Big Band Era

1
Big Band Era

• From Territory bands
• to the big stage

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Big Band
3
Big Band

• Territory bands
• Bands that toured in specific regions of the
  United States
• top 40 bands of the era
• Traveling got too expensive
• Musicians found a home

• Big bands started to become established in
  certain areas
• Big cities following the Mississippi
• Started different styles of jazz music pertaining
  to the regions they were in

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Big Band

• Dance craze of the 1930s and 1940s
• Extremely popular during the war eras ( WWII)
• Started after the Dixieland era, bigger band,
  bigger sound

• Musicians started to become more popular, wanted
  the spotlight
• Count Basie- Kansas City
• Duke Ellington- New York/DC

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Big Band

• Big bands were divided into 2 groups those that
  inspired improvisation and those that did not
• Solos became important to music
• Improvisation- playing a made up solo over chord
  changes
• Chord Changes- the outline of a song

• Dixieland bands wanted a bigger sound so they
  added more musicians. More musicians meant bigger
  sound and the ability to play new and different
  music.
• Big bands were able to play more music, faster
  music, used for dances and celebrations

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Big Bands

• New York (52nd street) became popular hang out
  for jazz musicians and big bands
• Cotton Club was the most famous jazz club
• In later years Birdland and Village Vanguard

• With the ease of restrictions in racial
  segregation black and white musicians were able
  to perform together thus bands were able to be
  larger

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Make up of Big Bands

• 4 trumpets
• 4 trombones
• 5 saxophones ( 2 alto, 2 tenor, 1 bari)
• Saxes doubled on flute and clarinet as well

• rhythm section
• drum kit,
• bass, used double bass
• guitar, accoustic
• piano

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Big Band

• Big bands created swing a different way to play
  music that varied greatly to other styles of
  music.
• This created a hot feel
• Influential big bands Glenn Miller, Benny
  Goodman, Count Basie, Duke Ellington

• Big bands also created the start of the jazz
  vocalist
• Influential jazz vocalists Billie Holliday, Ella
  Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Joe Williams, Frank
  Sinatra.

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Big Bands

• Scat Singing- singing syllables instead of words
• Louis Armstrong
• Ella Fitzgerald
• Most jazz musicians of later years got their
  start during the big band era (made name for
  themselves)

• Became famous and branched out on their own
• Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie,
  Miles Davis,
• Jazz Vocalists
• Frank Sinatra

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Big Band Royalty

• King of Swing- Benny Goodman
• Duke Ellington
• Count Basie
• The Prez Lester Young
• Lady Day Billie Holiday

• The First Lady of Jazz- Ella Fitzgerald
• The Divine One- Sarah Vaughn

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Big Bands

• Decline of the Big Band era started with the
  Great Depression of the 1930s
• Was too expensive to keep a large band together.
• Big bands began to fade due to economic reasons,
  ballrooms started to close, small clubs began to
  open, different types of media developed.

• As big bands started to fold due to economic
  challenges the jazz combo evolved
• Big band musicians went on to start their own
  groups and solo careers.
• WWII created a renewed interest in the big band
  sound as well as the end of the depression
• In the late 40s the creation of Be-Bop created a
  new style of jazz thus the influence of the big
  band was lessened

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Big Bands

• Glenn Miller Big Band was used for entertainment
  and morale for troops during WWII
• Benny Goodman first jazz group to racially
  integrate their group
• Lionel Hampton-vibes

• Benny Goodman-created swing
• Most musicians got their start with a big band
• Once they got famous or wanted to branch out
  they left
• Jazz singers went solo after making a name for
  themselves

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Louis Armstrong

• Most famous/popular jazz musician
• Nicknamed Satchmo
• Jazz musician, singer, trumpet player,
  entertainer
• Most famous jazz musician of the 20th century
• Fame as a trumpet player, band leader, scat
  singer, civil right supporter
• Helped to create scat singing
• Featured in several Hollywood movies (Hello Dolly)

