What's in Cuesheet?

WELCOME TO CUESHEET, one of a series of performance guides published by the Education Department of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, D.C. This Cuesheet is designed to be used before and after attending the performances of The Billy Taylor Trio and the Turtle Island String Quartet. What’s in Cuesheet? What is Jazz? page 2 Jazz—An Overview, page 3 Building Blocks of Music, page 4 Improvisation, page 5 Development of Jazz, page 6 Glossary, page 7 Billy Taylor Trio, page 8 Turtle Island String Quartet, page 10 Bibliography and Discography, page 12 Dr. Billy Taylor and the Billy Taylor Trio demonstrate the characteristics of jazz and perform works that show how various styles of jazz developed over the years. The Turtle Island String Quartet play jazz arrangements and original compo- sitions and discuss the performance techniques used for jazz and related contemporary musical forms. 2 It has been said that there is a style of jazz that sounds like European classical music, a style of jazz that sounds like country and western music, a style of jazz that sounds like Latin music, a style of jazz that sounds like rock music, and styles that sound like various other kinds of music heard in this country and elsewhere in the world. Dr.What Billy Taylor, the renowned isjazz artist/educa-JAZZ?“Comparing styles is the best tor/composer/author answered this question by way to discover that stating that, Jazz is America’s there is no one way of classical“ music. It is an playing jazz, for there are American way of playing as many different ways of music.” playing the music as there are musicians playing it.” Jazz has developed as a musical language from Dr. Billy Taylor* a single expression of the consciousness of — black people to a national music which You will learn about three expresses Americana to Americans as well as to important elements in music— people from other countries. melody, harmony, and rhythm. You will also learn about impro- Jazz has been a major influence on the music visation—an important part of a of the world for more than ninety years. jazz performance. You will learn that every jazz musician is a composer, and improvisation is instant composition. Take a look at the glossary of terms on page 7 before attending the presentations. *quotes throughout are from Taylor, Billy. Jazz Piano—A Jazz History. Dubuque, Iowa: Wm. C. Brown Company Publishers, 1983. and Taylor, Billy; Stokolosa, MaryAnn; Bass, Mickey. Music Activities Packet. New York: Jazzmobile, Inc., 1979. Quartet Island String Turtle 3 Jazz History and Development other types of music found in their her- An Overview itage. Africans created American music as they adapted to this new land and Jazz is an art form that originated and faced the conditions of slavery. was used as a medium of expression by African Americans. It emerged from Most slaves were taken from the west- the need of African Americans to ern countries of Africa. They were Vai, express themselves in musical terms. Twi, Mandingo, Yoruba, or people of This need for self-expression stemmed dozens of other tribes. They brought directly from the African musical with them their memories and habits heritage. based on the old ways of life—religious beliefs Music in the Early Days of Slavery The African Musical Tradition—In and practices, crafts, WORK SONGS—The slaves’ work song was a revision of the African societies, music was most music, dances, and the African work song. Work songs were sung to make one’s important in maintaining and continu- tradition of oral trans- labors easier to perform. The words (lyrics) spoke about ing a culture. As a result, Africans mission of history. work being done and were also comments of social criticism, brought with them to this country the ridicule, gossip, and protest. tradition of having music to accompany Music played a very and define the activities of their lives. important part in the CRIES, CALLS, AND FIELD HOLLERS—The melodic calls were There was music for working, for play- daily lives of Africans. used to communicate messages of all kinds. They were used ing, for festivals, for marriages, births, Enslaved Africans to bring people in from the fields, to call them to work, to deaths, and wars. For Africans, music began to use music as attract the attention of a person in the distance, to signal had many purposes. a relief from both the hunting dogs, or to make a person’s presence known. Some physical and spiritual were happy, some were sad. As Dr. Billy Taylor explains in his book burdens they endured Jazz Piano—A Jazz History, because in America. It was also SPIRITUALS—Group expressions of many aspects of the transplanted Africans did not used as a tool for com- slaves’ life, most spirituals were used to express religious have the same freedom to main- munication, since convictions. There were also spirituals used to give tain their cultural identity, Africans came here messages, to teach, to scold, to speak of escape, and to their musical traditions had to from different tribes express the desire for freedom. As Africans endured slavery, change. and backgrounds. SATIRICAL SONGS—These were songs used to make fun of they had to reshape work, songs, people and events. leisure songs, religious music, and BALLADS—These were songs used to tell stories of good and bad men and women, heroes, heroines, justice, injustice, great events, and problems blacks in America were having. These forms of music formed the musical fam- ily that produced jazz. Black Americans created something of beauty from a very ugly situation—slavery. They created African American music. “This new music was to be the trunk of the tree from which a truly American music would grow—jazz, America’s classical music.” 4 When we listen carefully to music, we can hear the tune —Melody, the notes that provide counterpoint to the tune — Harmony, and we can feel the beat of the music — Rhythm. This helps us tell the difference between a march and a waltz. It also helps us keep time and sing or play music together. The melody, the harmony, and the rhythm are the “building blocks” of music. How do we hear these three The important “building blocks when Buildingwe listen? ” Blocks of Music There are three important When we listen to a jazz group, the rhythm is usually played by the drums. The string bass or bass guitar helps the drum “keep elements in music we hear. time,” and also plays low notes that sound good with the melody They are: and harmony. The piano and the guitar play the harmony or chord progres- *Melody sions. These are other notes that sound good with the melody. When these “harmony” notes are played together they are called *Harmony chords, when they are played separately they are called arpeg- gios, or broken chords. The piano and the guitar are sometimes *Rhythm used to play the rhythm when there is no bass or drums. The melody may be played by any instrument. It may also be sung. In large groups the melody is frequently played by instruments like the trumpet, the trombone, the saxophone, the clar- inet, the flute, the violin, or the melodica. Listen carefully to what the Billy Taylor Trio will do with 3 instruments. Can you identify who is playing the melody, the harmony, and the rhythm? Does this ever change? 5 Improvisation is an important part of a jazz performance. Every jazz musician is a composer. Improvisation is a way of expressing yourself through music. “If you are a What do you think about when jazz musician, you improvise? you think of the most effective way to say what you Is the mode angry and have to say aggressive or tender and loving? In a jazz group, improvi- Are you trying to say something in the musical sation is like a conversa- funny or sad? What does the style of your tion; the musician who is musician want to say? To whom? choice.” improvising listens to the other members of the group When jazz musicians improvise, they make up and says something to them, music as they go along. Because every jazz using musical phrases. musician is a composer, improvisation is instant Sometimes it is like call and composition. A good improvisation has a response, with the group asking beginning, a middle, and an ending. It is like a question musically and the telling someone something. You must put your improvising musician answering thoughts into phrases that are easily them. understood. In musical composition you must do the same—the only difference is that you are Jazz does not exist in a vacu- using musical sounds instead of words. um. It reflects life as it is being lived. In the jazz tradition, musi- “Since jazz improvisation is a cians are free to express their personal statement drawing upon ideas and feelings in a way that melody, rhythm, and harmony, is not possible in other styles of serious jazz musicians do not music. want their statement to ramble or be incoherent. The best improvisers try to be as As you see and hear the Billy succinct as possible, Taylor Trio perform, try to stating an idea, developing it listen to what each to its logical conclusion, and player is doing. stopping—having said all that was necessary to convey the thought.” 6 , “As America s classical music, a melting pot of music from various musical traditions, jazz has provided a unique and continuing view of who Americans are and what we are about.

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