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81-642: A jazz band ( jazz ensemble or jazz combo ) is a musical ensemble that plays jazz music. Jazz bands vary in the quantity of its members and the style of jazz that they play but it is common to find a jazz band made up of a rhythm section and a horn section . The size of a jazz band is closely related to the style of jazz they play as well as the type of venues in which they play. Smaller jazz bands, also known as combos , are common in night clubs and other small venues and will be made up of three to seven musicians; whereas big bands are found in dance halls and other larger venues. Jazz bands can vary in size from

162-437: A flute , an oboe , a clarinet , and a bassoon . A brass quartet features two trumpets , a trombone , and a tuba (or French horn (more commonly known as "horn") ). A saxophone quartet consists of a soprano saxophone , an alto saxophone , a tenor saxophone , and a baritone saxophone . The string quintet is a common type of group. It is similar to the string quartet, but with an additional viola, cello, or more rarely,

243-484: A big band was not novel, as it had been done by Paul Whiteman and others since the 1920s. Shaw updated the idea with the music trends of the 1940s. Strings gave him a wider tonal palette and allowed him to concentrate on ballads rather than the fast dance songs of the swing era. Shaw was at or near the top of the list of virtuoso jazz bandleaders. The band was showcased on the Burns and Allen program every week. In 1940, at

324-476: A big band, to a smaller trio or quartet. Some bands use vocalists, while others are purely instrumental groups. Jazz bands and their composition have changed many times throughout the years, just as the music itself changes with personal interpretation and improvisation of its performers. It is common for musicians in a combo to perform their music from memory. The improvisational nature of these performances make every show unique. The rhythm section consists of

405-462: A chamber orchestra). Larger orchestras are called symphony orchestras (see below) or philharmonic orchestras. A pops orchestra is an orchestra that mainly performs light classical music (often in abbreviated, simplified arrangements) and orchestral arrangements and medleys of popular jazz, music theater, or pop music songs. A string orchestra has only string instruments, i.e., violins, violas, cellos, and double basses. A symphony orchestra

486-400: A contract to make a will between them. In July 2006, a Ventura, California , jury unanimously held that Keyes was entitled to almost one-half of Shaw's estate, or $ 1,420,000. In 1980, Shaw donated his papers, most of which amounted to his music library of over 700 scores and parts and approximately 1,000 pieces of sheet music, to Boston University . In 1991, the collection was transferred to

567-558: A force in popular music and jazz before retiring from music completely in 1954. Arthur Jacob Arshawsky was born on May 23, 1910, in New York City to Sarah ( née Strauss) and Harold "Harry" Arshawsky, a dressmaker and photographer. The family was Jewish; his father was from Russia, his mother from Austria. Shaw grew up in New Haven, Connecticut , where his natural introversion was deepened by local antisemitism . He bought

648-537: A form of male rebellion vis-à-vis female bedroom culture." In popular music, there has been a gendered "distinction between public (male) and private (female) participation" in music. "[S]everal scholars have argued that men exclude women from bands or the bands' rehearsals, recordings, performances, and other social activities." "Women are mainly regarded as passive and private consumers of allegedly slick, prefabricated – hence, inferior – pop music..., excluding them from participating as high-status rock musicians." One of

729-510: A group of session musicians in Hollywood, trying to combine strings and woodwinds with a jazz band. The result was the hit "Frenesi". He was hired as bandleader for the Burns and Allen Show broadcast from Hollywood. He organized a band that was modeled after his swing band concept of the late-1930s with the addition of six violins, two violas, and one cello. The addition of a string section to

810-421: A high prominence in many popular music styles as singers. However, professional women instrumentalists are uncommon in popular music, especially in rock genres such as heavy metal . "[P]laying in a band is largely a male homosocial activity, that is, learning to play in a band is largely a peer-based... experience, shaped by existing sex-segregated friendship networks." As well, rock music "...is often defined as

891-470: A jazz vocalist can be unclear because jazz has shared a great deal with blues and pop music since the 1920s. In their book Essential Jazz , Henry Martin and Keith Waters identify five main characteristics that identify jazz singing, three of which are: "Loose phrasing [...], use of blue notes [...], [and] free melodic embellishment." Often the human voice can act in place of a brass section in playing melodies, both written and improvised. Scat singing

