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CHOOSING A JAZZ BAND FOR YOUR WEDDING
What Do I Want? - How Do I Choose?
Prima Artists receive several enquiries daily
for details of Jazz Bands & responding appropriately is always difficult as
there are so many different types of Jazz & so many different kinds of Jazz
Bands & everyone has a different idea od what a 'Jazz Band ' is
It is always useful to know what kind of
environment and event the band will be required to play for – for instance as
background music at a reception, or at an open air event, for dancing, in
concert or as cabaret.
A good way to generally define the types of Jazz
Band which are available is to think historically and consider the styles of the
eras of Jazz and also some of the other styles which overlap Jazz.
Dixieland, New Orleans, Traditional Jazz
Bands
This style was firmly established in the 1920’s
and the bands are usually from three to six or eight pieces. A three piece band
of this era is often made up of Sousaphone (the large tuba like instrument which
wraps around the body and with a large skywards facing bell), Banjo and a melody
instrument (Trumpet, Clarinet, Sax or Trombone). This kind of band is mobile
and adds a ‘Mardi Gras’ flavour to any event. A full traditional jazz band is
typically made up of Piano(or Guitar/Banjo), Bass, Drums, Trumpet, Clarinet and
Trombone. Probably the definitive band of this era was that of Louis Armstrong
while contemporary example of the style in the UK are the bands of Kenny Ball,
Acker Bilk, Terry Lightfoot, The Big Chris Barber Band and Humphrey
Littleton and there are a great masny others perhaps not so famus available for wedding and other performances.
Hot Club Jazz Bands
Moving on slightly, another popular style of
jazz from the 20’s and 30’s is that made popular by Django Reinhardt, whose
group consisted of Violin, one or two Guitars and sometimes Double Bass. In the
thirties this style became popular in France at the Hot Club in Paris. Many
people are familiar with the work of Stephane Grappelli, the music violinist who
was popular on record and TV almost up to his death during the nineties. This
particularly joyous, listenable and entertaining jazz form is highly suitable
for receptions and there are duo, trios and quartets performing this style in
the UK. It does still offer a French flavour. A definitive example of this
jazz form is Grappelli’s recording of ‘Sweet Georgia Brown’. One particularly
fine exponent of this style in the UK is the Hot Club Trio.
‘Savoy’ Jazz, Period
Jazz
To the purist much of this is not really jazz at
all but a commercial form of dance music from the 1930’s. However, it is highly
entertaining and reminiscent of a bygone age and very suitable for theming an
event in that decade. Good examples of bands currently playing this style in
the UK are, among others, The Piccadilly Dance Orchestra, The Pasadena Roof
Orchestra and The Cotton Club Orchestra. Theses bands often include repertoire
from jazz icons rooted in that era such as Duke Ellington.
Big Band, Swing
Usually played by a band consisting of four
Trumpets, four Trombones, five Saxophones and a rhythm section of Piano, Bass,
Drums and Guitar, the music emerged in the 30’s and flourished into the 40’s.
Many people think of the music of Glenn Miller as being typical of this style
but other bands, at least as significant, were, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Duke
Ellington, Artie Shaw and Tommy Dorsey (with whom Frank Sinatra established his
career). This form of jazz is arguably the most popular and enduring of all.
Dances such as the jitterbug and jive grew around this music. The repertoire is
largely made up of the ‘American Standard Songbook’ (Songs by Gershwin, Cole
Porter, Irving Berlin, Rogers and Hart etc.) together with the instrumental
classics associated with the bands mentioned above. There are many bands of
this king in the UK of world class standard which include the BBC Big Band, The
Syd Lawrence Orchestra. In addition there
are many bands recreating the music of Glenn Miller and others and some bands
with special arrangements from around 10 pieces playing in ‘big’ band
style.
Mainstream Jazz
Bands
This term applies to jazz which started in the
1940’s and probably resulted from the demise of the huge number of big bands
which had existed up to then. The style is largely swing in the style of a
1930’s-40’s big band but by a smaller group.
