Was the first jazz album recorded in New York or in Berlin? For International Jazz Day, expert Bert Noglik discusses the role of technology for pioneers of the genre, from the Original Dixieland Jazz Band to Miles Davis.
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12 jazz greats
From the first jazz record to psychedelic sound collages, technology influenced the evolution of jazz. Here are some of the genre's most innovative musicians from the past century.
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Pioneers: The Original Dixieland Jazz Band
The first jazz album was recorded at the end of February 1917. It featured two titles, "Dixieland Jazz Band One-Step" on the A side and "Livery Stable Blues" on the B side. From this recorded event in the history of jazz, several other musicians would go on to push the genre to new levels over the century.
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First great soloist
Louis Armstrong grew up in Storyville, New Orleans' prostitution district, where the world's first jazz musicians played in brothels and competed to be recognized as the best. In the 1930s, Armstrong revolutionized New Orleans jazz with his solos, giving them a warm and romantic sound. His talent as a showman also remains unforgettable.
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The magician on the clarinet
Sidney Bechet played the clarinet and saxophone in the New Orleans hot jazz tradition, also known as Dixieland. He strongly contributed to the popularity of this style, playing live in Europe in the 1920s. Between 1937-1941, his most successful period, he recorded several albums and performed among others with Louis Armstrong. Bechet was the first musician to play the blues on a clarinet.
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The most entertaining showman
Cab Calloway was not only an exceptional musician, singer and bandleader, but also a gifted entertainer. A white tuxedo and his wide smile became his trademark. He would often perform in Harlem's Cotton Club and toured through the US and Europe. The famous "Hi De Ho Man" also developed dance moves that are seen as the precursor to Michael Jackson's "moonwalk."
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The first great pianist
Art Tatum put all other jazz pianists in the shade. As a child, he suffered from cataracts and learned music at a school for the blind. He became famous in the mid 1930s. When pianist Oscar Peterson first heard one of his recordings, he apparently believed two pianists were playing at the same time — that's how good Tatum was.
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The first great voice
Ella Fitzgerald actually wanted to become a dancer. Yet at an amateur night at the Apollo Theater, she opted to sing instead of dance as first planned, intimidated by a previous act. She won first prize. Her unique voice conquered the jazz world. She started her solo career in 1941 and recorded albums with the star trumpet players Louis Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie and pianist Duke Ellington.
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The serious artist
Just like Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan was discovered through her act at the Apollo Theater's amateur night contest. As one the great voices of jazz, she wanted to be recognized as more than a jazz diva, also taking on songs from Broadway musicals. Moving between styles, she performed until the end of her life in 1990.
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The pioneer of cool jazz
Hollywood, 1947: With three other saxophonists, the young Stan Getz in Tony de Carlo's orchestra enthused the audience at Pete Pontrelli's Figueroa Ballroom in Los Angeles. His hit bebop song "Early Autumn" paved the way to cool jazz. His most iconic hit, the bossa nova song "The Girl from Ipanema," won a Grammy in 1965.
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The most popular crooner of the 1950s
Born Nathaniel Adam Cole in 1919, he was influenced by the pianist Earl Hines' famous "trumpet style" and became known professionally as Nat King Cole in Chicago in 1936. He founded the King Cole Swingsters trio with guitarist Oscar Moore and bassist Wesley Prince. One of his greatest hits was the 1950 song, "Mona Lisa."
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The genius of soul
Ray Charles, a blind singer and pianist from Florida, started his career in the 1950s. Up until the 1970s, he was accompanied by his all-female singing group, the Raelettes (photo). He was a pioneer of soul music and an influentially powerful figure among African-American musicians. His songs like "Hit the Road Jack" and "I Can't Stop Loving You" remain enduring hits.
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A central figure of free jazz
The Californian pianist and composer Carla Bley started her career with The Jazz Composer's Orchestra. In 1971, she composed her most important work, the opera "Escalator Over the Hill," which combines rock, free jazz and Indian music. The now 82-year-old musician still performs to this day.