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972-406: A leader. In jazz bands, rock and pop groups, and similar ensembles, this is the band leader . In classical music, orchestras, concert bands, and choirs are led by a conductor . In orchestra, the concertmaster (principal first violin player) is the instrumentalist leader of the orchestra. In orchestras, the individual sections also have leaders, typically called the "principal" of the section (e.g.,

1053-454: A longhair, impressed with my own ability. Nothing could be farther from the truth. My faith in dance music — I refuse to call it swing — borders on the fanatic. I have the utmost respect for the many real musicians who are creating a new music as important as the classics, but I have no respect for musical clowns who lead an orchestra with a baton and a quip. However, more power to them if they can make it pay." When Shaw told his agents that he

1134-421: A nervous breakdown, soon after which she divorced him. In 1940, before eloping with Lana Turner , Shaw briefly dated actresses Betty Grable and Judy Garland and, according to Tom Nolan's biography, had an affair with Lena Horne . Apart from his interest in music, Shaw had a tremendous intellect and almost insatiable thirst for intellectual knowledge and literature. During his self-imposed "sabbaticals" from

1215-427: A part of the celebrity culture of the period, with its professional obligations. He told Metronome magazine: "I don't like the business of music. I'm unhappy in the music 'business.' Maybe I don't even belong in it. I like the music part, but for me the business part just plain stinks." Shaw also resented the constant pressure imposed on him by networks, agencies, publishers, and promoters. He summed up his feelings in

1296-482: A period of renewed introspection. After his discharge, he entered psychoanalysis and began to withdraw from music in favor of a writing career. His autobiography, The Trouble With Cinderella: An Outline of Identity , was published in 1952 (with later reprint editions in 1992 and 2001). Revealing downbeat elements of the music business, Shaw explained that "the trouble with Cinderella" is "nobody ever lives happily ever after." He turned to semi-autobiographical fiction with

1377-494: A reporter: "In the world we live in, compulsive perfectionists finish last. You have to be Lawrence Welk or, on another level, Irving Berlin , and write the same kind of music over and over again. I'm not able to do that, and I have taken the clarinet as far as anyone can possibly go. To continue playing would be a disservice." He spent the rest of the 1950s living in Europe. In 1983, after years of prodding by Williard Alexander,

1458-489: A saxophone by working in a grocery store and began learning the saxophone at 13. At 16, he switched to the clarinet and left home to tour with a band. Returning to New York, he became a session musician through the early 1930s. From 1925 to 1936, Shaw performed with many bands and orchestras; from 1926 to 1929, he worked in Cleveland and established a lasting reputation as music director and arranger for an orchestra led by

1539-429: A self-penned 1939 Saturday Evening Post article: "My job is to play music, not politics, and my only obligation is to the people who pay to listen to me. I don't attempt to ram hackneyed, insipid tunes down the public's throat just because they've been artificially hypoed to the so-called 'hit' class. This policy of trying to maintain some vestige of musical integrity has, naturally, earned me enemies, people who think I'm

1620-573: A singer, instrumentalist, songwriter, and bandleader." According to Auslander, she was "kicking down the male door in rock and roll and proving that a female musician  ... and this is a point I am extremely concerned about ... could play as well if not better than the boys". Artie Shaw Artie Shaw (born Arthur Jacob Arshawsky ; May 23, 1910 – December 30, 2004) was an American clarinetist, composer, bandleader, actor and author of both fiction and non-fiction. Widely regarded as "one of jazz's finest clarinetists", Shaw led one of

1701-640: A swing concert at the Imperial Theater in New York. During the swing era , his big bands were popular with hits like " Begin the Beguine " (1938), " Stardust " (with a trumpet solo by Billy Butterfield ), "Back Bay Shuffle", " Moonglow ", "Rosalie", and " Frenesi ". The show was well received, but was forced to dissolve in 1937 because his band's sound was not commercial. Shaw valued experimental and innovative music over dancing and love songs. He

