs -- books pamphlets etc The music is traditionally called 'charts'. Improvised solos may be played only when called for by the arranger.

History and style

There are two distinct periods in the history of popular bands. Beginning in the mid-1920s, big bands, then typically consisting of 10–25 pieces, came to dominate popular music. At that time they usually played a sweet form of jazz that involved very little improvisation, which included a string section with violins, which was dropped after the introduction of swing in 1935. The dance form of jazz was characterized by a sweet and romantic melody. Orchestras tended to stick to the melody as it was written and vocals would be sung sweetly (often in a tenor voice) and in tune with the melody.

Typical of the genre were such popular artists as Paul Whiteman, Ted Lewis, Harry Reser, Leo Reisman, Abe Lyman, Nat Shilkret, George Olsen, Ben Bernie, Bob Haring, Ben Selvin, Earl Burtnett, Gus Arnheim, Henry Halstead, Rudy Vallee, Jean Goldkette, Isham Jones, Roger Wolfe Kahn, Sam Lanin, Vincent Lopez, Ben Pollack, Shep Fields and Fred Waring. Paul Whiteman ( March 28, 1890 &ndash December 29, 1967) was an American orchestral Ted Lewis may be Ted Lewis (baseball (1872-1936 Edward Morgan Lewis Ted Lewis (musician (1892-1971 US bandleader musician entertainer Harry F Reser ( 17 January 1896 – 27 September 1965) was an American Banjo player and bandleader Leo Reisman ( 1897 - December 18, 1961) was an influential violinist and bandleader in the 1920s and 1930s Abe Lyman (August 4 1897 - October 23 1957 was a popular bandleader from the 1920s to the 1940s Nathaniel Shilkret (b 25 December, 1889 - d 18 February, 1982) in New York, to an Austrian immigrant family George Olsen ( 18 March 1893 - 18 March 1971) was an American band-leader Ben Bernie ( May 30, 1891, Bayonne New Jersey - October 23, 1943) born Bernard Anzelevitz, was an American Jazz Bob Haring was an American Popular music bandleader of the 1920s and 1930s Ben Selvin ( March 5, 1898 - July 15, 1980) son of Russian immigrant Jewish parents was a musician bandleader Record Gus Arnheim ( September 4, 1897 in Philadelphia Pennsylvania – January 1955 in Los Angeles California) was an early popular band leader Henry Halstead ( November 16, 1897 – March 19, 1984) was a U Rudy Vallée ( July 28, 1901 - July 3, 1986) was an American Singer, Actor, Bandleader, and entertainer John Jean Goldkette ( 18 March, 1893 &ndash March 24, 1962) was a Jazz Pianist and Bandleader born in Patras Isham Jones ( 31 January, 1894 &ndash 19 October, 1956) was a United States bandleader violinist bassist and Songwriter Roger Wolfe Kahn ( October 19, 1907 – July 12, 1962) was an American Jazz and popular Musician, Composer Sam Lanin ( September 4, 1891 - May 5, 1977) was an American Jazz Bandleader. Vincent Lopez ( 30 December, 1895 &ndash 20 September, 1975) was a United States Bandleader and Pianist. Ben Pollack ( June 22, 1903 – June 7, 1971) was a Drummer and Bandleader from the mid 1920s through the swing Shep Fields ( September 12, 1910 &ndash February 23, 1981) was the band leader for the critically acclaimed "Shep Fields and His Rippling Fredrick Malcolm Waring ( June 9, 1900 &ndash July 29, 1984) was a popular Musician, Bandleader and radio-television Many of these artists changed styles or retired after the introduction of swing music. Although unashamedly commercial, these bands often featured front-rank jazz musicians - for example Paul Whiteman employed Bix Beiderbecke and Frankie Trumbauer. Leon Bix Beiderbecke ( March 10, 1903 &ndash August 6, 1931) was an American Jazz Cornetist and composer as well Frankie (Tram Trumbauer ( 30 May 1901 &ndash 11 June 1956) was one of the leading Jazz Saxophonists of the 1920s and 1930s There were also "all-girl" bands such as "Helen Lewis and Her All-Girl Jazz Syncopators". Lewis and her band, Ben Bernie's band "Ben Bernie and All the Lads", and Roger Wolfe Kahn's band were filmed by Lee De Forest in his Phonofilm sound-on-film process in 1925, in three short films which are now in the Library of Congress film collection. Ben Bernie and All the Lads is a short film made by Lee De Forest in the DeForest Phonofilm Sound-on-film process Lee De Forest, ( August 26, 1873 – June 30, 1961) was an American Inventor with over 300 patents to his credit In 1919 Lee De Forest, inventor of the Audion tube, filed his first patent on a Sound-on-film process DeForest Phonofilm, which recorded sound directly Sound-on-film refers to a class of Sound film processes where the sound accompanying picture is physically recorded onto photographic film usually but not always the same Short subject is a format description originally coined in the North American Film industry in the early period of cinema. The Library of Congress is the De facto National library of the United States and the research arm of the United States Congress

