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Caroline Yandel

Rob Cole

ENC 2135

3 February 2016

Benny Goodmans Big John Special: A Jazzy Genre Analysis

Ladies and gentlemen, its about to get jazzy. The exploration of this toe-tapping tune,

Big John Special by Benny Goodman, provides a wide range of evidence to define the term

genre. (See the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS9GBCMLFEg; skip to

14:16.) A genre is a classification given to various works that help characterize their style,

format, audience, voice, and other key aspects of the work that make it different from others. The

artifacts genre is very easy to identify. Anyone can recognize a jazz tune, even children or

people with no musical experience at all. This is because jazz is a very distinct genre of music.

Its key aspects make it very unique from others. Some of the key aspects of jazz are the swing

rhythm (longer first and third beat than the second and fourth,) frequent solos, improvisation, and

of course, the featuring of typical jazz instruments: saxophone, brass, piano, and string bass. Jazz

is usually upbeat and has a very distinct sound. It is these that make it so distinguishable as its

own genre and set it apart from others.

This genre is so important, because jazz is such a different music style. It is important in

different ways for the rhetor (musician) and the audience (listeners.) For the rhetor, the jazz

genre is a complex and challenging one to play in. It is important to practice this type of music to

improve confidence, improvisation and listening skills, and learn different scales and patterns in

the unique music style. It is important to the audience because jazz music, especially the big
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bang swing jazz of the artifact, makes people feel good, and if the audience wants to feel carefree

and pleasant, they know they can put on this swing tune and feel positive. Another reason jazz is

important to know in terms of a genre is because it preserves so much history. Jazz music was

created in New Orleans, for example, so it incorporates all the music styles that were around that

area at that time. It is important to keep in mind that jazz is associated with the city and its roots,

for historic as well as educational purposes.

This artifact displays every aspect of what makes big band jazz so unique: it features the

saxophone, piano, string bass, and a brass band. It also features soloists and the swing rhythm.

Because of these affordances of the song, anyone on the street could be able to tell you that this

song belongs to the jazz genre. Constraints to this song, however, would be the fact that there are

no vocals. Vocals in jazz sometimes add the perfect touch to make a song jazzy. For example,

scat jazz was very popular in the beginnings of jazz. Scatting is singing syllables rather than

words to create a feel-good vibe in the music. Instead of making up words and lyrics, scat singers

will sing syllables like bee bop, zaz zuh zaz, boppa dow, so that it is easier to improvise, which

is one very important feature of jazz music. Sometimes vocals in jazz are meant to imitate

instruments, using falls and sounds like doot doot, bow. The vocals of jazz music are very easy

to identify since they are so unique. The artifact still sounds very jazzy, but the presence of

vocals would have made it even more easy to fit into that genre. This artifact is not only a jazz

song, but other genres it falls into are: music, music videos, swing music, big band music,

improvisational music, and perhaps oldtime. Genres can be very specific, or very broad. A very

broad classification for this artifact would be music video, and a very specific one would be big

band jazz. These classifications group together different styles of rhetoric, but can oftentimes
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leave room for a piece of work to fall into more than one category, or genre. Moreover, it is

possible to separate this artifacts characteristics into smaller and smaller groups. Broader and

narrower options of genre classification allow for different audiences to be reached and different

ideas to be expressed more efficiently and appropriately.

The audience of jazz music is usually a more mature crowd, either of adults, musicians,

or people who appreciate more complex and classical styles of music. Since the younger crowd

is more drawn to popular music (pop music,) which has relatable lyrics, modern instruments, and

easy rhythms, jazz music is not widely listened to by this younger population. This style of music

is usually written and performed by adults, since it is very complex and mature. The more mature

sound of this artifact comes from the rich, full sound, lack of vocals, and intricate solos played in

uncommon keys. Because of this, it is harder for young people to relate and become drawn to it,

as opposed to a boy band full of young, attractive pop stars, which appeals much more to a

younger audience. The ways which big band jazz is circulated set it apart from other genres. Jazz

is heard on the radio, it is found on youtube, many bands still hold concerts for big band music,

and many travelers in the big cities of the south such as New Orleans still perform on the streets.

Many high school and college bands perform big band jazz music, as it is entertaining as well as

challenging and stimulating for a musician. Some small independent bands perform jazz in

coffee shops or at shows, and many of them burn CDs with their original pieces on them to

circulate the music. The circulation of jazz via street performance is very unique. If you go to

New Orleans, you will encounter many jazz groups in the streets or in front of shops, and

sometimes individuals will simply pull out a trumpet and improvise. This is unique because it is

rare to see a street band playing country songs or death metal. Jazz is one of the only genres of
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music played so widely by street performers, making this means of circulation help define it as a

separate genre. This situates the style of music into the genre of jazz, more specifically big band,

because this means of circulation is unique from others. This particular artifact is a music video,

so its means of circulation is the internet. This means anyone with a computer can access it, and

anyone in search for a happy vibe can search for the artifact and listen.

The purpose of jazz, including this particular artifact, is to make people feel good and

carefree as well as remind them of good times. This helps put it into the specific genre, because

other styles of music have their different specific purposes as well. For example, electronic or

club music is meant to make people want to dance, death metal is meant to make people want to

headbang and scream, and rock music makes people feel excited and energetic. Big band jazz

music usually makes people want to move, let go of their worries, and tap their feet. Some more

serene forms are meant for relaxation, but are still moving pieces of work. This artifact has a

very upbeat rhythm and melody, so its purpose is to entertain and make the audience feel good.

Word count: 1223

Reference

[Jazz and Blues Experience]. (2014, October 13). Swing swing swing! - one hour of jazz and

swing. [Video file]. Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS9GBCMLFEg.
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Rhetorical Rationale

The first change I made to this project was in the proposal: choosing a different song

from the music video to be the one I analyze for this project. I decided the first one did not have

the best characteristics to help define genre. The second song I picked had almost all the known

characteristics that are associated with big band jazz, so I thought it better to help me

demonstrate my definition of genre. As I began writing I just wrote ideas that came to mind,

organized them into groups based on their relevance to each other, and made these my

paragraphs, elaborating on the main thesis of each paragraph. I made sure to copy and answer the

five questions in the project rubric, using these as guidelines for my writing and organization of

the essay. After my one-on-one meeting outside of class, I realized I didnt include examples

from my specific artifact enough, but rather used broad examples from within the genre to

explain my definition. I included more of the former in my second draft. I also rewrote my

introduction, putting part of my original second paragraph into it, from the sentence, The

artifacts genre is very easy to identify, until the end of the paragraph. This made it much more

interesting from the start. I included a catchy phrase at the beginning to hook the reader in

immediately. I had to take out an entire paragraph on the history of jazz, which was irrelevant. I

took out many frivolous examples, including, Mystery novels were written for those who want

an intriguing and suspenseful read, and autobiographies were written for those who want an

educational and informative read. One who is looking for something suspenseful and intriguing

to read would not chose an autobiography. This was not necessary because the audience of my

paper already knows this and does not need examples.

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I wrote my main ideas on paper before typing them into an essay, and my peers wrote on

the typed hard copy of my second draft, which I used on my third draft. This made it easier to

revise. My peers ensured that my essay was easy to understand, and pointed out any unnecessary

reiterations. On the third draft, I made any last LOC changes, embedded the artifact, wrote an

effective title, and checked that every part of the rubric was addressed.

Word count: 399