JAZZ

Jazz Introduction

Jazz was born from a combination of African American Spirituals, Slave songs, Field Hollers, Minstrel songs, the Blues, marching band tunes, and improvisation.

Jazz Introduction• Def: Jazz is the only original American art

form.

• Jazz is a direct reflection of American history.

• Jazz is about improvisation.

• Improvisation is creating art on the spot.

The Music of Africa• Music in Africa was a part of everyday life.

• It was used in games, for celebrations, during work, in birth and in death. Music was a very important part of being African.

• Instruments were made from whatever materials people could find.

Djundjun

Ngoma

lAxatse

Kora

Mbira

Double Bell

Balafone

HoshoChitendi

Music of Africa• Music of Africa is characterized by highly

complex rhythms.• African music uses a call and response

method in which a leader starts and then a chorus responds.

• Rhythm often helped people keep a steady beat while working.

• In Africa music is intertwined with everyday life.

• http://www.walden.com/images/uploads/resource/Pulse_EdGuide.pdf

Song 1 “The Names of the Rivers” -traditional game song from Zimbabwe

Leader: The Zambezi, I crossed it!Chorus: I crossed it!L: The Limpopo, I crossed it!C: I crossed it!L: The Nile, I crossed it!C: I crossed it!L: The Niger, I crossed it!C: I crossed it!L: The Mississippi, I crossed it!C: I crossed it!L: The Colorado, I crossed it!C: I crossed it!

“Choose Your Own” -traditional game song from Zimbabwe

Leader: Choose your own, yeah, yeahChorus: He wears a white amuletL: Choose your own, yeah, yeahC: He wears a white amuletL: Who is yours, yeah, yeah?C: He wears a white amuletL: Mine is Bobby, yeah, yeahC: He wears a white amuletL: Yours is short, yeah, yeahC: He wears a white amuletL: Mine is tall, yeah, yeahC: He wears a white amuletL: Hey, Bobby, yeah, yeahC: He wears a white amulet

Mukondombera “The Holocaust (AIDS)” by Thomas Mapfumo (excerpt)

You should stop fooling around, men,You should stop fooling around, girls,Beware of this plague, the illness has come,If you are not afraid, you will perish.Oh goodness, we are perishing,An illness has come into this world,Play it safe, because this world has gone bad.This illness has come,It is a giant whip sent down by God.Oh God, what are we supposed to do?God, please give us an idea.To stop it all, stand by your spouse

Mnyonge Hana Haki “The Poor Have No Rights” by Remmy Ongala

If you are on a journey, never hurryThere are many problems on the road, so don’t hurry.I went on a journey, I arrived safely, I arrived peacefully.PeaceWhat bitter words.I am a weakling, I have nothing to say in front of my peers.A bicycle has no say in front of a motorcycle,A motorcycle has no say in front of a car,A car has no say in front of a train,The poor and weak have no rightsI am poor, I have no right to speak,Poor and weak in front of the powerfulWeak as long as the powerful likesA hare has no say in front of the lion,A rat does not parade in front of a catThe poor can only lean on God,The poor have no rights

How and Why did Jazz Develop? During the 18th and 19th centuries thousands of people were taken as slaves from Africa to America. For these Africans life became a nightmare. Many died on their long journey by sailing ship. Those that survived were sold in auctions and put to work on farms in the Southern states of America. Families were often split up. Children were taken from their parents and husbands from their wives. The life of slavery was cruel and horrible.

How and Why did Jazz Develop?

Modern Day West Indies

• The slave trade that began in the 1600s included many West Africans who brought their musical traditions with them. Because many slaves spoke different languages, they began to communicate through music.

• Slaves were able to communicate from plantation to plantation by playing drums.

• Slave owners tried to ban drumming among their slaves, fearing that slaves were talking to each other, communicating with their spirits, and plotting rebellions through the drums.– In 1739, slaves used drums to signal to surrounding

plantations and plan a revolt. • When drums were banned from plantations, slaves

developed ways to imitate drumming, using European instruments, household items (spoons, jugs, washboards) and their own bodies (improvisation).

