Orchestral jazz is a
jazzJazz is a musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
genre developed in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the 1920s, most significantly by
Fletcher HendersonFletcher Hamilton Henderson, Jr. was an American pianist, bandleader, arranger and composer, important in the development of big band jazz and swing music. He was often known as "Smack" Henderson.-Biography:...
and
Duke EllingtonEdward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader.Duke Ellington became one of the most influential artists in the history of recorded music, and is largely recognized as one of the greatest figures in the history of jazz, though his music stretched into...
.
As early as the 1910s there had been dance orchestras playing the popular songs of the day along with a smattering of jazz. But the first to truly perform and record orchestral jazz was
Fletcher HendersonFletcher Hamilton Henderson, Jr. was an American pianist, bandleader, arranger and composer, important in the development of big band jazz and swing music. He was often known as "Smack" Henderson.-Biography:...
, starting in about 1923, who gathered from smaller quintets and sextets a number of notable
New YorkNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
based players and formed the first full jazz orchestra.
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Orchestral jazz is a
jazzJazz is a musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
genre developed in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the 1920s, most significantly by
Fletcher HendersonFletcher Hamilton Henderson, Jr. was an American pianist, bandleader, arranger and composer, important in the development of big band jazz and swing music. He was often known as "Smack" Henderson.-Biography:...
and
Duke EllingtonEdward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader.Duke Ellington became one of the most influential artists in the history of recorded music, and is largely recognized as one of the greatest figures in the history of jazz, though his music stretched into...
.
As early as the 1910s there had been dance orchestras playing the popular songs of the day along with a smattering of jazz. But the first to truly perform and record orchestral jazz was
Fletcher HendersonFletcher Hamilton Henderson, Jr. was an American pianist, bandleader, arranger and composer, important in the development of big band jazz and swing music. He was often known as "Smack" Henderson.-Biography:...
, starting in about 1923, who gathered from smaller quintets and sextets a number of notable
New YorkNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
based players and formed the first full jazz orchestra. Henderson relied heavily on the arranging talent of the alto saxophonist and
multi-instrumentalistA multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:The European Piffari,...
Don RedmanDonald Matthew Redman was an American jazz musician, arranger, and composer.Redman was announced as a member of the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame on May 6, 2009....
.
Among the most significant composers of Orchestral jazz was
Duke EllingtonEdward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader.Duke Ellington became one of the most influential artists in the history of recorded music, and is largely recognized as one of the greatest figures in the history of jazz, though his music stretched into...
, developing his mode at
Harlem'sHarlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, long known as a major African-American residential, cultural, and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands.Harlem has been defined by a series...
Cotton Club in the late 1920s and early 1930s.