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Louis Armstrong

• Born in New Orleans, first gained fame in the
  Dixieland era
• Played with Joe King Oliver, Kid Ory
• Started his hot and all-star bands in 1920s
• 1922 left for Chicago with Oliver
• 1924 wanted to branch out on his own so moved to
  New York
• Joined Fletcher Henderson

• 1925- Chicago- started recording under his own
  name using his hot bands
• Started touring all over the State and Europe
• 1943 Settled in Queens continued touring
• Played an average of 300 gigs a year
• 1950 cut his big band down to 6 members and went
  back to Dixieland style
• 1964 biggest selling album and highest commercial
  success with Hello Dolly

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Louis Armstrong

• Toured Europe, Asia, and Africa as a US state
  Department Ambassador of Music
• 1971 died of heart attack age 69
• Major supporter of MLK and was supporter of the
  Civil Right movement
• He was one of the first entertainers to speak up
  about political causes. He wanted to work behind
  the scenes not be in front of the cause

• Was extremely generous with his money supporting
  different causes
• First to popularize scat singing
• Always played with most influential musicians
• Recorded with Ella Fitzgerald for Verve records.
  Some of the most influential jazz recordings
• Most famous songs are What a Wonderful World,
  Aint Misbehavin, and Stompin at the Savoy

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Louis Armstrong

• 1964 He knocked the Beatles off the billboard
  carts with Hello Dolly
• 1968 reached number 1 with What a Wonderful World
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,
  star on the Hollywood walk of fame, Grammy
  awards, jazz hall of fame,
• Airport in New Orleans is named after him

• Influenced every musician to come after him.
• Major influence on trumpet players
• Major influence on African American musicians and
  politicians

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Fletcher Henderson

• Jazz pianist, arranger/composer
• Led one of the first successful big bands
• 1922 formed his own band in Georgia Best colored
  band in the South
• Worked for Black Swan records
• 1924 Louis Armstrong joined his band

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Fletcher Henderson

• 1930s- started arranging music for his band
• 1934 started arranging music for Benny Goodman
• 1939 joined Benny Goodman as player and arranger
  then just arranger
• Famous for his big band arrangements still being
  performed today

• Hired by Duke Ellington as an arranger when his
  band played at the cotton club
• Charts are still being played today

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Benny Goodman

• 1909-1986
• King of Swing
• Band leader, clarinet player
• Born in Chicago
• Started playing professional at 16
• 1926- His first recordings

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Benny Goodman

• Parents were blue collar working class citizens
• Father urged him to quit playing and get an
  honest Job
• Father never saw him play professionally
• 1932 formed his own band in New York City

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Benny Goodman

• 1934- Lets Dance radio show
• 1935- Palomar Ball room
• Gene Krupa
• 1937- movie Hollywood Hotel
• 1938- January 16th Carnegie Hall (Sing, Sing,
  Sing)
• 1950- LP recording of this concert became the
  first million selling lp

• 1952 broke up big band due to economic reasons
• Benny Goodman achieved the same success with jazz
  that Elvis did with rock and roll
• 1936 Goodman added Lionel Hampton on vibes to
  form the Benny Goodman Quartet
• first musicians to racially integrate their band.
  10 years before Jackie Robinson entered the
  Major Leagues.

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Benny Goodman

• On January 16, 1938, the Benny Goodman band
  played at Carnegie Hall.
• First jazz band to play at Carnegie Hall
• Carnegie Hall had been the nation's greatest
  temple of musical art, home of the New York
  Philharmonic and scene of every important
  artist's debut

• Many of those who played with him as sidemen
  later achieved fame as leaders of their own
  bands, soloists, actors, actresses, musicians for
  movies and television
• Huge impact on popular music and the importance
  of the clarinet in both jazz and classical music.
  
