History of Jazz

The uniquely American music and art form, jazz, is one of America's great contributions to world culture. Now you can learn the basics of jazz and its history in a course as free-flowing and original as jazz itself. Taught by Professor Bill Messenger of the Peabody Institute, the lectures in this course are a must for music lovers. They will have you reaching deep into your own music collection and going straight out to a music store to add to it.

20 Original albums on 10 CDs! King Curtis, Illinois Jacquet, Gene Ammons, Shirley Scott, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Roland Kirk and more!
The tenor sax was to Rhythm & Blues-hits of the 40s and 50s, what the guitar went on to become to RocknRoll. Put on an R&B-single from that era and you will most likely hear a tenor sax break or solo. Eventually, the tenor players stepped out to make records under their own name. These Soul Tenors were expressing themselves by honkin, shoutin, riffin, riding high on a single note or barking out a guttural howl, as Ted Gioia described it in The History of Jazz, all the while, carrying the moan in their tone, according to Cannonball Adderley…

Part One (1920-1950) traces the history of jazz drumming in America from its earliest, pre-1920 roots to the advent of the be-bop revolution in the mid-1940s and beyond. It features archival film clips and photographs of the greats of jazz drumming, including Baby Dodds, Paul Barbarin, Chick Webb, Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich, Dave Tough, Sid Catlett, Kenny Clarke, and Max Roach. Part Two (1950-1970) features clips and photos of Philly Joe Jones, Shelly Manne, Art Blakey, Joe Morello, Roy Haynes, Ed Thigpen, Paul Motian, Tony Williams, Steve Gadd, Billy Cobham, and others. This program illuminates a turbulent and very significant time in the history of jazz drumming.