An introduction to classic jazz

Hey there!


Today  I'm going to talk about jazz.
I'm going to make you a summary about the main representative figures of jazz in the world:


We may divide the musicians in sections according to the instrument they play. So I am going to start with the pianists:


The jazz pianist is part pianist, part composer and part arranger. In addition to "traditional" pianistic skills, jazz pianists must also be able to improvise, harmonize melodies, instantly transpose, and create accompaniments in a variety of styles. They must also have highly developed rhythmic skills and be able to "swing."
Oscar Peterson is one of the most famous jazz pianists. He was baptized as the "Maharaja of the keyboard" by Duke Ellington -I'm going to talk about him later-.

We have also Thelonious Monk, who probably is one of the most imitated models of jazz pianists nowadays with Duke Ellington. He was considered "one of the giants of American music".

And the third one is going to be Bill Evans, who was another american pianist. He is considered by some to be the most influential post World War II jazz pianist.

As every one would know, one of the most important instruments in jazz music is the saxophone. It is also known as "sax". It is esential in any jazz composition because of the sound it emits.
I'm going to refered you two musicians who play the sax in a jazz way: one of them is John Coltrane. He influenced innumerable musicians, and remains one of the most significant tenor saxophonists in jazz history.

The other saxophonist is Charlie Parker. He played a leading role in the development of bebop, a form of jazz characterized by fast tempos, virtuoso technique, and improvisation based on harmonic structure.

Trumpeters are very important too, in fact all the instruments are important in a jazz composition because altogether form a very special atmosphere. Two of the most important trumpeters in this style of music are: Miles Davies, who had played with all the great figures of classic jazz:

 And Dizzy Gillespie, who was also a bandleader, singer, and composer. He is known together with Charlie Parkers as the promoter of the bebop style:

In guitar, Joe Pass is the most distinguished jazz guitarist, and he also contributed to the exit of the bebop style:

In jazz we must to emphasize the work of some musicians who not only played one instrument but some more:
Duke Ellington was a prominent figure in the history of jazz, he played in all the styles of jazz as he contributed to the spread of this genre. His career spanned more than 50 years. And he also leaded a very famous orchestra.

Benny Goodman, known as the "King of swing", led one of the most popular musical groups in America: the Benny Goodman's orchestra and he contributed with the jazz to the fight against racism in America:

And, the last but no least, I must talk about jazz singers, who put the end note to jazz music with their fabulous voices:
Billie Holiday, known as "Lady Day" was a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing. She co-wrote only a few songs, but several of them have become jazz standards.

Also, in feminine voices there is Ella Fitzgerald, the most important jazz singer together with Louis Armstrong, both of them are known as the Great Singers of Jazz, they, though you don't have any idea of jazz music, must be known by you:

Well, this have been an introduction to jazz, of course there are more other famous and very good musicians in this style but I hope you would get to know them after reading and listening to the ones above.


And remember one thing: "it don't mean a thing if ain't got that swing..."