MUSIC 26AC Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Speakeasy, Saxophone, Potato Head Blues
Jazz Otoer , 7
• Jazz: a hybrid, improvisation based form with a strong rhythmic pulse overlaid with syncopated
rhythms and melodically making use of the blue notes
o Originated by African Americans but comes to be performed by many races and cultures
o Still performed by people of different races and cultures
o Solidification of sonic profile after this music is played by the music industry
• Historical moments leading to the rise of jazz
o Great Migration (1900-1930): series of waves of black people moving in large numbers to
primarily cities/urban environments; not a steady movement
▪ Large number of black people move out of the south and rural areas to find better
job opportunities and escape racism
o Harlem Renaissance: music and literature output in the 1920s due to the increase in
economic capital for black people
o Growth of the US economy (ie: Roaring 20s): people having more money they could spend
on musical recordings, etc.
▪ Growth of manufacturing is hand in hand with the growth of the consumer culture
(ie: spending on music)
o 1920s is referred to the jazz age
▪ Jazz was seen as a tool for expression for the younger generation
o Prohibition (1919-1933): ban of the sale of alcohol
▪ A legal barrier creates the growth of an economy centered around alcohol → leads
to the growth of speakeasies (space for music and alcohol/cross racial listening)
▪ Example: access to jazz music by white people (white people were allowed to buy
alcohol at speakeasies)
• Musical features of jazz
o Instrumental and vocal tradition
▪ Much more focus on instrumental growth and virtuosity; vocalists are in the
minority
▪ Instruments: piano, bass, drums, horns, saxophones, trombone, guitar, voice, violin
o Rhythm important (swing)
o “yopatio: ephasizig eats that are’t typially ephasized i a eter 2 ad 4 are
more emphasized)
o Blues scales
o Form (blues, Tin Pan Alley, theme and variation): no particular form (can find different
forms)
▪ Movement between an emphasis on a soloist and ensemble (can feel like a call and
response) is a typical unfolding of a jazz piece
o Improvisation: spontaneous creation in the moment of music by the musician
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