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| Big band | |
|---|---|
 Paul Whiteman and his orchestra in 1921 | |
| Stylistic origins |
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| Cultural origins | 1910s |
| Derivative forms | |
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Abig band orjazz orchestra is a type ofmusical ensemble ofjazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections:saxophones,trumpets,trombones, and arhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and dominatedjazz in the early 1940s whenswing was most popular. The term "big band" is also used to describe a genre of music, although this was not the only style of music played by big bands.
Big bands started as accompaniment for dancing theLindy Hop. In contrast to the typical jazz emphasis on improvisation, big bands relied on written compositions and arrangements. They gave a greater role to bandleaders, arrangers, and sections of instruments rather than soloists.
Big bands generally have four sections: trumpets, trombones, saxophones, and a rhythm section of guitar, piano, double bass, drums and sometimes vibraphone.[1][2][3] The division in early big bands, from the 1920s to 1930s, was typically two or three trumpets, one or two trombones, three or four saxophones, and a rhythm section of four instruments.[4] In the 1940s,Stan Kenton's band used up to five trumpets, five trombones (threetenor and twobass trombones), five saxophones (twoalto saxophones, twotenor saxophones, onebaritone saxophone), and a rhythm section.Duke Ellington at one time used six trumpets.[5] While most big bands dropped the previously common jazz clarinet from their arrangements (other than the clarinet-led orchestras of Artie Shaw and Benny Goodman), many Duke Ellington songs had clarinet parts,[6] often replacing or doubling one of the tenor saxophone parts; more rarely, Ellington would substitute baritone sax for bass clarinet, such as in "Ase's Death" fromSwinging Suites.Boyd Raeburn drew fromsymphony orchestras by addingflute,French horn, strings, andtimpani to his band.[4] In the late 1930s,Shep Fields incorporated a solo accordion,temple blocks,piccolo,violins and aviola into his Rippling Rhythm Orchestra.[7][8]Paul Whiteman also featured a solo accordion in his ensemble.[9][10]
Jazz ensembles numbering eight (octet), nine (nonet) or ten (tentet) voices are sometimes called "little big bands".[11] During the 1940s, somewhat smaller configurations of the big band emerged in the form of the "rhythmsextet". These ensembles typically featured three or moreaccordions accompanied by piano, guitar, bass, cello, percussion, and marimba withvibes and were popularized by recording artists such asCharles Magnante,[12][13] Joe Biviano[14][15] andJohn Serry.[16][14][15][17][18][19][20]
Twenty-first century big bands can be considerably larger than their predecessors, exceeding 20 players, with some European bands using 29 instruments and some reaching 50.[21]
In the most common seating for a 17-piece big band, each section is carefully set-up in a way to optimize the bands sound. For the wind players, there are 3 different types of parts: lead parts (including first trumpet, first trombone, and first alto sax), solo parts (including second or fourth trumpet, second trombone, and the first tenor sax), and section members (which include the rest of the band). The band is generally configured so lead parts are seated in the middle of their sections and solo parts are seated closest to the rhythm section. The fourth trombone part is generally played by a bass trombone. In some pieces the trumpets may double onflugelhorn orcornet, and saxophone players frequently double on other woodwinds such asflute,piccolo,clarinet,bass clarinet, orsoprano saxophone.