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1782-663: Is an ensemble usually comprising at least thirty musicians; the number of players is typically between fifty and ninety-five and may exceed one hundred. A symphony orchestra is divided into families of instruments. In the string family, there are sections of violins (I and II), violas, cellos (often eight), and basses (often from six to eight). The standard woodwind section consists of flutes (one doubling piccolo), oboes (one doubling English horn), soprano clarinets (one doubling bass clarinet), and bassoons (one doubling contrabassoon). The standard brass section consists of horns, trumpets, trombones, and tuba. The percussion section includes

1863-571: Is known as a clarinetist. Originally, the clarinet was a central instrument in jazz, beginning with the New Orleans players in the 1910s. It remained a signature instrument of jazz through much of the big band era into the 1940s. Larry Shields was the clarinetist for the Original Dixieland Jazz Band , the first jazz band to record commercially in 1917. The American players Ted Lewis and Jimmie Noone were pioneers of

1944-413: Is rare, except for the nonet (nine musicians). In most cases, a larger classical group is referred to as an orchestra of some type or a concert band. A small orchestra with fifteen to thirty members (violins, violas, four cellos, two or three double basses, and several woodwind or brass instruments) is called a chamber orchestra . A sinfonietta usually denotes a somewhat smaller orchestra (though still not

2025-399: Is vocal improvisation with wordless vocables, nonsense syllables or without words at all. Though scat singing is improvised, the melodic lines are often variations on scale and arpeggio fragments, stock patterns and riffs , as is the case with instrumental improvisers. The deliberate choice of scat syllables is also a key element in vocal jazz improvisation. Syllable choice influences

2106-518: The Pacific theater . After 18 months playing for Navy personnel, (sometimes as many as four concerts a day in battle zones, including Guadalcanal ), Shaw returned to the U.S. in a state of physical exhaustion and received a medical discharge. After the war, the popularity of big bands declined, as Crooners and Bebop began to dominate the charts. Shaw credited his time in the Navy from 1942 to 1944 as

2187-418: The percussion , double bass or bass guitar , and usually at least one instrument capable of playing chords , such as a piano , guitar , Hammond organ or vibraphone ; most will usually have more than one of these. The standard rhythm section is piano, bass, and drums. The horn section consists of a woodwind section and a brass section , which play the melody . The banjo has been used in jazz since

2268-455: The timpani , bass drum , snare drum , and any other percussion instruments called for in a score (e.g., triangle, glockenspiel , chimes, cymbals, wood blocks, etc.). In Baroque music (1600–1750) and music from the early Classical period music (1750–1820), the percussion parts in orchestral works may only include timpani. A wind orchestra or concert band is a large classical ensemble generally made up of between 40 and 70 musicians from

2349-422: The wind machine or cannons . When orchestras perform music from the 20th century or the 21st century, occasionally instruments such as electric guitar, theremin , or even an electronic synthesizer may be used. A vocal group is a performing ensemble of vocalists who sing and harmonize together. The first well-known vocals groups emerged in the 19th century, and the style had reached widespread popularity by

2430-430: The wind quintet , usually consisting of flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and horn; the brass quintet , consisting of two trumpets, one horn, a trombone, and a tuba; and the reed quintet, consisting of an oboe, a soprano clarinet, a saxophone, a bass clarinet, and a bassoon. Classical chamber ensembles of six (sextet), seven (septet), or eight musicians (octet) are fairly common; the use of latinate terms for larger groups

2511-574: The 1940s. Vocal groups can come in several different forms, including: A group that plays popular music or military music is usually called a band; a drum and bugle corps is a type of the latter. These bands perform a wide range of music, ranging from arrangements of jazz orchestral, or popular music to military-style marches. Drum corps perform on brass and percussion instruments only. Drum and Bugle Corps incorporate costumes, hats, and pageantry in their performances. Other band types include: See List of musical band types for more. Women have

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2592-413: The 73-year-old Shaw organized a band and selected clarinetist Dick Johnson as bandleader and soloist. The 58-year-old Johnson, an accomplished woodwind and saxophonist and native of Brockton, Massachusetts , was no stranger to jazz having recorded numerous albums of his own and had idolized Shaw's playing throughout his life. Shaw's music library, which was the product of his almost 20 years of activity in

2673-591: The Animals , is called an undecet , and a group of twelve is called a duodecet (see Latin numerical prefixes ). A soloist playing unaccompanied (e.g., a pianist playing a solo piano piece or a cellist playing a Bach suite for unaccompanied cello ) is not an ensemble because it only contains one musician. A string quartet consists of two violins , a viola , and a cello . There is a vast body of music written for string quartets, making it an important genre in classical music . A woodwind quartet usually features

2754-652: The Little Orchestra Society; on the preceding day (19 February) Shaw had performed the Mozart concerto in Newark (NJ) with Scherman and the L.O.S. In July 1954, Shaw undertook a brief Australian tour for promoter Lee Gordon on which he shared the bill with drummer Buddy Rich and vocalist Ella Fitzgerald . After completing that tour Shaw stopped playing the clarinet, citing his own perfectionism, which, he later said, would have killed him. He explained to

2835-604: The United States in 1962, and an expert fly fisherman . In his later years, Shaw lived and wrote in the Newbury Park section of Thousand Oaks, California . Shaw died on December 30, 2004, aged 94. According to his publicist, he had been "in ill health for some time, but I don't know the specific cause of death." Shaw had been diabetic since the 1980s. In 2005, Shaw's eighth wife, actress Evelyn Keyes , filed suit, seeking one-half of Shaw's estate , pursuant to

2916-439: The United States' most popular big bands in the late 1930s through the early 1940s. Though he had numerous hit records, he was perhaps best known for his 1938 recording of Cole Porter 's " Begin the Beguine ." Before the release of "Beguine," Shaw and his fledgling band had languished in relative obscurity for over two years and, after its release, he became a major pop artist within short order. The record eventually became one of

2997-400: The addition of a double bass. Terms such as " piano quintet " or "clarinet quintet" frequently refer to a string quartet plus a fifth instrument. Mozart 's Clarinet Quintet is similarly a piece written for an ensemble consisting of two violins, a viola, a cello, and a clarinet, the last being the exceptional addition to a "normal" string quartet. Some other quintets in classical music are

3078-695: The band made its official debut on New Year's Eve 1984 at the Glen Island Casino in New Rochelle , New York, the same launching pad for many bands of the swing era decades earlier, when Shaw and his bands were in their prime. Shaw appeared with the band throughout its first few years, limiting his role to being its conductor and front man, while leaving the clarinet playing duties to Johnson. In 1985, another week-long series of strenuous rehearsals followed during which Shaw added more repertoire, including many arrangements and compositions that were from

3159-608: The band taking a final segue to Shaw's theme song Nightmare. In 2000, filmmaker Ken Burns interviewed Shaw at his home for his PBS documentary/miniseries Jazz where Shaw appears in multiple segments. His last major interview was in 2003, when he was interviewed by Russell Davies for the BBC Television documentary, Artie Shaw – Quest for Perfection . The documentary includes interviews with surviving members of his original bands, Johnson, and other music industry professionals. A self-proclaimed "very difficult man," Shaw

3240-500: The band" in 1940. He named it Artie Shaw and the Gramercy Five after his home telephone exchange . Band pianist Johnny Guarnieri played harpsichord on the quintet recordings, and Al Hendrickson played electric guitar. Trumpeter Roy Eldridge became part of the group, succeeding Billy Butterfield . In 1940, the original Gramercy Five cut eight sides, then Shaw dissolved the band in early 1941. The Gramercy Five's biggest hit

3321-496: The band's personal appearances to military bases in California. In August 1945, his contract with RCA ended and he signed with an independent label, Musicraft . He made a few records for Musicraft before the band broke up, and all of the recordings for Musicraft from 1946 were staffed by top-notch session musicians. The big band was back in the studio, this time including strings. On these Musicraft recordings in 1946 Shaw featured

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3402-427: The decline of the big bands' popularity in the late 1940s, the clarinet faded from its prominent position in jazz and the saxophone rose in importance in many jazz bands, probably because it uses a less complicated fingering system. But the clarinet did not entirely disappear. In the late 50s, traditional jazz experienced a revival, with the notable example of clarinetist Acker Bilk 's Bristol Paramount Jazz Band. Some of

3483-513: The earliest jazz bands. The earliest use of the banjo in a jazz band was by Frank Duson in 1917, however Laurence Marrero claims it became popular in 1915. There are three common types of banjo, the plectrum banjo , tenor banjo , and cello banjo . Over time, the four-stringed tenor banjo became the most common banjo used in jazz. The drum-like sound box on the banjo made it louder than the acoustic guitars that were common with early jazz bands, and banjos were popular for recording. Beginning in

3564-421: The early 1950s, some jazz bass players began to use the electric bass guitar in place of the double bass. Jazz drumming is the art of playing percussion, usually the drum set , in jazz styles ranging from 1910s-style Dixieland jazz to 1970s-era jazz-rock fusion and 1980s-era Latin jazz . Stylistically, this aspect of performance was shaped by its starting place, New Orleans, as well as numerous other regions of

3645-402: The ensemble with New York musicians until March 1941. While taking a few months' vacation in the spring of 1941 to reassess what to do next, Shaw recorded in another small-group format with three horns and a four-man rhythm section with the addition of a dozen strings. By September, he formed a big band with seven brass, five saxes, four rhythm, and fifteen strings. On December 7, three months into

3726-502: The era's defining recordings. Musically restless, Shaw was also an early proponent of what became known much later as Third Stream music, which blended elements of classical and jazz forms and traditions. His music influenced other musicians, such as Monty Norman in England, whose " James Bond Theme " features a vamp possibly influenced by Shaw's 1938 recording of "Nightmare". Shaw also recorded with small jazz groups drawn from within

3807-461: The first white band leader to hire a full-time black female singer to tour the segregated Southern U.S. However, after recording "Any Old Time", Holiday left the band due to hostility from audiences in the South , as well as from music company executives who wanted a more "mainstream" singer. Like his main rival, Benny Goodman , and other leaders of big bands, Shaw fashioned a smaller "band within

3888-490: The gender composition of heavy metal bands , it has been said that "[h]eavy metal performers are almost exclusively male" "...[a]t least until the mid-1980s" apart from "...exceptions such as Girlschool ". However, "...now [in the 2010s] maybe more than ever–strong metal women have put up their dukes and got down to it," "carv[ing] out a considerable place for [them]selves". When Suzi Quatro emerged in 1973, "no other prominent female musician worked in rock simultaneously as

3969-425: The height of his popularity, the 30-year-old Shaw earned up to $ 60,000 per week. In contrast, George Burns and Gracie Allen were each making $ 5,000 per week during the year that Shaw and his orchestra provided the music for their radio show. He acted on the show as a love interest for Gracie Allen. Shaw's contract was renewed for another 13 weeks when the program was moved to New York. Shaw disliked having to be

4050-417: The instrument in jazz bands. The B ♭ soprano clarinet was the most common instrument, but a few early jazz musicians such as Alcide Nunez preferred the C soprano clarinet, and many New Orleans jazz brass bands have used an E ♭ soprano clarinet. Swing clarinetists such as Benny Goodman , Artie Shaw , and Woody Herman led successful big bands and smaller groups from the 1930s onward. With

4131-640: The later years of his career Shaw had never recorded. By 1987 though, Shaw was no longer touring with the band, quietly content that Johnson and the band kept true to Shaw's band spirit and vision. He would, however, show up on occasion "just to hear how things sounded". Shaw made several musical shorts in 1939 for Vitaphone and Paramount Pictures . He portrayed himself in the Fred Astaire film, Second Chorus (1940), which featured Shaw and his orchestra playing Concerto for Clarinet , and his 1940–41 Hollywood period Star Dust band can be heard throughout

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4212-655: The leader of the viola section is called the "principal viola"). Conductors are also used in jazz big bands and in some very large rock or pop ensembles (e.g., a rock concert that includes a string section , a horn section , and a choir that accompanies a rock band's performance). In Western classical music, smaller ensembles are called chamber music ensembles. The terms duo , trio , quartet , quintet , sextet , septet , octet , nonet , and decet describe groups of two up to ten musicians, respectively. A group of eleven musicians, such as found in The Carnival of