For Africans music was a way of life. It is not surprising that music played an important part in the lives of African slaves. In songs, slaves expressed unhappiness. They also had songs for healing the sick and lullabies for the babies. While working in the fields the slaves also sang rhythmic tunes to keep the beat as they worked. Slaves could express their music mainly in the field and in church.

3. Types of African American Slave Songs

1. African American Spiritual- A religious folk song of African-American origin.

2. Field Holler (Call and Response)- Used during and after slavery when physical isolation on plantations and farms increased. It was usually solo music but sometimes there was a response if another worker was nearby.

3. Slave Song- A song sung to accompany work, typically having a steady rhythm.

Use a sheet of paper in your folder. Put today’s date and the title Early African

American Music. Listen carefully to the music and the people who made it.

Examine the words and listen to the way these songs were sung. Write your

impressions of the moods and images represented in the music into your folder. You will hear 6 songs total.

1. TROUBLE SO HARD (Spiritual)• Sung by Dock and Henry Reed and Vera Hall at Livingston, Alabama,

1937.Recorded by John A. And Ruby T. Lomax & Ruby Dickens Tartt.

• CHORUS:O Lord, trouble so hard. (2)Yes, indeed, my trouble is hard (2)O, Lord, trouble so hard. (2)Don’t nobody know my troubles but God. (2)Yes, indeed, my trouble’s so hard. (2)O Lord, trouble so hard. (2)

• 1. Wait and let me tell you what the sister will do:’Fo’ your face, she have a love for you,’Hind your back, scandalize your name,Jest the same you have to bear the blame.

• CHORUS• 2. Wait and let me tell you what your brother will do:

’Fo’ your face, have a love for you,’Hind your back, scandalize your name,Jest the same you have to bear the blame.

2. ARWHOOLIE (CORNFIELD HOLLER) • Sung by Thomas J. Marshall at Edwards,

Mississippi, 1939.Recorded by Herbert Halpert.

• Oh, etc.I won’t be here long.Oh, etc.Oh, dark gonna catch me here,Dark gonna catch me here.Oh, etc.

3. QUITTIN’ TIME SONGS (field holler) • Sung by Samuel Brooks at Edwards, Mississippi,

1939.Recorded by Herbert Halpert.

• Ooooh, the sun going down,And I won’t be here long,Ooooh, the sun going down,And I won’t be here long,Ooooh, then I be going home.Ooooh, I can’t let this dark cloud catch me here.Ooooh, I can’t stay here long,Ooooooooooh, I be at home.

4. MEALTIME CALL (field holler) • Called by Thomas J. Marshall at Edwards,

Mississippi, 1939.Recorded by Herbert Halpert.

• Oh, Miss WrightWhy don’t you ring that bell?Oh, Miss WrightWhy don’t you ring that bell?I can tellThe way those greens smell.

5. I’M A SOLDIER IN THE ARMY OF THE LORD (spiritual)• Sung by the congregation of Silent Grove Baptist Church at

Clarksdale, Mississippi, 1942. Recorded by Alan Lomax, Lewis Jones, and John W. Work.

• 1. Army of the Lord, In the army, in the army, Just a soldier, just a soldier, In the army of the Lord. Just a soldier, In the army, Just a soldier, In the army of the Lord, Just a soldier, In the army.

• 2. I’m gonna keep on the top in the army of the Lord. I’m gonna keep on the top in the army. I’m gonna keep on the top in the army of the Lord. I’m gonna keep on the top in the army. I’m gonna keep on the top in the army of the Lord. I’m gonna keep on the top in the army.

• 3. In the army, army of the Lord, In the army, Just a soldier, Just a soldier, In the army of the Lord, Just a soldier, In the army. [Instrumental with Vocal Interjections.Verse 2 repeats, in part. Verse 1 repeats, in part.]

