Dixieland

History and character

New Orleans jazz is the first jazz: it was born in the city at the beginning of the twentieth century from the meeting of parade and funeral brass bands, the blues, ragtime, spirituals, and Creole and Caribbean music (the "Spanish tinge"). The pioneers are partly legendary figures (Buddy Bolden, a cornetist active around 1900, never recorded), then Freddie Keppard, Joe "King" Oliver, Kid Ory, Jelly Roll Morton, Sidney Bechet, Johnny and Baby Dodds, and the very young Louis Armstrong (who played on Fate Marable's riverboats from 1918 and with King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band in Chicago from 1922; the band's first recordings date from 1923).

The term Dixieland ("traditional" or "hot jazz") is used for the New Orleans style and for its revivals, often by white musicians: the Original Dixieland Jass Band released in 1917 the first records that introduced jazz to the general public ("Livery Stable Blues"). In the 1920s the style turned into Chicago style (Bix Beiderbecke, Eddie Condon, four beats to the bar and more solos) and Louis Armstrong with the Hot Five and Hot Seven (1925–1928: "Potato Head Blues", "West End Blues") shifted the center toward the soloist. From the late 1930s there was a revival (Lu Watters' Yerba Buena Jazz Band in San Francisco; in the 1940s–50s Louis Armstrong and His All-Stars, Kid Ory, the British "trad" revival of Chris Barber and Acker Bilk). Today the tradition lives on in New Orleans (Preservation Hall Jazz Band) and is renewed by modern brass bands (Dirty Dozen, Rebirth, Trombone Shorty), which combine the second line with funk and hip hop.

The heart of the style is collective polyphonic improvisation: the "front line" (cornet or trumpet on the melody, clarinet in high counterpoint, trombone in low counterpoint with "tailgate" glissandi) over a rhythm section of at least two instruments among banjo or guitar, tuba or bass, piano, and drums.

Scales and keys

Major (Ionian) and triad

• Formula: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 — T T S T T T S. On Bb: Bb C D Eb F G A.
• Characteristic note: the triad and the 6th (Bb D F G): the trumpet melody and the riffs sit on the arpeggios.
• Diatonic chords: Bb (I), Cm (ii), Dm (iii), Eb (IV), F7 (V7), Gm (vi), Adim (vii°).
• Use: march and rag themes, the cornet's main melody.
• Real-world example: King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band — Dippermouth Blues; When the Saints Go Marching In (traditional hymn).

Major pentatonic with b3 and "blue notes"

• Formula: 1 2 b3 3 5 6. On F: F G Ab A C D.
• Characteristic note: the b3 (Ab) sliding into the 3 (A); b7 (Eb) over tonic chords.
• Use: "hot" cornet and clarinet phrasing, the "breaks" (two bars of solo without the band).

Blues scale

• On F: F Ab Bb B C Eb. Use: the blues (W.C. Handy's St. Louis Blues, 1914; West End Blues), the "bent" notes of trombone and clarinet.

Chromaticism and passing arpeggios (clarinet)

The clarinet plays fast lines of arpeggios and chromatic passing notes in the high register, around the trumpet melody: think in chords (arpeggios of I, IV, V7, VI7) rather than scales.

Harmonic minor (tango and the "Spanish tinge")

• On D: D E F G A Bb C#. Characteristic note: C# (major 7th) with Bb (b6). Use: minor sections (St. Louis Blues has a minor habanera section).

How to choose

Harmony

Harmonic function

Simple tonal harmony: triads and dominant seventh chords, heavy use of secondary dominants (the "ragtime progression" I–VI7–II7–V7–I), diminished passing chords, IV–iv. Forms derived from marches, rags, blues, and songs.

Forms

• 12-bar blues (many tunes: Dippermouth Blues, West End Blues).
• 16-bar strain form (marches and rags: Tiger Rag, High Society, Maple Leaf Rag), with a trio on the IV.
• 32-bar and 16-bar songs (Basin Street Blues, Muskrat Ramble).

Harmonic rhythm

1 chord every 1–2 bars; secondary dominants chain together, 2 bars each.

Voicings

Banjo and piano with full triads and seventh chords, in four or in two; the front line "naturally" forms a three-part chord (trumpet on top, clarinet higher, trombone below) with thirds and sevenths.

