Table of Contents Scat “Anyone who attempts to sing extemporaneously, that is scat, will tell you that the hardest aspect of that kind of singing is to stay in tune. You are wondering all over the scales, the notes coming out of your mouth a millisecond after you think of them.” Mel Torme Tweet Scat…

Table of Contents Swing Swing is the jazz style that emerged during the early 1930s and emphasized big bands. Propelled by the popular Benny Goodman, it spilled into the late 1940s and then remained popular in recordings, film, and television music long after its main proponents had disbanded. Most swing-style groups had at least 10…

Table of Contents Tin Pan Alley “Tin Pan Alley was a real alley on East Fourteenth Street near Third (in New York). But it was never just a place, Tin Pan Alley has come to be known for an era of songwriting when many musical ideas mixed together to form American Popular Music. Tin Pan…

The powerful music that we call jazz originated around the end of the 19th century in New Orleans. It welded together the elements of Ragtime, marching band music, and the Blues. What made Jazz significantly different from the other earlier forms of music was the use of improvisation. Jazz displayed a break from traditional music…

This jazz history diagram, history of jazz chart, or Jazz Graph, of the interrelationships of Jazz Styles was gleaned from jazz historian, Joachim Berendt’s The Jazz Book. This book is indispensable to any person seeking a comprehensive survey of the history of jazz music. I have many times just wished I could see a visualization of how…

Benjamin “Benny†David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was one of the most important clarinetists and bandleaders of jazz and swing music and became known as the “Rajah of Rhythm†and the”King of Swing.†Born into a poor Jewish immigrant family from Russia, Benny became a household name as the “King of…

Any attempt to make a list of famous jazz clarinet players is bound to fall short in someone’s mind. What even makes clarinet players famous? Is it how popular they are or how innovative they are? The most famous clarinet player may only be famous because a racially charged world wouldn’t allow for a person…