6. AIN’T NO GRAVE CAN HOLD MY BODY DOWN (slave song)Sung by Bozie Sturdivant at Silent Grove Baptist Church, Clarksdale, Mississippi, 1942. Recorded by Alan Lomax and Lewis Jones.

Ain’t no grave can hold my body down.Ain’t no grave can hold my body down, my body down.When the first trumpet sound,

Do not turn your paper over until you are instructed to do so.

In your folder write a 3 sentence reaction to what you see on your paper. Your answer should be in the following form; My picture is of (describe your picture). I think it (describe what you think it is of or about). It makes me feel (tell how you feel about the image).

Minstrel Shows• DEF: A racist comic variety show of the 19th

and early 20th centuries, usually featuring white actors dressed up as and pretending to be black.

• Minstrel shows depicted Black people as unlucky, lazy, slow and often ape-like.

• The makeup used during minstrel shows often depicted nappy hair and big lips.

Minstrel Shows• Became the most popular form of

entertainment in the US until the invention of TV.

• Minstrel's gave the nation is first form of popular music.

Minstrel Shows• Spread racist stereotypes.• Minstrels got to the point where blacks started

dressing up as whites pretending to be black. • Minstrel shows remained popular until the

1950’s.

Jim Crow was our countries most popular minstrel character!

Marching Band• During the civil war (1861-1865) marching

bands used drums, fifes, and brass instruments to communicate across battle fields.

• When the war ended in 1865 soldiers threw away their instruments….many of which ended up in the southern parts of the United States.

• Slaves were also legally freed at the end of the civil war.

Marching Band• It was common for kids and wanderers to find

discarded instruments and learn to play them.

• New kinds of marching bands formed. Many found themselves in the city of New Orleans.

The Blues• After the civil war, newly freed black men

were allowed to sing for leisure for the very first time. They were able to freely express themselves in music.

• Refugees from the Mississippi Delta came to New Orleans to escape Jim Crow Laws. They brought music with them music they created called the Blues.

• Blues is the “twin” of the African American spiritual.

• The Blues must be personal and tell a story.• The Blues use notes which are lowered in

pitch within a major scale. Lowering certain pitches of the regular scale made the music feel sad or blue.

• You did not have to have the blues to sing the blues.

Ragtime

• In the 1890’s a combination of spirituals and minstrel songs, and military marches met Black piano players in the Midwest and ragtime was born.

• Ragtime was a hit because it made people want to dance!

• It was America’s most popular music for the next 25 years.

• Young people loved it….their parents hated it.

Why New Orleans?

New Orleans set a perfect stage for the beginnings of Jazz. New Orleans was a seaport city and center of trade. In the 1890’s New Orleans was the most diverse American city. African Americans, French, Spanish, English, Irish, German and Italian immigrants all lived side by side. When all of their cultures melted together the foundation for jazz formed.

Why New Orleans?1. In the 1800’s New Orleans was a center of

trade and the most diverse city in the U.S.2. New Orleans was the most musical city in the

US.3. New Orleans was a major center of the slave

trade.4. Creoles of color were allowed to learn to read

music. They even had their own opera house and symphony orchestra.

Why New Orleans?

• Tradition of ‘wildness’ in bars and in gambling.• Lots of different religions and churches.• 5. DIVERSITY! DIVERSITY! DIVERSITY!

CREOLES OF COLOR• http://www.creolehistory.com/

• “Creoles of Color” were generally persons of half European decent and half African decent. Creoles were usually not as dark skinned as their African half and not as light skinned as their European half.

• Creoles had more rights than Blacks but less rights than Whites.

• Creoles were allowed to learn to read books, receive formal training on instruments, and could learn a job in the trade business.

CREOLES OF COLOR

• In New Orleans, Creoles had their own opera house and symphony orchestra.

• Most Creoles identified primarily with their European roots.