4293-476: The middle of a conflagration. On impulse, I went to the front row of the band where Les Robinson, first alto man, was sitting, and I said, 'Pass the word. This is two weeks' notice.' It went through the band and we played the rest of that show with a pall over it. Anyway, I joined the Navy." During World War II, Shaw enlisted in the United States Navy and shortly after formed a band, which served in

4374-485: The morose "Nightmare", with its Hasidic nuances, as his theme rather than choosing a more accessible song. In a televised interview in the 1970s, Shaw derided the "asinine" songs of Tin Pan Alley that were the lifeblood of popular music and which bands, especially the most popular (such as his own) were compelled to play night after night. In 1994, he told Frank Prial of The New York Times : "I thought that because I

4455-570: The music business, contained numerous arrangements of monumental status of popular music in addition to many original big band jazz compositions of the era. It was a collection of music arranged by some of the foremost composer/arrangers of the period, much of which was sketched out by Shaw himself and filled in and completed by his orchestrator/arranger collaborators, among them Jerry Gray , William Grant Still , Lennie Hayton , Ray Conniff, Eddie Sauter , and Jimmy Mundy , among others. Shaw rehearsed his new band, (based out of Boston, Massachusetts), and

4536-643: The music business, his interests included studying advanced mathematics, as cited in Karl Sabbagh 's The Riemann Hypothesis . In 1946, Shaw was present at a meeting of the Independent Citizens' Committee of the Arts, Sciences and Professions. Olivia de Havilland and Ronald Reagan , part of a core group of actors and artists who were trying to sway the organization away from Communism , presented an anti-Communist declaration which, if signed,

4617-421: The pitch articulation , coloration, and resonance of the performance. Another important aspect of jazz is improvisation (" jams "). Bands playing in this fashion fall under the category of jam bands . A common way to incorporate improvisation is to feature solo performances from band members made up on the spot, allowing them to showcase their skill. Musical ensemble Music ensembles typically have

4698-486: The ranks of the big bands he led. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1942 to 1944, during which time he led a morale-building band that toured the South Pacific. Following his discharge in 1944, he returned to lead a band through 1945. Following the breakup of that band, he began to focus on other interests and gradually withdrew from the world of being a professional musician and major celebrity, although he remained

4779-401: The reasons that there are rarely mixed gender bands is that "bands operate as tight-knit units in which homosocial solidarity – social bonds between people of the same sex... – plays a crucial role." In the 1960s pop music scene, "[s]inging was sometimes an acceptable pastime for a girl, but playing an instrument...simply wasn't done." "The rebellion of rock music was largely a male rebellion;

4860-541: The same pop tunes over and over. In an interview, he explained, "'Begin the Beguine' is a pretty nice tune. But not when you have to play it 500 nights in a row." Finally, in frustration, he walked off the Café Rouge bandstand while on the air, and quit the band two days later. He departed for Mexico, and the band continued without him into January but eventually broke up. After Shaw returned from Mexico in 1940, and still under contract to RCA Victor , he experimented with

4941-640: The soundtrack. The film garnered him two Oscar nominations for Best Score and Best Song ("Love of My Life"). He collaborated on the love song "If It's You", sung by Tony Martin in the Marx Brothers ' film The Big Store (1941). On March 2, 1950, he was the mystery guest on the fifth episode of What's My Line? and on August 31, 1952, was part of the panel. During the 1970s he made appearances on The Mike Douglas Show and The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson . Many of his recordings have been used in motion pictures. His 1940 recording of " Stardust "

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5022-608: The three short novels in I Love You, I Hate You, Drop Dead! (1965, reprinted in 1997), which prompted Terry Southern 's comment: "Here is a deeply probing examination of the American marital scene. I flipped over it!" Shaw's short stories, including "Snow White in Harlem", were collected in The Best of Intentions and Other Stories (1989). He worked for years on his 1,000-page autobiographical novel, The Education of Albie Snow , but

