ETHNOMUS 50B Chapter Notes - Chapter 6-7: Modern Jazz Quartet, Barry Ulanov, Dizzy Gillespie
20 Jan 2017
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Document Summary
War years influenced the course of jazz: musicians were being drafted, gas was rationed (incr difficulty/expense of touring) Frank sinatra helped shift tastes from swing to romantic ballads (jazzy tune) Louis jordan (alto-sax): helped shift towards a blues-based dance-y vibe (jump blues evolved to rock and roll) Big band era: commercial success experienced mainly by the whites, but the music form dx by blacks. Black musicians (ww2 veterans) hoped for increased opportunities but were disappointed. Therefore, they created a new type of jazz: more complex and irregularly accented melodies, sophisticated harmonic modulations and faster temps aka bebop. Critics: generational problems, traditionalistic side despised the tapping of the foot, jazz musicians of earlier styles said it was hectic, frantic and phenomenal cruelty . Defenders: barry ulanov stated that they were improving the art of jazz by adding rhythmic and tonal resources. Contrafacts: new melodies written to harmonic structures (chord changes) of preexisting songs.
