George M. Cohan He wrote, composed, produced, and appeared in more than three dozen Broadway musicals. Cohan published more than 300 songs during his lifetime. He wrote many standards including: Over There Give My Regards to Broadway The Yankee Doodle Boy You're a Grand Old Flag
Bert Williams (1874 1922) Best-selling black recording artist before the 1920s First black Broadway performer in a leading role Graduated from Riverside High School.
Nobody (1905) Bert Williams When life seems full of clouds and rain, And I am full of nothin and pain, Who soothes my thumping, bumping brain? [pause] Nobody. When winter comes with snow and sleet, And me with hunger and cold feet, Who says, "Here's 25 cents, go ahead and get something to eat"? [pause] Nobody. I ain't never done nothin' to Nobody. I ain't never done nothin' to Nobody, no time. Until I get somethin' from somebody sometime, I ll never do nothin' for Nobody, no time.
When summer comes all cool and clear And my friends see me drawing near Who says Come in, have some beer [pause] Nobody. When I was in that railroad wreck And thought I d cashed in my last check Who took the engine off my neck Not a soul I ain't never done nothin' to Nobody. I ain't never done nothin' to Nobody, no time. Until I get somethin' from somebody sometime, I ll never do nothin' for Nobody, no time.
Musical Revue (1916 to 1932) combines music, dance and sketches. Examples include the Ziegfeld Follies Book Musicals (from Show Boat to today) Musical play where the songs and dances are integrated into a story. (libretto) The production team includes a director, musical director, and choreographer
(1925) "Manhattan", "Mountain Greenery" (from The Garrick Gaieties) (1927) "Thou Swell" (from A Connecticut Yankee) (1928) "You Took Advantage of Me" (from Present Arms) (1930) "Spring is Here", "Yours Sincerely" and "With a Song in My Heart" (from Spring Is Here (film)) (1932) "Lover", "Mimi", "Isn't It Romantic?", (from Love Me Tonight) (1933) "You Are Too Beautiful", from Hallelujah, I'm a Bum (1934) "Blue Moon" (from Manhattan Melodrama) (1935) "Little Girl Blue", "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" (from Jumbo) (1936) "There's a Small Hotel" (from On Your Toes) (1937) "Where or When", I Wish I Were in Love Again", "My Funny Valentine", "Johnny One Note", "The Lady is a Tramp" (from Babes in Arms) (1938) "This Can't Be Love", "Falling in Love with Love" (from The Boys from Syracuse) (1939) "I Didn't Know What Time It Was" (from Too Many Girls (musical)) (1940) "It Never Entered My Mind," (from Higher and Higher) (1940) "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered", "I Could Write a Book" (from Pal Joey) (1942) "Wait Till You See Her", "Nobody's Heart", "Ev'rything I've Got" (from By Jupiter)
Richard Rodgers (music) and Oscar Hammerstein (lyrics) and Irving Berlin (in the middle)
Oklahoma! (1943) Oh What a Beautiful Mornin' The Surrey with the Fringe on Top People Will Say We're in Love Oklahoma! Carousel (1945) If I Loved You You'll Never Walk Alone South Pacific (1949) Some Enchanted Evening There Is Nothing Like a Dame Bali Ha'i I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair I'm in Love with a Wonderful Guy Younger Than Springtime
The King and I (1951) I Whistle a Happy Tune Hello, Young Lovers Getting to Know You Something Wonderful Shall We Dance? The Sound of Music (1959) My Favorite Things Do-Re-Mi Sixteen Going on Seventeen Climb Ev'ry Mountain Edelweiss
