Orchestral Jazz
A broad, somewhat elastic jazz label for music that wants the color and scale of an orchestra without giving up the pulse and spontaneity of jazz.
Origins and context
Documented histories of the genre’s key figures point to U.S. jazz and symphonic-jazz crossovers in the early 20th century, especially around Harlem-era big bands and concert works written for jazz orchestra. (lcweb2.loc.gov)
History
The label is used for jazz that leans on orchestral-scale arranging rather than the smaller, more casual combos of early jazz. Its roots are closely tied to big-band writing and to composers and bandleaders who pushed jazz toward concert-hall ambition, especially Duke Ellington and George Gershwin. Ellington’s orchestra helped establish jazz as something that could sustain long-form, intricately scored music, while Gershwin’s "Rhapsody in Blue" is a landmark of symphonic jazz that made the jazz-orchestra idea audible to a broad public. (lcweb2.loc.gov)
Notable artists
- DEDuke Ellington
- GGGeorge Gershwin
Essential listening
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Explore connected genres
Sources and further reading
- Orchestral Jazz genre overview
- lcweb2.loc.gov
The Library of Congress notes that Duke Ellington’s orchestrational work helped elevate jazz toward classical-level artistic recognition.
- blogs.loc.gov
The Library of Congress says Ellington’s jazz-orchestra work included Black, Brown, and Beige debuting at Carnegie Hall in 1943.
- Rhapsody in Blue work page
- Duke Ellington
- George Gershwin