Lecture 4 Roots

New Orleans Musical Tradition • In the early 1800s, New Orleans was the most cosmopolitan and musical city in America • Beginning in 1817, slaves were permitted to sing, dance, and celebrate in Congo Square on Sunday afternoons • This became a tourist attraction that enabled whites to get a glimpse of African musical tradition • Brass bands were immensely popular, especially for weddings, funerals and Mardi Gras • After the Emancipation in 1863, rural freed slaves arrived, bringing with them the sounds of work songs, field hollers, and eventually the • By the 1890s, was filtering down from Missouri

New Orleans Ethnic Mix • Pirates, adventures, gamblers, exiles, criminals • French, Spanish, German, English, Irish, Indian, Italian, Chinese, West Indian, African • All nationalities living side-by-side • Racial integration was later thwarted by Jim Crow laws in the south

The Creoles of Color • A unique and prosperous community of free people (in the days before abolition) • The light-skinned descendants of French and Spanish Colonists and their black wives and mistresses • They identified with their European and not their African ancestors • They looked down upon the darker-skinned blacks around them • In the days before the abolition of slavery, some even owned slaves

Creole Musicians • Many Creole musicians were classically trained • They prided themselves on being able to play music for every kind of dancing • In the days before the civil war, New Orleans had two full-fledged symphony orchestras: one white, and one Creole

Plessy v. Ferguson • In 1890, the State of passed Act 111 that required separate accommodations for blacks and whites on railroads • On June 7, 1892, Homer Adolph Plessy, a Creole, challenged the legislation by boarding a car of the East Louisiana Railroad that was designated by whites for use by white patrons only • When he refused to leave the white car and move, he was arrested, jailed, and convicted • The case eventually reached the Supreme Court • In a 7 to 1 decision, the Supreme Court upheld the “separate but equal” laws of southern states The Impact on Creoles • The world of the Creoles was turned upside down • By law, they now found themselves classified with blacks as second-class citizens The Impact on Creole Musicians • Creole orchestras which once existed disappeared • Clarinetists no longer had orchestral work and were forced to go into the black community for work in music • Creole musicians merged their classical virtuosity with the blues-inflected music of black bands • Together, they would transform every kind of music played in New Orleans • Because of their level of technical fluency in music, the nature of the music forever changed

Storyville • The “red light” district of New Orleans • Referred to by locals simply as “The District,” it was set up to limit prostitution to one area of town where authorities could monitor and regulate the practice • The name “Storyville” is in reference to city alderman Sidney Story who wrote the legislation to set up the district • While did not originate in Storyville, it did flourish there • It was tradition in the better Storyville establishments (known as “sporting houses”) to hire a piano player, and sometimes small bands

Origin of the Term “Jazz” • The new style of music was called “ratty music,” “gut-bucket music,” and “hot music” • Originally named “jass,” a term said to be derived from the jasmine perfume favored by the prostitutes of Storyville • Eventually changed to “jazz,” for reasons unknown

Early Jazz Bands • The instrumentation and size of bands was flexible • The “standard” band • A “front line” of (or trumpet), trombone, and clarinet • Collective polyphonic improvisation • The cornet generally played and embellished the melody in the middle register • The clarinet would improvise around the melody in the upper register, typically outlining the harmony by arpeggiating the chords • The trombone would improvise in the lower register, often times ornamenting the bass function by “tailgating,” a style of trombone playing that makes use of dramatic slides from one note to another • A “rhythm section” of at least two of the following instruments: guitar or banjo, string bass or tuba, piano, and drums

