Jazz music is a style that originated in New Orleans in the late 19th and early 20th Century. Developed from the parents of blues and ragtime, jazz was created by the African American communities of the United States, and still holds many characteristics from these 3 roots, including call and response, the blues scale, and the fact that jazz is heavily performance-orientated.
Characteristics
Swing
'Swing', on a practical level, refers to the rhythmic technique of placing emphasis on the "off-beat", or every other note. This usually manifests itself with the second and fourth beat of bar being held longer than the first and the third, leading to a playing pattern of short/long/short/long.This is unlike in other genres (for example in classical), where beat structures are very regimented and there is not much room left for the creative interpretation of a piece.
If we're being really fundamental, this technique is actually referred to as syncopation. But one syncopated beat does not a jazz song make! Oh no, for a characteristic of jazz music is that there is not just the technique, but the existence of a particular groove to the music, an energy that comes between the musicians and can be felt in the audience and what most musicians would consider an intrinsic capability.
Louis Armstrong (when asked to define the concept of swing);"If you have to ask, you'll never know".
Polyrhythms
Also a characteristic of jazz that challenges musical norms, using polyrhythms is the act of playing two or more rhythms simultaneously, usually in conflict with each other, which disrupts the expected "meter" (or beat, if you will) of the song, challenging the regular pattern of the song thus far (Randel, 1986). This adds texture to a song (and can help involve the swing of a piece 😉). Listen to the below song, and notice that for the first 15 seconds of this section, the horns are playing one rhythm, and then are joined by the rest of the band by another conflicting rhythm, which challenges the segmented beat that the audience is expecting and adds layers to the piece. https://youtu.be/HJrTYOyXHA0?t=45s
Improvisation
Improvisation is known as the act of spontaneous creation, and this is one of the most important aspects of jazz music. Seeing it is heavily orientated around performance, this leaves for constant opportunity for musicians to "compose on the spot", and there are often dedicated sections of a jazz chart where a soloist will improvise over chord progressions played by the rhythm section instruments (drums, keys, and guitar). Jazz improvisation usually requires the soloist to have reasonable music theory, as even though they are composing music on the fly, they will still need to play in the same key signature of the rest of the song, so that they sound 'right' in relation to the rhythm section and also the rest of the band when they return playing after the solo is finished.
Jazz music was at its most popular during the 1920s and 30s, as a post-WWI-America began to rebel against the traditional culture exhibited by the older generations. With its value on self-expression and an attitude of learning the rules only to break them later, America's youth adopted jazz into the popular culture, where it was associated with many fashion and social trends of the time. This was known as the Jazz Age.
Big Bands
With the popularisation of jazz, a new subculture began to flourish. Originating as a form of entertainment in large dancing halls, big bands usually comprised of approximately 10 or more musicians that fit into 1 of 4 sections; saxophone, trombone, trumpet, or rhythm.
Because of their need to stay 'danceable', big band pieces usually have less of an emphasis on improvisation sections compared to jazz or swing bands. Instead, they operate in a hierarchal structure and look to their bandleaders or arrangers to dictate if changes are to be made to the written piece. In this way, big bands bear a closer resemblance to the structure of orchestras compared to jazz bands.
That being said, big band charts can still contain improvisational elements, and at these points the band usually follows a 12-bar-blues structure, which are chord progressions based around making changes to the 1st, 4th, and 5th of the scale. This is repeated while a solo or soli is performed over the top.
At the heart of a successful big band is teamwork. Each big band works as one unit, which is directed under the bandleader. Big bands in the 20th Century became known for the man who was leading them, as their musical style usually reflected that of the bandleader's personality - the bandleader is a frontman for the big band. Noticable names of past bandleaders include Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Buddy Rich. Songs could be changed, tweaked, solos added or retracted, and performed in a way decided between musicians and bandleader. In this way, big band charts were "passed down" through being part of the group rather than learning just through paper. This is another way that the big band subgenre stays to it's African American roots, being taught and tweaked as African folk music or African American work songs would have been.
References
Levy, H. (2014). Whiplash [Recorded by T. Simonec].
Muscato, C. (2018). Elements of Jazz: Swing, Syncopation, Styles & History. Retrieved July 23, 2018, from Study.com: https://study.com/academy/lesson/elements-of-jazz-swing-syncopation-styles-history.html
Randel, D. M. (1986). The New Harvard Dictionary of Music. United Kingdom: Harvard University Press.
Rich, B. (n.d.). Big Swing Face.
Szwed, J. F. (2000). Jazz 101: A Complete Guide to Learning and Loving Jazz. New York, United States.
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