History of Jazz
Jazz is the art of expression set to music! Jazz is said to be the fundamental rhythms of human life and man’s contemporary reassessment of his traditional values. Volumes have been written on the origins of jazz based on black American life-styles. The early influences of tribal drums and the development of gospel, blues and field hollers seems to point out that jazz has to do with human survival and the expression of life.
The origin of the word "jazz" is most often traced back to a vulgar term used for sexual acts. Some of the early sounds of jazz where associated with whore houses and "ladies of ill repute." However, the meaning of jazz soon became a musical art form, whether under composition guidelines or improvisation, jazz reflected spontaneous melodic phrasing.
Those who play jazz have often expressed the feelings that jazz should remain undefined, jazz should be felt. "If you gotta ask, you’ll never know" ---Louis Armstrong.
The standard legend about jazz is that it was conceived in New Orleans and moved up the Mississippi River to Memphis, St. Louis and finally Chicago. Of course that seems to be the history of what we now refer to as jazz, however, the influences of what led to those early New Orleans sounds goes back to tribal African drum beats and European musical structures.
In reviewing the background of jazz one can not overlook the evaluation over the decades and the fact that jazz spanned many musical forms such as spirituals, cakewalks, ragtime and the blues. Around 1891 a New Orleans barber named Buddy Bolden reputedly pitcked up his cornet and blew the first stammering notes of jazz, thereby unconsciously breaking with several centuries of musical tradition. A half-century later, jazz, America’s great contribution to music, crossed the threshold of the universities and became seriously, even religiously considered.
Jazz functions as popular art and has enjoyed periods of fairly widespread public response, in the "jazz age" of the 1920s, in the swing era of the late 1930s and in the peak popularity of modern jazz in the late 1950s. Beginning in the 20s and continuing well into the 30s, it was common to apply the word "jazz" rather indiscriminately, melodically or tonally. Thus George Gershwin was called a jazz composer. For Gershwin’s concert work he was acclaimed to have made a respectable art form out of jazz. Somewhat similarly, Paul Whiteman, playing jazz-influenced dance music, was billed as the King of Jazz. Perhaps the broader definition of jazz, such as the one that would include the blues influence as well as those who shared our understanding of the art form, even if they did not perform it, would be the most useful historical approach.
The influence and development of the blues can not be over looked when discussing the early years of jazz.
An ability to play the blues has been a requisite of all jazz musicians, who on first meeting one another or when taking part in a jam session, will often use the blues framework for improving. Blues, stemming from rural areas of the deep South, has a history largely independent of jazz. Exponents of blues usually accompanied themselves on guitar, piano or harmonica or were supported by small groups who often played unconventional or homemade instruments.
A number of the early jazz performers relied on the blues for more than the chord exchanged. Many of these jazz musicians used the blues for the driving force of their musical emotions, such as the work of Don Redman, Stuff Smith, Ma Rainey and the early works of Louis Armstrong and Benny Carter.
Ragtime
(1880s-early 1900s)
Ragtime was one of the early musical styles that contributed to the development of jazz. Originating in the southern United States during the late 1800's, ragtime was composed primarily for the piano. It combined a sixteenth-note-based syncopated melody with the form and feel of a march. On the piano this was achieved by the pianist's left hand playing a steady "boom-chic" bass and chord pattern and the right hand playing the syncopated tune. Playing in this syncopated style was called "ragging," which is probably the origin of the term "ragtime."
Important musicians of the time included pianists Scott Joplin, Artie Matthews, James Scott, and Tom Turpin.
Vocabulary
сontemporary – сучасний
reassessment – переоцінка
spontaneous – спонтанний
tribal – племінний
to span – охоплювати
а barber – парикмахер
stammering – заїкання
unconsciously – неусвідомлено
а threshold – порог
widespread – широко поширений
а response – відповідь
indiscriminately – нерозбірливо
to – оголошувати, заявляти
to stem – відбуватися
chord - акорд
Task 2. Translate into English
Слово «jazz» у креолів означало полювання, а також хвилювання, збудження. В 1860-і в північноамериканській літературній мові з'являється слово «jasm», що означає піднесення, натхнення. Невдовзі йому на зміну приходить слово «jass», а також аналогічне дієслово, що означало, «ловити», «збуджуватись» тощо Все частіше починають використовуватись звороти «jazz around» (блукати, мандрувати) і «jazz up» (впадати у веселий стан). Як музичний термін, слово «jazz» вперше з'явилося 1915 року у зв'язку з білим оркестром, що грав у новоорлеанському стилі, пізніше — в назві новоорлеанського оркестру Тома Брауна — «Том Браун Диксиленд Джаз Бенд», після чого термін «джаз» швидко поширюється в Північній Америці, а згодом і по всьому світу.
Блюз є представником світського музикування американських негрів, що з'явився задовго до джазу. Саме слово «blue» багатозначно і розшифровується, як «блакитний», «сумний», «смутний», «меланхолічний» і ін. Ця багатозначність характерна довгим протяжним пісням, текст яких завжди містить певну недомовку та неоднозначну емоційність- смуток часто йде поруч з гумором, чистота з вульгарністю тощо
Характерні музичні риси блюзу:
- використання нетемперованих звуків — blue notes — знижені 3-й, 5-й та 7-й ступені мажорного ладу, походження яких пов'язують зі зверненням музикантів до широко розповсюджених в африканській музиці пентатонічним ладам.
- форма блюзу складається з трьох фраз по 4 такти в кожній (ААВ), що складають 12-тактовий період, заснований на принципі антифону по горизонталі та по вертикалі, що проявляється як в мелодії, так і в тексті. Така трьохчастинна структура блюзу вельми специфічна, та не має аналогів в англійській літературі.
- Гармонія блюзу чітко фіксована: перші 4 такти — на тоніці, наступні по 2 — на субдомінанті й тоніці та останні по 2 — на субдомінанті й тоніці та на домінанті й тоніці в розмірі 4/4 (Т-Т-Т-Т—S-S-T-T—D-S-T-T).
Task 3. Put the questions to the underlined words:
a. The standard legend about jazz is that it was conceived in New Orleans and moved up the Mississippi River to Memphis, St. Louis and finally Chicago.
b. Around 1891 a New Orleans barber named Buddy Bolden reputedly pitcked up his cornet and blew the first stammering notes of jazz, thereby unconsciously breaking with several centuries of musical tradition.
Task 4. Answer the following questions:
1. What is the origin of the word “jazz”?
2. What musical forms did jazz span?
3. How does jazz function?
4. What has been a requisite of all jazz musicians?
5. What instruments were used to play blues?
6. What was ragtime?
Task 5. Retell the text.