It is useful to distinguish between the roles of composer, arranger and leader. The composer writes original music that will be performed by individuals or groups of various sizes, while the arranger adapts the work of composers in a creative way for a performance or recording.[22] Arrangers frequently notate all or most of the score of a given number, usually referred to as a "chart".[23] Bandleaders are typically performers who assemble musicians to form an ensemble of various sizes, select or create material for them, shape the music's dynamics, phrasing, and expression in rehearsals, and lead the group in performance often while playing alongside them.[24] One of the first prominent big band arrangers wasFerde Grofé, who was hired byPaul Whiteman to write for his “symphonic jazz orchestra”.[3] A number of bandleaders established long-term relationships with certain arrangers, such as the collaboration between leader Count Basie and arrangerNeil Hefti.[25] Some bandleaders, such asGuy Lombardo, performed works composed by others (in Lombardo's case, often by his brotherCarmen),[26] while others, such asMaria Schneider, take on all three roles.[27] In many cases, however, the distinction between these roles can become blurred.[28]Billy Strayhorn, for example, was a prolific composer and arranger, frequently collaborating withDuke Ellington, but rarely took on the role of bandleader, which was assumed by Ellington, who himself was a composer and arranger.[29]
Typical big bandarrangements from the swing era were written instrophic form with the same phrase and chord structure repeated several times.[30] Each iteration, or chorus, commonly followstwelve bar blues form orthirty-two-bar (AABA) song form. The first chorus of an arrangement introduces the melody and is followed by choruses of development.[31] This development may take the form of improvised solos, written solo sections, and "shout choruses".[32]
An arrangement's first chorus is sometimes preceded by an introduction, which may be as short as a few measures or may extend to a chorus of its own. Many arrangements contain an interlude, often similar in content to the introduction, inserted between some or all choruses. Other methods of embellishing the form include modulations and cadential extensions.[33]
Some big ensembles, likeKing Oliver's, played music that was half-arranged, half-improvised, often relying on head arrangements.[34] A head arrangement is a piece of music that is formed by band members during rehearsal.[35] They experiment, often with one player coming up with a simple musical figure leading to development within the same section and then further expansion by other sections, with the entire band then memorizing the way they are going to perform the piece, without writing it on sheet music.[36] During the 1930s,Count Basie's band often used head arrangements, as Basie said, "we just sort of start it off and the others fall in."[37][38] Head arrangements were more common during the period of the 1930s because there was less turnover in personnel, giving the band members more time to rehearse.[39]: p.31
Before 1910, social dance in America was dominated by steps such as thewaltz andpolka.[40] As jazz migrated from itsNew Orleans origin toChicago andNew York City, energetic, suggestive dances traveled with it. During the next decades, ballrooms filled with people doing thejitterbug andLindy Hop. The dance duoVernon and Irene Castle popularized thefoxtrot while accompanied by the Europe Society Orchestra led byJames Reese Europe.[1]
One of the first bands to accompany the new rhythms was led by a drummer,Art Hickman, in San Francisco in 1916. Hickman's arranger,Ferde Grofé, wrotearrangements in which he divided the jazz orchestra into sections that combined in various ways. This intermingling of sections became a defining characteristic of big bands. In 1919,Paul Whiteman hired Grofé to use similar techniques for his band. Whiteman was educated in classical music, and he called his new band's music symphonic jazz. The methods of dance bands marked a step away from New Orleans jazz. With the exception ofJelly Roll Morton, who continued playing in the New Orleans style, bandleaders paid attention to the demand for dance music and created their own big bands.[4] They incorporated elements ofBroadway,Tin Pan Alley,ragtime, andvaudeville.[1]
Duke Ellington led his band at theCotton Club in Harlem.Fletcher Henderson's career started when he was persuaded to audition for a job at Club Alabam in New York City, which eventually turned into a job as bandleader at theRoseland Ballroom. At these venues, which themselves gained notoriety, bandleaders and arrangers played a greater role than they had before. Hickman relied on Ferde Grofé, Whiteman onBill Challis. Henderson and arrangerDon Redman followed the template ofKing Oliver, but as the 1920s progressed they moved away from the New Orleans format and transformed jazz. They were assisted by a band full of talent:Coleman Hawkins on tenor saxophone,Louis Armstrong on cornet, and multi-instrumentalistBenny Carter, whose career lasted into the 1990s.[1]
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Swing music began appearing in the early 1930s and was distinguished by a more supple feel than the more literal4
4 of early jazz.Walter Page is often credited with developing thewalking bass,[41] although earlier examples exist, such asWellman Braud on Ellington'sWashington Wabble (1927).[citation needed]
