Jazzology

PREFACE
Jelly Roll Morton once claimed to have invented jazz in 1902. Aside from being one of the most brazen remarks ever made by a musician, the statement approximates the truth in two regards: Jelly Roll certainly was one of the significant pioneers of jaz z. and 1902 seems as good a year as any for identifying the birth of the genre. Perhap.s . a reasonable conclusion is that jazz is justover one hundred years old and Jelly Roll was one of its most colorful characters. The first century of jazz has been a tremendously active one. Spawning a host of substyles and a plethora of cre-. ative giants, jazz moved through many high points in terms of geographic or regional activity. A brief chronological list would include Storyville in the 191Os, Chicago in the 1920s, the "Golden Age" ofjazz recording in the late 1920s, Kansas City in the 1930s, 52nd street in the 1940s, and the classic jazz LPs of the 1950s and 60s. But if I were to choose the optimum time to be a jazz musician, that time would be now . For just as popular culture began to lose interest in jazz , the larger musical and educational establishment began to embrace it. During the past several decades thousand s ofdedicated jazz scholars and musicians have been hard at work creating, preserving, studying, and exploring the music . Jazz is now a viable course of study in most universities, and more young musicians are being tE~ined in this style than ever before. Interest in jazz is greater and more widespread today than at any time in its history. This is borne out by the collaborative effort that resultedin Ja zzolog y: that of an American college profe ssor and an African jazz musician, united by our deep dedication to this great art form. The j azz age is here. Fifty years ago, no one would have thought of "jazz theory " as a separate entity. Certainl y there were device s and procedures in jazz that were not easily explained by traditional theory , but no separate discipline had been devised toaccount for the difference s. Gradually , over the years, the creative activities of jazz musicians began to receive labels and explanations. Slowly but surely, a separate realm of jazz theory began to develop. In recent years a myriad of methods, details, devices, procedures , and explanations have appeared in print , in lectures , or sometime s only in conversation , to add to the discipline.This book is an attempt to assimilate , organize , and explain those phenomena as understood by the authors. This book differs from other s of its type in several ways. First of all, the authors them selves have completely different backgrounds that are likely to reflect the diverse audiences for which this book is intended. One is a keyboard player and composer, self-taught, with a deep knowledgeof jazz literature and vast experience with several genres of non-Western music . The other is a saxophonist, college professor, with a Ph.D. in musicology , and extensive experience as a jazz and theater musician in the United States. Our backgrounds are as different as can be. Our understanding of the music is as one. This book also differs from others in its pedagogical view. The authors havepresented the material in the order that seemed best for assimilation. While explanations are given in encyclopedic fashion for use as ready reference, it has been borne in mind that many will wish to work through the book methodi cally. Moreover , a classroom setting was always envisioned. Thus ample exercises are provided that will not only give students practice with the material , but alsoprovide teacher s with a way of judging students' understanding and progress. Finally , wherever possible , theoretical explanations are given for the concepts presented. In our view , it is not enough to provide practical instructions for the working musician. Describing what jazz musicians do without attempting to understand why those procedures work can lead to a formulaic approach to jazz . The...