The 2003 Atlanta JAZZ Party!

My favorite at home is, of course, jazz -- but Lee loves to listen to classical music as well. Our differences are not contentious, but it occurs to me that classical and jazz are, in some sense, upside down with each other.

In a classical program the composer is listed first, Tchaikovsky; next the selection, Piano Concerto No. 1; then the orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; followed by the conductor, Charles Dutroit; and finally, the guest artist (if there is one), Martha Ayerich. Piano and other players in the orchestra are rarely identified.

Jazz is just about the opposite. The leader of the band or featured player is first, Louis Armstrong; then the orchestra, Hot Seven; next the players: Louis on trumpet, John Thomas on trombone, Johnny Dodds on clarinet, etc.; followed by the tune, Potato Head Blues; and finally the composer (if listed at all), Louis Armstrong. So, in classical, the emphasis is on the composer and in jazz it in on the players.

Another huge difference between jazz and classical music is that the orchestra that plays Beethoven Symphony No. 5 will stick to the score as Beethoven wrote it, with only slight variations in emphasis. But with jazz, the players improvise their own variations of the melody. There is an interesting quote from the marvelous book Jazzmen by Frederic Ramsey and Charles Edward Smith: "Perhaps someone who could read music would play over a new tune for the band so they could learn it. By the time the band played it over a few times, its composer would probably never recognize the tune." This was especially true of the early jazz bands of New Orleans when many good players did not read music at all. So, if you played a half dozen different recordings of Beethoven's 5th, they would all sound pretty much alike. On the other hand, I once made a tape of about 30 versions of Big Butter and Egg Man for Lee's cousin Jack Rutter since it is his favorite tune. No two are the same, yet you can recognize the tune in each track. Even alternate takes of the same tune can be quite different, particularly the solos. Pee Wee Russell often had vastly different solos on alternate takes in the same recording session. On the other hand, some players like Mugsy Spanier would play Relaxin' at the Touro very nearly the same each time.

"Swing" was introduced into popular music back in the ragtime era and developed further during the jazz age and the big band era. Rather than mere syncopation, the ability to swing is a talent possessed by some players, primarily those who can improvise. During the big band era, only a few of the 400 popular bands of the day were considered swing bands. Within those bands were some players, often jazzmen, who could improvise a solo. Their ability to swing is what set them apart from other players.

The best of the swing bands usually had half a dozen or more top soloists. Benny Goodman's great band of 1937-8 had a trumpet section of Chris Griffin, Harry James and Ziggy Elman. Most of the solos were taken by Harry or Ziggy. In fact, even though Harry played the solos on the record Sing, Sing, Sing, in live performances, Harry and Ziggy would alternate nights to keep the tune fresh. Similarly, Bob Crosby's 1938 band had a fine trumpet section of Charlie Spivak, Billy Butterfield and Yank Lawson. Spivak was an excellent players, but Billy and Yank took the hot solos.

When I was younger, my good friend and regular AJP patron Joe Flather and I knew the great swing band records note for note. We'd listen to them over and over again. If we heard a favorite band in person at the Adams Theater in Newark, New Jersey, or the Paramount in New York or at the Meadowbrook when the solos came they were different from the record, because they were improvised. We would say, "That's not how that trumpet solo goes!" Ah, your "catch 22" of jazz ...it was a great swing record because of the improvised solos, and because the players did improvise, then the live solos would be different! If the players memorized their solos, the swing would disappear. As Duke Ellington said, "If you rehearse a tune three times before you record, the swing is gone."

One nice exeption of a memorized solo, however, was with Tommy Dorsey's recording of Marie. On the record, if you remember, Bunny Berigan takes a very fine and memorable solo following Jack Leonard's vocal. After Bunny left the band, and subsequently died at an early age of 33, Tommy Dorsey's arranger wrote out the solo in three-part harmony. In live performances, Frank Sinatra would sing the vocal and the band members would holler, "Take it Bunny!" and the trumpet section would play his solo, note for note. A couple of other notable exceptions are the clarinet solo on High Society that was created by Alphonse Picou and the comet solo first played by Joe Oliver on Dippermouth Blues. These solos are also usually played note for note just as they were created.

I won't attempt to define swing because I'm like Judge Potter Stewart of the U.S. Supreme Court who said,"I can't define obscenity, but I know it when I hear it and also miss it when I don't hear it." So, lets keep following Louis Armstrong's exhortation to "Swing That Music!" Its what makes our music jazz -- and makes our jazz great.

-- PHIL CARROLL

AJP HOME