Presents POLLY GIBBONS with The Oklahoma City Jazz Orchestra Tuesday, September 13, 2016 7:30 PM tickets.occc.edu Phone: 405-682-7579 www.occc.edu/pas Jazz & Big Band Music

The genre of Jazz, considered “one of America’s original art forms,” originated in the late 19th and 20th century in African American communities throughout the United States. Jazz music is spontaneous, or improvised, never playing the same tune twice. In vocal Jazz, singers may sing the lyrics of a song, or improvise with wordless sounds or nonsense syllables, called scat singing. Jazz took America by storm and as a result, the 1920’s came to be known as the Jazz Age. The Jazz Age was a time when people were migrating their families to big city living. Big Band music has its roots in jazz, formed during the “Swing Era” in the 1930s and 1940s. A Big Band refers to a jazz ensemble with 12 or more musicians consisting of trumpets, trombones, saxophones and a rhythm section which can include piano, guitar, bass, and drums. Instead of improvising, or playing tunes without music (like Jazz), a Big Band plays pieces that were arranged and notated on sheet music, called charts. Big band performances were not only entertaining to listen to, but often audience members danced to the music. Famous Big Band leaders include Glenn Miller, Guy Lombardo and Count Basie. CREATE A POSTER! Choose either the Jazz Era or the Swing Era to focus on. What you’ll need: A poster board, glue, newspaper clippings, magazines and printed media that you find online through your research. Find images and phrases that illustrate or highlight the following: 1. Instruments and musical styles from that era. 2. Major political and/or historical events that occurred during that time period. 3. Examples of fashions and trends from that era. 4. Famous/historical figures from that era. Share your poster and what you learned about your Era with your classmates. EXTRA CREDIT: Attend a live performance. OCCC presents Polly Gibbons with the Oklahoma City Jazz Orchestra on Tuesday, September 13, 2016 at 7:30 PM in the Visual and Performing Arts Center Theater located at 7777 S. May Avenue, Oklahoma City, OK. Tickets to the performance may be purchased at tickets.occc.edu. For more information visit www.occc.edu/pas