5103-407: The three-volume work remained unpublished. After his discharge in 1944, he formed another band, this time what could be considered a modern big band in that it contained what is now considered the standard eight brass and five saxes. It did not include any strings and was based in Hollywood, California, where Shaw was living. He continued to record for RCA Victor, as he had before the war, and limited

5184-457: The timpani, bass drum, snare drum, and any other percussion instruments called for in a score (e.g., triangle, glockenspiel, chimes, cymbals, wood blocks, etc.). When orchestras perform baroque music (from the 17th century and early 18th century), they may also use a harpsichord or pipe organ , to play the continuo part. When orchestras perform Romantic-era music (from the 19th century), they may also use harps or unusual instruments such as

5265-604: The tour, the 31-piece band was in the midst of a matinee performance in Providence, Rhode Island, when he was given a note about the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor . The note instructed him to tell military personnel to return to their bases. Shaw was shaken by the news, as he told interviewer Freddie Johnson in 1994: "Everything seemed to pale into insignificance, and I had to go back out on stage and announce " Star Dust " or something, and it sounded so fatuous. Here we were in

5346-435: The use of the violin or electric violin to improvise solo lines. Although the violin has been used in jazz recordings since the first decades of the 20th century, it is more commonly associated with folk music than jazz. Jazz musician Milt Hinton claimed that the decline in violin players coincided with the introduction of sound movies , as many violin players were used as accompaniment for silent films . The definition of

5427-630: The violinist Austin Wylie. In 1929 and 1930, he played with Irving Aaronson 's Commanders, where he was exposed to symphonic music, which he would later incorporate in his arrangements. In 1932, Shaw joined the Roger Wolfe Kahn Orchestra and made several recordings with the outfit including " It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) " and "Fit as a Fiddle" . In 1935, he first gained attention with his "Interlude in B-flat" at

5508-551: The women—often, in the 1950s and '60s, girls in their teens—in rock usually sang songs as personæ utterly dependent on their macho boyfriends..." Philip Auslander says that "Although there were many women in rock by the late 1960s, most performed only as singers, a traditionally feminine position in popular music." Though some women played instruments in American all-female garage rock bands , none of these bands achieved more than regional success. So they "did not provide viable templates for women's on-going participation in rock". About

5589-786: The woodwind, brass, and percussion families, along with the double bass. The concert band has a larger number and variety of wind instruments than the symphony orchestra but does not have a string section (although a single double bass is common in concert bands). The woodwind section of a concert band consists of piccolo, flutes, oboes (one doubling English horn), bassoons (one doubling contrabassoon), soprano clarinets (one doubling E ♭ clarinet, one doubling alto clarinet), bass clarinets (one doubling contrabass clarinet or contra-alto clarinet), alto saxophones (one doubling soprano saxophone), tenor saxophone, and baritone saxophone. The brass section consists of horns, trumpets or cornets, trombones, euphoniums, and tubas. The percussion section consists of

5670-399: The works of Bilk's jazz band reached the pop charts. In the saxophone section, all of the saxophones will play a similar melodic line, but the baritone sax doubles by occasionally joining in with the bass trombone and bass to play the bass line. A big band saxophone section typically consists of two alto saxophones , two tenor saxophones , and one baritone saxophone. Jazz violin is

5751-522: The world, including other parts of the United States , the Caribbean , and Africa . Jazz required a method of playing percussion different from traditional European styles, one that was easily adaptable to the different rhythms of the new genre, fostering the creation of jazz drumming's hybrid technique. The clarinet is a woodwind instrument with a single-reed mouthpiece. A clarinet player

5832-599: The young singer Mel Tormé . On some of the sides, Tormé was also featured with his vocal group the Meltones. In the late 1940s Shaw commissioned Norman Dello Joio to compose a solo work; Shaw premiered the resultant Concertante for Clarinet and Orchestra with the Chautauqua (NY) Symphony on 23 July 1949, Franco Autori conducting. Shaw again performed the work in Town Hall on 20 February 1950 with Thomas Scherman and

