Arpeggio
broken chord. the notes are not sounded simultaneously
Avant-Garde
The most contemporary trend in art or literature
Ballad
in jazz this refers to a slow song
Beat
the pulse, the unit of time that determines the speed or tempo of music
The Beats
The – group of “hip” mainly white jazz fans who followed the music of Charlie Parker and lived in a Bohemian lifestyle. The also were into reciting poetry and the literature of the day such as works by Jack Kerouac
Bebop
term critics chose to call the music of Charlie Parker and his contemporaries that grew out of the swing music of the 1940’s. The music differed in that it was technically very demanding, generally too fast for dancing, and harmonically complex.
The Big Four,
the change from a straight march beat to syncopating the third and fourth beats, thought by some to have originated with Buddy Bolden in New Orleans
Blues
can refer to the feel or style of music but most often refers to a specific form, the most common form being the 12 bar blues and utilizing the basic I, IV and V chords although many other substitutions can be added. The 12 bar blues are usually in an AAB form.
Bossa Nova
the combination of the Brazilian samba with cool West Coast jazz which became a world wide sensation
Call and response-
a musical “question and answer” where one voice or instrument states a musical phrase and another instrument or voice repeats or answers it. The use of this musical device in jazz has its roots in the church where the preacher would preach and the congregation would answer with “amens” etc.
Classic Era of Jazz
from early jazz through the swing era
Cool
a softer less abrupt approach to bebop who found its heroes in artists such as Miles Davis, Chet Baker and STan Getz
Chord
three or more notes played simultaneously
Creoles of Color
New Orleans residents of mixed racial ancestry, usually African French and/or Spanish who were educated, lived well and who even owned slaves. They lived in a separate class from whites or blacks in New Orleans. Often their children were sent to Europe for a formal education and musical training. They are important to the development of Jazz in that they read music and were taught in the European tradition, many of whom became highly skilled classical musicians. After they were forced into the black population, their profuse musical knowledge was infused witht hte blues, church music and other forms bringing in new virtuosity and creativity to the development fo the music.
Comping
to accompany
Congo Square
A place in NO where slaves were permitted to congregate and play their music and dance.
Dixieland
Another term to describe NO jazz. At one time in the bilingual New Orleans, there was a ten-dollar note. On one side was the English word 10 and on the other side the French word Dix, Hence the word Dixie cam about. They called the bills Dixie notes and the term has been used extensively since in different ways.
Dynamics
Loudness or softness of music
Form
The shape of music or in other words the specific number of bars and types of phrases, melodies and harmonies that make up an entire song.
Fusion
The combonation of Jazz and Rock which became popular in the late 60’s and remained so for the next thirty years.
Front Line
The horns “in front” of the rhythm section
Hard Bop
Critics called this funkier style of bebop hard bop and it is reflected in the blues drenched music of artists such as Art Blakey, Harace Silver and Cannonball Adderley.
Harmony
The accompanying chords to a tune that support the melody/
Improvisation
spontaneous composition.
Interval
Distance btween two notes or pitches.
Jazz
The term used to describe the highly syncopated music that originated in NO and characterised by the three following things: inherent swing or groove, improvisational nature, and roots in the Blues. No one is exactly sure ho the term came about.
Jim Crow Laws
The practice of harsh segregation of races practiced in the deep south when reconstruction ended until the 60’s.
Legato
Playing in a smooth and connected style.
Melody
The part of a song you remember, the tune,
Meter
The rhythmic element as measured by division into equal parts of equal time value
Modern Jazz
Jazz Music which started in the 40’s up until and including current trends
Moldy Fig
Term used to describe jazz fans who are not hip to the new music. These fans often prefer early jazz to bebop.
Smooth Jazz
The Watered down pop jazz heard on radio stations
Motive
Musical idea that can be as small as two notes
Obbligato
Coutnermelody. In NO jazz played by the clarinet.
Pitch
The highness or lowness of a tone.
Phrase
Musical sentence.
Prohibition
18th Amendment prohobiting the sale of liquors passed in 1918. It was repealed in 1933 by the 21st Amendment.
Ragtime
Piano music and later band music based on marches, highly syncopated and always written down. Scott Joplin was its most prolific composer.
Rhythm
The pattern of regular or irregular pulses caused in music by the occurrence of strong and weak melodic and harmonic beats.
Rhythm Section
The part of the band that contains any combonation of the following: piano, bass (tuba), drums, guitar, or banjo. It is responsible for keeping time and laying down the harmonic backdrop for improvised solos.
Scale
A collection of notes arranged in a particular manner.
Scat
Vocal improvisation in Jazz music using nonsensical syllables mimicking a horn. It was first done by Louis Armstrong.
Spanish Tinge
Habanera type rhythm utilized in early Jazz by musicians such as Jelly Roll Morton who said withou this feeling you are not playing Jazz.
Speakeasy
An illegal nightclub where people would go to consume liquor for entertainment. They were important in the development of jazz because it provided employment for thousands of musicians.
Staccato
Choppy and short playing
Storyville
The infamous red light district of NO
Stride
The way of plaing a piano when the pianist hits a bass note on beats one and three in the lower end of the keyboard, then beats two and four int hemid range of the piano usually on a chord. This mimics the earlier marching bands and was very prevalent in ragtime pieces as well as early jazz piano stylings.
Syncopation
Emphasizing the weak beat and can be found in all styles of music but is especially prevalent in Jazz and is an inherent part of what makes Jazz unique.
Tempo
The speed of music
Work Song
Songs sung in the fields by slaves that would often convey information and that also used call and response.