CHAPTER 4: New Orleans
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. New Orleans jazz primarily featured which of the following musical textures?
a.
monophonic—solo playing
b.
homophonic—solo plus accompaniment
c.
polyphonic—collective improvisation
d.
fully composed melodies and countermelodies
e.
placid and fluid accompanimental textures
2. Nineteenth-century New Orleans shows the influence of all of the following cultures EXCEPT:
a.
French
b.
Spanish
c.
Cuban
d.
Russian
e.
West African
3. Which of the following was true of the social position of Uptown Negroes in nineteenth-century
New Orleans?
a.
They were highly educated.
b.
They dominated several skilled trades.
c.
They were often of mixed African and French descent.
d.
They attended Catholic churches.
e.
They were considered by other social groups to be unprofessional.
4. Who led the Onward Brass Band, a group that blended Creole sophistication with improvisational
artistry?
a.
Manuel Perez
b.
Joe Oliver
c.
Freddie Keppard
d.
Barney Bigard
e.
Jelly Roll Morton
5. Which aspect of Buddy Bolden’s playing did contemporary observers note most often?
a.
the fast passages in his playing
b.
the loudness of his playing
c.
his variations on march themes
d.
his ability to play two trumpets at once
e.
the understatement of his playing
6. Buddy Bolden’s repertoire demonstrates what characteristic of professional musicians of the
period?
a.
They played exclusively by ear.
b.
They tended to specialize in one kind of tune.
c.
They played exclusively from notated music.
d.
They could play a wide variety of styles and tempos using both notation and
improvisation.
e.
They performed primarily in formal concert settings.
7. Which instruments are included in the front line of a New Orleans jazz band?
a.
piano, tuba, drums
b.
clarinet, flute, saxophone
c.
trumpet, clarinet, trombone
d.
trumpet, trombone, saxophone
e.
trombone, tuba, banjo
8. Which is the trumpet or cornet’s role in the New Orleans jazz band?
a.
play a countermelody in a register higher than the trumpet or cornet’s line
b.
present the melody with improvised variations
c.
arpeggiate the underlying harmony of the tune
d.
play a decorated bass line that includes glissandos
e.
present a steady stream of notes maintaining the dominant pulse of the tune
9. The most distinctive feature of New Orleans jazz is:
a.
use of blue notes
b.
frequent syncopations
c.
solo improvisation
d.
harmonic improvisation
e.
collective improvisation
10. A short solo improvisation at the end of a phrase in New Orleans jazz is called:
a.
tailgate
b.
collective improvisation
c.
a trio
d.
a break
e.
a jam
11. What was the form of most New Orleans jazz compositions?
a.
rag form
b.
sixteen-bar blues
c.
minuet and trio
d.
AABA
e.
strophic
12. All of the following factors were causes of the Great Migration EXCEPT:
a.
a work shortage initiated by American entry into World War I
b.
an increasing reliance on agricultural labor
c.
widespread segregation in the American south
d.
few opportunities for black Americans to own land
e.
fear generated by unequal protection under the law
13. Which best describes Freddie Keppard’s historical importance?
a.
He originated jazz trumpet style in New Orleans.
b.
He created the first notated arrangements of jazz.
c.
He made the first jazz recording in 1916.
d.
He traveled widely, spreading jazz style throughout the United States.
e.
All of the above
14. What was the instrumentation of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band?
a.
cornet, clarinet, trombone, piano, drums
b.
cornet, clarinet, trombone, bass, drums
c.
cornet, clarinet, piano, bass, drums
d.
cornet, clarinet, trombone, piano, bass
e.
clarinet, trombone, piano, bass, drums
15. The short, detached articulation prominent at the beginning of “Dixie Jass Band One–Step” is
referred to as:
a.
tailgate
b.
legato
c.
staccato
d.
polyphony
e.
rubato
16. Why are Jelly Roll Morton’s 1923 recording sessions with the New Orleans Rhythm Kings
significant?
a.
They took place in New Orleans.
b.
They took place in Chicago.
c.
They took place in Los Angeles.
d.
They are the first live recordings made in a jazz club.
e.
