JUST JAZZ SCRIPT 2015 * Jazz Is On Its Way Kara: Do you hear that music? It sounds like something brand new! Caitlin H.: It sounds like nothing I’ve ever heard before. Aaron: It sounds to me like they’re just makin’ it up as they go along! Kennedi: Well, maybe they are! Cruz: It sounds “old” but “fresh.” Kennedi: “Honest” and “real.” Cruz: “African” and “American.” Gabi: Well then it has to be…it ought to be…it’s gotta be… ALL: Jazz! Gotta Be Jazz Tyler: Most people agree that jazz music gets its roots from the songs the slaves used to sing as they worked in the fields. Kristen: These original songs were called spirituals. Tara: Of course jazz was influenced by African music since most of the slaves were from Africa. Savannah: But it also incorporated sounds of the Caribbean islands. Evan R.: When the rhythmic music of West Africa mixed with the songs of the New World, it created a whole new sound! Raziel: Did you know that New Orleans was the first place that slaves were allowed to make their music public? Daniel: No wonder people think of that great city as the birthplace of jazz. Jonathan: But before anyone had even thought of the word “jazz”, we had the blues! Basin Street Blues Elle: The whole world woke up to jazz around 1917, when the Original Dixieland Jazz Band released its first record. Gabriel: In 1920, the word, “jazz” was coined by the famous author, F. Scott Fitzgerald. Will: In fact, Fitzgerald called the 1920’s the “Jazz Age.” Erin: By the 1920’s, when you heard jazz, you heard more than just the blues. Noah: When you heard jazz, you heard soul! Jack D.: When they said jazz, they were talking about Dixieland. Sam: But even before there was Dixieland, there was Ragtime! Moira: That’s right! Nothing paved the way for jazz quite like the syncopated, ragged rhythms of a Ragtime band! Simple Melody Lucian: From New Orleans, jazz quickly spread up the Mighty Mississippi to Saint Louis and even Chicago. Melena: The great thing about jazz is that it just continued to grow and change. Domenic: From Chicago, jazz music made its way east to Detroit, Philadelphia, and New York City. Marissa: Eventually, it even headed west. “Travel my way, take the highway, that’s the best!” Bethany: Hey, that sounds like a song! Lauren Walker: It is a song! And it became a jazz standard all about the highway that everybody used to travel as they headed west to seek their fortunes. Victoria: You mean, someone wrote a song about a road? Andy: Not just any road! If it’s gonna be jazz, it’s gotta be Route 66! Route 66 Kade: Oh, this next song is one of my favorite jazz standards: “Take the A Train” by Billy Strayhorn! Martell: Wait a second, first we have a song about road, and now we have a song about a train? Caitlin M.: Sure, in jazz music you can write a song about pretty much anything. Trey: In fact, Strayhorn wrote this song while traveling from Pittsburg to New York City. Olivia: He was meeting with the great composer and jazz bandleader, Duke Ellington. Karinna: Ellington wrote directions for Strayhorn to get to his house by subway. Stella: And the first direction told Strayhorn to, “Take the A Train.” Nathen: These few words are what sparked the idea for this famous jazz tune. Maddie: It’s a shame we don’t have trumpets, trombones, and saxophones to play this next number. Drew: I guess we’ll have to play our version on the glockenspiels, xylophones, and recorders! Take the A, B, C, or G Train Nina: That was great, but what if I’m feelin’ jazzy and I don’t have any instruments nearby? Jett: Yeah, I don’t carry a glockenspiel with me when I’m walking around town. Mataya: Well, we can create jazz without any instruments at all! Brianna: Many performers improvise using only their voice to make a jazz sound. Bella: It’s called scat singing. Adam: And the best part about scatting is that you don’t even have to remember the lyrics. You can just sing nonsense syllables! Jazz Round Jack E.: George Gershwin wrote some of the most memorable jazz melodies of all time. Ariyana: But Gershwin was different from other famous jazzers. Kalia: His compositions spanned both popular styles, like jazz, as well as classical genres. Sergio: In fact, in 1924, Gershwin brought jazz to the concert hall with one of his most famous pieces, Rhapsody in Blue. Jacob: A few years later in 1930, Gershwin wrote the musical, Crazy Girl. Aidan: Crazy Girl included some of his most famous jazz standards, including our next rhythmic number. I Got Rhythm Abby: I never understood why all the old jazzers had such funny names, like Dizzy and Satchmo. Lady Day and Duke. Lauren Widmer: Well, these nicknames were either given to them by friends, or the jazzers chose it themselves. Nick: You see, these jazz players were very creative people. Isabelle: Usually the name said something about their personality and about the way they made jazz. Joey: A lot of jazz is about being creative, yes, making it up as you go along. Hallie P.: That’s called improvisation. Dizzy, Satchimo, Lady Day, Duke, and many more were all vey good at it. Patrick: In 1974, the famous Stevie Wonder, wrote a song as a tribute to many of these late, great, jazz legends, including one of Stevie’s idols… Sir Duke! Ethan S.: When Stevie Wonder was just a boy growing up in the 50’s, there was new Rhythm and Blues dance move that was all the rage. Ashlee: So just for fun, we’ve added our own 50’s twist to this timeless tune. Sir Duke Vince: So that’s jazz! Josh: Well, that was jazz, but jazz isn’t finished yet and never will be. Evan A.: Jazz music is only a little over a hundred years old and it’s always changing. Colin: Who knows what it might sound like in another hundred years? Hallie F.: But whether you hear it in New Orleans or New York… Devin: If the sound you hear is full of surprise and honesty… Grace: If it has strength and improvisation, or sadness and joy… Achilles: Then it has to be…. it ought to be… it’s gotta be… ALL: Jazz! It Don’t Mean a Thing * Portions of this script are from Gotta Be Jazz Celebrate Jazz Classics: America’s Music by john Jacobson and John Higgins. s .