Chicago, Capitale dll’Illinois, situata sulle rive del lago Michigan, soprannominata la Città dei Venti (Windy City), terza città degli Stati Uniti, primo porto interno, nodo ferroviario, stradale ed aereo. Città incrocio, Chicago fu il rifugio dei neri che emigravano verso il Nord per trovare lavoro, soprattutto dei musicisti di New Orleans, cacciati nel 1917 da Storyville. Così Louis Armstrong, Johnny Dodds, Richard M. Jones, Freddie Keppard, Jelly Roll Morton, Jimmie Noone, King Oliver, Omer Simeon, Zutty Singleton divulgarono con successo I segreti dell’improvvisazione collettiva a tre voci (tromba, clarinetto, trombone), vera fioritura dello stile detto New Orleans o dixieland, a volte in compagnia di musicisti locali: Lovie Austin, Doc Cooke, Carroll Dickerson, Charlie Elgar, Earl Hines, e anche Kid Ory, della Louisiana di ritorno dalla California. Molti club, music-hall e dancing ospitarono le loro attività durante gli anni ’20: Dreamland Café, Elite, Friar’s Inn, Lincoln Gardens, Monogram, Panama, Plantation, Apex Club, Royal Garden, Sunset Café, Vendome Theatre. I capolavori del jazz detto New Orleans furono infatti registrati a Chicago: i pezzi degli Hot Five e degli Hot Seven di Louis Armstrong (1925-27), quelli del Creole Jazz Band di King Oliver (1923-27), dei Red Hot Peppers di Jelly Roll Morton (1927-29), di Jimmie Noone (1928). Nello stesso tempo, viene affermandosi a Chicago una scuola di musicisti bianchi, appassionati di questa novità e che, riuniti nell’Austin High School Gang, i Chicago Rhythm Kings, la Cascade’s Band, l’orchestra di di Sid Meyers, i Condon’s Chicagoans, i New Orleans Rhythm King, devono essere accreditati di un modo di procedere parallelo ma nondimeno diverso: intorno all’improvvisazione collettiva si cristallizzano ricerche armoniche più raffinate, una sensibilità più “bianca”, ravvivata da aggiunte provenienti da formule europee e del folklore hillbilly e skiffle. Questa scuola dei Chicagoans, in cui il sassofono tenore ha il posto d’onore, annuncia il jazz degli anni ’30. Fra questi inventori: Bix Beiderbecke, Boyce Brown, Georg Brunis, Eddie Condon, Bud Freeman, Red McKenzie, Paul Mares, Mezz Mezzrow, Jimmy McPartland, Ben Pollack, Pee Wee Russell, Muggsy Spanier, Joe Sullivan, Frank Teschemacher, Dave Tough, Art Hodes, George Wettling. Continua Lunedì prossimo...
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Chicago, the capital of Illinois, located on the shores of Lake Michigan, nicknamed Windy City, the third-largest city in the United States, the first inland port, rail, road, and air junction. Cross city, Chicago was the refuge of blacks who emigrated to the North to find work, especially of the musicians from New Orleans, driven out in 1917 by Storyville. So Louis Armstrong, Johnny Dodds, Richard M. Jones, Freddie Keppard, Jelly Roll Morton, Jimmie Noone, King Oliver, Omer Simeon, Zutty Singleton successfully disclosed the secrets of collective three-part improvisation (trumpet, clarinet, trombone), real flowering of the style called New Orleans or Dixieland, sometimes in the company of local musicians: Lovie Austin, Doc Cooke, Carroll Dickerson, Charlie Elgar, Earl Hines, and even Kid Ory, from Louisiana returning from California. Many clubs, music halls, and dances hosted their activities during the 1920s: Dreamland Café, Elite, Friar's Inn, Lincoln Gardens, Monogram, Panama, Plantation, Apex Club, Royal Garden, Sunset Café, Vendome Theater. Jazz masterpieces called New Orleans are recorded in Chicago: the pieces of the Hot Five and Hot Seven by Louis Armstrong (1925-27), those of the Creole Jazz Band by King Oliver (1923-27), by the Red Hot Peppers of Jelly Roll Morton (1927-29), by Jimmie Noone (1928). At the same time, a school of white musicians is emerging in Chicago. Passionate about this novelty, and gathered in the Austin High School Gang, the Chicago Rhythm Kings, Cascade's Band, Sid Meyers' orchestra, Condon's Chicagoans, New Orleans Rhythm King, must be credited with a parallel way of proceeding but different. Around the collective improvisation, more refined harmonic research crystallizes, a more "white" sensitivity, enlivened by additions from European formulas and folklore hillbilly and skiffle. This Chicagoans school, where the tenor saxophone has pride of place, announces the jazz of the 1930s. Among these inventors: Bix Beiderbecke, Boyce Brown, Georg Brunis, Eddie Condon, Bud Freeman, Red McKenzie, Paul Mares, Mezz Mezzrow, Jimmy McPartland, Ben Pollack, Pee Wee Russell, Muggsy Spanier, Joe Sullivan, Frank Teschemacher, Dave Tough, Art Hodes, George Wettling. Continue next Monday ...
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