They are the first significant racially integrated jazz recording sessions.
17. Jelly Roll Morton’s Red Hot Peppers recordings are significant because they:
a.
present short compositions and extended solo improvisations
b.
illustrate all of the weaknesses of acoustic recording
c.
represent an ideal balance between composition and improvisation
d.
present fully notated compositions with little improvisation
e.
are the earliest recordings of a jazz ensemble improvising on the blues form
18. What was unusual about the front line of King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band?
a.
It featured two clarinets.
b.
It included violin.
c.
It featured two trombones.
d.
It featured two cornets.
e.
The clarinet lines were performed by the group’s pianist.
19. In acoustic recordings such as the ones made at Gennett studios, how was the relative volume of
the instruments adjusted?
a.
The volumes were adjusted during the record pressing process.
b.
The musicians adjusted their volume by their physical placement in the studio during the
recording.
c.
The musicians physically altered their instruments to adjust the volume.
d.
The relative volumes were adjusted during the playback of the record.
e.
The relative volumes were “mixed” after recording and transferred to tape before pressing.
20. Sidney Bechet is responsible for establishing this instrument as a jazz instrument:
a.
clarinet
b.
saxophone
c.
piano
d.
banjo
e.
string bass
21. Sidney Bechet spent a large part of his career, and became a beloved national figure, in which
country?
a.
Belgium
b.
Germany
c.
France
d.
Italy
e.
The Soviet Union
TRUE/FALSE
1. From its earliest days, jazz was embraced across America.
2. In nineteenth-century America, people were legally considered black if their heritage included a
“single drop” of black blood.
3. The majority of Uptown Negroes could not read music.
4. Because of Jim Crow laws, Creoles of Color and Uptown Negroes remained segregated from each
other well into the twentieth century.
5. Buddy Bolden is widely considered the first jazz musician to develop a distinct personal style.
6. The trombonist in a New Orleans jazz band usually plays fewer notes than the clarinetist.
7. New Orleans style jazz provided many opportunities for musicians to change the form of a
composition through improvisation.
8. The Original Dixieland Jazz Band helped to popularize jazz in Europe.
9. Other than the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, there were no significant white performers in the
New Orleans jazz tradition.
10. Jelly Roll Morton invented jazz.
11. King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band favored collective improvisation over soloistic features.
12. As was common at the time, Gennett Records marketed the recordings of King Oliver’s Creole
Jazz Band to a black audience as race records.
SHORT ANSWER
1. A system of racial ___________ was legalized through the 1894 Supreme Court decision in the
case of Plessy v. Ferguson.
2. At the turn of the twentieth century, most New Orleans Creoles lived in the _____________.
3. ____________, a zone of New Orleans in which prostitution was legal until 1917, was an area
where many elements of jazz style originated.
4. The clarinetist’s role in a New Orleans jazz band is to perform a ____________, an active
improvised accompaniment to the main trumpet melody.
5. The largest internal relocation of people in the history of the United States was known as
_________________________.
6. King Oliver used a wide range of ________ to vary the timbre of his trumpet.
7. Sidney Bechet was known as a virtuoso of the _______ saxophone, an instrument that features a
straight bell rather than the curved bell of larger saxophones.
MATCHING
Match each person to the correct description below.
a.
Buddy Bolden
d.
Sidney Bechet
b.
Freddie Keppard
e.
King Oliver
c.
Jelly Roll Morton
1. Early jazz trumpeter who lost the opportunity to record the first jazz record
2. Regarded as the first great jazz composer
3. Bandleader at Chicago’s Lincoln Gardens
4. Never-recorded trumpeter who is said to have originated jazz style
5. Established the soprano saxophone as a jazz instrument
ESSAY
1. Musically and socially, what factors led to New Orleans becoming an incubator for jazz culture?
2. Describe the different relationships between composers and improvisers in New Orleans style jazz.
How do these dynamics differ between groups such as the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, Jelly Roll
Morton’s Red Hot Peppers, and King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band?
3. Explain how Jelly Roll Morton’s “Dead Man Blues” can be understood as an example of both
blues form and march/ragtime form.