Is Jazz Based on the Blues?

Questions from a reader

One of my top readers wrote in to ask me a few questions about jazz. I’ll cover these in a series of articles, beginning with this one that focuses on the relationship of the blues genre to the jazz genre.

One question was:

“Jazz is blues-based….there are predominantly, 12-bar and 16-bar blues. Most use a i-iv-v construction. But after that, it seems that ii-v-i came into use. Can you say what historical events led to that?” 

Whew, there’s a lot to unpack here! And I’ll mention that this reader was afraid his questions would be considered “naïve,” but on the contrary, I consider them sophisticated questions coming from a casual listener.

OK, let’s take the plunge.

To say "jazz is blues-based," well, yes and no. The origin of jazz is a combination of mid-19th century blues from the American deep South, African rhythmic sensibility, and European harmonic concepts. When jazz began in the early 20th century United States, the African American musicians who were creating it had long abandoned a traditional blues approach to music (which is not to say they weren’t influenced by it). Far from being a mere mashup of the aforementioned elements, these musicians were developing a completely unique genre.

This can create some confusion when trying to ascertain the basics of jazz music, because obviously the simple harmony of early blues, based on the I, IV and V chords, is very different from the more expanded harmonies of European classical music of the same era. Early jazz musicians would have been hearing all this and more, in addition to playing woodwind, string and percussion instruments of European origin.

12 Bar Blues, 16 Bar Blues, Whatever Bar Blues

Actually, when you listen to the old blues players, you can hear they did not necessarily conform to rigid structures. Mainly those guys and gals would start out on a I chord, then play the IV and the V any old time they felt like it.

It wasn't until later that the basic song forms of 12 bars, 16 bars or 32 bars began to be codified.

Another question:

“Can expansions of the ii-v-i pattern, such as vi-ii-v-i be explained as an organic evolution out of ii-v-i?”

Some Optional Music Theory, Scroll Down To Skip

Let's mention something about chords, for instance the I IV V chords that are used in traditional blues. Notice we use Roman numerals here. Roman numerals classify the different types of 7th chords.

My old friend Bud Revels commented recently that his children were not learning Roman numerals in school, so he had to teach them himself. (This is clearly part of the dumbing-down agenda so prevalent in public school these days.) I’m sure when the sixth Rocky movie came out in MMVI, the producers named it Rocky Balboa because they figured no one could count past V anymore.

Without knowing Roman numerals one will be fairly clueless regarding book prefaces, historic personages and old clock faces, not to mention music theory.

Remember: the Roman Empire died, but their numerals live on!

• I and IV are major 7 (or dominant 7 in the blues. We use capital Roman numerals for both major chords and dominant 7 chords)

• ii, iii and iv are minor 7 (we use small Roman numerals for minor chords)

• V is a dominant 7 (V7)

• vii is a half-diminished 7 (it takes small Roman numerals because like the minor 7 chord, its triad base is minor)

At the beginnings of jazz, like Ragtime or Dixieland, the harmonies didn't stray beyond the above. In fact, even a half-diminished was rare. Gradually other chord qualities were introduced, like augmented chords. (The altered tones such as flat 5, flat 9, sharp 9, flat 13, etc. came later, during the bebop era.) During the early Swing Era a more 'big picture' approach began, and that’s when composers, pianists and guitarists realized they could alter the color of a dominant 7 chord (a V chord) by preceding it with a ii chord.

How come they could do that? Easy. You see, any key of the 12 major keys has the following chords in it naturally: I, ii, iii, IV, V7, vi, and vii.

That means all seven chords are related to each other. They all use the notes that belong to that key, or tonality.

For instance, the key of F major contains these notes: F, G, A, Bb, C, D, E (Play them in this sequence, adding an octave F at the end, to hear a major scale, aka 'diatonic' scale.)

Let's spell out all the chords that fall naturally in the key of F major:

I F A C E F Major 7

ii G Bb D F G minor 7

iii A C E G A minor 7

IV Bb D F A Bb Major 7

V C E G Bb C7 (we say "C7" as a shortened version of "C dominant 7.")

vi D F A C D minor 7

vii E G Bb D E half-diminished 7

Q: Can you put these chords in any sequence you want?

A: Technically yes, but some progressions sound better than others.

Also, the chord progression and the melody need to match. If your melody note is F, you probably want to harmonize it with a chord that contains the note F.

