Stride piano
Encyclopedia
Harlem Stride Piano, Stride Piano, or just Stride, is a jazz
piano style that was developed in the large cities of the East Coast, mainly in the New York, during 1920s and 1930s. The left hand may play a four-beat pulse with a single bass note, octave, seventh or tenth interval on the first and third beats, and a chord
on the second and fourth beats. Occasionally, this is reversed by placing the chord on the downbeat, for one or even several beats (but not by placing the chord in the bass). Unlike earlier "St. Louis" pianists, stride players' left hand often leapt greater distances on the keyboard, and they played faster and improvised. However, stride has always been played at slow tempos as well. Another major branch of early jazz piano that is mistaken for Harlem
stride took root in New Orleans, where pianists were called "professors". Their style is arguably distant from the more dominant New York school, especially in the more simple right hand and regional repertoire. Jelly Roll Morton
's sound is distinguished by his use of sixths in the left hand instead of single notes or tenths. This was part of what gave his playing its noted "New Orleans" flavor.
technique further varies the left hand sound allowing the notes on beats one and three to sustain until the following chord is played.
, known as the "Father of Stride", created this unique style of jazz along with fellow pianists, Willie "The Lion" Smith, Fats Waller
, and Luckey Roberts. The pianist usually plays one to three single notes (or walking bass) followed by a chord with the left hand, while the right hand plays the melody. Players may sometimes choose to play octaves instead of single notes to modify the sound of the left hand accompaniment. "James P. Johnson's greatest contribution was to recast the rhythm of ragtime into a more swinging, steadier beat."
He discovered and employed the tenth
or "broken tenth" interval to introduce more swing in his left hand. This can be heard in his famous composition "Carolina Shout". The pianist can not only substitute tenths for single bass notes and triad chords, but can also play the interval up and down the keyboard.
The stride style originated in Harlem
during World War I
, fathered by James P. Johnson, and developed with fellow "Ticklers" Willie "The Lion" Smith, Luckey Roberts
, and Fats Waller
, reaping piano devices from other contemporary pianists. It was influenced by ragtime
, and as a jazz piano idiom, features improvisation, blue note
s, and swing rhythms. The practitioners of "stride" practiced a full jazz piano style that made use of devices such as arpeggio
s, musical scale
s, and flourishes. They often engaged in cutting contest
s to show off their skills.
, Thelonious Monk
, Johnny Guarnieri
, Don Ewell
, Louis Mazetier
, Donald Lambert
, Cliff Jackson
, Dick Wellstood
, Butch Thompson
, Pat Flowers
, Bernd Lhotzky, Joe Turner
, Claude Hopkins
, Ralph Sutton
, Hank Duncan
, Dick Hyman
, Mike Lipskin
, Stephanie Trick
, Morten Gunnar Larsen
, William Turk
, John Gill
, Seth "Fingers Flynn" Barkan, and Mark Birnbaum.
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
piano style that was developed in the large cities of the East Coast, mainly in the New York, during 1920s and 1930s. The left hand may play a four-beat pulse with a single bass note, octave, seventh or tenth interval on the first and third beats, and a chord
Chord (music)
A chord in music is any harmonic set of two–three or more notes that is heard as if sounding simultaneously. These need not actually be played together: arpeggios and broken chords may for many practical and theoretical purposes be understood as chords...
on the second and fourth beats. Occasionally, this is reversed by placing the chord on the downbeat, for one or even several beats (but not by placing the chord in the bass). Unlike earlier "St. Louis" pianists, stride players' left hand often leapt greater distances on the keyboard, and they played faster and improvised. However, stride has always been played at slow tempos as well. Another major branch of early jazz piano that is mistaken for Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been 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...
stride took root in New Orleans, where pianists were called "professors". Their style is arguably distant from the more dominant New York school, especially in the more simple right hand and regional repertoire. Jelly Roll Morton
Jelly Roll Morton
Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe , known professionally as Jelly Roll Morton, was an American ragtime and early jazz pianist, bandleader and composer....
's sound is distinguished by his use of sixths in the left hand instead of single notes or tenths. This was part of what gave his playing its noted "New Orleans" flavor.
Etymology
The name "stride" comes from the left-hand movement "striding" up and down the keyboard. Sustain pedalSustain pedal
A sustain pedal or sustaining pedal is the most commonly used pedal in a modern piano. It is typically the rightmost of two or three pedals. When pressed, the sustain pedal "sustains" all the damped strings on the piano by moving all the dampers away from the strings and allowing them to vibrate...
technique further varies the left hand sound allowing the notes on beats one and three to sustain until the following chord is played.
