The Language of JazzThe word "jazz" did not appear in print until around 1915 and was only grudgingly admitted into polite discourse.The Language of Jazzexplores the vocabulary that has grown up around it. It includes words unique to jazz (bebop, Dixieland, ragtime); ordinary words with specific jazz meanings (cool, jam, stride); musical terms adopted by jazz (bar, rhythm, swing); instruments associated with jazz (alto, clarinet, trombone); nicknames of outstanding musicians (Bird, Duke, Satchmo); place-names linked to movements in jazz (Chicago, Harlem, Storyville); record labels (Dial, Okeh, Savoy); and notable venues (Birdland, Cotton Club, Blue Note, Minton's). Neil Powell's book is for jazz lovers and provides for the unconverted, too, a witty, informative tour of the subject. |
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Common terms and phrases
album alto American bass beat bebop became Berendt big band Billie Bird Charlie Parker Chicago chord clarinet Clarke Coleman Hawkins Columbia cool Creole dance music Decca Dixieland Dizzy Gillespie drums Duke Ellington early jazz famous Fats Waller Fletcher Henderson Four-Bar Intro Godbolt Granz guitar Harlem Harris Hentoff Hot Five Humphrey Lyttelton improvised instrument Jazz Band jazz club jazz musicians jazz record jazz's Jelly Roll Morton Johnny Johnny Hodges King Oliver Leonard Feather listeners Louis Armstrong mainstream Miles Davis Mississippi modern jazz Newton nickname Okeh orchestra Orleans jazz Panassié performance pianist piano players playing popular post-war quartet Quintet quoted in Gitler quoted in Shapiro ragtime RCA Victor record label revivalist rhythm section rhythmic Satchmo Savoy saxophone session Sidney Bechet singer solo St Louis Blues standard songs Stearns Storyville Street style swing term Thelonious Monk Tirro trombone trumpet Ulanov Verve Williams word