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New Orleans jazz (sometimes called classic jazz) was the original jazz. It is a style of music played in New Orleans from the late 1800’s until around 1917. There were no recordings of this music. However, it is possible to extrapolate what this music sounded like based on written and oral descriptions and recordings of the “Dixieland” bands which followed.
Perhaps the most innovative aspect of New Orleans jazz was taking the “blues” played in the surrounding Mississippi delta and playing it up-tempo with a brass band. The presence of blue notes in the melodies and improvisations gave the music a distinctive and somewhat dissonant sound.
Military marches had a substantial effect on New Orleans jazz. By the standards of subsequent jazz, the style had very strict roles for each instrument in the ensemble. The melody was generally played by a trumpet or cornet and countermelodies were played by the clarinet. Harmonic accompaniment was supplied by a trombone and a rhythm section which included banjo or guitar, tuba or bass, piano and drums provides the rhythm. Although it is similar to Dixieland, it tends to be both freer and more ensemble-oriented with several players improvising together.
Another important influence was the Ragtime that was popular throughout the American South at the turn of the century. The New Orleans jazz style was played with similar rhythmic improvisation placing notes both before and after the implied beat. This rhythmic sensibility would later evolve into the rhythmic concept of “swing”.
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