Kansas City jazz is a style of jazz that developed in Kansas City, Missouri during the 1920s and 1930s, which marked the transition from the structured big band style to the much more improvisational style of bebop.
Why did Kansas City have such a special jazz culture?
More than 40 area nightclubs feature jazz on a regular basis. The roots of Kansas City jazz are quite varied. Blues singers of the 1920s and ragtime music greatly influenced the music scene. Settings such as dance halls, cabarets and speakeasies fostered the development of this new musical style.
What is the main characteristic of Kansas City jazz?
Prominent characteristics of Kansas City style were the loose and relaxed rhythmic feeling (less stiff than Chicago and New York City counterparts) and a simplicity of arrangement that often took the form of syncopated, repeating phrases, called riffs, that were played by one section of the band antiphonally against
Why did Kansas City emerge as an important center in the history of jazz?
This port city was a place where people from many different cultural backgrounds came together, and the confluence of cultures provided fertile ground for a new musical style to develop. By the 1920s, jazz was beginning to spread, and it was perhaps inevitable that traveling musicians would pass through Kansas City.
What factors contributed to the rise of Kansas City as a serious breeding ground for serious musicians in the jazz style?
The convergence of three significant socio-economic and geo-political factors led to the cultivation Kansas City jazz: the expansion of a muscular, manipulative (and, ultimately, corrupt) political power structure, the emergence of a large, unified African-American community rooted in Southern mores and the systematic
Which state can be considered the birthplace of jazz?
How New Orleans became the breeding ground for a uniquely American art form. Ellis Marsalis, Kermit Ruffins, Irvin Mayfield, Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews. Those are just a few of the living legends who keep jazz going strong in the place it all began, New Orleans, Louisiana.
What was the most important city for the early development of jazz?
New Orleans
Each ethnic group in New Orleans contributed to the very active musical environment in the city, and in this way to the development of early jazz. A well-known example of early ethnic influences significant to the origins of jazz is the African dance and drumming tradition, which was documented in New Orleans.
What music is Kansas known for?
Kansas (band)
| Kansas | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Topeka, Kansas, U.S. |
| Genres | Progressive rock art rock hard rock arena rock |
| Years active | 1973–1984, 1985–present |
| Labels | Kirshner MCA Magna Carta Inside Out |
Who led the most popular big band in the world?
Virtuoso clarinettist Benny Goodman was nicknamed “the King of Swing”, and was one of the most popular bandleaders during this period.
How would you describe a jazz club?
A jazz club is a venue where the primary entertainment is the performance of live jazz music, although some jazz clubs primarily focus on the study and/or promotion of jazz-music. Jazz clubs are usually a type of nightclub or bar, which is licensed to sell alcoholic beverages.
When was jazz invented?
Origins and early history. Jazz originated in the late-19th to early-20th century as interpretations of American and European classical music entwined with African and slave folk songs and the influences of West African culture.
Who led the three most important bands of the big band Era?
Led by bandleaders like Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, and Chick Webb, the big band era thrived throughout the 1930s, inspiring new popular swing dances like the jitterbug and the jive. 4.
What made the Kansas City style of jazz more relaxed?
Kansas City jazz is distinguished by the following musical elements: A preference for a 4 feel (walking) over the 2 beat feel found in other jazz styles of the time. This gave Kansas City jazz a more relaxed, fluid sound than previous jazz styles.
How did jazz change during the swing era?
Changes that marked the introduction of swing jazz included the use of a more free flowing rhythm using four beats to a bar instead of the two beats that was common in New Orleans Dixieland jazz. The rhythm itself would be supplied by a piano and/or a set of drums or an occasional guitar.
How did the swing era come about?
Overview. Swing has its roots in 1920s dance music ensembles, which began using new styles of written arrangements, incorporating rhythmic innovations pioneered by Louis Armstrong, Coleman Hawkins, Benny Carter and other jazzmen.
What city is the capital of jazz music?
New Orleans: Birthplace of jazz.
Who was the first jazz musician?
Jelly Roll Morton became recognized as the first great jazz composer.
Who invented the word jazz?
The word “jazz” probably derives from the slang word “jasm,”which originally meant energy, vitality, spirit, pep. The Oxford English Dictionary, the most reliable and complete record of the English language, traces “jasm” back to at least 1860: J. G. Holland Miss Gilbert’s Career xix.
Which jazz era includes the Kansas City style?
In the 1920s and 1930s, African American musicians in the Kansas City area developed their own style of jazz that pulled heavily from the blues music tradition as well as ragtime.
Which band leader is closely associated with the Kansas City style jazz?
In the rich and celebrated musical history of Kansas City, few individuals are more closely associated with hard-swinging, riff-based Kansas City jazz style than pianist and bandleader William “Count” Basie.
Who are two artists who made the Kansas City sound well known?
In the 1920s, Kansas City musicians such as cornet player Lamar Wright, trombonist Thamon Hayes, clarinet player Woodie Walder, and drummer Willie Hall – who created the Bennie Moten Orchestra – kick-started the metro’s jazz style.