Towards the end of the 1920s, a new form of Big Band emerged which was more authentically "jazz," in that more space was given to improvised soloing. This form of music never gained the popularity of the sweet dance form of jazz. The few recordings made in this form of jazz were labelled race records and were intended for a limited urban audience. Race records were 78 rpm Gramophone records made by and for African Americans during the early 20th century particularly during the 1920s and 1930s The three major centres in this development were New York City, Chicago and Kansas City. The City of New York Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. Kansas City Missouri only Items for the metro area Kansas City Kansas or North Kansas City MO should go on their respective pages In the former, a sophisticated approach to arranging predominated, first in the work of Don Redman for the Fletcher Henderson band, later in the work of Duke Ellington for his Cotton Club orchestra, and Walter 'Foots' Thomas for Cab Calloway's. Donald Matthew Redman ( July 29, 1900, Piedmont, West Virginia - November 30, 1964, New York) was an American Fletcher Hamilton Henderson Jr ( December 18, 1897 &ndash December 28, 1952) was an American pianist bandleader Arranger Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29 1899 &ndash May 24 1974 was an American Composer, Pianist, and Bandleader. Walter 'Foots' Thomas (b1907 was a Saxophonist and Arranger in Cab Calloway 's orchestra Cabell "Cab" Calloway III ( December 25, 1907 &ndash November 18, 1994) was a famous American Jazz Singer

Radio

Earl Hines became the star of Chicago with his Grand Terrace Cafe band and began to broadcast live from The Grand Terrace nightly coast-to-coast across America. Earl Kenneth Hines, universally known as Earl "Fatha" Hines, ( 28 December, 1903 Duquesne Pennsylvania &ndash 22 April Meanwhile in Kansas City and across the Southwest, an earthier, bluesier style was developed by such bandleaders as Benny Moten and, later, by Jay McShann and Jesse Stone. Benny Moten (November 30 1916 - March 27 1977 was an American Jazz bassist Jay McShann ( January 12 1916 – December 7 2006) was an American Blues and swing Pianist, Jesse Stone (born Atchison Kansas, 16 November 1901 - died Altamonte Springs Florida, 1 April 1999) was an Big band remotes on the major radio networks spread the music from ballrooms and clubs across the country during the 1930s and 1940s, with remote broadcasts from jazz clubs continuing into the 1950s on NBC's Monitor. A big band remote (aka dance band remote) was a Remote broadcast, popular on radio during the 1930s and 1940s involving a coast-to-coast live transmission of a For NBC 's 1983 television news magazine series see Monitor (TV.

Gloria Parker, Princess of the Marimba, conducted the 21-piece Swingphony whose performances were broadcast nationally from the Kelly Lyceum Ballroom in Buffalo, New York. Glorious Gloria Parker is an American Entertainer active during the Swing Era as a Bandleader of an All-female band, Gloria Buffalo (ˈbʌfəloʊ is the second largest city in New York State. This was the largest big band ever led by a female bandleader.

