That Jazz - Monkey Max Music and File Download

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Part II: Jazz Greats and Great Jazz: An Evolutionary Riff
Bolden was part of the darker uptown African-American population, and his
looser, largely improvised music jumped to marching band beats.
Bolden combined brass band music with blues, spirituals, marching music,
and traditional styles such as polkas, funeral dirges, and ragtime into his own
prototypical jazz. Those who heard him agree on his powerful cornet, ragged
rhythms, and bluesy colors, as well as his gift for improvising — a departure
from the tight scores of ragtime and brass band music.
While experts disagree as to the sophistication of Bolden’s technique, no one
questions the power of his music or that he delivered something fresh and
exciting — a new sound with African rhythms and roots that compelled folks
to pile on to the dance floor. In fact, some nights, when Bolden and
Robichaux’s bands performed blocks apart, Bolden could often lure fans to
his bandstand with his brilliant cornet. Unfortunately, no recordings of
Bolden’s band exist (a rumored recording on wax cylinder — the predecessor
to the record — has never been found).
You know what Bolden’s music sounded like because of musicians who later
described it or played in Bolden’s style. From the beginning, then, jazz’s evolution
wasn’t linear, as it often looks on timelines. Instead it occurred through
a rich exchange among bands, composers, and musicians who moved the
new music steadily forward.
But Bolden’s impact was huge and direct. Several early New Orleans trumpeters
heard him when they were budding young players:
� Joe “King” Oliver was born in 1885, eight years after Bolden and was 20
when Bolden hit his prime around 1905.
� Freddie Keppard was in his teens when Bolden hit his prime.
� Louis Armstrong was only five or six in 1905, but he later recalled having
seen and heard Bolden around New Orleans.
� Bunk Johnson, trumpeter, and Fate Marable, pianist, were two more
early New Orleans jazz musicians who probably heard Bolden as
teenagers and went on to significant careers of their own.
Other musicians on the scene provided direct links between Bolden and his
successors. Bud Scott (banjo player) went on from Bolden’s band to perform
with Keppard and Oliver.
Other Bolden-era innovators
While Buddy Bolden was the most innovative of his time, many players were
prominent in New Orleans during the late 1800s and early 1900s: