ACTIVITY (app. 40 minutes):

1. Prepare the students for audio track 10 by sharing the elements of the Early “Dixieland” Style as outlined in the Style Guide (app. 5 minutes).  Include a brief historical perspective on the Original Dixieland Jazz Band:

 • They were New Orleans musicians

 • They popularized this style of jazz in New York City and London

 • They recorded the very first jazz record, in 1917

2. Play online audio track 10, “Ostrich Walk” by Dan Levinson’s Roof Garden Jass Band (app. 5 minutes).  This is an example of a modern-day performance in this style.  This performance is patterned after the sound of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band.  (“Jass” was an early alternative spelling of the word “jazz”.)

3. Discuss with the students their impressions of the audio track (app. 5 minutes).  How many of the described stylistic elements were they able to hear?  (See accompanying table at the end of this lesson.)

4. Prepare the students for audio track 11 by sharing the elements of the New York Style as outlined in the Style Guide (app. 5 minutes).

5. Play online audio track 11, “Riverboat Shuffle” by Frankie Trumbauer and his Orchestra, 1927 (app. 5 minutes).  This recording includes cornetist Bix Beiderbecke. Beiderbecke’s advanced harmonic sense and unique tone and phrasing have influenced generations of players.  He was seen in the video segment in Lesson #7.

6. Discuss with the students their impressions of the audio track (app. 5 minutes).  How many of the described stylistic elements were they able to hear?  (See accompanying table)  Are they able to hear the harmonic maturity in Beiderbecke’s solo?

7. Play online audio track 12, “Red Hot Chicago” by Keith Ingham and Marty Grosz and Their Hot Cosmopolites (app. 5 minutes). Despite “Chicago” in the title of the tune, this is an example of a modern-day performance in the New York style.  In this recording, the role of the tuba or string bass is taken by a bass saxophone.  This track features two of the clinicians in the video segments, trombonist Dan Barrett (who will be presented in Lesson #14) and bass saxophonist Scott Robinson (who was presented in Lesson #10).

8. Discuss with the students their impressions of the audio track (app. 5 minutes).  How many of the described stylistic elements were they able to hear?  (See accompanying table)

 

EVALUATION:  Do the students understand the elements of the Early “Dixieland” Style and the New York Style?  Can they hear the common elements with the New Orleans styles?

 

ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES:  Encourage the students to explore some of the additional Early “Dixieland” and New York Style recordings cited in the Style Guide, including the first jazz record ever made, “Dixie Jazz Band One-Step”. Challenge them to pick a solo or ensemble passage by their instrument from one of these recordings (or from Track 10, 11 or 12 from the online audio tracks), transcribe it, and learn to play it.  This is a great way to begin to internalize the “language” of these styles.

 

Stylistic Elements Chart:

Early “Dixieland” Style

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stylistic Elements Chart:

New York Style

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The students should be able to hear elements of the styles approximately as outlined above.  These are subjective judgements; allow for disagreements.

Dan Levinson’s Roof Garden Jass Band

Bix Beiderbecke

Bix Beiderbecke