This type of music flourished through the early 1930s, although there was little mass audience for it until around 1936. Up until that time, it was viewed with ridicule and sometimes looked upon as a menace.[42] After 1935, big bands rose to prominence playing swing music and held a major role in defining swing as a distinctive style.Western swing musicians also formed popular big bands during the same period.[citation needed]
A considerable range of styles evolved among the hundreds of popular bands. Many of the better known bands reflected the individuality of the bandleader, the lead arranger, and the personnel.Count Basie played a relaxed, propulsive swing,Bob Crosby (brother ofBing), more of a dixieland style,[43]Benny Goodman a hard driving swing, and Duke Ellington's compositions were varied and sophisticated. Many bands featured strong instrumentalists whose sounds dominated, such as the clarinets of Benny Goodman andArtie Shaw, the trombone ofJack Teagarden, the trumpet ofHarry James, the drums ofGene Krupa, and the vibes ofLionel Hampton.[citation needed]
The popularity of many of the major bands was amplified by star vocalists, such asFrank Sinatra andConnie Haines withTommy Dorsey,Helen O'Connell andBob Eberly withJimmy Dorsey,Ella Fitzgerald withChick Webb,Billie Holiday andJimmy Rushing withCount Basie,Kay Starr withCharlie Barnet,Bea Wain withLarry Clinton,Dick Haymes,Kitty Kallen andHelen Forrest withHarry James,Fran Warren withClaude Thornhill,Doris Day withLes Brown,[44] andPeggy Lee andMartha Tilton withBenny Goodman. Some bands were "society bands" which relied on strong ensembles,[45] such as the bands ofGuy Lombardo and Paul Whiteman.[46]
A distinction is often made between so-called "hard bands", such as those of Count Basie and Tommy Dorsey, which emphasized quick hard-driving jump tunes, and "sweet bands", such as theGlenn Miller Orchestra and theShep Fields Rippling Rhythm Orchestra[47][48] who specialized in less improvised tunes with more emphasis on sentimentality, featuring somewhat slower-paced, often heart-felt songs.[49]
By this time the big band was such a dominant force in jazz that the older generation found they either had to adapt to it or simply retire. With no market for small-group recordings (made worse by a Depression-era industry reluctant to take risks), musicians such as Louis Armstrong andEarl Hines led their own bands, while others, like Jelly Roll Morton and King Oliver, lapsed into obscurity.[50] Even so, many of the most popular big bands of the swing era cultivated small groups within the larger ensemble: e.g. Benny Goodman developed both a trio and a quartet, Artie Shaw formed the Gramercy Five, Count Basie developed the Kansas City Six and Tommy Dorsey the Clambake Seven.[51]
The major "black" bands of the 1930s included, apart from Ellington's, Hines's, and Calloway's, those ofJimmie Lunceford,Chick Webb, and Count Basie. The "white" bands of Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Tommy Dorsey,Shep Fields and, later,Glenn Miller were more popular than their "black" counterparts from the middle of the decade. Bridging the gap to white audiences in the mid-1930s was theCasa Loma Orchestra and Benny Goodman's early band. The contrast in commercial popularity between "black" and "white" bands was striking: between 1935 and 1945 the top four "white" bands had 292 top ten records, of which 65 were number one hits, while the top four "black" bands had only 32 top ten hits, with only three reaching number one.[52]
White teenagers and young adults were the principal fans of the big bands in the late 1930s and early 1940s.[42] They danced to recordings and the radio and attended live concerts. They were knowledgeable and often biased toward their favorite bands and songs, and sometimes worshipful of famous soloists and vocalists. Many bands toured the country in grueling one-night stands. Traveling conditions and lodging were difficult, in part due to segregation in most parts of the United States, and the personnel often had to perform having had little sleep and food. Apart from the star soloists, many musicians received low wages and would abandon the tour if bookings disappeared. Sometimes bandstands were too small, public address systems inadequate, pianos out of tune. Bandleaders dealt with these obstacles through rigid discipline (Glenn Miller) and canny psychology (Duke Ellington).[citation needed]
Big bands raised morale duringWorld War II.[53] Many musicians served in the military and toured withUSO troupes at the front, with Glenn Miller losing his life while traveling between shows. Many bands suffered from loss of personnel during the war years, and, as a result, women replaced men who had been inducted, while all-female bands began to appear.[53] The1942–44 musicians' strike worsened the situation. Vocalists began to strike out on their own. By the end of the war, swing was giving way to less danceable music, such asbebop. Many of the great swing bands broke up, as the times and tastes changed.[citation needed]
Many bands from the swing era continued for decades after the death or departure of their founders and namesakes, and some are still active in the 21st century, often referred to as "ghost bands", a term attributed to Woody Herman, referring to orchestras that persist in the absence of their original leaders.[54]
