The Swing Era

By the end of the 1920s, the primary vehicle for jazz had become the "Big Band."
1. A pre-existing format for the big band can be found in the society and syncopated dance bands of the early 1900s.
  1. In January 1917, the Original Dixieland Jazz Band opened at one of the Reisenweber restaurants on Columbus Circle, possibly the first to introduce the New Orleans style to New York. Other band leaders either attempted to cash in on its popularity or attack the music, presumably on esthetic-musical grounds.
  2. Although much of the most popular music associated with jazz continued to reflect what Schuller calls the "slapstick" phase, a new interest in the blues provided new direction for musicians and writers.
  3. James Reese Europe - an important transitional figure on the East Coast
    1. Although his bands could play with impecable intonation and execution, he was most noted for '"pushing the limits," creating excitement and rhythmic momentum.
    2. "Europe, in fact, accomplished what other orchestras failed to do: playing ragtime pieces in orchestration as fast as the piano players did" (Schuller 1968, p. 24
2. Larger instrumentation.
  1. In New Orleans & Chicago jazz, the average ensemble consisted of 5 to 7 players - collective improvisation format placed “practical limit” on the number of players.
  2. The “polyphonic” conception of jazz gave way to a more homophonic approach.
    1. Increased emphasis on block chords, parallel voicing, and “section” writing.
3. Arrangers and soloists became more responsible for the sound (and identity) of a group. In "The Big Bands," George T. Simon lists four factors that contributed to the success of certain bands:
  1. the band's musical style, generally established by the band's musical dirctor (leader and/or arranger).
  2. the musicians - ability to read, improvise, attitude, cooperation.
  3. singers.
  4. the leader assumed the most vital and responsible role.
4. A “new breed” of musician:
  1. Possibly born around 1900 – jazz in some form had always been available.
  2. More likely to see jazz as a profession capable of providing income.
  3. Access to musical (and other) education: “This new breed was typified by Fletcher Henderson (with a degree in chemistry), Don Redman (a conservatory graduate), Duke Ellington, Coleman Hawkins, Buster Bailey, and Walter Page, all with some degree of musical educations. Many others could read music or had enough formal background to pick it up if needed, and they, quite naturally, wanted to put their newly oriented talents to use.”
    1. Ability to read music.
    2. Technical ability on their instrument.
    3. Knowledge of music theory.
5. Cross-fertilization - the reading, non-improvising, instrumentally schooled musician combined with the less literate, though not necessarily less gifted, counterpart.
6. Instrumentation:
  1. Woodwinds – Saxophones (usually 5) who may double on clarinet or flute.
  2. Brass – Trumpets (3-4) and Trombones (3-4).
  3. Rhythm section – piano, bass, drums, guitar.
Fletcher Henderson (Dec. 18, 1897-Dec. 29, 1952)
1. Early years:
  1. Born into middle-class family.
  2. Studied music (European art music) with his mother.
  3. Received a degree in chemistry and mathematics at Atlanta University.
  4. Moved to New York in 1920 to establish career as a chemist.
2. First musical experiences:
  1. Found work as a song demonstrator for the Pace-Handy Music Co.
  2. Went to work for Black Swan (founded by Pace; the first African American recording company) putting together groups for singers.
  3. Began to perform at the Club Alabam on Broadway. Later that year he was offered a position at the Roseland Ballroom, where he stayed for over a decade.
3. Innovations:
  1. Initially Henderson's band was primarily a dance band, although he used some of the "raggy" rhythms that were popular at the time. (Henderson learned to play jazz in the 1920's and was at best an "adequate" pianist.)
  2. Brought in Louis Armstrong as a "jazz specialist" in 1924. Armstrong's improvisational style and energy had heavily influenced Henderson's band as well as other New York musicians by the time he left in 1925.
  3. Don Redman, the band's music director until 1927, established a basic format for big band arrangements that became a standard for decades:
    1. Sectional writing; interplay of reeds and brass.
    2. Use of call-and-response.
    3. Solo sections interspersed between arranged sections.
  4. Henderson had a gift for finding young talent; musicians that played with the band at one time or another include Louis Armstrong, Roy Eldridge, Cootie Williams, Coleman Hawkins, Benny Carter, Ben Webster, Russell Procope, and Sid Catlett.
4. After 1925:
  1. By 1926 the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra had first-rate soloists as well as the ability to make written arrangements swing.