Typical progressions

Rhythm and groove

Feel

Two-beat: tuba or bass on 1 and 3 (in two), banjo or piano in four or in two, drums with kick on 1 and 3 and snare on the backbeat or a press roll. The eighth notes swing (often "rounder" than 1930s swing), nearly even at fast tempos. In Chicago style and the Hot Fives the rhythm section moves to 4/4 with four beats to the bar.

Second line

Parade brass bands play the second line: bass drum and snare with syncopated patterns of Caribbean origin (accent on the "4-and"), tuba in an ostinato.

Breaks and stop-time

Two-bar "breaks" in which the band stops and a soloist plays alone; stop-time (the band plays only one hit at the start of each bar or every two bars: Potato Head Blues).

Microtiming

A rhythm section with a "forward" push and a festive feel; the clarinet often anticipates, the trombone drags.

Drums

Principle

New Orleans drumming was born from the marching band (bass drum and snare played by two people, later combined by a single drummer with the pedal). Baby Dodds is the model: kick keeping time, press roll on the snare, woodblock, bass drum rims, choked cymbals, variations at every chorus.

Kick

On 1 and 3 (two-beat) or on all four beats in the "hot" choruses; a big, soft sound.

Snare

Press roll starting on the backbeat (2 and 4) and extending toward the next beat (Baby Dodds); short strokes, rimshots on the final choruses. Often played with the snares very tight.

Woodblock, rims, and cymbals

• Woodblock and bass drum rims for the verses (also because of the limits of 1920s acoustic recording).
• Suspended cymbal "choked" (struck and immediately stopped with the hand) for the accents at the end of phrases.
• No hi-hat (Baby Dodds hated them): the hi-hat comes later.
• Cowbell and Chinese tom-toms as colors.

Dynamics

Low under the soloists, loud in the ensemble choruses and the final "shouts" (the "ride-out chorus").

Interaction

Kick and tuba are a single pulse; the drums follow the trumpet and signal the end of the choruses.

Sections

Ensemble head; solos (breaks, stop-time); ride-out (last chorus at full volume, cymbals and snare); coda ("tag" with the classic "shave and a haircut" ending).

Fills

Short press rolls, woodblock hits, "parade" rolls toward the final chorus.

Sounds

Large bass drum (26–28"), deep snare, woodblock, small, dark cymbals, cowbells.

Typical mistakes

Using a modern kit with ride and hi-hat as in bebop, rock patterns, too many fills, a kick that is too defined.

Bass

Sound

Tuba (sousaphone in street bands) or upright bass plucked or slapped.

Notes

Root and fifth on 1 and 3 (two-beat), with chromatic or diatonic passing tones toward the new chord; walking in four in Chicago style and in the ride-outs.

Relationship with the kick

In unison on 1 and 3.

Examples

Pops Foster (upright bass, slap), John Lindsay, Bill Johnson; tuba in brass bands (Kirk Joseph of the Dirty Dozen in the modern era).

Harmonic instruments

• Banjo (4-string, tenor or plectrum): chords in four or in two, bright rhythm.
• Guitar (from Chicago style): chords in four.
• Piano (Jelly Roll Morton, Lil Hardin Armstrong, Earl Hines): ragtime and stride style, chords on 2 and 4, bass lines.
• Front line as harmony: trumpet, clarinet, and trombone form the chords with their lines.

Melody and vocals

Collective polyphony

• Cornet/trumpet: main melody, varied and ornamented, in the middle register; "hot" phrasing with blue notes, vibrato, glissandi, growl.
• Clarinet: high counterpoint, fast arpeggios, trills, long high notes (Johnny Dodds, Sidney Bechet also on soprano sax).
• Trombone: low counterpoint, chord tones, "tailgate" glissandi that connect the chords (Kid Ory).

Solos and breaks

Short solos, two-bar breaks, stop-time; Armstrong introduces the extended solo.

Vocals

Armstrong's singing (scat in "Heebie Jeebies", 1926), blues singers (Bessie Smith with Armstrong), band choruses in traditional pieces.

Effects

Mutes (plunger, cup), wide vibrato.