Swing music began appearing in the early 1930s, distinguished by a more supple feel than the more literal 4/4 of earlier jazz and a walking bass - Walter Page is often credited with developing this, though isolated earlier examples exist (eg by Wellman Braud on Ellington's Washington Wabble from 1927). The time signature (also known as " meter signature" is a notational convention used in Western Musical notation to specify how many beats In Popular music, a walking bass is a style of bass accompaniment or line common in jazz which creates a feeling of regular quarter note movement akin to the regular Walter Sylvester Page ( February 9, 1900 &ndash December 20, 1957) nicknamed " Hoss," was an African American Wellman Braud ( January 25, 1891 - October 29, 1966) was a United States Jazz String bass player

This type of music flourished through the early 1930s, although there was little mass audience for it until around 1936. Up until that time, it was viewed with ridicule and looked upon as a curiosity. After 1935, big bands rose to prominence playing swing music and held a major role in defining swing as a distinctive style. Swing music, also known as swing jazz, is a form of Jazz music that developed in the early 1930s and had solidified as a distinctive style by 1935 in the United Western Swing musicians also formed very popular big bands during the same period. This article is about the Musical genre. For the popular western swing Steel guitar tuning see E9 tuning. [1][2][3].

By this time the Big Band was such a dominant force in jazz that the older generation found they either had to adapt to it or simply retire - with no market for small-group recordings (made worse by a depression-era industry reluctant to take risks), some musicians such as Louis Armstrong and Earl Hines fronted their own bands, whilst others, like Jelly Roll Morton and King Oliver, lapsed into obscurity. Louis Armstrong (August 4 1901 &ndash July 6 1971 nicknamed Satchmo or Sachimo and Pops, was an American Jazz Trumpeter Earl Kenneth Hines, universally known as Earl "Fatha" Hines, ( 28 December, 1903 Duquesne Pennsylvania &ndash 22 April Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton ( ca September 20, 1885 or October 20, 1890 – July 10, 1941) was an Joe "King" Oliver, ( December 19, 1885 &ndash April 10, 1938) was a Jazz Cornet player and Bandleader

The major "black" bands of the 1930s included, apart from Ellington's, Hines' and Calloway's, those of Jimmie Lunceford, Chick Webb, and Count Basie. James Melvin "Jimmie" Lunceford ( June 6, 1902 &ndash July 12, 1947) was an American Jazz alto Saxophonist William Henry Webb, usually known as Chick Webb ( February 10, 1905 – June 16, 1939) was a Jazz and Swing music William "Count" Basie ( August 21, 1904 &ndash April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, Organist Ironically, the "white" bands of Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Tommy Dorsey, Shep Fields and, later, Glenn Miller far eclipsed their "black" inspirations in terms of popularity from the middle of the decade. Arthur Jacob Arshawsky ( May 23, 1910 &ndash December 30, 2004) better known as Artie Shaw, was an American Jazz Tommy Dorsey ( November 19 1905 &ndash November 26 1956) was an American Jazz Trombonist, Trumpeter Shep Fields ( September 12, 1910 &ndash February 23, 1981) was the band leader for the critically acclaimed "Shep Fields and His Rippling Alton Glenn Miller ( March 1 1904 &ndash presumably December 15 1944) was an American Jazz musician and

Since 1945

Major band performances of note occurred from the 1950s to the 1970s. Noteworthy performers included: Dizzy Gillespie, Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich, Gil Evans, Johnny Richards, Sun Ra, Gary MacFarland, Charles Mingus, Oliver Nelson, Carla Bley, Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Big Band, Sam Rivers, Don Ellis, Toshiko Akiyoshi – Lew Tabackin Big Band. John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( October 21 1917 &ndash January 6 1993) was an American Jazz Trumpeter Gene Krupa ( January 15, 1909 &ndash October 16, 1973) was an influential American Jazz and Big band Drummer Bernard "Buddy" Rich ( September 30 1917 &ndash April 2 1987) was an American jazz drummer and Bandleader Gil Evans ( 13 May 1912 in Toronto Canada – 20 March 1988 in Cuernavaca, Mexico) was a Jazz Johnny Richards ( November 2, 1911 &ndash October 7, 1968) was a Jazz Arranger and Composer in the mid-20th Sun Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, Legal name Le Sony'r Ra; Charles Mingus ( 22 April 1922 &ndash 5 January 1979) was an American Jazz Bassist, Composer, Oliver Edward Nelson ( June 4, 1932 in St Louis Missouri &ndash October 28, 1975) was an American Jazz Carla Bley, née Borg, (born May 11, 1936) is an American Jazz Composer, pianist, Organist and band The Thad Jones / Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra was a Jazz Big band formed by trumpeter Thad Jones and drummer Mel Lewis around 1965. Samuel Carthorne Rivers (born September 25, 1923, in El Reno Oklahoma) is an American Jazz musician and Composer. Don Ellis ( July 25, 1934 - December 17, 1978) was an American jazz trumpeter drummer composer and bandleader The Toshiko Akiyoshi – Lew Tabackin Big Band was a 16 piece jazz Big band created by pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi and tenor saxophone / flutist Lew Tabackin Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and Anthony Braxton. Jazz at Lincoln Center 2 by David Shankbonejpg|thumb|Peter Jay Sharp arcade]] Jazz at Lincoln Center (JLC is a constituent of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts Inc Anthony Braxton (born June 4, 1945) is an American Composer, saxophonist, Clarinettist flautist, pianist

