Chapters 3 and 4 Listening Journal #2

                This week’s Listening Journal focuses on Chapters 3 and 4 in the book American Popular Music. These Chapters focused on the early development of Jazz from 1917 through the Tin Pan Alley songs of the 1930’s. During the course of my readings, I also listened to several different songs that were written around the same period. I learned about many of the early Jazz musicians such as King Oliver, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington as well as many of the famous Tin Pan Alley composers like Irving Berlin and George Gershwin.

                One of the first recordings I listened to was “Tiger Rag” by the Original Dixie Land Jazz Band. This song was first recorded in 1918. This song is a high energy song from start to finish. You do not hear a strong identifiable melody throughout the song which was unlike much popular music of that time. The only time that you heard any solo instrument was during the stop-time sequences. This sequence happens when the band stops abruptly for a few beats and one instrument plays a brief one measure solo. During the song, you also hear the clarinet and trombone doing glides or glissandos from a lower octave to a higher octave. This element of the music really captures a sense of the time it was recorded in. “Tiger Rag” seems to have more of a structure and less improvisational than many of their African American counterparts of the era.

                “Dipper Mouth Blues” was recorded by King Oliver and his Creole Jazz Band in 1923. King Oliver was an important figure in the early days of Jazz in the United States. He also served as a teacher and mentor to Louis Armstrong, one of the greatest figures of all-time in popular music. This song makes a strong contrast compared to “Tiger Rag” from the Original Dixieland Jazz Band. “Dipper Mouth Blues” has more of a laid back and flowing feel than “Tiger Rag”. The structure of the song also seemed like it was more improvisational than the “Tiger Rag”. I also like how King Oliver incorporated the Cornet into this song. He was backed up on Cornet by a young Louis Armstrong. I preferred this recording over the Original Dixie Land Jazz Band “Tiger Rag”.

                My favorite “Tin Pan Alley” song I listened to was “I Got Rhythm” by George and Ira Gershwin. The song was first published in 1930. To me the lyrics are a great insight into how simple life was at that time. “I’ve got Rhythm, I’ve got Music, I’ve got my gal who could ask for anything more?”. Those lyrics about sum it up. It says to me, why is this person so happy? The form of the song is AABA and has a steady tempo from start to end. My first exposure to this song was when I was in 8^th Grade and saw the movie “Mr. Holland’s Opus” for the first time in 1995.

                During the course of my readings and listening, I learned that bands of this era were either all white or all black. There were no mixed racial bands. Even though African Americans were gaining gradual acceptance in the music world, they still suffered hardships from society. I also learned about some of the early pioneer women who sang Jazz in some performing groups from the video posted on our class module. I really thought that these women were talented and had beautiful voices that blended perfectly with their respective bands. I loved the sound of their voices and how well they “Scat Sang” so well. Louis Armstrong was also famous for scatting as well.