That Jazz - Monkey Max Music and File Download

Chapter 5: The Birth of an American Music: Jazz into the 1920s
Henderson). And his dreamy, melodic compositions for piano were forerunners
of impressionistic jazz made by Bill Evans, Miles Davis, and other 1950s
cool jazz players (see Chapter 7).
Tuning in to the Austin High Gang
Chicago’s Austin High Gang (named for their suburban high school) made
jazz in the spirit of their heroes. The Gang was a loose collection of musicians
who hung out together but never recorded under that name. As student musicians,
many of the members played classical music and studied theory,
which gave a methodical sound to their jazz. In high school, they practiced
together constantly and performed at school dances.
The Gang ventured to South Side clubs and dance halls, where they were
blown away by a wild, smoky scene featuring uninhibited dancers and black
performers such as Louis Armstrong, Baby Dodds, and King Oliver. They
worshipped early white players such as Beiderbecke and the New Orleans
Rhythm Kings (see “Other Bolden-era innovators” earlier in this chapter for
more about them) who’d been inspired by King Oliver and his bands. Members
and associates of the Austin High Gang included the following:
� Eddie Condon: Condon (1905–1973) was one of the few guitarists to play
a prominent part in Chicago jazz in the years before electric guitars.
� Bud Freeman: Freeman (1906–1991) was one of the Gang’s leading saxophonists
and played with hero Bix Beiderbecke.
� Benny Goodman: Goodman (1909–1986) was a young jazz player with
extensive musical training. He studied classical clarinet as a boy and listened
to leading New Orleans clarinetists as he developed a jazz style of
his own. Goodman played in Ben Pollock’s band in Chicago and later led
a big band of his own that played in the sweeter, popular, white swing
style (see Chapter 6 for more on Goodman and big bands).
� Gene Krupa: Krupa (1909–1973) became famous as the flamboyant, hairshaking,
hard-drumming catalyst of Benny Goodman’s band. His playing
helped create the distinctive sound of popular Goodman tunes such as
“Sing Sing Sing.”
� Pee Wee Russell: A fresh voice on clarinet and a veteran of early
Southwestern jazz bands, Russell (1906–1969) was a prime Chicago-style
jazz player, but he also fit in effectively with younger bebop and avant
garde jazz players such as bassist Charlie Haden and pianist Steve Kuhn
during the ’60s. (See Chapters 7 and 8, respectively, for more about
bebop and avant garde jazz.)
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