Technique
Stride piano is highly rhythmic and somewhat percussive in nature because of the "oom-pah" sound of the left hand. This is where the term, "stride" came from. Pianist James P. JohnsonJames P. Johnson
James P. Johnson was an American pianist and composer...
, known as the "Father of Stride", created this unique style of jazz along with fellow pianists, Willie "The Lion" Smith, Fats Waller
Fats Waller
Fats Waller , born Thomas Wright Waller, was a jazz pianist, organist, composer, singer, and comedic entertainer...
, and Luckey Roberts. The pianist usually plays one to three single notes (or walking bass) followed by a chord with the left hand, while the right hand plays the melody. Players may sometimes choose to play octaves instead of single notes to modify the sound of the left hand accompaniment. "James P. Johnson's greatest contribution was to recast the rhythm of ragtime into a more swinging, steadier beat."
He discovered and employed the tenth
Tenth
Tenth can mean:* 10th, an ordinal number; as in the item in an order ten places from the beginning, following the ninth and preceding the eleventh.* 1/10, a fraction, one part of a unit divided equally into ten parts...
or "broken tenth" interval to introduce more swing in his left hand. This can be heard in his famous composition "Carolina Shout". The pianist can not only substitute tenths for single bass notes and triad chords, but can also play the interval up and down the keyboard.
The stride style originated in Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been 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...
during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, fathered by James P. Johnson, and developed with fellow "Ticklers" Willie "The Lion" Smith, Luckey Roberts
Luckey Roberts
Charles Luckeyeth Roberts, better known as Luckey Roberts was an American composer and stride pianist who worked in the jazz, ragtime, and blues styles.-Biography:...
, and Fats Waller
Fats Waller
Fats Waller , born Thomas Wright Waller, was a jazz pianist, organist, composer, singer, and comedic entertainer...
, reaping piano devices from other contemporary pianists. It was influenced by ragtime
Ragtime
Ragtime is an original musical genre which enjoyed its peak popularity between 1897 and 1918. Its main characteristic trait is its syncopated, or "ragged," rhythm. It began as dance music in the red-light districts of American cities such as St. Louis and New Orleans years before being published...
, and as a jazz piano idiom, features improvisation, blue note
Blue note
In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note sung or played at a slightly lower pitch than that of the major scale for expressive purposes. Typically the alteration is a semitone or less, but this varies among performers and genres. Country blues, in particular, features wide variations from the...
s, and swing rhythms. The practitioners of "stride" practiced a full jazz piano style that made use of devices such as arpeggio
Arpeggio
An arpeggio is a musical technique where notes in a chord are played or sung in sequence, one after the other, rather than ringing out simultaneously...
s, musical scale
Musical scale
In music, a scale is a sequence of musical notes in ascending and descending order. Most commonly, especially in the context of the common practice period, the notes of a scale will belong to a single key, thus providing material for or being used to conveniently represent part or all of a musical...
s, and flourishes. They often engaged in cutting contest
Cutting contest
Cutting contests were a form of musical battles between various stride piano players between the 1920s and 1940s, and to a lesser extent in improvisatory competition on other jazz instruments during the swing era...
s to show off their skills.
Notable practitioners
Other notable stride pianists include Art TatumArt Tatum
Arthur "Art" Tatum, Jr. was an American jazz pianist and virtuoso who played with phenomenal facility despite being nearly blind.Tatum is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time...
, Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer considered "one of the giants of American music". Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epistrophy", "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser"...
, Johnny Guarnieri
Johnny Guarnieri
Johnny Guarnieri was an American virtuoso jazz and stride pianist, born in New York City, perhaps best known for his big band stints with Benny Goodman in 1939 and with Artie Shaw in 1940...
, Don Ewell
Don Ewell
Don Ewell was an American jazz stride pianist born in Baltimore, Maryland, perhaps best known for his work with several prominent New Orleans–based musicians such as Sidney Bechet, Kid Ory, George Lewis, George Brunis, Muggsy Spanier and Bunk Johnson.From 1956 to 1962, Ewell was a leading member...
, Louis Mazetier
Louis Mazetier
Louis Mazetier is a French stride pianist.Mazetier began playing jazz at age 14 and by age 18 was taking gigs at jazz clubs in Paris. In addition to his career as a musician, Dr. Mazetier works full time as a radiologist...
, Donald Lambert
Donald Lambert
Donald "The Lamb" Lambert was an American jazz stride pianist born in Princeton, New Jersey, perhaps best-known for playing in Harlem night clubs throughout the 1920s. Lambert was taught piano by his mother but never learned to read the notes. For his particularly rapid left hand striding...