• Thousands of youngsters throughout the world were
  influenced to play the clarinet through listening
  to Benny Goodman

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Gene Krupa

• considered to be the first drum "soloist."
• father of the modern drumset
• help with developing the modern hi-hat cymbals.
• the first drummer to record with a bass drum

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Gene Krupa

• First real gig was with Benny Goodman and Glenn
  Miller, performed in the pit band of the new
  George Gershwin play "Strike Up the Band.
• Benny Goodman urged Gene to join his band with
  the promise that it would be a real jazz band.
• Gene's classic performance on "Sing Sing Sing"
  has been heralded as the first extended drum solo
  in jazz

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Gene Krupa

• Left Goodman on March 3, 1938
• Started his own band
• authored his own book titled "The Gene Krupa Drum
  Method"(1938)
• began an annual Drum Contest(1941).
• Louie Bellson was first winner
• Bellson went on to become a famous jazz drummer

• briefly joined up with Benny Goodman and Tommy
  Dorsey before re-forming his own band
• big band was one of the first in the mid-forties
  to introduce Bop arrangements with the help of
  Gerry Mulligan and the playing of trumpeter Red
  Rodney.

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Gene Krupa

• The Gene Krupa Trio was one of the first acts
  recruited by Norman Granz for his "Jazz At The
  Philharmonic"
• The JATP dates introduced the famous "Drum
  Battles" with Buddy Rich in October of 1952
• In 1959, "The Gene Krupa Story." The film was
  very loose in the facts of Gene's career but did
  feature an excellent soundtrack recorded by Krupa
  himself.

• Gene's last commercial recording was in November
  of 1972
• Gene's final public performance was with a
  reunion of the old Goodman Quartet on August 18,
  1973.
• Gene died October 16, 1973 of a heart attack

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Glenn Miller

• First gig was with Ben Pollacks band that
  included Benny Goodman
• 1928 freelance musician in New York played with
  Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Gene
  Krupa, and young singer named Bing Crosby
• April 1935, Glenn Miller recorded, for the first
  time, under his own name.

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Glenn Miller

• His band emphasized the clarinet playing the
  melodic line while the tenor sax plays the same
  note, and supported by three other saxophone
• Tuxedo Junction, Moonlight Serenade, and
  Pennsylvania 6-5000 were some of his songs
• In the Mood was his most famous song
• 1941 left for Hollywood to record for and make
  movies

• Chattanooga Choo Choo becomes first million
  selling album for Miller
• Sun Valley Serenade and Orchestra Wives were
  movies the Glenn Miller Orchestra were in
• On October 7, 1942, Alton Glenn Miller reported
  for induction into the Army
• assigned to the Army Specialist Corps

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Glenn Miller

• appointment as a Captain to modernize the army
  band and ultimately improve the morale of the men
  
• transferred into the Army Air Corps, where he
  ultimately organized the Glenn Miller Army Air
  Force Band
• Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band engaged in over
  800 performances

• 500 were broadcasts heard by millions
• First professional musician inducted into the
  military to serve as military band leader and
  musicians for troop morale
• 1944 Stationed in London
• Six week tour of Europe, was to be stationed in
  Paris

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Glenn Miller

• Miller decided to go ahead, in order to make the
  proper arrangements for the groups arrival
• December 15th, Glenn Miller boarded a transport
  plane to Paris
• Bad weather made communication difficult
• Plane crashes early morning of December 15th

• Plane and body was never recovered
• 1945 Last recording of The Glenn Miller orchestra
  was released
• 1954- The Glenn Miller story starring Jimmy
  Stewart
• 2003- Glenn Miller received Grammy Lifetime
  Achievement award posthumously

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Duke Ellington

• Band Leader, piano player, arranger
• One of the most popular most successful big band
  leaders of all time
• Famous for is arrangements and is personality

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Duke Ellington

• Born in Washington D.C.
• Began performing when he was 17
• 1923 moved to New York City
• 1927- House band for the Cotton Club

