Swing

• Big Bands
• Swing Combos
• Vocalists
• Musicians

This is a preview of the educational program A Jazz Improvisation Almanac which is under development for the Outside Shore Music Online School. Feel free to browse this preview and learn what you can from it. For a more completed product, though, check out the original freely browsable jazz textbook, A Jazz Improvisation Primer.

Big Bands

Many leaders of jazz bands in the 1920's and 1930's sought to increase the size of their ensembles in order to obtain more tonal colors. Dance were very popular, and while the "hot" jazz sounds of the New Orleans style musicians were still in demand, so were the "sweet" sounds of the ballad crooners. Big bands became the most important representatives of jazz during this period, which became known as the swing or big band era.

When a big band is playing jazz, the arrangement becomes especially important, as has been observed previously. The group improvisation typical of traditional jazz would lead to chaos in ensembles with ten or more members. At first, bands simply arranged the melodies for several instruments to play in harmony, as was done in the Chicago style traditional jazz combos, but as the ensembles continued to grow, arrangers such as Don Redman, Fletcher Henderson, and Duke Ellington began creating more complex arrangements that grouped the various instruments into sections:

Arrangements in the swing style often used the blues or the popular songs of the day as their basis. Indeed, a big band arrangement of a song was often what would propel a song into popularity.

Another style of arrangement that became popular in the swing era is the riff-based arrangement typical of the Kansas City band of Bennie Moten and later of Count Basie. In these arrangements, which were often based on simple forms such as the blues, the various instrumentalists would collectively develop call-and-response and other riff patterns that could be used as a basis for an informal arrangement:

The trend toward structured arrangements as opposed to collective improvisation, together with the trend toward four beat rather than two beat rhythms that began with Chicago style traditional jazz, became hallmarks of the swing style. The bands of Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Tommy Dorsey, and Glenn Miller all capitalized on the success of the big band swing sound among the dancing public.

Swing Combos

Because it was not always practical to travel or record with a big band, many of the these bands also featured individual musicians from within their ranks in smaller combos as well. The small swing combos played much of the same repertoire as the big bands, and in a similar style, except they could not take advantage of the more complex arrangements available to the larger ensembles. Most of these groups played simple head arrangements, meaning they would play the theme together (sometimes in harmony), then take turns soloing over the original chord progression. Here is a typical example of a theme from a swing combo performance:

An important development that occcurred during the swing era was the rise of the tenor saxophone as the main instrument of jazz, replacing the cornet, which was king of traditional jazz. In particular, the playing of Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young, captivated the music world. Hawkins and Young had contrasting styles, and their competing influences continue to be felt today.

Young had the lighter, airier sound, and his lines were often deceptively simple, laying over the key of piece rather than outlining every chord. Here is an excerpt from his solo in the performance above:

Hawkins had the fuller, meatier sound, and he played complex lines that built entirely new melodies on the old harmony, taking complete advantage of each chord in a progression:

The rise in popularity of the saxophone also changed how trumpet players would approach improvisation. Rather than improvise simple, syncopated variations on the original melody, as was the norm in traditional jazz, the trumpet players were now challenged to incorporate more of the flowing sound of the woodwind instruments into their playing. Roy Eldridge in particular is often seen as a bridge between the traditional stylings of Louis Amrmstrong and the bebop of Dizzy Gillespie. Here is an example of Eldridge's playing:

Vocalists

It was during the swing era that jazz singing began to blossom. Previously, vocals were used in jazz mostly for novelty effect or as a concession to the expectations of the pop market of the day, but singers such as Billie Holiday and Ella Fizgerald were taken seriously as musicians in their own right. They sang with jazz musicians and their phrasing was easily identifiable as jazz. They repertoire they performed - songs by composers like Geroge Gershwin and Cole Porter - included many of the same tunes that instrumentalists covered. In many cases, it was recordings by vocalists such as these that inspired instrumentalists to learn these songs. Here is an excerpt from a recording by Ella Fitzgerald, who swung hard and improvised like a saxophonist might:

Billie Holiday rarely scatted, but her phrasing was especially personal and inventive, and the way she used space influenced musicians like Miles Davis. Here is an example from a recording by Billie Holiday:

Musicians

The important soloists of this style generally were associated with one or more big bands but were often also leaders of their own combos. These musicians include:

Saxophone

• Coleman Hawkins
• Lester Young
• Benny Carter
• Johnny Hodges
• Paul Gonsalves
• Don Byas
• Ben Webster

Clarinet

• Benny Goodman
• Artie Shaw
• Edmond Hall
• Barney Bigard
• Jimmy Hamilton

Trumpet

• Roy Eldridge
• Cootie Williams
• Rex Stewart
• Harry "Sweets" Edison
• Buck Clayton
• Charlie Shavers

Trombone

• Tommy Dorsey
• Benny Morton
• "Tricky Sam" Nanton
• Juan Tizol

Violin

• Stephane Grapelli
• Stuff Smith

Guitar

• Charlie Christian
• Django Reinhardt

Vibraphone

• Red Norvo
• Lionel Hampton

Piano

• Duke Ellington
• Count Basie
• Teddy Wilson
• Erroll Garner

Bass

• Milt Hinton
• John Kirby
• Walter Page
• Slam Stewart
• Jimmy Blanton

Drums

• Chick Webb
• Jo Jones
• Sam Woodyard
• Gene Krupa

Vocals

• Billie Holiday
• Ella Fitzgerald
• Sarah Vaughan
• Dinah Washington

Big Bands

• Duke Ellington
• Count Basie
• Benny Goodman
• Glenn Miller
• Tommy Dorsey

Note that many of the above musicians began their careers playing traditional jazz, and many of them either ended up playing bebop or influencing the bebop musicians. Similarly, some players who are normally associated with traditional jazz or with bebop were also swing players. This overlap happens between most styles and eras, for that matter. So do not be confused if a musician you associate with one style is listed in this program under a different style. And do not be concerned if a favorite musician is not listed at all - I have included only a small sampling of people discussed in more thorough histories.

Copyright 2000 Outside Shore Music
Authored by Marc Sabatella

Swing