Q: Aren't there any exceptions?

A: Yes. If you know what you're doing.

Common progressions that stay within the key are:

I iv ii V

ii V I

iii vi ii V I

I ii iii IV

I IV I

Musicians like to use Roman numerals instead of chord letter names because then we can put the song in any key we want. It also shows the functions of the chords more clearly. When we use letter names we have to define the key first, so we know what the reference point is. But if we use Roman numerals, they have a built-in reference point.

Q: Can you use other notes, like say, F# or Eb or B natural, in the key of F major?

Let's answer that with another question:

Q: Can you replace bread flour with whole wheat flour in your recipe?

A: Sure, as long as you know how to do it.

Any note can be in any key if you know how to use it. But each key has its own intrinsic note set, so as a beginner improvisor, if you stay within that note set you can't really go wrong. When you play the note set in ascending or descending order, that is what's known as a major scale. The song Doe a Deer from The Sound of Music (Rodgers & Hammerstein) uses only the notes in the major scale for its melody. Traditional folk songs do that as well, with special emphasis on the 5-note pentatonic scale that's contained within the diatonic scale. In fact, lots of songs only use the notes in the diatonic scale for their melody. (Although the accompanying chords might very well go outside of the key, making mini-modulations that give more depth to the song.)

If You Skipped the Boring Part, Start Again Here

Going back to the roots of jazz in the early 20th century, the most popular bandleader of the time was James Reese Europe. He had not only distinguished himself in combat during WW I but also led the 369th Harlem Hellfighters Band on tours in Europe and performances at Carnegie Hall.

In his composition Memphis Blues, Europe begins and ends with a blues structure which by this time had been codified by the jazzers into a 12 bar format. But he has an interlude that deviates from the blues structure. It follows a harmonic sequence of dominant chords moving by 4ths (III7 - II7 - V7 - I7) that is reminiscent of American popular song. Today we would characterize this section as a "bridge," but it was more likely inspired by the "trio" sections of the John Philip Sousa marches which were popular at the time.

What about records? The wax cylinder method of recording audio was invented in 1888, when Arthur Sullivan's piece The Lost Chord was captured for posterity. (Sullivan’s prescient comment was: "I can only say that I am astonished and somewhat terrified at the result of this evening's experiments: astonished at the wonderful power you have developed, and terrified at the thought that so much hideous and bad music may be put on record forever.")

We would imagine that in the years leading up to WW I, more and more music would have been available via this method. Did James Reese Europe get a chance to hear any of the leading Romantic composers, starting with Beethoven (1770-1827) who was a bridge between the Classical and Romantic periods, Wagner (1813-1883), Tchaikovsky (1840-1893), or Fauré (1845-1924)? Were he and his band in Paris in 1917? (That was the year the U.S. entered the war, two years after the sinking of the Lusitania which had carried a number of American passengers, and immediately after the disclosure of the Zimmerman telegram that had been intercepted by British intelligence.) Did they hear the music of Satie, Milhaud, or Poulenc, all performing in Paris at the time?

Reese Europe's regiment was assigned to the French Army in 1917, because of racism in the United States; Black soldiers were not welcome amongst the all-white U.S. troops. Being that he and his musicians were in France, a country with a rich musical history that dated back to the Middle Ages, one surmises they might have heard various types of European music that would not have been available to them in the U.S. Certainly they heard dance tunes and popular vocal songs; whether they had the chance to hear classical music of the day is unknown, but I would think it likely. In fact, the chances of these African American musicians having access to concert halls (as audience members) was surely far more likely in France than it would have been in their home country.

I'm not suggesting that Reese Europe's music, or Ragtime in general, had all that much in common with the corresponding classical music of that era. And realistically, the band was actively developing its unique style several years before its deployment to France, and had already performed at Carnegie Hall to great acclaim. Nevertheless, the zeitgeist has a way of unifying thought trends of its day. So even if James Reese Europe and his Hellfighter Band members never heard any European classical music, the unfolding of new harmonies and rhythmic approaches was undoubtedly in the air, and available to all who could smell it, and feel it!

By the way, if anyone is unclear on how to tell the difference between blues and jazz:

A blues band plays three chords in front of a thousand people.

A jazz band plays a thousand chords in front of three people.

I cordially invite my esteemed colleagues who are members here to contribute their comments and clear up anything that I haven’t adequately explained.