• Creoles were allowed to own their own slaves.

Jim Crow

• http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/what.htm• In 1876 a dirty political deal created Jim Crow

Laws. • Jim Crow Laws legally allowed a racial caste

system to operate primarily, but not exclusively in southern and border states.

• These series of anti-Black laws were referred to as “separate but equal”.

After Jim Crow Laws…• Creoles were stripped of all their rights. • Creoles were now classified as Black. • Creoles were separated from the White half

with which they identified, and sent to the “Blacks only” section in their newly segregated lives.

Beginnings of Jazz Review• Def: Jazz is the only original American art

form. • Improvisation is creating art on the spot.• Jazz has its roots in Afrian Music.• Music of Africa is characterized by highly

complex rhythms.• African music uses a call and response

method in which a leader starts and then a chorus responds.

Beginnings of Jazz Review

Beginnings of Jazz Review• Jazz came from a combination of minstrel

shows, field hollers, slave songs, spirituals, ragtime, marching band tunes, and the blues.

• Jazz formed in the 1890’s in New Orleans and was fueled by racism.

• It took many many different cultures to create jazz.

• Jim Crow laws changed lives for all persons of African decent.

The Spread of Jazz in the U.S.•Eventually, Jim Crow laws and racist oppression in the South became too much to bare for many African Americans.

•Around 1898 a creature called the boll weevil invaded the South and began to eat all the cotton crops: work on farms became hard to find.

•African Americans decided to move north in what is known as the Great Migration.

•The Great Migration was the movement of 2 million Blacks out of the Southern United States to the Midwest, Northeast, and West between 1910 and 1930.

The Spread of Jazz in the U.S.

•Blacks moved out of the South to find jobs and to escape racism.

•Chicago, Cleveland, Harlem New York, St. Lewis, and Pittsburgh were some of the cities greatly affected by the Great Migration.

The Spread of Jazz in the U.S.

•Blacks moving North brought their music with them: blues and jazz.

•By 1927 radiobroadcasts allowed people to hear jazz for free!

The Great Migration1) Name 2 difficulties travelers in the Great Migration might have

experienced.

Traveling north was expensive, the journey was long, little food and drink was available, and people were rude.

2) What kind of work could a southern migrant find in the north?

Southern workers mostly found work doing manual labor on unskilled jobs. Many migrants found jobs working on railroads and in steel mills.

3) What role did organizations such as the NAACP play in the Great Migration?

The NAACP provided a lifeline to blacks traveling north looking for housing and jobs.

4) Describe the new living conditions a black southerner would experience upon arrival in a northern city.

Black migrants usually found themselves living in dilapidated overpriced houses in crowded neighborhoods. They had poor access to medical treatment and nutritious food and worked long hours in very poor working conditions.

The Great Migration5) What role did the church play in the lives of black migrants?

Church provided a sense of community, a sense of relief, and gave guidance to southern migrants.

6) Why was Chicago so appealing to black southern migrants?

Because the steel mills were located on Chicago’s south side, a surplus of jobs was available to unskilled workers in the area.

7) What did northern cities such as Chicago gain from the Great Migration?

The great migration helped cities establish a foundation for black political power, business enterprise, and union activism. Cities also gained blues music, cuisine, churches, and numerous family an community associations.

Changing Times in the United States• As the 20th century progressed the United

States changed. Soldiers came home from WWI. The Klu Klux Klan thrived (primarily in the southern United States).Women begin to wear shorter skirts and bob (cut) their hair. Radio makes it possible for people to hear jazz for free. Movies are invented and alcohol is declared illegal. This time is known as the roaring 20s.

ProhibitionAt the stroke of midnight, on January 16th, 1920, America went dry. There wasn't a place in the country (including your own home) where you could legally have even a glass of wine with your dinner without breaking the law. The 18th Amendment, known as the Volstead Act, prohibited the manufacture, sale and possession of alcohol in America. Prohibition lasted for thirteen years.

