The Five Fathers of American Jazz: Shaping the Music

Introduction

The Five Fathers of American Jazz Music is an art form that is unique to every country. Spain has it’s flamenco dancers dancing to a guitarist’s strums. Germany has it’s bar patrons dancing to their polkas. Mexico has mariachi bands playing at big fiestas. Northern Asia has its throat singers playing ancient stringed instruments. All of these styles are mainly unique to a country, and America is no exception. Although most people will argue this, the main unique music genre associated with America is jazz. Jazz has developed and evolved over its initial creation in 1895. Over a long studying period, one can determine that there are five major figures that influenced jazz to be where it is today. These five can be referred to as the five fathers of American jazz music. These five are Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, and John Coltrane. Each of them influenced jazz in their own unique way that is clearly evident. 

Louis Armstrong: From Poverty to Jazz Legend

Louis Armstrong was born on August 4th, 1901 in a poor area of New Orleans. His family broke apart soon after his birth, with his father abandoning the family and his mother seldom being present. After fifth grade, he was expected to find and hold a job. A local jewish family gave him a job scavenging for junk and delivering coal. In 1912, he was arrested for firing his stepfather’s gun in the air on New Year’s Eve. He was then moved to a correctional institution. There he was given cornet lessons and discovered his passion for music. Just six years after his discovery experience, he had become a renowned musician in the New Orleans area.

His music career took a journey up North soon after. He began playing in a big band. However, his style of trumpet playing did not mesh well with the band. He left the big band shortly after. After this is where he would discover his “Hot Five”. He recorded sixty records with this band. These records skyrocketed Armstrong’s popularity and it introduced the United States to the New Orleans’ style of jazz. Armstrong’s music made people feel at home and comfortable. It caused jazz to become the popular music of America for almost fifty years. Louis Armstrong popularized the genre of jazz with his “Hot Five”. However, another person would come along later that would popularize a whole new type of jazz, referred to as big band jazz.

Duke Ellington: The Pioneer of Big Band Jazz

Duke Ellington was born April 29, 1899 to a poor middle-class family in Washington. Both of his parents were incredibly talented musicians, which inspired Duke to learn piano at a very young age. At the age of fifteen, he wrote his first piece, Soda Fountain Rag, after working at a soda parlor for a long time. His passion for music and composing only continued to grow. He moved to New York in 1923 with a trio that eventually became a sextet. Not even a year later, he was playing gigs at clubs all over Harlem. He became a regular performer at the Cotton Club.

After a while playing at the Cotton Club, Ellington began scouting for musicians with unique playing techniques, such as Bubber Mily and Joe Nanton. He continued writing pieces in collaboration with Billy Strayhorn. Caravan and Sophisticated Lady are a few tunes that only helped grow Ellington’s reputation as a musician and composer. He and his band would hit their peak in 1939 when Strayhorn and Ellington finished their magnum opus, Take the A Train. This became the opening tune for every gig the band played after it became a smash hit. Duke Ellington was the top big band composer and leader for the entirety of the 1930s and even some time after that. He popularized the big band format of jazz in his New York adventures. However, in the northern streets of New York, a legend was beginning to surface that would change jazz yet again.

Charlie Parker: The Innovator of Bebop Jazz

Charles Parker was born August 29th, 1920 in Kansas City, Kansas. At seven, Parker and his family moved to Kansas City, Missouri. In school, he began playing with the school band. He originally started on the baritone saxophone. However, by the time he was fifteen, the alto saxophone was his main instrument. He was so passionate for music that by 1935, he dropped out of school to play music professionally. He played gigs and jam sessions in Missouri clubs from 1935 to 1939. In 1937, Charlie Parker hopped in on a jam session in Missouri, where he played quite poorly. House drummer Joe Jones was not impressed with Parker’s performance and threw one of his cymbals at Parker. The cymbal landed at Parker’s feet, startling him and telling him that he was no good for the session. This inspired Parker to go home and practice to become a better saxophonist.

In late 1939, Parker decided to take his music to New York City. He met guitarist Biddy Fleet during a jam session. This jam session was very important for Parker because it was here that he developed his signature style of playing the higher intervals of a chord in a melody and adding chord changes to tie it together. In 1940, Parker joined Harlan Leonard’s Rockets. It was here that he earned the name “Bird” or “Yardbird”. People say that he earned this nickname because whilst driving the band’s tour bus, he hit a chicken, or yardbird. Two years later, Charlie Parker’s playing style was noticed by pianist Thelonius Monk and trumpet player Dizzy Gillespie. Both of them were impressed with Parker’s signature swing style. In 1945, Parker was playing in Gillespie’s band and the two of them managed to create a new style of jazz called bebop. This style is defined by its fast tempo and uplifting melody. Charlie Parker then went on to create some of the most famous bebop pieces of all time.