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Duke Ellington

• One of two of the most famous big bands (Count
  Basie)
• used the best musicians from around the country
• One of the most famous African American musicians
  and celebrities
• Arranged for the musician not the band which gave
  his band a distinct sound
• 1940s was peak success
• Arranged music for bands and movies

• Was key figure in symphonic big band jazz
• Composed jazz suites and not just simple charts
• 1943-Black, Brown, and Beige
• Most famous songs were Satin Doll and Take the A
  train, Mood Indigo
• 1956- Newport Jazz Festival revived popularity
• 1957- Such Sweet thunder- based on Shakespeare
  and dedicated to Queen Elizabeth II
• 1965- Pulitzer prize winner

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Duke Ellington

• 1966- Sacred concert combination of jazz music
  with Christian readings
• 1969-presidential Medal of Freedom
• Multi Grammy award winner
• 1973 Legion of Honor by the French government

• Band still touring today
• Major influence on jazz music and musicians
• Created new forms of jazz music and jazz
  arrangements
• One of the most influential musicians of the 20th
  century

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Cotton Club
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The Cotton Club

• One of the greatest jazz clubs in New York
• Operated during and after prohibition
• Jack Johnson (heavy Weight champ) owned the club
• Run by Mob in 1923
• Helped to launch the careers of many of the big
  band era musicians
• Ellington was the house band from 1927-1931
• Recorded over 100 songs there

• House band was required to perform every night,
  especially weekends
• New songs performed every concert.
• Cab Calloway took over as house band after
  Ellington
• Minnie the Moocher
• Closed in 1936- after race riots in Harlem
• Re-opened on Broadway
• Closed for good in 1940

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Count Basie

• Band leader, piano player
• One of the best and most influential band leaders
  and musicians of all time
• 1924 toured with the TOBA
• 1928 moved to Kansas City joined the Blue Devils

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Count Basie

• Became piano player for Benny Moten jazz band
• 1935- Became leader changed to Count Basie Big
  Band
• Created the Kansas City style of jazz ( laid back
  jazz)
• Always hired the best musicians available

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Count Basie

• Once you were a member of the Basie band you
  remained a member
• Players went on to start own careers but always
  returned to Basie band to play with them
• Launched careers of many famous musicians
• Influential to the start of the jazz singers
• Joe Williams, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald all
  got their start with the Basie Band

• Quincy Jones was trumpet player and arranger for
  the Basie band
• 1974 had cameo in Mel Brooks film Blazing Saddles
• Sammy Nestico, famous jazz arranger for Count
  Basie
• Freddie Green famous jazz guitarist
• One Oclock Jump, All of Me, April in Paris, Lil
  Darlin- most famous songs

40
Count Basie

• Created a new style of jazz called Kansas City
  Style.
• Off shoot of swing music where players laid
  back
• Famous for its rhythm section
• Space was important

• Horn players used riffs and motifs
• New style of piano playing called the Basie Style
• Stressed improvisation

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Lester Young

• The Prez
• Famous Tenor Sax player
• One of the most influential saxophone players
• Started playing in vaudeville and territory bands

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Lester Young

• Got his start in his fathers territory bands
• 1932 joined the Blue Devils
• Landed in Kansas City
• Played with King Oliver, Fletcher Henderson, and
  Count Basie
• 1934 joined the Count Basie Band
• This group would lead him to national attention
  and make him famous

• Nick name was given to him by friend Billie
  Holliday
• Was eccentric creating his own playing style and
  language for his friends
• Used to hold the horn out to his right when he
  played (like a flute)
• 1942 recorded with Nat King Cole
• 1943 inducted into the Army
• Black musicians were put into the regular army
  White musicians were put into military bands like
  Glenn Miller.

