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The band is divided up into a number of sections, by instrument; each section usually has four or more members. All bands usually have a rhythm section, made up of drum set, bass, piano, and possibly guitar. There are also sections for trumpets, trombones, and saxophones (who sometimes double on flute or clarinet).
Sometimes there will also be a percussionPercussion instruments are played by being struck or shaken. They are perhaps the oldest form of musical instruments. Some percussion instruments play not only rhythm, but also melody and harmony. Classifications Most percussion instruments have a distinc section, especially if the band plays latin jazzLatin jazz is the general term given to music that combines rhythms from African and Latin American countries with jazz harmonies from the United States. The two main categories of Latin Jazz are Brazilian and Afro-Cuban. Brazilian Latin Jazz includes bos or salsa musicSalsa music is a diverse and predominantly Caribbean rhythm that is popular in many Latino countries. The word is the same as the salsa meaning sauce. Who applied this name to the music and dance and why remains unclear, but all agree that the name fits,.
Big band music peaked in popularity during the 1940sCenturies: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s Years: 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 Events and trends Technology First nuclear bomb First cruise missile, the, and much of the best-known popular music of the era was recorded by them. The bands of Count BasieWilliam "Count" Basie ( August 21, 1904 April 26, 1984) was a jazz pianist, organist, and bandleader. Basie was born in Red Bank, New Jersey. His father, Harvey Lee Basie, worked as coachman for a wealthy family. After automobiles replaced horses, his fat, Cab CallowayCab Calloway ( December 25, 1907 November 18, 1994), born Cabell Calloway III was a famous jazz singer and bandleader. Calloway was a master of energetic scat singing and led one of the United States most popular African American big bands from the start, Jimmy DorseyJames "Jimmy" Dorsey ( February 29, 1904 June 12, 1957) was a prominent jazz clarinetist, saxophonist and big band leader. Jimmy Dorsey was born in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, the son of a music teacher and older brother of Tommy Dorsey who also became a pr, Tommy DorseyTommy Dorsey ( November 19, 1905 November 26, 1956) was a jazz trombonist in the Big Band era. Thomas Dorsey was born in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania and is the younger brother of Jimmy Dorsey. He worked with many bands in the New York City area starting in t, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Fletcher Henderson, Woody Herman, Glenn Miller, Boyd Raeburn , Paul Whiteman, Artie Shaw, Les Brown are amongst the best known.
Big band music is still very much alive today, thanks in large part to the popularity of jazz ensembles at high schools and colleges around the world. Most of these jazz ensembles have the same instrumentation as the big bands that were popular in the 1940s, and they often play wide range of music from old Swing standards to new compositions and arrangements of new popular songs from big band arrangers like Sammy Nestico and Tom Kubis .
Details of all known Big Bands can be found on The Big Bands Database plus at [1].
This is a list of band leaders who worked mainly in Britain taken from Julien Vedey's book Band Leaders (London, 1950):