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Although big bands are identified with the swing era, they continued to exist after those decades, though the music they played was often different from swing. BandleaderCharlie Barnet's recording of "Cherokee" in 1942 and "The Moose" in 1943 have been called the beginning of the bop era.Woody Herman's first band, nicknamed the First Herd, borrowed from progressive jazz, while the Second Herd emphasized the saxophone section of three tenors and one baritone. In the 1950s,Stan Kenton referred to his band's music as "progressive jazz", "modern", and "new music".[55] He created his band as a vehicle for his compositions. Kenton pushed the boundaries of big bands by combining clashing elements and by hiring arrangers whose ideas about music conflicted. This expansive eclecticism characterized much of jazz after World War II. During the 1960s and '70s,Sun Ra and his Arketstra took big bands further out. Ra's eclectic music was played by a roster of musicians from ten to thirty and was presented as theater, with costumes, dancers, and special effects.[1]
As jazz was expanded during the 1950s through the 1970s, the Basie and Ellington bands were still around, as were bands led byBuddy Rich,Gene Krupa,Lionel Hampton,Earl Hines,Les Brown,Clark Terry, andDoc Severinsen. Progressive bands were led byDizzy Gillespie,Gil Evans,Carla Bley,Toshiko Akiyoshi and Lew Tabackin,Don Ellis, andAnthony Braxton.[56]
In the 1960s and 1970s, big band rock became popular by integrating such musical ingredients asprogressive rock experimentation,jazz fusion, and the horn choirs often used in blues andsoul music, with some of the most prominent groups includingChicago;Blood, Sweat and Tears;Tower of Power; and, from Canada,Lighthouse. The genre was gradually absorbed into mainstreampop rock and the jazz rock sector.[57]
Other bandleaders usedBrazilian andAfro-Cuban music with big band instrumentation, and big bands led by arranger Gil Evans, saxophonistJohn Coltrane (on the albumAscension from 1965) and bass guitaristJaco Pastorius introducedcool jazz,free jazz and jazz fusion, respectively, to the big band domain. Modern big bands can be found playing all styles of jazz music. Some large contemporary European jazz ensembles play mostlyavant-garde jazz using the instrumentation of the big bands. Examples include theVienna Art Orchestra, founded in 1977, and theItalian Instabile Orchestra, active in the 1990s.
In the late 1990s, there was aswing revival in the U.S. The Lindy Hop became popular again and young people took an interest in big band styles again.
Big bands maintained a presence on American television, particularly through the late-night talk show, which has historically used big bands ashouse accompaniment. Typically the most prominent shows with the earliest time slots and largest audiences have bigger bands with horn sections while those in later time slots go with smaller, leaner ensembles.
Many college and university music departments offer jazz programs and feature big band courses in improvisation, composition, arranging, and studio recording, featuring performances by 18 to 20 piece big bands.[58]
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During the 1930s,Earl Hines and his band broadcast fromthe Grand Terrace in Chicago every night across America.[59] In Kansas City and across the Southwest, an earthier, bluesier style was developed by such bandleaders asBennie Moten and, later, byJay McShann andJesse Stone. By 1937, the "sweet jazz band" saxophonistShep Fields was also featured over the airways on theNBC radio network in hisRippling Rhythm Revue, which also showcased a youngBob Hope as the announcer.[60][61][62]
Big band remotes on the major radio networks spread the music from ballrooms and clubs across the country during the 1930s and 1940s, with remote broadcasts from jazz clubs continuing into the 1950s on NBC'sMonitor. Radio increased the fame ofBenny Goodman, the "Pied Piper of Swing". Others challenged him, andbattle of the bands became a regular feature of theater performances.
Similarly,Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians Orchestra also achieved widespread notoriety for nearly half a century as a result of their broadcasts on theNBC andCBS networks of the annual New Year's Eve celebrations from the Roosevelt Grill at New York'sRoosevelt Hotel (1929-1959) and the Ballroom at theWaldorf Astoria Hotel (1959-1976) .[63]
Gloria Parker had a radio program on which she conducted the largest all-girl orchestra led by a female. She led her Swingphony while playing marimba.Phil Spitalny, a native of Ukraine, led a 22-piece female orchestra known as Phil Spitalny and HisHour of Charm Orchestra, named for his radio show,The Hour of Charm, during the 1930s and 1940s. Other female bands were led by trumpeterB. A. Rolfe,Anna Mae Winburn, andIna Ray Hutton.[38]
Big Bands began to appear in movies in the 1930s through the 1960s, though cameos by bandleaders were often stiff and incidental to the plot.Shep Fields appeared with his Rippling Rhythm Orchestra in a playful and integrated animated performance of "This Little Ripple Had Rhythm" in the musical extravaganzaThe Big Broadcast of 1938.[64] Fictionalized biographical films ofGlenn Miller,Gene Krupa, andBenny Goodman were made in the 1950s.
The bands led by Helen Lewis,Ben Bernie, and Roger Wolfe Kahn's band were filmed byLee de Forest in hisPhonofilm sound-on-film process in 1925, in three short films which are in theLibrary of Congress film collection.[65]
Shep Fields and His Rippling Rhythm Orchestra in The Big Broadcaste of 1938
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