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Lester Young

• Court- martial for various offenses
• 1945 dishonorably discharged
• 1946 JATP- jazz at the Philharmonic with Norman
  Granz
• Toured with them for 12 years
• 1950- Lester leaps in solo at Carnegie Hall
• 1952- Start of his drinking problem, started to
  affect his playing
• 1955- Hospital stays due to drinking and nervous
  breakdown

• By the late 50s drinking had taken a toll on him
  was unhealthy never ate, drank constantly could
  barely perform
• December 8 1957- The Sound of Jazz-Billie
  Holliday, Ben Webster, Coleman Hawkins, Gerry
  Mulligan, Roy Eldrige
• March 1959- final studio recording, European tour
• March 15th New York died age 49

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Billie Holliday

• 1915-1959
• Lady Day
• One of the most influential jazz singers of all
  times
• Major influence on modern day singers
• Born in Philadelphia (mother was 13 at time of
  her birth) father was jazz guitarist
• (Divorced early)
• Began performing at an early age to provide money
  for the family

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Billie Holliday

• Early 1930 moved to New York
• Father was absentee only showing up on rare
  occasions (shake down)
• 1932 Discovered by John Hammond
• 1933 first recording with Benny Goodman ( My
  Mothers Son-In-Law)
• November 23, 1934 Apollo Theater
• Regular performer on 52nd street clubs

46
Billie Holliday

• Her music had impeccable timing, nuanced
  phrasing, and emotional immediacy
• Worked with al the great artist became one of the
  greatest black singers of all time
• Became addicted to drugs starting at 13years old
  and bad addiction to heroin
• Cursed with bad abusive relationships most of her
  life
• Sang about her relationships in her songs

• Famous songs were God Bless the Child and Fine
  and Mellow
• Major influence on female singers from Janis
  Joplin to Madonna to present day singers
• May 1947 arrested for drug possession had cabaret
  card taken away for 12 years
• 1954 European tour was a huge success revamped
  her career

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Billie Holliday

• March 1959- Final studio recording
• May 31 1959 taken to hospital in New York for
  liver and heart problems
• July 17 1959 died age 44 died from cirrhosis of
  the liver
• When she died she had 70 cents in her bank account

48
Ella Fitzgerald

• 1917-1996
• Lady Ella- First Lady of Jazz
• Won 13 Grammy awards
• National Medal of Art, Presidential medal of
  freedom
• Influential jazz singer and innovator of scat
  singing
• Orphaned at age 14
• Started singing career at age 16
• November 21, 1934- Apollo Theater

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Ella Fitzgerald

• Started singing with Chick Webb big band in 1935
• 1939- Took over after Webbs death became Ella
  Fitzgerald and her famous orchestra
• Solo career 1941
• Norman Granz created record company Verve records
  for her
• Ella created Songbooks she recorded for the Verve
  Label
• Toured all over the world promoting the songbook
  series

50
Ella Fitzgerald

• Most famous collaborations are with Frank
  Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie.
• June 1974 combined concert at Caesars Palace was
  the top grossing concerts in Vegas of all time
• Went to Broadway and grossed 2 million in 2 weeks
• Was cursed with bad romances
• Suffered from Diabetes and died from
  complications due to diabetes in 1996
• Major influence on female singers from all genres

51
Sarah Vaughn

• 1924- 1990
• one of the greatest female singers of all time
• Began performing in 1940s
• Went solo in 1945- Tenderly, Its Magic
• Famous 1950- Misty

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Sarah Vaughn

• Huge vocal range, being able to sing baritone to
  soprano, think Mariah Carrey
• Musically trained in theory and skills
• Inspiration for Bosa Nova in the 1960s
• Was huge influence on modern singers
• Started singing pop style songs in 1950s as well
  as jazz, cross over artists
• Continued to record and win awards well into the
  1980s

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JATP

• Jazz at the Philharmonic
• Started by Norman Granz
• He created Verve records
• First all star setting
• Toured around the country
• Give exposure of jazz music to people who would
  not usually see a concert
• World famous musicians in a jam session type
  concert so the audience could get closer to the
  musicians