The Cornet Kings • Charles “Buddy” Bolden (1877 – 1931) • Born on September 6, 1877 in New Orleans, Louisiana • The first New Orleans jazz musician to come to prominence • Credited as the founder of jazz • Hailed as “King Bolden” • Although Bolden was recalled as having made at least one phonograph cylinder, no known recordings of Bolden have survived Bolden Lore • Because there are no recordings and only one photograph in existence, we are left to go on the authority of eyewitness accounts • Bolden’s innovation was that of personality • Known for his loud sound and constant improvisation • There are stories of him playing so loud that the valves of his cornet blew loose and became projectiles • There were other reports that he could be heard ten miles away • Credited with creating a looser, more improvised version of ragtime and adding blues to it Bolden’s Decline • Bolden drank heavily • He began to miss gigs • Developed headaches • Began talking to himself • Quarreled with the members of his band • Worried constantly that other musicians’ innovations would overshadow his own • He seemed frightened of everything, even his cornet The End of a Career • In September of 1906, Bolden set out to play in another parade as he had done for years • Somewhere along the way, he abruptly walked away from the other marchers • His mother did what she could to calm his fears, but nothing seemed to help • Six months later, she was forced to call the police, afraid that her son would hurt her or himself • Bolden would never play his horn again • He would spend the rest of his life in the Louisiana State Insane Asylum in Jackson • Freddie Keppard (1889 – 1933) • Born February 27, 1890 in a Creole community of New Orleans • Played violin, mandolin, and accordion before switching to cornet • Several musicians with clear memories of said that Freddie Keppard sounded the most like Bolden of anyone who recorded Career • With the departure of Buddy Bolden from the music scene, Keppard was soon after proclaimed “King Keppard” as the city’s top horn player • Keppard was so fearful other cornetists would copy his fingering that when he played, he was said sometimes to drape a handkerchief over his hand • Around 1914, cornetist Joe Oliver defeated Keppard in a musical “cutting contest” and claimed Keppard’s crown • Keppard then accepted an offer to join Bill Johnson’s band in , California • The band became “The Original Creole Orchestra” and toured the Vaudeville circuit, exposing the nation to the music which would come to be known as “jazz” Opportunity Lost • In December of 1915, while on tour in New York, Keppard’s Original Creole Orchestra was given the opportunity to make a record for the Victor Talking Machine Company • Keppard turned it down for fear that other cornetists would copy his style • It could have been the first jazz recording • That distinction went to the Original Jass Band, an all-white band from New Orleans • Joe “King” Oliver (1885 – 1938) • Born December 19, 1885 in Abend, Louisiana • Moved to New Orleans in his youth • Played cornet in New Orleans and later in • Was a major influence on younger musicians in New Orleans and Chicago, most notably Oliver’s Success • The band Oliver co-led with trombonist Kid Ory was considered New Orleans' hottest and best in the 1910s • Oliver achieved great popularity in New Orleans across economic and racial lines • Oliver was in demand for playing jobs from rough working class black dance halls to white society debutante parties ’s Creole • Recordings made by this group in 1923 demonstrated the serious artistry of the New Orleans style of collective improvisation to a wider audience • Virtually all the members of this band had notable solo careers • Personnel was Oliver on cornet, his protegé Louis Armstrong, second cornet, Baby Dodds, drums, , clarinet, Lil Hardin (later Armstrong's wife), on piano, Honore Dutrey on trombone, and Bill Johnson, bass and banjo The Music of King Oliver • As a player, Oliver was extremely interested in altering his horn's sound • He pioneered in the use of mutes, including the plumber's plunger, derby hat, and bottles and cups in the bell of his horn • Oliver was also noted as a composer, having written many tunes still regularly played, including • Dippermouth Blues • Sweet Like This • Canal Street Blues • Doctor Jazz Oliver’s Move to Chicago • In 1919 a fight broke out at a dance where Oliver was playing, and the police arrested Oliver and the band along with the fighters • This made Oliver decide to leave the Jim Crow South • Oliver started to suffer from gum disease which started to diminish his playing abilities, but remained a popular band leader through the 1920s Final Years • He lost his life savings when a Chicago bank collapsed on Black Tuesday • He struggled to keep his band together until the band broke up • Oliver was stranded in Savannah, Georgia, where he worked as a janitor • He died in poverty at a rooming house • Louis Armstrong paid the train fare and funeral costs so that “Papa Joe” could be brought to New York and have a proper burial

The First Jazz Recording • The Original Dixieland Jass Band, led by cornetist Nick LaRocca recorded two sides on February 26, 1917: • Dixie Jass Band One-Step • Livery Stable Blues • Originally marketed as a novelty, the record was a surprise hit, giving many Americans their first taste of jazz • The O.D.J.B., as the came to be known, were falsely billed as “The Creators of Jazz” • LaRocca wrote numerous vehement letters to newspapers, radio, and television shows, stating that he was the true and sole inventor of jazz music, and that those who claimed that the music had African origins were part of a Communist conspiracy

