CHAPTER 5: New York in the 1920s
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Which borough of New York has been the focus of American jazz culture since the 1920s?
a.
The Bronx
b.
Queens
c.
Manhattan
d.
Brooklyn
e.
Staten Island
2. Which of the following parts of America’s entertainment infrastructure formed in
late-nineteenth-century New York?
a.
grand theaters
b.
book publishers
c.
record labels
d.
radio networks
e.
all of the above
3. Most major figures in American jazz history who are not of African descent came from immigrant
families for all of the following nations EXCEPT:
a.
France
b.
Italy
c.
Ireland
d.
Germany
e.
Russia
4. At what sorts of events did the majority of New York jazz musicians perform in the 1920s?
a.
hoe-downs
b.
ballroom dances
c.
symphonic concerts
d.
private jam sessions
e.
marching bands
5. Which is NOT a reason why the change from acoustic to electrical recording was significant for
jazz?
a.
Recording could capture more details and nuances.
b.
More instruments, especially drums, could be recorded effectively.
c.
Better recordings led to a broad and active audience of listeners and consumers.
d.
Live recording on location became the standard practice for jazz recording.
e.
The recording industry began producing less expensive recordings in larger quantities.
6. What effect did technological advances in radio and recording have on the jazz community?
a.
It had no effect, since home audio systems were prohibitively expensive.
b.
It drew audiences away from jazz and to sophisticated classical performances.
c.
It led audiences to stay home and obsessively listen to specific broadcasts and recordings.
d.
It forced performers to improve their technique.
e.
It decentralized the jazz infrastructure across the country.
7. How did Prohibition affect the jazz community?
a.
It encouraged musicians to avoid alcohol.
b.
It provided abundant work opportunities for jazz musicians in illegal speakeasies.
c.
It caused musicians to migrate away from larger cities.
d.
It caused many jazz musicians to become full-time composers.
e.
All of the above
8. What was Art Hickman’s main contribution to jazz style?
a.
preserved the New Orleans-style small group sound
b.
founded an important recording label
c.
established the saxophone section as an important component of the jazz ensemble
d.
established the string section as an important component of the jazz ensemble
e.
established San Francisco as a center of progressive jazz style
9. How many copies were sold of Paul Whiteman’s first recordings?
a.
500
b.
10,000
c.
50,000
d.
100,000
e.
1,000,000
10. What was Paul Whiteman’s goal with his “An Experiment in Modern Music” concert of 1924?
a.
to demonstrate that only New Orleans jazz was the authentic jazz
b.
to show that Louis Armstrong was the “King of Jazz”
c.
to reveal that jazz elements could form the foundation of highbrow art music
d.
to argue that the blues was the soul of jazz
e.
to show that white musicians could perform raucous improvisations
11. Which musician was NOT a featured soloist with the Paul Whiteman orchestra?
a.
Bing Crosby
b.
Bix Beiderbecke
c.
Frank Trumbauer
d.
Joe Venuti
e.
Louis Armstrong
12. Arranger Bill Challis included all of the following in his arrangement of “Changes” EXCEPT:
a.
a jazzy vocal trio
b.
pop strings
c.
jazzy brasses
d.
novelty percussion
e.
an exciting cornet solo
13. Which describes the racial dynamics of Fletcher Henderson’s engagement at the Roseland
Ballroom:
a.
white ensembles playing for white audiences
b.
black ensembles playing for white audiences
c.
white ensembles playing for black audiences
d.
integrated ensembles playing for white audiences
e.
integrated ensembles playing for integrated audiences
14. What is the overall musical form of Fletcher Henderson’s “Copenhagen”?
a.
twelve-bar blues
b.
thirty-two bar song form
c.
ragtime/march form
d.
strophic form
e.
verse-chorus-verse
15. Fletcher Henderson served as a musical mentor for all of the following musicians EXCEPT:
a.
Roy Eldridge
b.
Benny Carter
c.
Ben Webster
d.
Israel Crosby
e.
Miles Davis
16. Tin Pan Alley gave birth to which of the following careers:
a.
professional songwriter
b.
auxiliary percussionist
c.
studio conductor
d.
arranger
e.
publisher
17. Which element of Tin Pan Alley songs made them into a modern body of American standards?
a.
complex melodies
b.
unusual orchestrations
c.
insistent polyrhythms
d.
advanced harmonies
e.
obtuse poetic lyrics
18. Which Manhattan neighborhood was referred to as “the greatest Negro city in the world”?
a.
Greenwich Village
b.
Harlem
c.
Washington Heights
d.
Upper West Side
e.
Times Square
19. “Stride” refers to which aspect of a pianist’s performance?
a.
fast right-hand arpeggios
b.
two-handed block chords
c.
slow-moving “walking” accompaniments
d.
constant left-hand tremolo
e.
regular left-hand alternation between bass notes and chords
20. What is a rent party?
a.
a party intended to raise money to rent a piano for a stride pianist
b.
a fundraising party to help the host pay his or her rent
c.
a party held by landlords after they have collected a month’s rent
d.
a party held with money that would otherwise have been spent on rent
e.
a party held in a rented ballroom
21. All of the following are musical elements of Duke Ellington’s late 1920s and early 1930s
“breakthrough” EXCEPT:
a.
He clarified the nature of big-band jazz.
b.
He made stride piano a part of his piano and orchestral style.
c.
He focused solely on blues style.
d.
He composed popular songs in individual and adventurous ways.
e.
He elevated jazz as a dignified, intellectual music.
TRUE/FALSE
1. The majority of jazz performers have belonged to ethnic minorities.
2. Paul Whiteman was respected within the jazz community but otherwise largely unknown.
3. Louis Armstrong was the most popular singer of the first half of the twentieth century.
4. The Fletcher Henderson Orchestra’s instrumentation remains a standard for modern jazz
ensembles.
5. Tin Pan Alley refers to the music written for stage and cinema after the birth of rock and roll in the
mid-1950s.
6. The majority of Tin Pan Alley songs were composed by songwriting teams of composers and
lyricists.
7. Harlem in the 1920s featured spacious apartments and mobility for residents.
8. George Gershwin cut all of his piano rolls in a single pass.
9. The Cotton Club, where the Duke Ellington Orchestra played, admitted African Americans as
performers but not as patrons.
10. Louis Armstrong was a featured soloist with the Duke Ellington Orchestra in the 1920s.
SHORT ANSWER
1. In 1927, Warner Bros. released ____________, the first feature film with synchronized dialogue.
2. George Gershwin’s _______________ was premiered by Paul Whiteman’s Palais Royal Orchestra
in 1924.
3. Paul Whiteman’s “Changes” includes a rhythm based on a popular dance known as the
____________.
4. The black artist ____________, the first major recording artist signed to Victor, was forced to wear
blackface when he performed in public.
5. _________________ was “the Father of Stride Piano.”
6. The growling trumpet sound of ____________ was an important part of Duke Ellington’s early
ensemble.
7. New York clubs that catered to both white and black patrons were known colloquially as
_______________.
MATCHING
Match each number to the correct instrumentation of Fletcher Henderson’s big band.
a.
0
d.
4
b.
2–3
e.
5
c.
3
1. Trombones
2. Reeds
3. Vocal soloists
4. Rhythm section musicians
5. Trumpets
ESSAY
1. How did the style of Fletcher Henderson’s band differ from the style of Paul Whiteman’s?
2. Discuss the impact of new communications technologies on jazz in the 1920s.
3. Explain and give examples of the role of the arranger in New York jazz of the 1920s.