Instruments

• Cornet or trumpet, clarinet (or soprano sax), trombone
• Banjo or guitar
• Tuba (sousaphone) or upright bass
• Piano
• Drums (bass drum, snare, woodblock, cymbals)
• In brass bands: trumpets, trombones, saxes, tuba, bass drum, snare

Drum patterns

Synths and sounds

• Piano V — Upright piano: Honky-tonk or slightly out-of-tune upright piano (low tuning spread/detune) for the traditional color; chords on 2 and 4.

Song structure

Typical form

• Intro (4–8): full band or piano.
• Ensemble chorus: polyphony on the theme (12, 16, or 32 bars).
• Solos: clarinet, trombone, trumpet, piano, banjo (one chorus each), with breaks and stop-time.
• Ride-out chorus (1–3): the whole band in polyphony, getting louder and louder.
• Coda/tag: final phrase with a stop and chord, often a "drum tag".
• Length 2:45–3:30 (78 rpm), longer live.

Strain form (marches, rags)

Intro – A (16) A – B (16) B – interlude – Trio (C, 16, on the IV) C C – ride-out on the trio.

Funeral (jazz funeral)

Slow dirge toward the cemetery (hymn, 60–80 BPM), then the return at a fast tempo with the second line.

Mixing and mastering

Sonic goal

An acoustic band in a room or on the street: readable polyphony (every line of the front line distinguishable), a two-beat rhythm section underneath, natural ambience. The original recordings (acoustic through 1925, made with a horn) are mono and light on bass: for a modern production in the traditional style use a main stereo pair + spot mics, with little processing. Loudness −16/−12 LUFS.

Drums

Overhead/room pair as the main sound; HP 40 Hz; soft kick 60–100 Hz; snare with press roll at 2–5 kHz; woodblock HP 400 Hz, presence 2–3 kHz; no compression or 1–2 dB.

Tuba / upright bass

Tuba: HP 30 Hz; 60–120 Hz body; −2 dB at 200–300 Hz; 600–900 Hz for the attack; opto 2–3 dB. Upright bass: as in jazz (HP 40 Hz, −3 dB at 220 Hz, +2 dB at 800 Hz). Center.

Banjo and piano

Banjo: HP 120 Hz; −2/−3 dB at 2–3 kHz if it cuts; pan 20–40%. Piano: HP 50 Hz; −2 dB at 300 Hz; pan opposite the banjo.

Front line

• Trumpet: HP 100 Hz; −2 dB at 400 Hz; moderate presence 1.5–2.5 kHz; center.
• Clarinet: HP 150 Hz; −2 dB at 1 kHz if "nasal"; air 6–10 kHz; pan −25/−35%.
• Trombone: HP 70 Hz; 150–300 Hz body; 1–1.5 kHz presence; pan +25/+35%.
• Compression 1–3 dB opto or none; prefer automation for the solos (+2/+3 dB).

Vocals

HP 80 Hz; presence 2–3 kHz; compression 3–4 dB; plate/room 1–1.5 s.

FX

One common room or hall (1–1.8 s); for a "vintage" touch, a light band-pass filter on a parallel bus (HP 150 Hz, LP 6 kHz) mixed in at 10–20%.

Buses and groups

Front line bus with 1 dB of glue; rhythm bus.

Sidechain

Never.

Master

Chain: EQ (HP 30 Hz) – compressor 1.5:1 1 dB – limiter. Target −15/−12 LUFS, true peak −1 dBTP; the difference between the solos and the ride-out should remain audible.

Common mistakes

Clarinet and trumpet overlapping in the center, a harsh banjo that covers everything, a booming tuba, a modern kick with click, compression that erases the polyphony.

Reference tracks for mixing

Preservation Hall Jazz Band — modern recordings; Louis Armstrong and His All-Stars — Muskrat Ramble (1950s); Dirty Dozen Brass Band — My Feet Can't Fail Me Now (modern brass band).

Reference listening

• Original Dixieland Jass Band — Livery Stable Blues (1917)
• King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band — Dippermouth Blues (1923)
• Jelly Roll Morton's Red Hot Peppers — Black Bottom Stomp (1926)
• Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five — Heebie Jeebies (1926)
• Louis Armstrong and His Hot Seven — Potato Head Blues (1927)
• Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five — West End Blues (1928)
• Sidney Bechet — Summertime (1939)
• Louis Armstrong and His All-Stars — Muskrat Ramble (anni '50)
• Dirty Dozen Brass Band — My Feet Can't Fail Me Now (1984)