Big Bands Through the Ages

Big Bands in Jazz Music: A Detailed Overview

• Big bands are musical ensembles that consist of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section.

• They originated during the 1910s and dominated jazz in the early 1940s when swing was most popular.

• Big bands were created as accompaniment for dancing and relied on written compositions and arrangements rather than improvisation.

• They generally have four sections: trumpets, trombones, saxophones, and a rhythm section of guitar, piano, double bass, and drums.

• Arrangers frequently notate all or most of the score of a given number, usually referred to as a "chart".

• Typical big band arrangements from the swing era were written in strophic form with the same phrase and chord structure repeated several times.

• The major "black" bands of the 1930s included, apart from Ellington's, Hines's and Calloway's, those of Jimmie Lunceford, Chick Webb, and Count Basie.

• White teenagers and young adults were the principal fans of the big bands in the late 1930s and early 1940s.

• Big bands uplifted morale during World War II and many musicians served in the military and toured with USO troupes at the front.

• Although big bands are identified with the swing era, they continued to exist after those decades, though the music they played was often different from swing.

• Charlie Barnet's recording of "Cherokee" in 1942 and "The Moose" in 1943 have been called the beginning of the bop era.

• Sun Ra and his Arketstra took big bands further out, playing eclectic music with a roster of musicians from ten to thirty and presenting it as theater, with costumes, dancers, and special effects.The History and Legacy of Big Bands

• Big bands emerged in the early 20th century, with the likes of Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Benny Goodman becoming prominent bandleaders.

• The big band era reached its peak in the 1930s and 1940s, with swing music becoming the most popular genre in America.

• The big band sound is characterized by a large ensemble consisting of brass, woodwind, and rhythm sections, with arrangements often featuring call-and-response patterns between different sections.

• Big bands played a significant role in the integration of African American and white musicians during the Civil Rights Movement.

• Many famous vocalists, including Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald, got their start singing with big bands.

• Big band music declined in popularity after World War II due to changing musical tastes and the rise of rock and roll.

• However, big bands continued to evolve and incorporate new styles, such as jazz fusion and avant-garde jazz.

• In the late 1990s, there was a swing revival in the U.S. that renewed interest in big band music.

• Big bands continue to maintain a presence on American television and in music education programs at colleges and universities.

• Big bands also appeared in movies, with fictionalized biographical films of Glenn Miller, Gene Krupa, and Benny Goodman being made in the 1950s.

• Female bandleaders, such as Gloria Parker and Phil Spitalny, led all-girl orchestras during the big band era.

• Big band music has had a lasting influence on American popular music, with many contemporary artists drawing inspiration from the genre.