  2. The band was one of the primary models for big bands until the mid-1930's.
  3. After Redman left, Henderson wrote most of the band's charts, including King Porter Stomp and Down South Camp Meeting.
  4. Henderson's band broke up several times due to poor management, and in 1934 he sold most of his best arrangements to Benny Goodman. He was a full-time staff arranger for Goodman from 1939-1941.
  5. He continued to lead bands until paralyzed by a stroke in December 1950.
5. Impediments to greater success:
  1. Passive temperament.
  2. Lack of understanding of salesmanship and promotion.
  3. Inability to control or keep players, who were frequently lured away by other bandleaders.
Benny (Benjamin David) Goodman (May 30, 1909-June 13, 1986)
1. Early years:
  1. Received "classical" clarinet training at the Kehelah Jacob Synagogue in Chicago and later from Franz Schoepp. He also absorbed the music of King Oliver and Louis Armstrong, and clarinetists Johnny Dodds, Jimmy Noone, Buster Bailey, Albert Nicholas, and Barney Bigard.
  2. Goodman joined the musician's union in 1923, and he joined Ben Pollack's band in 1925. He recorded his first solo with Pollack (He's the Last Word) on December 17, 1926.
  3. Pollack's band moved to New York in 1928. Goodman left Pollack in 1929; he was one of the leading freelance musicians until 1934, when he formed his first big band.
2. As a bandleader:
  1. Goodman's first band began recording for Columbia in the spring of 1934.
  2. In November 1934 Goodman successfully auditioned for the NBC radio series "Let's Dance." The budget for the program included money for arrangements, and Goodman hired Fletcher Henderson.
  3. After several disappointing engagements Goodman's orchestra performed to a capacity crowd at the Palomar Ballroom in Los Angeles on August 21, 1935. The concert was broadcast nationwide and is considered by many to be the beginning of the Swing Era.
  4. Goodman's band reached its peak of success from 1936-39:
    1. 3-year series of CBS broadcasts ("The Camel Caravan").
    2. Feature films (The Big Broadcast of 1938, Hollywood Hotel).
    3. The "King of Swing."
    4. Carnegie Hall concert January 16, 1938.
3. Innovations:
  1. a. High standards of musicianship.
  2. First white bandleader to adopt (and popularize) an "uncompromising jazz style."
  3. One of the first white bandleaders to feature African American players.
4. Later years:
  1. Illness forced Goodman to disband the group for a time in 1940, which resulted in personnel changes.
  2. Goodman assembled a small group, his most controversial, in 1947 to play arrangements in a bop style for Capitol Records. It was disbanded in 1949.
  3. Goodman continued to tour for the next 3 decades. However, his groups tended to be "ad hoc," often smaller than a big band, and he was increasingly called upon to performed "classical" repertory.
Count (William) Basie (Aug. 21, 1904-April 26, 1984)
1. Life:
  1. Initially learned piano from his mother, and he was heavily influenced by Harlem stride pianists.
  2. By the age of 20 Basie was touring as a pianists and as a musical director for other entertainers.
  3. After being stranded there in 1927, Basie began to work in Kansas City, playing in silent film theatres and later with Walter Page's Blue Devils.
  4. Left the Blue Devils in 1929 to play with Bennie Moten. He left shortly after Moten died in 1935 and soon after formed a 9-piece orchestra known as the Barons of Rhythm.
  5. The group began a long engagement at the Reno Club, and their radio broadcasts in 1936 led to contracts with a national booking agency and with Decca Records. The group quickly expanded to a full big band.
  6. By the end of the 1930s the band had acquired international fame with One O'Clock Jump, Jumpin' at the Woodside, and Taxi War Dance.
  7. In 1950 Basie disbanded the big band for financial reasons. A reorganized band in 1952 undertook an extensive touring and recording schedule. This eventually established Basie's status as an "elder statesman" of jazz, and his band became a "permanent jazz institution."
  8. He toured Europe in 1954 and Japan in 1963, and he made a series of recordings both under his own name and that of various singers.
2. Innovations:
  1. Group sound organized around the rhythm section.
  2. Basie's "classic" rhythm section (Basie, Walter Page, Jo Jones, and Freddie Green) altered the ideal of jazz accompaniment, making it more flexible.
    1. Pulse in the hi-hat cymbals instead of the bass drum.
    2. "Walking" bass lines that emphasize 4 beats in a measure instead of 2. This in turn eliminated the need for left-hand patterns in the piano.
    3. Arrangements based on riffs.
    4. Extremely sparse, "minimal" piano solo style.

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