The Great American Songbook (1920s through 1950s) Harold Arlen Over the Rainbow, It's Only a Paper Moon; Stormy Weather, I've Got the World on a String Irving Berlin Alexander's Ragtime Band, God Bless America, White Christmas, A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody, Puttin' on the Ritz, There's No Business Like Show Business Nacio Herb Brown Singin' in the Rain, Good Morning J. Fred Coots Santa Claus is Coming to Town Walter Donaldson My Blue Heaven, Yes Sir, That's My Baby, Makin' Whoopee, You're Driving Me Crazy Vernon Duke April In Paris, Autumn In New York, I Can't Get Started Duke Ellington It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing), Satin Doll, Take the 'A' Train Jimmy McHugh I Can't Give You Anything But Love, On the Sunny Side of the Street George and Ira Gershwin Someone to Watch Over Me, 'S Wonderful, Summertime, I Got Rhythm, Fascinating Rhythm, They Can't Take That Away from Me
Ray Henderson Bye Bye Blackbird, I'm Sitting on Top of the World, The Best Things in Life Are Free Herman Hupfeld As Time Goes By Bart Howard Fly Me to the Moon Arthur Johnston Pennies From Heaven Isham Jones It Had to Be You, I'll See You in My Dreams Jerome Kern All the Things You Are, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes Frank Loesser Standing on the Corner, Baby, It's Cold Outside, Luck Be a Lady Jimmy McHugh I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby, I'm in the Mood for Love, On the Sunny Side of the Street Johnny Mercer Moon River Cole Porter Night and Day, I've Got You Under My Skin, You're the Top, Anything Goes Rodgers and Hart My Funny Valentine, The Lady Is a Tramp, The Most Beautiful Girl in the World Rodgers and Hammerstein You'll Never Walk Alone, Oh What a Beautiful Mornin', If I Loved You, Happy Talk, Some Enchanted Evening, My Favorite Things, Climb Every Mountain,The Sound of Music
Standard Big Band Instrumentation Saxophones Altos 2 Tenors 2 Baritone 1 Brass Trumpets replace cornet 3-5 Trombones 3-5 Rhythm Piano 1 String Bass 1 Drum set 1 Guitar replaces banjo 1
Big Bands Everywhere: Washington D.C. - Duke Ellington Baltimore - Chick Webb Memphis - Jimmy Lunceford Chicago - Luis Armstrong, Earl Hines New York - Fletcher Henderson
Hundreds of performance venues Ballrooms: Roseland, Savoy, Cotton Club, Paradise, Blue Room, etc. Theaters: Paramount, Strand, Loews, Movies: Hollywood Hotel, The Fabulous Dorseys, "Winter Wonderland, Swing Fever, Stagedoor Canteen, The Glenn Miller Story Hotels: Hotel Pennsylvania (Manhattan Room), Hotel New York (Terrace Room), Lincoln Hotel (Blue Room), Commodore Hotel (Palm Room) Record Companies: Columbia (Brunswick), Decca, RCA Victor, Vocalion
Big Band as an Instrumentation: Melodies are played by entire band in unison or in harmony Jazz improvisation follows accompanied by rhythm section or by figures scored for other members in the ensemble Musical figures are passed from section to section Sections work as units The arranger plays an important role in the success of a band. Other than the solos, the music is written out rather than improvised. Swing as a style: Not all big bands swing A sense of propulsive rhythmic "feel" or "groove" created by the musical interaction between the performers, especially when the music creates a gut-level response" such as feet-tapping or head-nodding. Often uses "swing eights unequal rhythmic in the eight note beat subdivision, usually long/short.
Jimmie Lunceford (1902 1947) Sleepy Time Gal First chorus: Corny straight delivery in the beginning. Second chorus: off-the-page improvisational, but with the WHOLE sax section. Double-time piano interlude Third chorus: Swing ending Sleepy Time Gal
Edward Kennedy Duke Ellington (1899-1974) One of the most important American 20 th century composers. Each member of his orchestra had an individual part written for their particular style and ability. Ellington could continuously refine his compositional style.
