Describe the ways in which swing music and popular culture Essay

There were many ways in which swing music and popular culture were interrelated during the time known as the swing era. Jazz became the cornerstone of popular culture during the period known as the swing era. The swing era influenced clothing styles, retail marketing, fashion, dance, and even language. Swing fans had their own clothing style and built a social phenomenon around it. With many dances coming and going the swing fans kept on dancing. Name some of the specific innovations Duke Ellington brought to jazz in the 1930’s and 1940’s. Duke Ellington brought some specific innovations to jazz in the 1930’s and 1940’s. Ellington was in time known as the greatest composer in jazz, he wrote roughly 2,000 compositions that had arranged from solo piano pieces, to works for orchestra’s, to highly symphonic concert music, etc. Ellington made a lot of changes to make the perfect sound, he used a variety of mutes on brass instruments to achieve more interesting tonal effects, often gave melodies to instruments that were not typically melodic instruments, and he used cross-sectional voicing. Ellington created an orchestra in the early 1940’s which later became known as his â€Å"Favorite Orchestra†. Describe why Count Basie’s rhythm section is called the first modern rhythm section. Count Basie’s rhythm section is called the first modern rhythm section. Basie made the rhythm section to â€Å"breathe† which helped compliment instead of duplicate, as well as having the drummer Jo Jones who played the high hat cymbal style. With this Basie had created the All-American Rhythm section which was known at the first modern rhythm section because Basie had created such an amazing rhythm section to go with the rest of his band it was solid. Describe some of the reasons why the swing era began and why it came to an end. There were many reasons why the swing era had begun and why it had come to an end. The beginning of the swing era started from a band called the Benny Goodman Orchestra. They traveled around on tour to get a spot and had been denied, until their last stop in Los Angeles, CA. The Palomar Ballroom wanted to hear the music that had been broadcasting and this began the swing era. The swing era decided to collapse with a shocking suddenness, with bands all over closing up their bags and shutting down. The swing era had suddenly ended from changing economics, the war, predictability, the changing audience, and bebop all of this had ended what was known as the swing era. Describe how the styles of Lester Young and Coleman Hawkins were different. The styles from Lester Young and Coleman Hawkins were very different throughout the swing era. Hawkins and Young were two of the best tenor sax players that had emerged during the swing era. Considerably different, Hawkins played a huge dark sound, whereas Young’s was light and breathy. Some of the differences were as follows; Hawkins improvisations were based on his superior knowledge of harmony, Young’s were rooted in the blues, Hawkins played with a rhythmic approach that was always closely tied to the beat, and Young’s rhythmic conception was much looser, and often untied to the beat. Although they had many differences, they inspired sax players for years to come. The arranging styles of Ellington and Basie are quite different when put next to each other to compare and contrast. In the song â€Å"Take the A Train† by Duke Ellington the rhythm section of the band is very on point, and broad it is a stand out section and wants to make their point. They are very loud obnoxious and want to make you want to dance. For the â€Å"One O’clock Jump† by Count Basie the rhythm section is very low key and mellow, although very good and has a good beat, more of a song to have a mellow night to or to hangout and relax to. I prefer the song â€Å"Take the A Train† by Duke Ellington, because I like to dance and it more fits my personality of a loud and obnoxious fun song.