The Evolution of Jazz; 16; New Orleans Influence on Chicago Jazz, Part Two

The boy made this recording recording. I

am. I am. I am who I am I am I am I am me I am I

am I am. And while he's been here is still playing very much that way in the same idiom today. And while it is true that musicians like Mugsy And while Bill Davidson and others of the very loosely call Dixieland school have not evolved as the jazz language has in terms let's say today of Charlie Parker and Dave Brubeck they still have their valid place in jazz and still have very meaningful things to say in their own idiom. There isn't the time to go into detail concerning the evolution of this second line of like

kids in Chicago the Austin High gang and others. The names of the bands they were part of and of those musicians who came to Chicago from neighboring states and were influenced by them and by their their models. People like Louis and Oliver and in turn made their own contributions and even of those musicians who go there called part of the Chicago school. Very rarely played in Chicago I'm thinking of a man like Jack Teagarden who was born in Texas played in Houston with Pat Kelly and nine hundred twenty one and twenty two then in Kansas City and through the Midwest rarely actually in Chicago. Finally emigrated to New York in 1970. But in his travels which continued of course after his New York stay and his travels included New Orleans where Louis Armstrong met him briefly before Louis himself had gone to Chicago. In his travels Jack heard a lot of jazz negro as well as White Jazz as it was growing in the 20s. There's a good chapter on this phase of Chicago Jazz activity in the book Jazz Man by Charles Edward Smith and Fred

Ramsey. I should play a record that illustrates the work of two focal figures tenor sax as Bud Freeman and clarinet as Frank Tessmacher both of whom influenced their confreres and Freeman has influenced many other jazz man of other styles. Freeman in many respects may be one of the more underrated influences in jazz history. At the sunset cafe at Kelly's stable Frank Tessmacher heard Johnny Dodds learning from him as well as from big spider Begleiter a method of playing that was somewhat like trumpet phrasing he also went to the nest and later the apex reset in with Jimmy Neumann a clarinet player whose style was typical New Orleans fast runs of notes that seemed he even Lee spaced in Temple made up of flowing passages interspersed with long sustain notes and sudden excursions into the upper register. Bud Freeman meanwhile had become interested in the tenor sax he absorbed the south side influences and later he heard Coleman Hawkins in a Detroit ball run. The lesson he needed in order to develop a

style of his own. Hawkins who will discuss an hour lecture on the large band specifically Fletcher Henderson's band has become known as a virtuoso of the tenor sax at that time he had a simple direct style characterized by clear and precise attack. This recording made in 1927 includes Jimmy McPartland on cornet Frank Tessmacher clarinet Bud Freeman on tenor Joe Sullivan piano and he Condon banjo Jim Lanigan bass and the young Gene Krupa on drums Tessmacher had written an ensemble passage for the middle of the record and he was sort of the Jelly Roll Morton of this group for a time and then he wrote connecting passages and sometimes intros and closing always leaving extensive space for improvisation. This is the kind of Chicago jazz that these youngsters fresh from hearing the South Side music were playing around nine hundred twenty seven.

The music of this period of development in the styles of these white Chicago musicians was both

derivative of the New Orleans negro jazz and also contain inevitably elements of their own background perceptive analysis of the stage and jazz has been made by Sidney think this Chicago jazz as it is often too loosely called. Though it's spread to many many other cities it is not as was once thought. Comparable exactly to New Orleans for did not produce a new music of his own of its own. It was however an important step forward in jazz it produced some remarkable and sensitive craftsman who made almost an analytic science of their art. Some of them did. The trumpet of Jimmy McPartland Bobby Hackett thanks Kaminski. While Bill Davidson who. Not quite an analyst and Billy but if they all the clarinet of Rod class and Benny Goodman the piano of Joe Sullivan and just Stacy the drums of Dave tuff and George Wendt ling the valve trombone of bread gallons the guitar that he conned an uncommon master in the tennis X would Bud Freeman the string bass of Jim Lanigan Adi

