03.09.2022

"Autumn Boogie Woogie" musical mix

As a rule, the seasonal change from summer to autumn is deliberate and imperceptible, but this year nature surprised us. It was as if someone pressed a button and turned off the hot summer in an instant. On the first calendar day of autumn, we woke up in the morning and saw that autumn had already began. The sun had hidden behind clouds, it had become cold, and an icy wind was blowing sharply. The scenery outside had changed.
Summer is over and autumn has arrived...

Boogie-woogie is a genre of jazz music that became popular in the early 20th century. It emerged in African-American communities in the 1870s. Boogie-woogie music is vivid, colorful, foot tapping and cheerful, a splendid source of positive emotions.
Musical mix "Autumn Boogie Woogie" will help us acclimatize quickly to the changeable autumn weather.

Boogie Woogie, piano blues style, one of the earliest varieties of African-American instrumental music. This style most likely originated as a result of the conversion of guitar and banjo playing techniques used to accompany folk blues singing into the practice of piano of blues folk singing. This style of music appeared even before it was given such unusual name. The first generation of consciously boogie-woogie-oriented pianists was formed in the late 1920s.

Owners of budget friendly cafés and restaurants began to hire pianists for the evening to entertain the public, which was much cheaper than inviting an orchestra. At the same time, jazz began to catch on and pianists began to play energetic compositions instead of soft and gentle music. Simultaneously, a primitive jazz style called 'barrelhouse piano' was developing in the African American hangouts, mostly played by self-taught musicians. People came to such places to dance and have a drink after a day's work. With the course of time, these styles merged into a single boogie-woogie style. To replace the entire orchestra, pianists invented different ways to play rhythmically. One of these is called "stride piano", where the left hand is constantly jumping around the keyboard, now hitting a bass note, then the corresponding chord.

Classic examples of boogie-woogie style finally formed in the 20s of the 20th century. From the beginning, boogie woogie was the most attractive musical form for those who were unfamiliar with traditional piano playing techniques. Most boogie-woogie pioneers were self-taught, most often first playing the piano by chance, at a party of some kind.

The term 'boogie woogie' came into use as a term for piano accompanied dancing, in 1928, when a recording of 'Pine Top's Boogie Woogie' by a pianist named Pine Top Smith was released. Improvisation, technical virtuosity, a specific type of accompaniment and the prevalence of a continuous rhythmic movement characterized piano boogie woogie. The word 'boogie' at the time referred to the state of 'complete unhinging, enjoyment and pleasure'.

Over the years, in the early 1940s, the primitive blues form of boogie woogie evolved into a dance form. Music historians attribute the boogie-woogie craze during this period of jazz history to the enormous popularity of Meade Lux Lewis. Throughout the 1940s, the influence of the boogie-woogie dance form was seen in many of the arrangements performed by big bands.
Nowadays, boogie woogie is danced in clubs and during competitions, mostly to the original music of the 40s-50s.