The Five Ellington Books 1. Romantic Ballads 1. Prelude to a Kiss 2. Sophisticated Lady 2. Exotic Book 3. Concert Book - longer, mores serious works 1. Black, Brown, and Beige 4. Concertos 1. Boy Meets Horn 2. Clarinet Lament 3. Echoes from Harlem 4. Concerto for Cootie 5. Three-Minute 78 rpm Masterpieces
Bubber Miley Duke Ellington s first trumpet soloist. East St. Louis Toodle-Oo (1926) One of Ellington s first examples of growling jungle music This was Ellington s first charting single.
Cootie Williams, Rex Stewart, and Ray Nance were Ellington s principal trumpet players Concerto for Cootie (1940) Straight Muse Plunger Mute Open horn Cootie Williams
Blue Serge (1941) Clarinet choir starts. Muted trumpet (probably Ray Nance )
William Count Basie (1904 1984) Basie led the group for almost 50 years Riff-based big band More use of head arrangements More dance music the Ellington Often relied on other song-writers and arrangers Count Basie Cute, composed and arranged by Neal Hefti Sonny Payne, drums Trivia: Neal Hefti also wrote the Odd Couple and Batman themes Neal Hefti
American Patrol is a popular march written by Frank White (F.W.) Meacham in 1885 Glenn Miller 1904 missing in action December 15, 1944) He planned to settle in Duarte on 54 acres He never got to use the home and it burned down In 1980. American Patrol
The Decline of Big bands WWII draft broke up bands Bands raided each other for better players Gas was being rationed Soloing opportunities in big band swing were rare. Lack of creativity - stereotyped rhythms and rhythm sections Most big bands started sounded stylistically alike
The Decline of Big bands The Recording ban July, 1942 - November, 1943 An increase in recorded music posed to a threat to live working musicians. The American Federation of Musicians ordered a ban on all instrumental recording by union members. Without new material, many big bands broke up Big bands were often led by figure-head band leaders The big band singers began dominating the performances. This gives rise to 1940s popular music
Dizzy Gillespie teaching Be-Bop
Standard Be-Bop Instrumentation Alto Saxophone Trumpet Piano String Bass Drum set Guitar (optional)
Be-Bop (mid-1940s) Sometimes called modern jazz or straight ahead jazz or hard bop Origins of Be-bop is in scat music Musicians saddened by demise of jazz in favor of big band swing: Be-bop was a reaction to jazz s: Increased role of arrangers Vertical Harmony Soggy dance rhythms Non-playing band leaders Commercial music
Be-Bop (mid-1940s) Be-bop ushers in intellectual jazz Non-dance music Designed to separate the men from the boys Not designed for mainstream audiences Virtuosic performances Melodies based on higher harmonies
Standard Performance Formula: Introduction Unison Head played by trumpet and alto saxophone Each player takes a solo (one or two choruses) Unison Head Outro Fast tempos Improvised sounding head based on Great American Songbook harmonies How High the Moon becomes Ornithology (Ornithology is the study of birds also Charlie Parker s nickname) I ve Got Rhythm becomes Anthropology Indiana becomes Donna Lee
Founders of Be-Bop John Dizzy Gillespie (1917-1993) Trumpet Charlie Parker (1920-1955) Alto Saxophone Thelonious Monk (1917-1982) Piano/Composer Charlie Mingus (1922-1979) Bass John Coltrane (1926-1967) Tenor and Soprano Sax
Shaw 'Nuff Charlie Parker, alto saxophone, Dizzy Gillespie, Trumpet
Miles Davis Three pivotal albums: 1949: Birth of Cool (Cool Jazz) Boplicity 1959: Kind of Blue (Modal Jazz) So What? 1969: Bitches Brew (Jazz/Rock fusion)
Cool Jazz (1949-1955) Influenced by Miles Davis Straight tone- lower and mid-range registers Chamber Jazz Orchestral instruments become more common Flutes French Horns Flugelhorn Use of classical forms and titles Odd meters such as 5/4 and 7/8 Boplicity