Since 1995, Jazz at Lincoln Center has supported a high school music program, Essentially Ellington, designed to provide resources to high school bands that enable their exploration of America’s musical heritage. The culmination of the program comes each year when 10 bands are chosen to come to New York to participate in a three-day festival of workshops and performances — and three are chosen to perform in a final concert. This year, the Essentially Ellington Jazz Music Festival celebrates its 20 anniversary.
The history of jazz is an essential part of America’s musical heritage as well as the history of the 20th century. Take the quiz below to test your knowledge of the music and musicians who played a part in it.
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From the A train to What a Wonderful World.
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In which American city was jazz first heard?
New Orleans, LA holds claim to being the city that care forgot as well as the birthplace of Jazz.
Which of the following kinds of music did NOT have an influence on the development of jazz?
Jazz came together when blues, ragtime and even hymns traditionally performed in churches came together.
Which musician, along with his band, was the first to play and began to make jazz famous?
Cornetist Buddy Bolden is credited by many to be the originator of the style of music which became known as jazz. Bolden played from 1900 until around 1907, when he became ill.
Which jazz pianist wrote the first published jazz arrangement?
Jelly Roll Morton, who played in New Orleans and in many vaudeville theaters, published his Jelly Roll Blues in 1915. Eubie Blake, James Reese Europe and James P. Johnson were all early jazz musicians who played most often in New York and in Baltimore.
In 1927, which influential musician began a residency with his band at New York City’s Cotton Club?
Duke Ellington and his band began playing at the Cotton Club in 1927, and the music they played there influenced many other jazz musicians. Earl Hines and his band played in Chicago while George Gershwin and Fletcher Henderson also led large jazz bands.
With the growing popularity of big bands, which style of danceable jazz developed in the 1930s?
Swing music became popular in the 30s, and it inspired a style of dance as well. As swing bands formed and performed together, many bands became interracial, influencing the coming civil rights movement of the 60s.
Which literary movement was heavily influenced by the rhythms, musicians and culture of jazz?
Both. Poets like Langston Hughes, Paul Lawrence Dunbar, Mina Loy, Jack Kerouac and LeRoi Jones were influenced by jazz.
Which song first made jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald famous?
Known as The First Lady of Song, Fitzgerald’s recording of the nursery rhyme “A-Tisket, A-Tasket” in 1938 made her popular. “Flying Home” came later, and she sang “A Foggy Day” and “Stars Fell on Alabama” on an album with Louis Armstrong in 1956.
How old was New Orleans and native jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis when he started playing?
Marsalis, the artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, started playing at 6 on a trumpet given to him by Al Hirt. He first performed at age 8 at the Fairview Baptist Church. He has five brothers, three of whom are also jazz musicians.
What is a blue note?
A blue note is performed (played or sung) at a slightly lower pitch than the rest of a song. It is used for emphasis. Blue notes can be heard in the jazz standard Stormy Weather.
i think people should just let their music out