Jump Jive, Swing
Bands
This is really a crossover style of jazz of the
big band era and rhythm and blues. Its influence can be heard in Rock ‘n’
Roll. It is typically ‘hot and swinging’ with a driving back beat. The bands
are from five to nine pieces and include horns in the line up. Much of the
repertoire currently played is from bands of the late forties and early fifties
especially Louis Jordan (the musical ‘Five Guys Named Mo’ consists of entirely
of Jordan’s songs) and Louis Prima. There has been a huge revival in this kind
of music over the past few years because of it’s ‘good time’ shuffling beat and
its very danceable style. Leading exponents of this style in the UK include Ray
Gelato’s Giants, Blue Harlem and OohBop Sh'Bam Much
material recorded by artists such as Van Morrison and Georgie Fame could be
considered as representing this kind of jazz.
Modern Jazz, Cool Jazz, Dinner Jazz &
Smooth Jazz
In the context of planning an event, this
category is very broad and encompasses music from the forties, fifties and
sixties and even later and in invariably played by smaller groups from a duo up
to around six pieces. The material can include ‘American Standards’ (see below) in a smooth
swing style along with Latin American influences such as Bossa Nova and Samba.
The music is often used as reception music or as a background to dining. Cool,
Sophisticated jazz is always popular and there are a great number of bands
available offering different variation of line up and repertoire and which can
include in any combination trumpet, Saxophone, Flute, Piano, bass, Drums, Guitar
and Vocalist. Some of these bands also play covers of other styles and offer
classic pop dance sets.
Rat Pack and 'The Great American Song Book'
The Great American Song Book was originally a term used to refer to the work of the Five Major songwritwers of 'standards' from American musicals and movies of the twenties, thirties, forties and fifties - Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Cole Porter and Richard Rogers. The catalogue was added to by many others later - Sammy Cahn and Harold Arlen and many others. These vocal songs mostly in swing style
and with a strong lyric content were not only part of the jazz scene of their day but also the popular music of their time. There are may fine vocal jazz groups (often pianist/vocalist bass and drums) available for weddings and events Think Harry Connick Jamie Cullum and Diana Krall ! The Rat Pack as most people know was the Vegas 'club' or circle of frindes of hard drinking entertainers in the early fifties. Joey Bishop (comedian) Peter Lawford (actor and one time
brother in law of JFK), plus Sammy Davis Jnr , Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra. The Rat Pack made films together and performed in cabaret both impromptu and rehearsed performances. The songs associated with these artists have become known in recent years as Rat Pack songs. In reality they are from the Great American Song Book and the greatest performances of these songs were by Sinatra, Tony Bennet and others.
Crossover Jazz - Fusion Jazz - Acid Jazz - Latin Jazz -
Jazz, along with Rhythm and Blues has
transferred its influences to many other music types including Pop and Rock and the resulting music styles have in turn passed their own nuances back into jazz
There is a whole generation of popular and entertaining jazz in a funky tight
and danceable style from the past thirty years and the boundaries become hazy so
that a band who describe themselves as a Soul or R & B band may be described
by some pepole as a jazz band. Other ‘crossover’ fusion styles include Latin Jazz or
Salsa, Indo Jazz and Afro Jazz ( good styles to consider at a multicultural
event). See our 'World Music' options
All of this is intended to help clients define
what they are looking for in a ‘jazz band’ as part of the entertainment at an
event or function and is by no means an authoritative potted history of
jazz !!
When enquiring about booking a jazz band it is
useful to mention some songs & repertoire, the artists whose material you
expect to be covered when requesting details of band from your Entertainment
Consultant or Agent.
There is a cross section of some of the best jazz groups available for weddings and events on our jazz page and representing all of the above.
COPYRIGHT: (2000 - 2006)Tony MacDonnell GCLM LRAM - partner in Prima Artists and one of the most experienced and qualified across-the-board jazz, function and corporate musicians around.
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