Dixieland jazz was popular from 1900-1928, the early influences were ragtime, military brass bands, the blues, and gospel music. it was the musical backdrop during the roaring 20's and the early years of the Harlem Renaissance. Dixieland is a "collective improvisation". Instead of each artist taking a solo, the band members improvise all at the same time. These bands were originally marching bands, who even played or marched along with funeral processions.
Most Dixieland musicians were African American. However, in 1917 the first jazz record was made by an all white group named Original Dixieland Jass Band named Livery Stable Blues.
The collective improvisation was a representation of African Americans new found freedom. Although African Americans were no longer slaves, they celebrated their newfound freedom through musical improvisation, playing what they wanted. Music was not read from notes on paper it was played from feelings in their souls. They were not restricted to what they would be reading from a page.
Each instrument had a specific role to the music:
Trumpet and cornet- jazzed up melody
Clarinet- embellishes the melody
Trombone- embellishes the bass line or plays the melody; plays “afterbeats”
Piano and banjo- play chords
String bass or tuba- plays the baseline
Drums- keeps the beat steady and swinging
https://www.jazzinamerica.org/LessonPlan/8/5/207
Andrea Fugitt
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