User:Mattnewest/Jazz in Belgium

Belgium jazz history and scene

(Before 1917)

Influential Developmets

The pre- jazz period is the time before jazz was recognized as an individual style. In the period of the minstrels, at the end of the 19th century, the emergence of the first recording techniques meant an important stimulus for jazz and for music in general. In 1877 Thomas Alva Edison developed the phonograph and a year later his invention was demonstrated at an exhibition in Brussels, at the Panopticum Castan. [n 3] In 1902 a shop would open in Liège with Edison graphophones and gramophones, and a choice of 10,000 cylinders with recordings. [7] Belgium did not have its own for a long timerecording studios, so that foreign record labels such as Colombia, Zonophone and Favorite were used for the distribution of (pre)jazz music until after the First World War.

Another invention that played a major part in the development of jazz music was Adolphe Sax 's new instrument : the saxophone. By 1890, saxophones were being made in the United States by CG Conn Ltd. and Buescher Band Instrument Company, and virtuoso saxophonists like the Belgian Jean Moeremans, who played in John Philip Sousa 's orchestra , further popularized the instrument. The saxophone quickly became the symbol of a new kind of music that gradually developed towards the end of the 19th century. Belgian musicians were among the first to record saxophone solos in America. For example, Eugene Coffin made recordings on wax cylinders(1895-1896), and alto saxophonist Jean Moeremans provided another firstfruits by being the first in the world to make recordings of saxophone solos on gramophone record for the Victor Talking Machine Company in 1897 [8]. [9] According to Robert Pernet, the Hooley's Minstrels would have already introduced the genre to Brussels during their European tour in 1851. [10] [11] It can be said with more certainty that a (first) American minstrel show took place in Belgium in 1881, followed by similar spectacles and performances over the years. The success of the black and made-up white minstrels on the Belgian stages would last more than fifty years. [12]

By 1900, Belgian music lovers had become acquainted with several American brass bands ( fanfares ). John Philip Sousa 's orchestra was one of the most famous of these. These bands toured Europe, playing " cakewalks " and " ragtimes " in addition to marches and symphonies, both characterized by syncopated rhythms. The Belgian composer Louis Frémaux followed in their footsteps and made a cakewalk composition, entitled Bruxelles Cake-Walk.

Around 1900, as a result of the colonial period in Belgian history, interest arose in cheerful 'Negro music' and their white imitators. Many new dances also blew over and supplanted the polkas, polonaises and other dances. This syncopated music, which was originally intended as a parody, was particularly successful in Antwerp and Brussels nightlife because of its atmosphere and danceability.

Ragtime is a musical genre that reached its peak of popularity between 1897 and 1918. Its main feature is its syncopated, or "worn" (ragged), rhythm. It began as dance music in the red-light districts of American cities such as Saint Louis and New Orleans, before being published as popular sheet music for piano. Ragtime was an adaptation of the popular marching music as created by John Philip Sousa, with additional polyrhythms from African music. Ragtime composer Scott Joplin became famous for theMaple Leaf Rag from 1899 and a string of ragtime hits that followed. However, it was later forgotten, except by a small, dedicated community of ragtime aficionados, and this lasted until the great ragtime boom of the early 1970s. Maple Leaf Rag strongly influenced later ragtime composers with its melody lines, harmonic progressions and rhythms.

While the terms rag and ragtime were popular in America, people spoke of ' intermezzo ' in Belgium. As a colorful mixture of styles, Ragtime became a direct predecessor of jazz. Ragtime scores from this period exist by many Belgian composers, but no recordings have survived. [5] In the same period marching band and military music celebratedheyday. The most reputable orchestra, which also included a number of Belgian musicians, was that of the American John Philip Sousa. Belgian composers have also produced successful work here. An important year for the spread of popular American music is 1910, the International World Exhibition in Brussels, with the visit of Philip Sousa's orchestra. [5] The American orchestra The Alabama Minstrels also performed at that time, and probably played ragtime. [1] Louis Frémaux with his ragtime composition Toboggan, released under the record label 'Disque Pathé', became known throughout Europe in 1907. [5]It was a golden age for ragtime in Belgium. Music by contemporaries of Frémaux such as Jack Bruske was also played everywhere or performed in bars, dance halls and theatres.

In the initial phase, various channels can be identified that contributed to the spread of jazz in Belgium. First of all, there was the nightlife in the Brussels dance halls that played the latest jazz tunes. Other important channels for disseminating the new music [13] were music publishers, the emerging record industry, radio, cinema and the press. The new magazine Music in particular played a major role in the latter.

A number of new developments of technologies facilitated the spread of jazz music. At the end of the 1920s, Belgium had more than a million radios and more than 1,000 cinemas, and then there was the rise of tourism in the interwar period, along with increasing mobility. Belgians were given paid leave in 1936 (first only 6 days) so that the working class could now also afford a trip. [14]

In the 1920s and even more so in the 1930s, Brussels , Antwerp and Liège became the three Belgian centers for the development of the new music. [5] [15] In the summer, the casinos in tourist resorts and spas such as Ostend, Blankenberge , Spa and Chaudfontaine took over this role by luring dance-hungry holidaymakers from the capitals. [5] [16] This situation would last until the early 1990s, when other centers emerged such as Ghent andBruges, while Liège lost some importance due to the departure of some local jazz musicians after the disappearance of a number of smaller jazz venues.

Jazz did not really penetrate Belgium until after the First World War. Important figures in the development of jazz in Belgium were Félix Faecq and Robert Goffin.

Félix Faecq was introduced to jazz music after the war of 14-18 through the American and Canadian soldiers who liberated the country.

Robert Goffin heard two soldiers singing ragtime songs such as "Are you from Dixie?" and the song "Robinson Crusoe" ("What did R. Crusoe do on Friday with Saturday night?").

[5] Together with some fellow students from the Brussels law faculty, Goffin also started making music in the local cafés and dance halls. Until the mid-1920s, foxtrot and jazz were almost synonymous in Belgium.