The idea behind Prohibition was to reduce crime and poverty, and generally improve the quality of life in America-- by making it impossible for people to get their hands on alcohol. But, this so-called "Noble Experiment" was a colossal failure.

Prohibition• Prohibition was an unenforceable law that

outlawed alcohol. • People still wanted to drink! • Speakeasies were establishments such as

clubs that sold alcohol in secret. • Speakeasies were our first form of night clubs.• To attract business speakeasies hired

musicians to play jazz.

Prohibition

Prohibition• Jazz thrived during the prohibition era.• http://www.pbs.org/jazz/exchange/exchange_speakeasies.htm

• People never partied harder than during prohibition and jazz was a part of it all.

• Jazz became associated with drinking, parting, and BOOZE.

• Chicago and New York became national hubs for jazz during this era.

• Chicago became home to jazz kings such as King Oliver, Bessie Smith, Bix Beiderbecke, Louis Armstrong, Fletcher Henderson, Jelly Roll Morton, Benny Goodman, and Duke Ellington.

The Green Mill

The Green Mill

The Palm Tavern (closed 2001)

The Spread of Jazz Internationally

• Records allowed people to listen to jazz when they wanted.

• In 1914 World War I began.• A black army lieutenant named Lt. James

Reese Europe brought jazz to Europe during WWI.

HellfightersDuring WWI black citizens from Harlem, New York convinced their governor to grant them their own army unit.- Each unit also had a band. (the 15th regiment). Lt. James Reese Europe was selected to conduct the army band from Harlem, New York. J.R. Europe and his band incorporated jazz into their music. The French were greatly impressed with J.R. Europe and his band.

Hellfighters

Hellfighters• On April 20, 1918 along with a French unit, Lt.

James Reese Europe became the first African American officer to face combat during WWI.

• He and his regiment survived 191 days of fierce combat.

• By the end of the war more men from J.R. Europe’s regiment was decorated for bravery than any other American unit.

• The French renamed the 15th regiment from Harlem NY the “Hellfighters”.

Hellfighters• When the Hellfighters returned to New York,

people both black and white cheered them on in support.

• The Hellfighters went on to make more than 24 records.

The Death of Lt. James Reese Europe• Europe’s life was cut short when he was

murdered by one of his drummers.

• The city of New York gave him anofficial funeral: the first ever granted to a black citizen. • On May 14, 1919, James Reese Europe was buried in

Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors.

• Thousands of mourners, both black and white, attended the funeral procession.

James Reese Europe and Hellfighters Summary

The Great DepressionKen-burns vol 4

In 1929 the stock markets crashed causing the worst crisis in America since the Civil War. More than 15 million men and women were out of work. Meanwhile dust storms out west destroyed crops causing the price of food to skyrocket. Times were bad…real bad. In 1937, when it appeared the economy was getting better, the stock markets crashed again sending America even further into depression.

The Great Depression• Singing the blues did not even make people

feel better.• People felt they needed to dance away their

pain. • Nightclubs were on the rise and jazz was

found in all of them.• Clubs were mostly segregated into white and

black.

The Great Depression• Jazz formed into what is known as swing music.• Ballrooms and nightclubs around the country

were more popular than ever!• http://www.pbs.org/jazz/time/time_depression.htm

• One of the biggest night clubs in New York was called the Savoy.

• The Savoy allowed whites and blacks to dance together.

• Nationwide, white and black musicians began to sneak into clubs after hours to rehearse together.

Aragon Ballroom- Chicago

Aragon Ballroom-Chicago

Savoy-New York

The Great Depression• http://www.streetswing.com/histmain/d5savoy1.htm

• Chick Web was a drummer at the Savoy.• Benny Goodman was a white musician who

brought swing to the white community.• Goodman was the first jazz musician to put

black and white musicians on the stage together.

• Many jazz musicians focused on the music rather than the race.