, Cliff Jackson
Cliff Jackson
Clifton Luther "Cliff" Jackson was an American jazz stride pianist.After playing in Atlantic City, Jackson moved to New York City in 1923, where he played with Lionel Howard's Musical Aces in 1924 and recorded with Bob Fuller and Elmer Snowden...
, Dick Wellstood
Dick Wellstood
Richard MacQueen "Dick" Wellstood was an American jazz pianist...
, Butch Thompson
Butch Thompson
Butch Thompson is an American jazz pianist and clarinetist best known for his ragtime and stride performances....
, Pat Flowers
Pat Flowers
Ivelee Patrick "Pat" Flowers was an American jazz pianist and singer.Flowers started his professional career as the pianist during intermissions at Uncle Tom's Cabin in Detroit when he was 18 years old...
, Bernd Lhotzky, Joe Turner
Joe Turner (jazz pianist)
Joe Turner was an American jazz pianist.Turner was born in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. One of the masters of the stride piano style associated with Harlem, New York City, Turner got his first big musical break in 1928 with his hiring by the Benny Carter Orchestra. He also played with Louis...
, Claude Hopkins
Claude Hopkins
Claude Driskett Hopkins was an American jazz stride pianist and bandleader.-Biography:Claude Hopkins was born in Alexandria, Virginia in 1903. Historians differ in respect of the actual date of his birth. His parents were on the faculty of Howard University...
, Ralph Sutton
Ralph Sutton
Ralph Earl Sutton was an American jazz pianist born in Hamburg, Missouri. He was a stride pianist in the tradition of James P. Johnson and Fats Waller....
, Hank Duncan
Hank Duncan
Hank Duncan was an American dixieland jazz pianist born in Bowling Green, Kentucky, probably better known for his work with Fess Williams, King Oliver, Tommy Ladnier, Charles "Fat Man" Turner, and many others. He also toured extensively with Fats Waller.-References:...
, Dick Hyman
Dick Hyman
Richard “Dick” Hyman is an American jazz pianist/keyboardist and composer, best-known for his versatility with jazz piano styles. Over a 50 year career, he has functioned as pianist, organist, arranger, music director, and, increasingly, as composer...
, Mike Lipskin
Mike Lipskin
Mike Lipskin is a stride pianist of the pre-bop jazz style, piano instructor, record producer and author. He has striven to keep alive the form of jazz piano known as Harlem Stride Piano. He played piano and organ on Papa John Creach's self-titled album, produced Ryo Kawasaki's Juice album, and...
, Stephanie Trick
Stephanie Trick
Stephanie Trick is an American stride, ragtime and jazz pianist born in St. Louis, Missouri. Stephanie was born in late 1987.-Biography:Stephanie began playing piano at the age of five. Her interest outside of classical music began at the age of 10, when her piano teacher introduced her to ragtime...
, Morten Gunnar Larsen
Morten Gunnar Larsen
Morten Gunnar Larsen is a Norwegian pianist, well known for several stride piano recordings and collaborations.]] Larsen studied classical piano at Norges Musikkhøgskole . In 1975 he had his debut records, Classic Rags...
, William Turk
William Turk
William Turk was an American ragtime pianist, who played in the early 1900s in Texas. He was reputably so obese that he could not put his left hand in front of his stomach. So he invented techniques playing with his left hand to the side...
, John Gill
John Gill
John Gill may refer to:John Gill, reverend at Church of the Savior, a UCC church in Knoxville, TN* John Gill , English Baptist minister and Calvinist theologian...
, Seth "Fingers Flynn" Barkan, and Mark Birnbaum.
Notable works
- By James Price JohnsonJames P. JohnsonJames P. Johnson was an American pianist and composer...
- Carolina Shout (1918/1921), Mule Walk (1939), Caprice Rag
- By Thomas "Fats" Waller
- Handful of KeysHandful of Keys"Handful of Keys" is a composition in the stride piano style by the jazz composer and pianist Fats Waller and originally published by Chappel & Co....
(1929), Vipers Drag (1934), Alligator Crawl (1934)
- Handful of Keys
- By Willie "The Lion" Smith
- Finger Buster (1931), Echoes Of Spring (1939)
External links
- Stride Piano on BlueBlackJazz
- Dick Hyman Explaining Stride (Youtube)
- Dick Hyman Illustrating Ragtime to Stride Piano (Youtube)
- Fats Waller A tribute to the King of Stride Piano