Dixieland jazz, also called traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland, is a type of jazz that came from the music created in New Orleans at the beginning of the 20th century. The 1917 recordings by the Original Dixieland Jass Band helped people learn about this new kind of music.

History

The Original Dixieland Jazz Band made its first recording in 1917. This was the first time jazz music was called "Dixieland," though the name originally referred to the band itself, not the music style. The band combined elements of African American/New Orleans ragtime and Sicilian music. Sicilian music was one of many styles in New Orleans during the 1910s, along with church music, brass band music, and blues.

Later, in the 1940s and 1950s, the term "Dixieland" came to describe early jazz. In his book Jazz, critic Rex Harris described Dixieland as "Jazz played in a style similar to New Orleans music by white musicians." The name "Dixieland" refers to the "Old South," the area south of the Mason-Dixon line. The term includes earlier styles like brass band marches, French Quadrilles, beguine, ragtime, and blues, all played with group improvisation.

Dixieland bands can vary in size and instruments, but a typical group includes a "front line" of trumpet (or cornet), trombone, and clarinet, and a "rhythm section" with at least two instruments such as guitar or banjo, string bass or tuba, piano, or drums. Louis Armstrong’s All-Stars was most closely associated with Dixieland during the 1940s, though Armstrong’s own work in the 1920s helped move jazz beyond the traditional New Orleans style.

The classic Dixieland sound happens when one instrument, often the trumpet, plays the main melody or a variation of it, while the other "front line" instruments improvise around it. This creates a more complex sound than the structured arrangements of big bands or the simple melodies of bebop.

During the 1930s and 1940s, the older style of group improvisation became less popular among younger Black musicians, though some older musicians continued playing this way. While younger musicians developed new styles, many beboppers admired Armstrong and used parts of his recordings in their own music.

The Dixieland revival in the late 1940s and 1950s happened because of a desire to move away from the complex sounds of the swing era and the fast, complicated rhythms of bebop (called "Chinese music" by Cab Calloway). Led by the Assunto brothers’ original Dukes of Dixieland, a band known for its skilled improvisation and recording the first stereo record, this movement gave older musicians a chance to gain recognition later in life. It also brought retired musicians like Kid Ory and Red Nichols back into the jazz scene. Many revival-era Dixieland groups tried to copy earlier recordings and styles, while others created new music. In the 1950s, a style called "Progressive Dixieland" combined traditional group improvisation with bebop rhythms. Bands like Spike Jones & His New Band and Steve Lacy played this style, which is sometimes called "Dixie-bop." Lacy later used this approach to reinterpret the music of Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus, Duke Ellington, and Herbie Nichols.

Etymology

"Traditional jazz" is a term that can describe the style of music developed in New Orleans during the early 1900s, as well as the renewed interest in this music that appeared in the United States and Britain after World War II.

Cultural influences

Understanding the emergence of Dixieland jazz requires looking at New Orleans' social and cultural environment. The city's unique natural and social conditions influenced the creation of Dixieland jazz. The mixing of musical traditions from African, European, and Caribbean backgrounds helped form a setting where different styles could blend. Population size, economic conditions, and social practices played a role in how Dixieland jazz developed. Events like Mardi Gras and St. Patrick's Day parades offered opportunities for musicians to try new sounds and styles.

The way people were organized in New Orleans also affected jazz's growth. African American communities in the city were not only involved in creating jazz but also in shaping its earliest performances. These communities held meetings in churches, clubs, and homes, which allowed musicians to express themselves creatively in casual settings.

Main forms

Dixieland music changed into a new style called Chicago style by the late 1910s. People started calling it "Chicago style" by the early 1920s. This style is often linked to musicians like Jimmy McPartland, Eddie Condon, Muggsy Spanier, and Bud Freeman. In Chicago-style bands, the rhythm section uses a string bass instead of a tuba and a guitar instead of a banjo. These musicians play with a rhythm that follows four beats per measure, called a swing-style. Unlike New Orleans-style music, which focuses on group sounds, Chicago-style music emphasizes individual solos. It also plays faster, reflecting the busy energy of city life. Chicago-style bands perform many songs, including traditional tunes and songs from the 1930s by composers like George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, and Irving Berlin. Musicians like Pee Wee Russell and Bobby Hackett are also associated with this style. This updated version of Dixieland was later called "Nicksieland," named after Nick's Tavern, where it became popular.

In the late 1930s, a movement called the "West Coast revival" began in San Francisco with Lu Watters and his Yerba Buena Jazz Band. Trombonist Turk Murphy helped continue this movement. It started as a reaction to the Chicago style, which was closer to swing music. These bands played music inspired by Joe "King" Oliver, Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong, and W.C. Handy. West Coast revival bands used a banjo and tuba in their rhythm sections, playing with a rhythm that follows two beats per measure.

Traditional Dixieland songs often performed include "When the Saints Go Marching In," "Muskrat Ramble," "Struttin' with Some Barbecue," "Tiger Rag," "Dippermouth Blues," "Milenberg Joys," "Basin Street Blues," "Tin Roof Blues," "At the Jazz Band Ball," "Panama," "I Found a New Baby," "Royal Garden Blues," and others. These songs were widely played by jazz bands before World War II, especially by Louis Armstrong. They became known as Dixieland standards starting in the 1950s.