5913-529: Was "Summit Ridge Drive", one of Shaw's million-selling records. His last prewar band, organized in September 1941, included Oran "Hot Lips" Page , Max Kaminsky , Georgie Auld , Dave Tough , Jack Jenney , Ray Conniff and Guarnieri. The long series of musical groups Shaw subsequently formed included Lena Horne , Helen Forrest , Mel Tormé , Buddy Rich , Dave Tough , Barney Kessel , Jimmy Raney , Tal Farlow , Dodo Marmarosa , and Ray Conniff . He used

5994-413: Was Artie Shaw I could do what I wanted, but all they wanted was 'Begin the Beguine'". Throughout his career, Shaw had a habit of forming bands, developing them according to his immediate aspirations, making a quick series of records, and then disbanding. He generally did not stick around long enough to reap his bands' successes through live performances of their recorded hits. Following the breakup of what

6075-422: Was already his second band in 1939, he rarely toured at all and, if he did, his personal appearances were usually limited to long-term engagements in a single venue or bookings that did not require much traveling, unlike many bands of the era that traveled great distances doing seemingly endless strings of one-night engagements. Shaw did many big band remote broadcasts. Throughout the autumn and winter of 1938, he

6156-481: Was an innovator in the big band idiom, using unusual instrumentation; "Interlude in B-flat", where he was backed with only a rhythm section and a string quartet , was one of the earliest examples of what would be later dubbed Third Stream . His incorporation of stringed instruments could be attributed to the influence of the classical composer Igor Stravinsky . In addition to hiring Buddy Rich , he signed Billie Holiday as his band's vocalist in 1938, becoming

6237-661: Was married eight times. Two marriages were annulled; the others ended in divorce: Jane Cairns (1932–33; annulled); Margaret Allen (1934–37); actress Lana Turner (1940); Betty Kern, the daughter of songwriter Jerome Kern (1942–43); actress Ava Gardner (1945–46); Forever Amber author Kathleen Winsor (1946–48; annulled); actress Doris Dowling (1952–56), and actress Evelyn Keyes (1957–85). He had two sons, Steven Kern (with Betty Kern) and Jonathan Shaw (with Doris Dowling). Both Lana Turner and Ava Gardner later described Shaw as being extremely emotionally abusive. His controlling nature and incessant verbal abuse drove Turner to have

6318-752: Was often heard from the Blue Room of the Hotel Lincoln in New York City. After touring in 1939, he led the house band at the Café Rouge of the Hotel Pennsylvania in New York. He was the headliner of a radio series with comedian Robert Benchley as emcee. Shaw broadcast on CBS from November 20, 1938, until November 14, 1939. Shaw became increasingly disillusioned with not having time to develop new arrangements, and having to play

6399-657: Was set to run in newspapers. There was bedlam as many rose to champion the communist cause, and Shaw began praising the democratic standards of the Soviet constitution. In 1953, Shaw was called to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee for his leftist activities. The committee was investigating a peace activist organization, the World Peace Council . , Shaw was also a precision marksman , ranking fourth in

6480-965: Was used in its entirety in the closing credits of the film The Man Who Fell to Earth . Martin Scorsese also used the Shaw theme song, "Nightmare", in his Academy Award -winning Howard Hughes biopic, The Aviator . Canadian filmmaker Brigitte Berman interviewed Hoagy Carmichael , Doc Cheatham , and others including Shaw for her documentary film, Bix: Ain't None of Them Play Like Him Yet (1981) about Bix Beiderbecke , and afterward she went on to create an Academy Award -winning documentary, Artie Shaw: Time Is All You've Got (1985), featuring extensive interviews with Shaw, Buddy Rich, Mel Tormé, Helen Forrest, and other musicians, in addition to Shaw's eighth wife, actress Evelyn Keyes . The documentary ends with Shaw rehearsing his new band with co-leader Johnson present and rolls to credits perhaps quite fittingly with

6561-402: Was walking away from the big band, they warned him that he couldn't do that; he had a million dollars in contracts that had to be honored. Shaw didn't care, and responded, "Tell 'em I'm insane. A nice, young American boy walking away from a million dollars, wouldn't you call that insane?" Shaw broke up the Hollywood band, keeping a nucleus of seven musicians in addition to himself, and filled out

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