High School Jazz Band Directors’ Efficacious Sources, Self-Efficacy for Teaching Strategies, and Pedagogical Behaviors

The purpose of this study was to examine relationships between high school jazz band directors’ efficacious sources, self-efficacy for teaching strategies, and pedagogical behaviors. Participants ( N = 264) completed the Jazz Band Director Self-Efficacy for Teaching Strategies Scale and responded to items about their formal and informal learning experiences, school characteristics, and demographics. Parental support was the best predictor of participants’ self-efficacy for jazz teaching strategies, followed by undergraduate participation in jazz performance and improvisation courses, school enrollment, and completing a doctorate or master’s degree. Participants with greater scores on self-efficacy for teaching strategies also indicted greater comfort for teaching various styles commonly performed by high school jazz bands and dedicated more class time to teaching improvisation and jazz theory. Jazz directors may improve their self-efficacy for teaching strategies by developing parental trust and engagement with the jazz program and seeking feedback from effective mentors when refining jazz teaching strategies.

Chapel Hill

During the 1990s, record companies were looking for the next big alternative rock breakout and focused a lot of attention on Chapel Hill, where bands like Superchunk, Archers of Loaf, and Polvo resided. Two Chapel Hill bands would hit it big, but they were the last two anyone would have expected -- the hot-jazz band Squirrel Nut Zippers and piano-pop trio Ben Folds Five.

Where Does the Music Come From?

The dawn of sound film has been mythologized and misreported (for example, The Jazz Singer was not the first movie with sound). This chapter offers an extensively researched look at Hollywood’s approach to sound and music between 1929 and 1931. During this period, most filmmakers were reluctant to include any music in movies, unless it was clearly motivated by an onscreen performance (by a singer, jazz band, etc.). Contrary to this approach, Max Steiner believed that underscoring would not only be accepted by audiences but could improve a film’s emotion and pacing. Using much previously unpublished material, this chapter follows Steiner’s swift rise from RKO staff orchestrator to studio musical director, and his first attempts to include music that was not always tied to onscreen action—including his work on 1931’s Best Picture winner, Cimarron.

Suffering Artists 1984–1989

The 1980s sees a mix of independent and studio jazz pictures, and a few nonjazz films with jazz characters. Warner Bros. releases two stylish, high-profile pictures: Director Bertrand Tavernier’s ’Round Midnight intertwines the lives and personalities of jazz greats Lester Young, Bud Powell, and the film’s star Dexter Gordon, in the story of an expatriate saxophonist in Paris; Clint Eastwood’s Charlie Parker biopic Bird tells the bebop founder’s story in jumbled chronological order, prefiguring later jazz biopics. Date movie The Fabulous Baker Boys draws a parallel between prostitution and playing insincere commercial music. In the UK’s Stormy Monday, a Polish free-jazz band bedevils an American capitalist. Two low-budget features chronicle unsuccessful bands: in one, amateur dixielanders get and lose a professional job; in another, a New Jersey wedding band fails to graduate to New York jazz clubs.

With Fred Elizalde in England, 1928

From Basque descent and growing up in the Philippines, Fred Elizalde was an advanced composer and orchestra leader. He had worked in the USA and was familiar with the quality of its dance music and jazz, which he wanted to bring to London and then develop further. He managed to get a contract with the Savoy Hotel, London's top hotel, and in order to fulfil his ambition he hired Americans including Rollini and Bobby Davis. Rollini was featured on most of Elizalde's records, both with the full orchestra and with a jazz band, sometimes using American arrangements. The public's reaction was generally positive, but the band's broadcasts were not always well received. Elizalde defendedhis approach to his management and with initial success. During a short trip home Rollini marries Dixie. His popularity among British music lovers grows further and Melody Maker, a major magazine, asks him to write articles about his music.

An Investigation of the Music Literature Being Performed at Jazz Band Music Performance Assessments in Florida

The purpose of this study was to examine the performance trends of middle school, junior/senior high school, and high school ensembles at District Florida Bandmasters Association (FBA) Jazz Band Music Performance Assessments (MPAs) from 2012 to 2017. More specifically, this study investigated the pieces, composers, and arrangers most frequently performed, and how many schools participated. Data were derived from a pool of compositions performed at FBA District Jazz Band MPAs between 2012 and 2017 ( N = 5,664). Of the pieces performed, there were 1,816 different compositions played. The compositions performed featured 619 different composers and 249 different arrangers. Additionally, 47.78% of schools involved in FBA had at least one jazz band perform during the 5-year period analyzed in this study. Overall, findings suggested that secondary school jazz bands in Florida have grown in popularity.

Jazz Bass

The role of the double bass in any jazz band is fundamental to the success of the whole ensemble. The bass line carries both the rhythm and harmony from beat to beat in a way that establishes both a solid pulse and a clear formal structure that allows all of the other elements of jazz to be meaningfully felt. This chapter is designed to introduce a double bassist to jazz playing. It begins with fundamental information about instrument setup, posture, and technical approaches that allow for full expression unhindered by physical pain and injury. Next, the chapter introduces approaches to learning music and bass lines by ear and presents a progressive sequence of skills that allow a bassist to embellish simple traditional bass lines creatively and personally by understanding root movement and connecting chords with walking iconic bass lines.

Beginning Woodwinds and Brass

Many school jazz programs in North America do an impressive job of developing their members’ technical and music-notation-reading skills, necessary to perform jazz big band literature with polish and precision. However, many school jazz students are as dependent on notation as they are in the concert band. Although the young jazzer may take improvised solos in jazz band performances, he may be unable to negotiate chord changes or incorporate characteristic jazz vocabulary. In light of this, this chapter covers concepts and skills relevant to beginning jazz instruction for wind instrumentalists. Specifically, it identifies three foundational topics for the reader to consider in fashioning an authentic and effective jazz curriculum: (1) establishing a listening foundation, (2) developing ear-playing ability, and (3) developing a personal repertoire of jazz tunes. Following these sections the text addresses (4) style and articulation and (5) rhythm.

Jazz for Non-Jazzers

“It just goes like this, ‘doo ba doo bop’. You dig?” Historically, this was the way jazz was learned, informally, and for many early aspiring jazz musicians—they dug. Others need a little more guidance. This chapter is based on a presentation its author often delivers to introduce teachers to teaching jazz. After this presentation, members from the audience often tell the author: “This is not all that different from the musicianship skills I already have.” This chapter provides a basic overview of (a) styles such as swing, Latin, bop, and blues; (b) rhythmic solfège; (c) articulation; (d) ornamentation; (e) improvisation; (f) intricacies of the rhythm section; and (g) rehearsal and stage setup of the beginning jazz band. The remaining chapters in this book presume some basic and foundational knowledge about jazz as a point of departure, so this chapter serves as that starting point.