Early Twentieth-Century Brass Idioms

Art, Jazz, and Other Popular Traditions

Howard T. Weiner

• Publisher: Scarecrow Press
• Year: 2008
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9798216297031
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Jazz Music

The work of multiple scholars is combined in this single volume, bringing together in conversation the traditions of brass instrumentalism and jazz idiom. Early Twentieth-Century Brass Idioms: Art, Jazz, and Other Popular Traditions, edited by Howard T. Weiner, features articles by some of the most distinguished jazz and brass scholars and performers in the world. The topics covered span continents and decades and bridge gaps that until now remained uncrossed. Two primary themes emerge throughout the book and enter into dialogue with each other: the contribution brass performers made to the evolution of jazz in the early 20th century, and the influence jazz and popular music idioms had on the evolution of brass performance.

The 13 articles in this volume cover a range of topics from Italian jazz trumpet style to the origins of jazz improvisation to the role of brass in klezmer music. New Orleans becomes a focal point as the essays examine the work of many important musicians, including Louis Armstrong, Buddy Bolden, Bunk Johnson, King Oliver, James Reese Europe, and Newell "Spiegle" Willcox. Included as well is an interview with two legends of jazz trumpet, William Fielder and Joe Wilder, and the renowned performer and teacher Jimmy Owens reveals his practice techniques. Many of the essays include bibliographies, discographies, and other reference information. The meeting of the Historic Brass Society and the Institute of Jazz Studies represents the first time scholars have gathered to bring these two fields into such comprehensive discussion with each other. Early Twentieth-Century Brass Idioms: Art, Jazz, and Other Popular Traditions presents this historic conversation.

Table of contents

• Contents
• Series Editor’s Foreword
• Foreword
• Introduction: Brass Playing in the Early Twentieth Century
• Chapter 01. Trombone Idiom in theTwentieth Century
• Chapter 02. Who’s on First, What’s Second, and Where Did They Come From? The Social and Musical Textures of Early Jazz
• Chapter 03. How the Jazz Artist Practices
• Chapter 04. Struttin’ with Some Brass: African American Transformations of the Trumpet
• Chapter 05. An Interview with Trumpet Legends William Fielder and Joe Wilder
• Chapter 06. Expanding Parameters on Brass Bands in Early New Orleans Jazz
• Chapter 07. Performance Practice Techniques of the James Reese Europe Band
• Chapter 08. Italian Jazz Trumpet Style: American and European Resonances during Fascism (1920–1940)
• Chapter 09. “Like a String of Pearls”: Reflections on the Role of Brass Instrumentalists in Jewish Instrumental Klezmer Music and the Trope of “Jewish Jazz”
• Chapter 10. The Early Career of Spiegle Willcox: Influences to 1930
• Chapter 11. Louis Armstrong and the Origins of Jazz Improvisation
• Chapter 12. The Blues and the Uptown Brass Bands of New Orleans
• Chapter 13. Louis Armstrong, Bunk Johnson, and Jules Levy: The Art of “Tonation”
• Index
• About the Editor and Contributors