Ferdinand “Jelly Roll” Morton (1885 – 1941) • Born Ferdinand LaMenthe ca. September 20, 1885 in a Creole community in New Orleans • The “Father of ” • Considered the first true composer and arranger of jazz • He often falsely claimed to have invented jazz in 1902 Morton’s Importance • Morton was one of the first pianists to synthesize the blues, ragtime, improvisation, and European forms and styles into a new and original piano style • He wrote and arranged many pieces that became early jazz standards • Morton was one of the first to recognize that jazz was a style that could be applied to any piece of music • This allowed him to take a popular tune of any style, add the elements of swing and improvisation and turn it into jazz • Was the first to incorporate Latin influences into jazz, which he called the “Spanish tinge” Early Career • Morton began playing at the sporting houses in Storyville around 1900 • Was making between $20 to $100 a night in tips alone • Left New Orleans in 1903 and traveled all over the United States for the next 19 years earning his living not only playing piano but also at various times as a pool hustler, gambler, hotel manager, and a pimp Morton’s Red Hot Peppers • In 1922, he settled in Chicago • 1n 1926, he formed the Red Hot Peppers, an innovative 7-piece group of New Orleans immigrants • The Peppers served as a showcase for his writing and arranging talents • Although the Peppers never performed in front of a live audience, they made a series of influential recordings that became the blueprint for the highly arranged music of the 1930s and 1940s

Sidney Bechet (1897 – 1959) • Born May 14, 1897 in New Orleans • For decades was one of jazz’s greatest clarinetists • Is best remembered as a pioneer and master of the soprano saxophone • The first notable jazz saxophonist of any sort The Early Years • From a young age, Bechet quickly mastered any musical instrument he encountered • Some New Orleanians remembered him as a cornet hot-shot in his youth • Bechet was also a child prodigy on the clarinet • Played in Freddie Keppard’s band at the age of 10 Prodigy & Virtuoso • A combative and feisty player • Known for his fiery virtuosity as well as his wide and fast vibrato • Vibrato is the technique of varying a pitch up and down slightly to produce a wavering sound • Perhaps the only jazz soloist who could go toe-to-toe with Louis Armstrong in the 1920s Bechet & the Soprano Sax • While in London, Bechet bought a soprano saxophone • He devoted much of his career to playing it • Was the only jazz musician to do so until John Coltrane Later Years • Bechet got out of music in the 1930s becoming a tailor, but returned in the 1940s when the music of New Orleans saw a renewed public interest • Bechet continued recording and touring, though his success was intermittent • Relocated to France • Married Elisabeth Ziegler in Antibes, France in 1951 • While in Paris, Bechet dictated his poetic autobiography, Treat It Gentle • He died in Paris on his 62nd birthday

Other Important New Orleans Jazz Musicians • George “Pops” Foster (1892 – 1969) Tuba & Bass • Johnny Dodds (1892 – 1940) Clarinet • Warren “Baby” Dodds (1898 – 1959) Drums • Kid Ory (1886 – 1973) Trombone

Sources • History and Tradition of Jazz by Thomas E. Larson • Jazz for Dummies by Dirk Sutro • Jazz a film by Ken Burns • http://en.wikipedia.org

Discography 1. “Cake Walking Babies from Home” by The Red Onion Jazz Babies from the album The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz, Volume 1 CBS RD 033-1 2. “Tin Roof Blues” by The from the album Masters of Jazz, Volume 1: Traditional Jazz Classics Rhino Records R2 72468/A 26944 3. “Dixie Jass Band One-Step” by The Original Dixieland Jass Band from the album The Complete Original Dixiland Jazz Band (1917 – 1936) BMG 4. “Stockyard Strut” by Freddie Keppard from the album Freddie Keppard: The Complete Set (1923 – 1926) Retrieval 5. “Dippermouth Blues” by King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band from the album The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz, Volume 1 CBS RD 033-1 6. “Canal Street Blues” by King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band from the album Louis Armstrong and King Oliver Milestone Records 7. “Maple Leaf Rag” by Scott Joplin from the album Scott Joplin: The Entertainer Biograph DK 30155 8. “Maple Leaf Rag” by from the album The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz, Volume 1 CBS RD 033-1 9. “Dead Man Blues” by Jelly Roll Morton’s Red Hot Peppers from the album The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz, Volume 1 CBS RD 033-1 10. “Black Bottom Stomp” by Jelly Roll Morton’s Red Hot Peppers from the album The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz, Volume 1 CBS RD 033-1 11. “Blue Horizon” by and his Blue Note Jazz Men from the album The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz, Volume 1 CBS RD 033-1 12. “Summertime” by the Sidney Bechet Quintet from the album Masters of Jazz, Volume 1: Traditional Jazz Classics Rhino Records R2 72468/A 26944 13. “Cake Walking Babies from Home” by Clarence Williams’ Blue Five from the album Masters of Jazz, Volume 1: Traditional Jazz Classics Rhino Records R2 72468/A 26944 14. “” by The Original Dixieland Five from the album Masters of Jazz, Volume 1: Traditional Jazz Classics Rhino Records R2 72468/A 26944