The 2000 Atlanta JAZZ Party!

In recent years I've been very pleased to be asked to present programs about the history of classic jazz. When my limitation has been 30 minutes to an hour, all I can do is touch on a few of the Jazz Masters. Then I became privileged to do Elderhostels where I am given 8 hours (4 sessions of 2 hours each) to cover ragtime, Jazz and swing. It's been so well received, I (modestly) thought you fans might be interested in some of what I talk about.

Ragtime, that "Elite Syncopation," was one of the greatest musical crazes in history. It flourished for 20 years from 1897 to 1917. It probably began in the 1890s with itinerate piano players "ragging" short themes; learning from each other and not worrying about ownership. The music publishers were aware of ragtime but were afraid of "that Negro music." The world became exposed to ragtime in 1893 when pianists from all over the central U.S. came to the Chicago Exposition and played on the midway and in saloons all over the city. The first rag, "Mississippi Rag" by William Krell, a white bandleader in the midwest, was published in 1897. It is felt that he probably heard tunes played by the Negro pianists and composed this under his name. The first Negro rag, "Harlem Rag," by Tom Turpin, was published a few days later. In my programs, with limited time, I focus on the giants of ragtime ... Scott Joplin, Tom Turpin, James Scott and Joseph Lamb. The program includes piano versions, as well as jazz band renditions, and an orchestral selection from "Fifteen Standard High Class Rags" known in New Orleans as "The Red Back Book." These rags were arranged for 11 instruments equally suitable for dance floor, orchestra pit or park bandstand.

During the ragtime era there was no radio, TV or phonograph, but the craze spread rapidly through sheet music and piano rolls. It took Tin Pan Alley's jaundiced ear to steamroller all the delicacy out of the lilting syncopation of the classic rags and kill a marvelous era in our musical heritage.

Most jazz historians agree that the music we call jazz began in New Orleans about 1895. The city was full of music...picnics, parades, dances and private parties. Music was an important part of the social life of New Orleans. In the 19th century New Orleans was two cities...an American city, "uptown, "west of Canal Street, and a French city, "downtown," east of Canal Street. The downtown creoles of color were highly trained musicians, excellent readers. They played most of the important social events in the 1890s, and the leading orchestra in town was under the direction of John Robichaux.

Uptown was different. Music wa just as important as downtown, but the people were poor and less educated, and the musicians were often untrained. In fact, many could not read music. While the downtown musicians played most of the important functions for the white folks, the uptown musicians (often called "fakers") reacted by identifying with their uptown audience. The guitar player, Charlie Galloway, and the cornet player Charles "Buddy" Bolden, seem to have been the earliest musicians to play in the "hot" style. "Hot" does not refer to the tempo of the music, but rather to improvised playing. The "hot" uptown musicians didn't read music, they didn't memorize, they improvised songs that were all around them.

Very soon, improvised music was picked up by New Orleans white players through the influence of uptown Negroes. In the latter part of the 19th century they would play by note for marches and the more sedate balls, but they would play "ear music" at house parties and in Storyville, known as "the district." The white jazz, sometimes called "Dixieland" was different from the Negro music because of the difference in the cultural background of the players. Jack "Papa" Lane was the earliest Dixieland bandleader. His 7 dance bands, all named Reliance, played simultaneously in N.O., and his brass band was celebrated throughout the Gulf Coast area. The first white jazz band to venture north from N.O. was Tom Brown's Band from Dixieland in 1915. It was made up primarily of players who had worked with Jack Laine. (The first important jazz band to travel north had been the Original Creole Band with the great N.O. trumpet player Freddie Keppard. They went on a vaudeville tour in 1911.)

After Storyville, was closed down in 1917 many jazz players left N.O. to travel in various directions. Jelly Roll Morton, Joe "King" Oliver, Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet and Edward "Kid" Ory went on to considerable fame. The recording companies were reluctant to record Negro bands for the same reasons that they had been true of publishing rags composed by blacks. So, the honor of the first jazz recording in 1917 went to the "Original Dixieland Jazz Band" made up of former Jack Laine players. Still later, another band of Jack Laine alumni, the "New Orleans Rhythm Kings" became popular in Chicago. The national "Jazz Age" started in 1917 as a result of the popularity of the ODJB. The first recording by a Negro jazz band did not occur until Kid Ory's Sunshine Orchestra was recorded in 1922. so in both cases , ragtime and jazz, the blacks were the pioneers, but the honor of being "first" went to whites.

But you know, this only starts the story of jazz. There are many chapters... one being written right here at The Atlanta Jazz Party! The grand tradition flourishes...hot new talents swing with old masters. New fans join with those who have always known...Jazz is happenin!

--Phil Carroll