Swing and Big Bands (Early 1920s -- Mid 1950s)
Swing and Big Bands (Early 1920s -- Mid 1940s)
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During the peak of the big band or swing era, jazz attained (or came very close to) the status of America's popular music. They did this by providing entertainment for large numbers of dancers. These bands generally were made up of seven or more instruments, divided into brass, sax and rhythm sections.
Big Bands Vs. Swing Bands
The difference between a swing band and big band in the 1930s is important enough to consider here. Basically, big bands during this era performed music that was "laid back," sentimental, sweet, not so rhythmically hot or charged. The melodies were lush, easy and memorable. Swing bands stepped up the rhythm by increasing the tempo (the rate at which the beats pass). This approach especially appealed to youth who took an interest in the music and in the different fast paced dances that accompanied the swing style.
Check out the following examples of a big band performance versus a swing band performance:
Did you know that Frank Sinatra (probably one of the top three entertainers of the 20th Century) got his start performing in Tommy Dorsey's big band. Here, they perform a song called "Imagination," written by Jimmy Van Heusen.
Try to pick out what features in the music lend support to the idea of "laid back, smooth, sentimental, and so forth.
Hints:
- Listen to the tempo. Is it fast, slow or moderate?
- Listen to the timbre (tone quality) of Tommy Dorsey's trombone. He uses a mute (it is placed inside the bell of the horn), which gives the instrument a "muted" or soft tone.
- Listen to Sinatra's voice. Is it suitable for the laid back style of the music?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEUn8avFkwM&list=RDhEUn8avFkwM#t=0
Links to an external site.
Swing bands played tunes with faster more frenetic rhythms. The difference between the big band tune above and Benny Goodman's rendition of "Sing, Sing, Sing" should be fairly obvious. What features in the performance lend to the idea of a more frenetic energy in the performance style?
Hints:
- Listen to the tempo. Is it faster than the Dorsey performance of "Imagination?"
- Listen to the horn section parts. Do they "attack" the melody with more intensity?
- Watch the drummer, Gene Krupa. How do his moments in the spotlight help the band create more drive and energy?
- Finally, key on Benny Goodman's clarinet solo. Does he simply play his improvisation in a "nice" relaxed manner? Or does he effectively make use of the higher notes of the clarinet to fuel the fire, so to speak?
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The Role of the Arranger in Swing and Big Bands
Understanding how swing bands and big bands handled the music requires knowledge of the role of the arranger. A song performed by a swing band, for instance, will usually have a composer who writes the melody and chords. Before that song gets into the hands of a swing band, it must be arranged specifically for swing band instrumentation, which includes a number of instruments in the sax, brass and rhythm sections. Keep in mind that a skilled arranger can bring to life a song by arranging it over the sections of a swing band.
Let us analyze an early recording by Fletcher Henderson (1897-1952), who was one of the first to organize a big band for dancers back in the 1920s. Here you will get an idea of how the arranger "pits" one section of the band (e.g., the brass section) against another (the sax section). This kind of sophisticated manipulation of the swing band sections makes the music interesting.
Listen to "Wrappin' It Up," by Fletcher Henderson (Jazz the Essential Collection, 2:41) on Spotify.
Listen to the following things in the music:
- First, separate the sax section from the brass (trumpets) section.
- Listen from .09 secs to .29 secs of the piece. Which section is dominant and which section offers a short reply or response to what the other section plays?
- What happens immediately after .29 secs? Both sections are joined together.
It is this kind of arranging throughout the entire song that makes it interesting or more alive than simply having each section mirror the other.