Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Military bands and OKOM

[LARRY'S Signs and Large Format Printing]

It doesn't take much listening to Dixieland to see the similarities between
Military bands of the 1800's and Dixieland.  If you listen to Sousa you have
a Trumpet melody line, clarinets doing flowery things above the melody line
adding flash, trombone counter melody's and street beats with a tuba line
that is almost exactly the same as Sousa.  True, Sousa was a written idiom
and Dixie was not but the similarities are striking.  The only thing that
Sousa didn't have was Improv choruses and a blues chordal structure.  I
don't think you have to have it in writing by some scholar to see the
connection.
Larry -- St. Louis
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Graham Martin" <grahmartin at bigpond.com>
To: <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Thursday, June 30, 2005 1:08 AM
Subject: Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Military bands and OKOM


Dr. Luis Daniel Flores FRCOG wrote:

"David,
It would be interesting an essay about the insertion of the military band on
the creation of jazz, I think there are much to be said about it
cheers
Luis"

I have been thinking lately that military music may even be one of the main
influences that went into the mixture of music genres that led to the
creation of jazz. I have not written anything detailed about the influence
of military music on jazz but I have attempted a bit of a history of jazz in
a tutor I have been writing for Dixieland jazz. Parts of this tutor are
available as free downloads on my website.
http://tromjazz.netfirms.com/page5.html The reason it is only 'parts' is
because it seems to have become an unending task. Eventually all of it will
all be available for free download. It was intended for the younger
generation. I strongly believe it is the youngsters we have to concentrate
on if OKOM is to survive. Anyway, methinks it is about time for another
'Revival'.

I wrote this prior to a recent occasion when I was playing some John Philip
Sousa marches with our local concert band. I am fairly new to playing
'straight' music and I was struck by the fact that many of the trombone
lines are what I would previously have described as pure Kid Ory ensemble
lines.

Anyway here is my little 'essay' on Early New Orleans Jazz and I would be
very pleased to hear from anybody if they think I got it wrong - or maybe if
I got it right:

Early New Orleans Jazz

The music forms which were played in the American Southland and elsewhere in
the late 1800's and which are thought to have lead to jazz, include African
Drums, Work Songs, Spirituals, Plantation songs and music, Marches,
Cakewalks, Opera, Creole music (French, French-Haitian and Spanish-Mexican),
Brass band music, Cabaret music, Minstrel music, Blues, Stomps and Ragtime.

The first jazz played in New Orleans, probably in the 1890's, was by small
bands often having a frontline of Cornet, Trombone and Clarinet/Saxophones
and a rhythm section of Piano, Banjo/Guitar, Brass Bass and drums. Some of
the musicians had formal training and others played by ear in a 'hot' style.
The style that mainly became associated with these musicians was a
loose-knit ensemble, using collective improvisation and reportedly very few
solos. Many of the tunes played were multi thematic. It is evident that
there were black, Creole and white bands playing different forms of early
jazz mixed with dance and marching band music. The musicians listened to and
borrowed from each other. There were black bands from 'Uptown' New Orleans
and Creole bands and white bands from 'Downtown'. After stricter segregation
laws were enacted in 1890 there was a closer musical liaison between the
black Uptowners and the Creoles who had been ejected from Downtown,
eventually producing the important traditions of New Orleans jazz.

>From around 1900 a transition was taking place in the music, taking it from
ragtime to an early form of jazz. The description 'jass' or 'jazz' was not
in general use and the musicians still called their music 'ragtime' or
'playing hot'. This last term I particularly like!

Unfortunately the early music of pioneers such as Buddy Bolden was not
recorded but it was probably much like the music we hear on recordings of
the 1920's by Spike's Seven Pods of Pepper Orchestra (Kid Ory/Mutt Carey),
Freddie Keppard's Jazz Cardinals, Sam Morgan's Jazz Band; and perhaps the
1940's bands of Bunk Johnson and George Lewis. However, with Bunk, George,
and the other survivors of the early 'hot' bands, we are talking thirty
years plus from the early days of jazz. It is fairly certain that they would
have absorbed new influences and continued to develop their music.

The first recordings of black bands were in what was described as the 'old'
style, which was still very ragtime sounding. The sophisticated 'head'
arrangements that one hears on these recordings were, in all likelihood, an
integral part of the music right from the beginning.

In some parts of America these bands became known as Dixieland bands. There
are several sources promoted for the use of the name "Dixie" or "Dixieland".
We know it referred to New Orleans or the Southern States and it is not too
difficult to imagine how the name came to be applied to a form of music
originating from that area. Particularly when a white band called Tom
Brown's Band from Dixieland had toured some parts of the U.S.A. as early as
1915.

After this I tackle (or intend to tackle):

Classic New Orleans

Vintage White Dixieland

Chicago Style Dixieland

New York Dixieland

San Francisco Style

New Orleans Revival

    Swing - Big Band & Small Band/Mainstream

    British Revival ("Trad")

    International Dixieland/Mainstream/Legacy Bands

Grah


Graham Martin
Email: grahmartin at bigpond.com
Website: http://tromjazz.netfirms.com
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