Jazz Instrumentation

Students will learn about various instruments and the use of instruments in different styles of jazz, including New Orleans jazz and big band swing. Any instrument (or voice) can play jazz, but historically the genre has featured trumpet, saxophone, trombone, clarinet, piano, a bass instrument (such as a double bass or electric bass guitar), and drums. Video clips explore the origins of the typical jazz ensemble with the Original Dixieland Jazz Band from the early twentieth century and the larger big bands, such as the Fletcher Henderson and His Orchestra from the 1930s and ‘40s. Additional videos highlight clarinet great Sidney Bechet and one of the most important jazz vocalists of all time, Billie Holiday.