Later bandleaders pioneered the performance of various Brazilian and Afro-Cuban styles with the traditional big band instrumentation, and big bands led by arranger Gil Evans, saxophonist John Coltrane (on the album Ascension from 1965) and electric bassist Jaco Pastorius introduced cool jazz, free jazz and jazz fusion, respectively, to the big band domain. Afro-Cuban jazz is a variety of Latin jazz which was started by Dr Gil Evans ( 13 May 1912 in Toronto Canada – 20 March 1988 in Cuernavaca, Mexico) was a Jazz This article is about the John Coltrane album For other uses of the term see Ascension. John Francis Anthony "Jaco" Pastorius III (December 1 1951–September 21 1987 was a American Jazz Musician and Composer widely Cool jazz is a Jazz style that emerged in the late 1940s in New York City. For the Ornette Coleman album after which this genre was named see Free Jazz A Collective Improvisation. Fusion or more specifically jazz fusion or jazz rock, is a Musical genre that merges Jazz with elements of other styles of music particularly Modern big bands can be found playing all styles of jazz music. Some large contemporary European jazz ensembles play mostly avant-garde jazz using the instrumentation of the big bands. Avant-garde (avɑ̃gaʁd in French) means "advance guard" or "vanguard Examples include the Vienna Art Orchestra, founded in 1977, and the Italian Instabile Orchestra, active in the 1990s. The Vienna Art Orchestra is a European Big band based in Vienna, Austria. The Italian Instabile Orchestra (IIO is an eighteen piece experimental Big band that performs Orchestral jazz and Avant-garde jazz. In the late 1990s, swing made a comeback in the US. The Lindy Hop has taken hold on both coasts, and many younger people took an interest in big band styles again.

African "Afrobeat" big bands have existed from 1970 to the present when Fela Kuti of Nigeria, fused big band jazz with Yoruba tribal rhythms, highlife, and American James Brown soul music. Afrobeat is a combination of Yoruba music, Jazz, Highlife, and Funk Rhythms fused with percussion and Vocal Fela Anikulapo Kuti (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti, October 15 1938 – August 2 1997) or simply Fela, was Nigeria, officially named the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal Constitutional republic comprising thirty-six states and one Federal Highlife is a Musical genre that originated in Ghana and spread to Sierra Leone and Nigeria in the 1920s and other West African James Joseph Brown Jr (May 3 1933 – December 25 2006 commonly referred to as "The Godfather of Soul" the "King of Funk" and "The The soul, according to many religious and philosophical beliefs is the self-awareness, or Consciousness, unique to a particular living As of 2008 there are over 40 working afrobeat big bands including Antibalas, Chicago Afrobeat Project, Chopteeth, Femi Kuti, and Seun Kuti. Antibalas (pronounced /ɑntiˈbɑlɑs/ or approximately "ahn-tee-BAH-las" from the Spanish for "bulletproof" is a Bushwick, Brooklyn based Chopteeth is a Washington DC - based Afrofunk big-band Although rooted in Fela Kuti ’s Nigerian Afrobeat, Chopteeth’s music is an Olufela Olufemi Anikulapo Kuti (commonly known as Femi Kuti is an award-winning Nigerian Musician and the eldest son of legendary Afrobeat pioneer Oluseun Anikulapo Kuti (commonly known as Seun Kuti is a Nigerian Musician, and the youngest son of legendary Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti.