• Vol 5 1-17, 1:14

World War II• World War II began in 1939. The United States became

involved in 1941. Jazz served as a reminder of home to men and women serving during WWII. Jazz became symbolic because we were fighting a war against the racist Nazis.

• The United States lost countless musicians to the draft.

An estimated one million African American soldiers served during WWII as well.http://www.pbs.org/jazz/time/time_wwii.htm

• http://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plan/jazz-and-world-war-ii-rally-resistance-catalyst-victory#sect-activities

World War II• Nazis HATED jazz. • Jazz was outlawed by the Nazis before the

United Stated even joined the war effort. • Nazis proclaimed that jazz was “nigger-Jew”

music. Anyone caught listening to or playing jazz could be sentenced to 3 years in jail or death.

Why did the Nazis outlaw jazz?NAZI VIEW AMERICAN VIEW

Before WWII Germany looks to German composers to appeal to the ideals of a pure “master race”.

Before WWII Americans experience an underground nightlife responsible for the spread of jazz.

Have a hatred for all things Jewish and foreign.

Believe in the freedom of individuality.

Jazz is viewed as a corrupting entity. Jazz is viewed as the essence of freedom.

Nazi’s believe in conformity, fascism, and racism.

American’s built jazz on diversity and individuality.

Believed that music had an extreme power to influence people. They highly regarded German composers. As a result they were highly offended by foreign composers.

Jazz was rooted in the heritage of black America and had many famous Jewish performers such as Benny Goodman.

World War II• Many young people continued to defy the Nazis

and listen to jazz in secret. These people called themselves ‘swing kids’.

• Countless ‘swing kids’ were caught and brought to concentration camps.

• Realizing that they would not be able to completely stop people from listening to jazz, the Nazis began to recreate famous jazz songs and put in their own lyrics.

World War IICharlie and his Orchestra was a Nazi Propaganda jazz group which specifically aimed to demoralizing the British and American Allied Forces during World War II. With a powerful broadcast signal, songs were heard clear across the English Channel. Heinrich Goebbel's brainchild Charlie and his Orchestra sought to create copies of popular American jazz songs in English with pro-Nazi lyrics. Some believe that the intent of these songs was to create a divide between the American and the British forces due to their anti-British remarks.

World War IIAnother war, another profit, another Jewish business trick,Another season, another reason for makin' whoopee!We throw our German names away,We are the kikes of USA.You are the goys, folks,We are the boys, folks —

World War IIEvery time I hear that dear old wedding marchI feel rather glad I have a broken arch.I have heard a lot of people talkAnd I know that marriage is a long long walk.

To most people weddings mean romanceBut I prefer a picnic or a dance.

Another bride, another groom The countryside is all in bloom; The flow'rs 'n trees is, The birds and bees is

Making whoopie.

• WWII Nazi Propaganda Jazz MusicHeinrich Goebbel Heinrich Himmler (Gestapo) Joseph Goebbels (Propaganda)

• Charlie (Karl Schwedler) and his Orchestra was a Nazi Propaganda jazz group which specifically aimed to demoralizing the British and American Allied Forces during World War II. As many know, Jazz music was opposed by the Nazi tyrannical control of freedoms due to its African-American roots making this collection a curious historical anomaly.

• Text on OTRCAT.com ©2001-2010 OTRCAT INC All Rights Reserved-Reproduction is prohibited.

• With a powerful broadcast signal, songs were heard clear across the English Channel. Heinrich Goebbel's brainchild Charlie and his Orchestra sought to create copies of popular American jazz songs in English with pro-Nazi lyrics.

• Some believe that the intent of these songs was to create a divide between the American and the British forces due to their anti-British remarks. It cannot be known if this Nazi propaganda was ever an effective tool against American or British troops, but we know the historical results of the war - the defeat of the Nazi war machine.

• http://www.otrcat.com/charlie-orchestra-nazi-propaganda-p-2096.html