Did you know that there are lots of different styles of jazz music?
There’s jazz typical of New Orleans, Chicago, Kansas City, New York City, the West Coast and much more! Today we’re going to focus on the Chicago style. If you’ve ever sat in a jazz club and felt the music get a little faster, a little more “rebellious,” and a lot more focused on individual flair, you might have been listening to the Chicago style of jazz.
While jazz was born in the humid streets of New Orleans, it also flourished in the speakeasies of Chicago. During the 1920s, the Great Migration brought about six million Black people from the rural South to the North, Midwest and West, including legendary musicians like Louis Armstrong and King Oliver. Once they reached the Windy City, their sound collided with that of the local young, eager musicians (often high schoolers from the suburbs), and a brand-new flavor of jazz was born.
So, what exactly makes the Chicago style different from its New Orleans cousin? Let’s break it down into three easy-to-spot characteristics:
- From the Group to the Soloist
In early New Orleans jazz, the whole band usually played at once in a style called collective improvisation. It was a beautiful, chaotic, improvised conversation with everyone engaging at the same time.
Chicago style changed the rules. It put the spotlight on the individual. The band plays together at the start, but then the music clears out to shine the light on one musician. Usually the trumpeter or the saxophonist really shows off for a few rounds. If New Orleans jazz is a dinner party conversation, then Chicago jazz is a talent show.
- The Rise of the Saxophone
In the original New Orleans jazz, the clarinet was the king of the woodwinds. But in Chicago, the tenor saxophone stepped into the ring. Musicians like Bud Freeman helped make the sax a staple of the jazz sound. It added a huskier, more aggressive tone to the music that fit the fast-paced energy of a big, bustling city like Chicago.
- A “Hurry Up” Kind of Energy
Chicago jazz feels a bit more driven than the relaxed, swinging porch-music vibe of the South. Because it was influenced by the frantic pace of urban life and the rhythmic precision of ragtime, the tempo is often a bit faster than the New Orleans style. It has a direct, straight-ahead feel, like a strut down a busy sidewalk rather than a meandering stroll.
Why is it so hard to tell them apart?
If you’re feeling a bit confused, don’t worry, even the experts get still stumped! Because recording technology didn’t really take off until the mid-1920s, we don’t have many “pure” examples of what jazz sounded like before all the styles started mixing.
By the time the famous Austin High Gang (a group of young white musicians including Jimmy McPartland) started recording, they had already been listening to Black legends like Louis Armstrong for years. Everyone was influencing everyone else! This melting pot of sounds eventually moved to New York in the 1930s and evolved into what we now call the Dixieland style of jazz.
Whether it’s the elaborate arrangements of Jelly Roll Morton or the informal, rowdy jams of the McPartland crew, Chicago jazz is all about the rush of the moment and the power of the solo. To finish off this post, Night is Alive will leave you with two signature Chicago style jazz tracks:
The McKenzie-Condon Chicagoans – Nobody’s Sweetheart
This 1927 track is practically a manifesto for the Chicago style. Recorded by members of the Austin High Gang, you can hear that signature fast-paced energy right from the start. Unlike the smoother New Orleans recordings of the same era, this song features explosive solo sections where the individual players get to flex their muscles. It’s gritty, slightly frantic, and perfectly captures the rebellious spirit of 1920s youth culture in the city.
Jimmy McPartland and His Orchestra – China Boy
Jimmy McPartland was one of the driving forces behind the Chicago style of jazz, and “China Boy” is a fantastic example of the transition from collective playing to solo-exalting jazz. Pay close attention to the way the instruments interact; while there is still that classic feeling of togetherness at the beginning and end, the middle of the song showcases the soloists. The 1922 tune highlights the technical skill and the brighter, more aggressive fire that defined the Chicago brass sound.
We hope that you learned something new from reading this post, and if you’re interested in learning more about jazz music history, check out NiA’s post about the birthplace of jazz and post about the role of women in jazz music history.
Visit Night is Alive’s albums page and explore all the different genres of jazz we have to offer!
written by Jacqueline Knirnschild
Photo by TJ Dragotta on Unsplash