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The eclectic trumpet master
From 1957's "Birth of Cool" sessions, instrumental to the development of cool jazz, to 1970's psychedelic "Bitches Brew," Miles Davis is remembered for a series of revolutionary milestones. The trumpeter who died in 1991 remains one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century.
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DW: Mr. Noglik, the first jazz album was recorded in New York. How did this recording happen?
Bert Noglik: The Original Dixieland Jass Band [Eds.: the name was changed to "Jazz" by mid-1917], from New Orleans, went to Chicago to perform Dixieland jazz, a sound that no one there had heard previously. At the time, ragtime was the dominant style and Dixieland was something completely new.
People in New York also wanted to hear Dixieland music. The band was invited to do a gig at the restaurant Reisenweber, which was a trendy location with a nightclub in Manhattan. The band performed there in January 1917.
Shortly afterwards, the record label Columbia came knocking at their door to record them. But the label found the material too hot, too innovative, so the recordings weren't released.
Another label, Victor, then jumped in and recorded two tracks, "Dixieland Jass Band One-Step" for the A side and "Livery Stable Blues" for the B side, on February 26, 1917. It was a big hit, pressed as a 78 rpm record single and sold for 75 cents. It was a remarkable event for the music market and the history of jazz — as well as a tremendous commercial success.
The B side of the first jazz recordImage: public domain
Was 1917 really the year the first jazz album was recorded? Some sources set this event in 1904, when the German operetta king Paul Lincke recorded a jazz-like composition with the choir of the Apollo Theater in Berlin. How do you see this?
This obviously depends on your definition of jazz. Without a doubt, there were earlier recordings of ragtime music and other pre-forms of jazz. However, some essential stylistic elements of jazz, such as swing, appeared much later. The recordings with the Original Dixieland Jass Band at the end of February 1917 already featured many of the characteristics of what we would later define as jazz.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the record business in the US and Europe was still developing — but it probably couldn't be characterized as an industry yet?
It was in its first steps. It developed over the following years. And radio only became widespread in Germany and in the US in 1923. Jazz developed a wider audience through records and radio by the end of the 1920s.
Who earned money with the new jazz records at the time?
The record labels, of course; they were already determining what could be marketed. Columbia was initially cautious with this new sound, but quickly jumped on the bandwagon, recording the Original Dixieland Jass Band as well. By then, Victor had already sold its first recording of them by the millions.
Record companies made very good deals at the beginning. When did record sales become interesting for musicians as well?
Actually, right from the start, because those records made music available anytime, anywhere — and worldwide. This was a great opportunity for musicians to become known and allowed them to play more concerts and go on international tours.
In the West, the record industry rapidly developed into a huge business. What happened in divided Germany in the 1960s? How did the market differ in East and West Germany?
You have to start by looking back at the first years of Soviet Occupation, from 1945 to 1949. There was a record label called Amiga, which documented very well the period's jazz production. We owe this label the most important testimonies of post-war German jazz.
It later became difficult because of East Germany's strong ideological regulations. In the 1950s, jazz was considered bourgeois entertainment music, which is why authorities imposed restrictions on sales and broadcasting of jazz music.
That changed in the 1960s. From then on, it became more difficult for the then already established East German label Amiga, because licenses had to be paid in a foreign currency, which was scarce in East Germany. This was also the case for the vinyl needed to press the albums.
What was the situation in West Germany?
In West Germany, jazz was produced by internationally operating labels such as Columbia, Brunswick, Bertelsmann or Philips. In 1964, an independent German label dedicated to modern jazz was created, called MOD Records. Towards the end of the 1950s, SABA Records was established: That was the label of Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer, which was renamed MPS, for Music Production Schwarzwald, in 1968.
Sound engineering developed very rapidly. How did the new and always improving technical possibilities influence jazz?
