Early Jazz Its Roots and Musical Development

by Schuller, Gunther

• ISBN13: 9780195040432
• ISBN10: 0195040430
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1986-06-19
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

This classic study of jazz by renowned composer, conductor, and musical scholar Gunther Schuller was widely acclaimed on its first publication in 1968. The first of two volumes on the history and musical contribution of jazz, it takes us from the beginnings of jazz as a distinct musical styleat the turn of the century to its first great flowering in the 1930's. Schuller explores the music of the great jazz soloists of the twenties--Jelly Roll Morton, Bix Beiderbecke, Bessie Smith, Louis Armstrong, and others--and the big bands and arrangers--Fletcher Henderson, Bennie Moten, andespecially Duke Ellington--placing their music in the context of the other musical cultures and languages of the 20th century and offering original analyses of many great jazz recordings. Now reissued in paper, Early Jazz provides a musical tour of the early American jazz world for a new generation of scholars, students, and jazz fans.

Author Biography

Gunther Schuller was formerly President of the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston and Artistic Director at the Berkshire Music Center at Tanglewood. He is currently Artistic Director of The Festival at Sandpoint in Idaho.

Table of Contents

The Origins	p. 3
Rhythm	p. 6
Form	p. 26
Harmony	p. 38
Melody	p. 43
Timbre	p. 54
Improvisation	p. 57
The Beginnings	p. 63
The First Great Soloist	p. 89
The First Great Composer	p. 134
Virtuoso Performers of the Twenties	p. 175
Bix Beiderbecke	p. 187
Clarinetists	p. 194
Brass Players	p. 207
Harlem Pianists	p. 214
Bessie Smith	p. 226
The Big Bands	p. 242
New York	p. 245
The Southwest	p. 279
The Ellington Style: Its Origins and Early Development	p. 318
Interview with George Morrison	p. 359
Glosary	p. 373
A Selected Discography	p. 385
Index	p. 391
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