At the same time as the "New Orleans Traditional" revival in the United States, traditional jazz music returned to the Low Countries (modern-day Netherlands and Belgium). However, many Dutch jazz bands, like The Ramblers, had already moved into the swing era. A few traditional bands, such as the Dutch Swing College Band, continued to play ragtime and early jazz. This limited the number of bands available for aspiring musicians, as some instruments like double basses and pianos were not commonly used in the Netherlands. This led to a new style of jazz called "Oude Stijl" ("Old Style") in Dutch.

Dutch jazz bands are influenced by the wind bands of the Netherlands and Belgium, called "harmonie" and "fanfare." These bands do not use a piano and have no stringed instruments except the banjo. They include many trumpets, trombones, and saxophones, along with a single clarinet, sousaphone, and a section of marching percussion, such as a washboard. Dutch jazz bands play original New Orleans tunes and songs from the revival era. Their style is between revivalist and original New Orleans jazz, with more solos than the latter but still focusing on group playing. Dutch jazz bands often have up to 15 members, making them the largest traditional jazz ensembles.

Styles influenced by traditional jazz

Musical styles that show the influence of traditional jazz include later forms of jazz, rhythm and blues, and early rock and roll. Traditional New Orleans second-line drumming and piano playing are important parts of the music created by Fats Domino. The New Orleans drummer Idris Muhammad adapted second-line drumming to modern jazz styles and influenced the R&B music of James Brown. Soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy combined New Orleans-style polyphonic improvisation with bebop. Bassist Charles Mingus honored traditional jazz styles in compositions like "Eat That Chicken" and "My Jellyroll Soul." Contemporary New Orleans brass band styles, such as those by the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, The Primate Fiasco, the Hot Tamale Brass Band, and the Rebirth Brass Band, mix traditional New Orleans brass band jazz with influences from modern jazz, funk, hip hop, and rap. The M-Base (Multi-Basic Array of Synchronous Extemporization) improvisational concept used by groups including Cassandra Wilson, Geri Allen, Greg Osby, Steve Coleman, Graham Haynes, Kevin Eubanks, and others builds on the polyphonic improvisation found in New Orleans jazz.

Revival

The Dixieland revival brought more people to listen to musicians who played traditional jazz styles. It also helped New Orleans musicians who had been forgotten because of changes in music styles over time. Many younger Black musicians avoided the revival because they did not want to change their music to fit what they saw as entertainment for white audiences. The name "Dixieland" was also linked to Jim Crow laws, which made some younger Black musicians dislike the revival.

During the 1940s and 1950s, Dixieland revival music became popular with many people, helping traditional jazz become a lasting part of American culture. This revival also inspired similar movements in Europe. Famous jazz songs like "Basin Street Blues" and "When the Saints Go Marching In" are now well-known even by people who do not usually listen to jazz. A protest song from the Vietnam War, "Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die Rag," used musical ideas from the New Orleans song "Muskrat Ramble." Today, traditional jazz remains a major attraction in New Orleans and has influenced modern musicians like Charles Mingus and Steve Coleman.

New Orleans music mixed earlier styles such as brass band marches, French quadrilles, biguine, ragtime, and blues with group improvisation. A typical band includes a "front line" of trumpet (or cornet), trombone, and clarinet, and a "rhythm section" with at least two of these: guitar or banjo, string bass or tuba, piano, or drums. In Dixieland music, one instrument, often the trumpet, plays the melody or a variation of it, while other instruments improvise around it. This creates a sound with many overlapping musical lines, different from the highly arranged music of big bands in the 1930s or the simple melodies of bebop in the 1940s.

The "West Coast revival" of the late 1930s in San Francisco used instruments like the banjo and tuba. In the Netherlands, "old-style jazz" was played with trumpets, trombones, and saxophones, along with a single clarinet, sousaphone, and a group of percussion instruments, often including a washboard.

Festivals

• In the United States, the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee was the largest traditional jazz festival. It was held every year in Sacramento, California on Memorial Day weekend. The event had about 100,000 visitors and featured 150 bands from around the world. The festival ended in 2017 after 44 years. In the late 1960s, smaller festivals and jazz parties began when rock music took the place of many jazz nightclubs.
• The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Louisiana includes jazz and other types of music performed by local, national, and internationally famous artists.
• In Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain, the Tarragona International Dixieland Festival is held every year the week before Easter since 1994. The event includes 25 bands from around the world and 100 performances in streets, theaters, cafés, and hotels.
• In Dresden, Germany, the Internationales Dixieland Festival Dresden has been held every year since 1970. The festival lasts one week and ends with a parade that includes decorated floats.
• In Davenport, Iowa, the Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival is held each summer on the Mississippi River waterfront. It celebrates Dixieland music and the life of Bix Beiderbecke, a 1920s musician from Davenport. The event is combined with a famous road race called the "Bix 7."
• In Ghent, Belgium, the Gent Jazz Festival is held every year during the second week of July.
• In Weiz, Steiermark, Austria, the Dixie and Swing Festival takes place every August. The event includes indoor concerts, a street music festival, and evening jam sessions.

Periodicals

There are many active magazines that focus on traditional jazz: the Jazz Rambler, a quarterly newsletter sent out by San Diego's America's Finest City Dixieland Jazz Society; The Syncopated Times, which covers traditional jazz, ragtime, and swing; Just Jazz and The Jazz Rag in the UK; and, to some degree, Jazz Journal, an online-only magazine based in Europe that discusses various types of jazz.