Miles Davis: Shaping Modal Jazz

Pieces like Yardbird Suite and Ornithology would inspire future fathers like Miles Davis and John Coltrane, who influenced jazz in big ways as well. Miles Davis was born May 26, 1926. He grew up listening to the music of Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, which would heavily influence his playing style. In school, he picked up the trumpet and started his musician journey. Under the instruction of Elwood Buchanan, he learned more about music and trumpet. Buchanan pushed Davis to not use vibrato in his playing. This would later help define Miles’ playing style. Whilst in high school, Davis began to play music professionally. At seventeen years old, he was invited to play with Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker after one of their trumpet players called in sick. Soon after, in 1944, Miles would move to New York City to enroll in the Julliard School of Music. However, a year later, he dropped out of the school to pursue the career of a professional jazz musician. He was already performing in clubs with Charlie Parker and this heavily influenced Miles. In 1946, he left Charlie Parker’s quintet to make his own sextet.

Later that year, he would record his first album as a bandleader. He continued recording with his sextet from ‘45 to ‘48. In ‘49, his sextet formed into a nine piece band with some weird instruments added on like french horn, trombone, or tuba. These recordings would be put together in Davis’ first hit album called Birth of the Cool. After the success of this album, Davis’ became heavily addicted to heroin. This made it difficult to record or perform because the musician became a hazard to the crew and the patrons. In ‘54, he signed a contract with Columbia Records and formed a more permanent band, which consisted of Paul Chambers, Red Garland, and John Coltrane. With this band, Davis’ would record what is regarded as the most famous jazz album of all time, Kind of Blue. Released in ‘59, it sold over two million copies world wide. In it, Miles Davis created what’s known today as modal jazz. Davis was a huge influence on jazz in the 1950s. He created modal jazz, released the most famous jazz album ever, and inspired a whole new generation of musicians to the peak of jazz. One of these musicians was yet another father of jazz, John Coltrane.

John Coltrane: Redefining Tonal Center in Jaz

John Coltrane was born on September 23, 1926 in North Carolina. His entire early life was surrounded by music. His father was a very talented musician and pushed his son to learn music. He was heavily inspired by other jazz legends like Count Basie and Lester Young. In his teen years, Coltrane picked up the alto saxophone and began honing his skill on it. After the death of his father and several other relatives, his mother moved to New Jersey to start over. However, Coltrane stayed in North Carolina until he graduated high school. Afterward, Coltrane moved north to Philadelphia to see if he could make it as a professional musician. His stay in Philadelphia did not last long, however. He was drafted into the Navy and stationed in Hawaii. Here, he played with a small ensemble of other sailors regularly. It was here that he made his first recording, as well. After his brief stint in the Navy, Coltrane came back to Philadelphia to continue his musical journey. He joined a band led by Eddie Vinson. Vinson told Coltrane to switch to tenor saxophone, which Coltrane did. For almost the rest of his career, his main instrument would be the tenor saxophone. In ‘49, he would leave Vinson’s band to join Dizzy Gillespie’s band. He played there for a year before leaving Gillespie’s band to try and make a name for himself. In the 1950s, he gained a dependency on heroin.

In 1954, he would play in Duke Ellington’s band, but he would be fired by Ellington due to his heroin addiction. In 1955, Coltrane would bounce back with the Miles Davis Quintet, creating albums like Kind of Blue and The New Miles Davis Quintet. In 1957, he left the quintet to start recording on his own. He came out with fantastic albums like Blue Train, Blue World, and A Love Supreme. However, none of these albums are quite as revolutionary as Giant Steps. This album is one of the most famous albums in jazz. Its title track introduced a new tonal concept to a new generation. Later named “Coltrane Changes”, they have become a tool in every jazz composer’s arsenal today. Coltrane changed the way that the modern musician thinks about the tonal center.

Conclusion

Each one of the five fathers of American jazz had a critical and special part to play in the world of jazz. Louis Armstrong made the genre popular, Duke Ellington made the big band popular, Charlie Parker invented one of its most important subgenres, Miles Davis introduced modal jazz to a new generation of musicians, and John Coltrane changed the way we think about tonal center with Coltrane changes. Every one of them is unique and each of them play into each other’s stories. Art is born from inspiration. With everyone being inspired by each other, the five fathers could flourish and affect music in a way that no one else could.