Instrumentation

Ockbrook Big Band at Pride Park Stadium

In the second half of the twentieth century, a standard 17-piece instrumentation evolved, for which many commercial arrangements are available. Pride Park Stadium is a Football (soccer Stadium in the Pride Park business park on the outskirts of Derby, England. This instrumentation consists of five saxophones (most often two altos, two tenors, and one baritone), four trumpets, four trombones (including one bass trombone) and a four-piece rhythm section (composed of drums, bass, piano, and guitar). The alto saxophone is a member of the Saxophone a family of Woodwind instruments invented by Adolphe Sax. The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the Saxophone family a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s The baritone saxophone, often called " bari sax " (to avoid confusion with the Baritone horn, which is often referred to simply as "baritone" is The trombone is a Musical instrument in the brass family Like all brass instruments it is a lip-reed Aerophone: sound is produced when the player’s A drum kit (also drum set or trap set) is a collection of Drums Cymbals and sometimes other Percussion instruments such as cowbells The double bass is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed String instrument used in the modern symphony orchestra. The piano is a Musical instrument played by means of a keyboard that produces sound by striking steel strings with Felt covered hammers The guitar is a Musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles

However, variants to this instrumentation are common. Composers, arrangers, and bandleaders have utilized sections with more or fewer players, and additional instruments, such as vibes, French horn, tuba, and string section. The vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a Musical instrument in the mallet subfamily of the percussion family Mediatubaogg -->The tuba is the largest and lowest pitched Brass instrument. Male and female vocalists have also joined big bands to perform particular arrangements.

Some arrangements call for saxophone players to double on other woodwind instruments, such as flute or clarinet. The flute is a Musical instrument of the Woodwind family Unlike other woodwind instruments a flute is a Reedless wind instrument that produces its The clarinet is a Musical instrument in the Woodwind family The name derives from adding the suffix -et meaning little to the Italian word Trumpet players are sometimes called upon to use various sound-changing mutes or play flugelhorn. The flugelhorn (also spelled fluegelhorn or flügelhorn) is a Brass instrument resembling a Trumpet but with a wider conical bore In some rhythm sections, a guitar player is omitted. Players in the rhythm section may be called upon to play acoustic or electric instruments. Latin or other auxiliary percussion instruments may be added.

Big band arrangements

Typical big band arrangements of the swing period are written in strophic form with the same phrase and chord structure repeated several times. In Music, an arrangement refers either to a rewriting of a piece of existing Music with additional new material or to a fleshing-out of a compositional sketch such In Music, strophic form (or chorus form) is a sectional and/or Additive way of structuring a piece of Music based on the Each iteration, or chorus, most commonly follows Twelve bar blues form or Thirty-two-bar (AABA) song form. The thirty-two-bar form, often shortened to AABA, is a Musical form common in Tin Pan Alley songs later popular music including rock and The first chorus of an arrangement typically introduces the melody, and is followed by subsequent choruses of development. This development may take the form of improvised solos, written soli sections, and shout choruses. This is a list of musical terms that are likely to be encountered in printed scores In Jazz, a shout chorus is usually the last chorus of a Big Band arrangement and is characterized by being the most energetic lively and exciting and

An arrangement's first chorus is sometimes preceded by an introduction, which may be as short as a few measures or may extend to chorus of its own. Many arrangements contain an interlude, often similar in content to the introduction, inserted between some or all choruses. Other methods of embellishing the form include modulations and cadential extensions.

See also

• List of big bands
• Swing (jazz performance style), a term of praise for playing that has a strong rhythmic "groove" or drive

References

William Russo, Composing for the Jazz Orchestra University of Chicago Press, Library of Congress no. See also Big band The following is a list of big bands from all eras not simply those of the past In jazz and related musical styles the term swing is used to describe the sense of propulsive Rhythmic "feel" or " groove " created by the musical Groove is the sense of propulsive Rhythmic "feel" or sense of " Swing " created by the interaction of the music played by a band's Rhythm section The University of Chicago Press is the largest University press in the United States 61-8642

External links

• State University of New York, Fredonia. Rockefeller Arts Center. Jazz Big Band Arrangements
• Christopher Popa's Big Band Library
• (blog) The Palomar: Remembering the big bands, the Swing Era....