Shapiro and Andy Bernstein. Although it tended toward a precise on the beat and harmonically sweet jazz it also produced some rough weather got a rough tambourine succinct and deeply felt jazz based on a genuine feeling for blues mine and tambourine. The trumpet of Francis monk the Spaniard the clarinet of Frank Tessmacher and Pee wee Russell the trombone and Floyd O'BRIEN The Piano of art Hodes. We have to look at the Chicago Jazz not as one thing but many for us it was a focal point of jazz history representing the open meeting between negro musicians and white musicians eager to learn the exchange of ideas could go on openly and on reservedly instead of through the subterranean channels available to it in the south. Out of this meeting came a couple of experimental offshoots towards new jazz notably those of Tessmacher and Goodman and out of this meeting came the development of what might be called a jazz scholarship an almost scientific preservation of New Orleans and Dixieland qualities by these man which the general forward movement of Jazz had seemed to leave high and dry and has since was a

matter of fact. This monastic devotion to pure jazz as it was called gave rise to a cultist atmosphere among some jazz followers which did little good to jazz and much harm. Musicians however are not to be blamed for their disciples critics and theorize or is it was something admirable says Finkelstein for a group of players to rise to play to jazz so consistently musical clean cut and self-effacing and gain adherence for hot as against commercial jazz many people began their jazz appreciation through people through listening to the Chicago musicians and later discovered strong in all of our investment. These players also made progress although in a specialized way except for Tessmacher they explored no new paths and created no new music of jazz they saw great and important new developments arrive for the taking part is showing much interest there have been exceptions like Dave Tuff who is very much a part of the modern jazz movement in the forties. But they move towards a gradual recovery of forgotten qualities of the past. At

first the music they played after Tessmacher death tended often to be excessively sweet. The solos and ensemble improvisations were bound within a handful of simple chords. They had the erroneous idea that the Dixieland style could be applied to any popular tune such as Gershwin's by the simple expedient of ignoring the tune and improvising Dixieland solos over its core and a practice that resulted often and I still more saccharin music. Many did Nazis Some did but the handling of the pop tune really required for musical value of the groundbreaking and imaginative approach of an Armstrong a biter back and a touch Mocca. Here for example is a Red Nichols recording that features several musicians of considerable jazz distinction Charlie Teagarden on trumpet Jack Teagarden on clarinet and Benny Goodman on clarinet. But despite their presence there is this rather trick Lee approach to the music. Despite the saccharin substructure of the jazz

solos involved despite really its commercial context. Note how the choruses of men like Goodman and Jack Teagarden and Charlie Teagarden especially were more fluent in the basic jazz language than the choruses to be found in the earlier Red Nichols records. I played in a previous lecture bodies habits made by men who were not or had not been as exposed for so long or had it nor had absorbed so well the basic jazz language. Let's play a little bit of Buddy's habits again to emphasize that. Or as that approach is more on the Original Dixieland Jazz Band tradition more rigid more staccato

with Teagarden and Goodman way of improvising a jazz solo is more relaxed and much more in the main tradition. It should be remembered that many of these later musicians did learn as did the garden to acquire a more directly jazz style Joe Sullivan and Bard as Sidney Finkelstein points out on a broadening study of blues and rag piano and evolved a brilliant concentrated solo chorus style of real distinction. He once said in an article that he felt at one period in his development he had to choose between Bix and Louis has as main influences and as much as he loved because he had to turn to Louis Max Kaminski increased his expressive range. Jack Teagarden we've mentioned his effortless outpouring of self-interest and phrases that have liquid blues melody was a

great track session. If malt plays a much more blue and expressive trombone today than he did in his new Red Nichols recordings of the 20s the reappearance of Spaniard after a spell of illness with a band including Rod ques on clarinet and joy Prunus his trombone in the late 30s. One of the recorded results of which was that of Ramada blues we played was a revelation of first rate Dixieland music and also here's an example from a session in nineteen forty with Bud Freeman on tenor Dave tough on drums Mort's to mocker bass Dave Bowman piano Eddie Condon guitar Mack's Kaminski on trumpet and Pee wee Russell on clarinet as an example of how expressive in its own way his kind of jazz can be. This is the Prince of Wales's song that was played quite often by the New Orleans Rhythm Kings. And I was the same man same man demonstrated in the session in 1940.

They could also play the blues featuring the trombone and vocal Jack Teagarden. They disconsolately mine and I'd lose I thought I was on the road for him CA indicates NC is one of the big

booking agencies indicates the disinclination these men had to turn commercial to play for the large part and then sometimes to leave them but played little if any jazz. And yet for economic reasons most of them at one time or another have had to compromise musically but usually they've had to return to playing jazz. Next week more notes on Chicago jazz. And the story of Bix Beiderbecke man about whom more legit legends have accrued than almost any other jazz personality. You have been listening to the evolution of jazz. I recorded series prepared and produced by Nat Hentoff under the auspices of Northeastern University and presented by the Lowell Institute cooperative broadcasting Council. The evolution of jazz was recorded in the Boston studios of WGBH Af-Am. This is the national educational radio network.