THE VARIOUS STYLES OF “OKOM”
AUTHOR: by: Doug Parker PSTJS member
Originally Published Apr 2011
Some people, those who are unfamiliar with Our Kind of Music, will make the totally erroneous statement that “It all sounds alike.” Nothing could be further from the truth, although there are some similarities among the various styles, or schools, of hot jazz. We’ll try to explain what these jazz styles are. First of all, most of us know that jazz began in New Orleans, over 100 years ago. There are three distinct varieties of New Orleans jazz
DOWNTOWN CREOLE:
This is the smoother (compared to Uptown New Orleans) style played by musicians of mixed French and African ancestry, known as Creoles, who were generally well-schooled in terms of the theoretical side of music. (In the early days, one of these musicians would study music theory before settling on one particular instrument.) The usual instrumentation of a band in about 1910, or sometimes later, would be: violin, cornet, trombone (slide or valve), clarinet, guitar, string bass (usually played with a bow), and drums, although later the violin was dropped, and the piano added to the rhythm section.
Examples of bands playing this Downtown style would be A. J. Piron’s New Orleans Orchestra, which was the first non-white jazz band to record for the major companies in 1923, and Edward “Kid” Ory’s Creole Jazz Band, who were part of the New Orleans Revival of the 1940s and ‘50s. One outstanding player of this school would be clarinetist Alphonse Picou, who adapted the piccolo obbligato part of the march “High Society” to his instrument.
UPTOWN NEW ORLEANS:
Canal Street divided the Uptown section of New Orleans with the Downtown Creole players. The Uptown players were African-Americans who, unlike the Creoles, were entirely self-taught. In common with the Downtown musicians, this style emphasized ensemble playing rather than solos, but the Uptown style displays a high degree of emotion. The usual instrumentation is similar to that of Downtown Creole. Instruments in the Uptown style include: cornet or trumpet, trombone, clarinet, banjo, string bass and drums, and sometimes piano. Examples of players from this school would be trumpeter Willie “Bunk” Johnson, trombonist Jim Robinson, and clarinetist George Lewis. (In the last 50 or 60 years, or maybe more, a sub-style of Uptown New Orleans Jazz has sprung up, known as British Trad, although it is just a minor variation of the Uptown sound. Invariably, the instrumentation of a British Trad band consists of: trumpet/cornet, trombone, clarinet, banjo, string bass and drums, with the piano omitted. A fine example of a British Trad band would be the Climax Jazz Band, from Toronto, Canada. The excellent Grand Dominion Jazz Band, who played at the PSTJS’ March meeting, could also fit this category, although the piano is an integral part of their sound.
WHITE NEW ORLEANS JAZZ:
This is the style which can most accurately of any style be described as Dixieland jazz. It wasn’t long before the white musicians in New Orleans began listening to what the black players were doing, and forming their own variation of it. One of the first white bands in the Crescent City was formed in the early 1900s by a drummer named “Papa” Jack Laine, with others following. The prime example of a white New Orleans Jazz Band would be the first jazz band to make phonograph records, namely the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, whose first recordings were mostly of compositions by band members. These tunes showed the definite influence of ragtime. At first, this style of jazz was predominantly ensemble-oriented, but in later years, solos came to be featured. While the “ODJB” consisted of only five pieces: cornet, trombone, clarinet, piano, and drums – in later years a string bass was added, and sometimes also a guitar or banjo. Some of the “pioneers” of white New Orleans jazz continued playing into the ‘50s, ‘60s, and beyond, such as trombonist Tom Brown, trumpeters Sharkey Bonano and “Wingy” Mannone, banjoist-guitarist Dr. Edmond Souchon, and clarinetist Tony Parenti, who continued to show a preference for ragtime.
(NORTH SIDE) CHICAGO JAZZ:
This term generally refers to the music played by the young white men who, in the early 20s, listened to the black jazz greats from New Orleans who had relocated to Chicago, men such as trumpeters Joe “King” Oliver and Louis Armstrong and clarinetists Johnny Dodds and Jimmie Noone, but the new Chicago jazz wasn’t a copy. For example (probably due to the influence of Armstrong,) there was considerably more emphasis on solos. Also, the trombone was less featured in the front line than it had been in New Orleans; sometimes it was augmented, or replaced by a tenor or C-melody saxophone; therefore, the instrumentation of a typical Chicago-style jazz band would be: trumpet, clarinet, saxophone, piano, tuba (later replaced by the string bass), drums, and banjo (later supplanted by the guitar.) Prime examples of Chicago-style jazzmen would be the members of the Austin High Gang: trumpeter Jimmy MacPartland, his banjo/guitar-playing brother Dick, clarinetist Frank Teschemacher, saxophonist Bud Freeman, and tuba and bass man Jim Lanigan, as well as drummer Dave Tough, pianist Joe Sullivan, and banjoist, later guitarist, Eddie Condon. In 1928 and 1929, a young clarinetist with the Ben Pollack Orchestra made his first records as a leader, which were fine examples of the Chicago style. His name? Benny Goodman. The majority of these musicians moved to New York in the late 20s and early ‘30s, so the style of jazz referred to as “New York jazz” is really “Chicago style.”