They were absolutely essential! Just imagine: At the beginning, there was this big funnel in which musicians had to play. Then the microphone appeared by the mid-1920s. That offered completely new possibilities, for example for vocalists. Crooners such as Frank Sinatra or Bing Crosby found new ways to modulate their voice with the microphone. An exceptional example is also singer Billie Holiday, who essentially developed her whole art through her work with the microphone.
Influential women in jazz
Jazz is still a predominantly male domain, even today - but women have played their part. DW takes a look at some of the most influential female jazz musicians, from Ella Fitzgerald to Terri Lyne Carrington.
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Ella Fitzgerald
Launching her stellar career in 1935 in the Swing era, Ella Fitzgerald was one of the most influential jazz singers of the 20th century. Raised in a humble home in Virginia, she conquered the world with her impressive voice. She continued to perform until the age of 74, dying only a few years later in 1996 from diabetes complications.
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Billie Holiday
Rhythm and phrasing, the color and shade of her voice and a knack for infusing even the simplest melody with poignant depth - Billie Holiday was a jazz legend. Like many female jazz singers of her era, she did not have an easy life. She was raped at the age of 11, and in court more than once for drug possession. Ella Fitzgerald was an avowed fan of this grande dame of jazz.
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Sarah Vaughan
Alongside Fitzgerald and Holiday, Sarah Vaughan was one of the most influential female jazz singers in history. She subbed for Fitzgerald at a nightclub back in 1943, which marked the beginning of her legendary career. Vaughan always disagreed with the description of herself as a jazz singer. Whether pop music or jazz - she excelled at both.
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Nina Simone
Songs including "I Put A Spell On You" and hits from the musical "Hair" made Nina Simone popular outside of jazz circles. The singer and pianist, who wrote several songs for the US civil rights movement in the 1960s, is today regarded as a leading figure on the soul music scene.
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Toshiko Akiyoshi
Born in 1929 in the Manchurian region of China, Toshiko Akiyoshi emigrated to Japan with her parents when she was a child. The pianist, composer and Big Band leader mixes bebop with Japanese and classical music elements. Firmly established in the world of modern jazz, the 87-year-old performs concerts across the globe to this day.
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Carla Bley
Jazz opera or an adaptation of "La Paloma" - in the 1960s, Carla Bley was known as an innovative, controversial composer. Born in Oakland, California in 1936, the 81-year-old is known for her shrill, orchestral interpretation of jazz, and is currently on tour in Europe.
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Irene Schweizer
A Swiss jazz pioneer and feminist, Irene Schweizer has always defied musical norms. She became known as the founder of free jazz in Europe. Schweizer, who turns 76 in June, started her career as a drummer in a rock band - but has found international success as a jazz pianist.
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Terri Lyne Carrington
She embodies contemporary female jazz: Terri Lyne Carrington, drummer, composer and head of the Sonic Portraits Entertainment label, which she co-founded. The US musician is famous for her groove. Committed to helping women find their voice in music and beyond, she is also known for her strong opinions.
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Record producers also became very creative with their sound engineers…
Yes, exactly. Tape started being used in the 1940s. That made it possible to produce sound collages. After that, multi-track recordings appeared. Works like Miles Davis' In a Silent Way (1969) and Bitches Brew (1970) used studio technology in an extremely creative way. The producer of these albums, Teo Macero, was nicknamed "Paganini of tape cutting."
Suddenly, technology became a creative tool. This continued right up to digitization. Editing became an important component of jazz production and creative jazz.
Just like the new recording technologies influenced the music industry 100 years ago, how are today's downloads and streaming services impacting the business and musicians?
Each storage and distribution media has had a great influence on how people receive music. Concerts used to be a way of promoting record sales. Now it's the other way around: Through music downloads and streaming, the goal of musicians is to make money through their concerts. It is becoming increasingly difficult to make money for all parties involved.
Bert Noglik is a freelance author specialized in jazz who has directed the festivals Jazztage in Leipzig and Jazzfest in Berlin.
