Dixieland

Dixieland is one of the earliest styles of Jazz that developed in New Orleans in the 1910s. The term came from the name of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band who were one of the first ensembles in Jazz to publish an official commercial recording, to which the term was further used to describe all Jazz ensembles who played in this style including early Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, Kid Ory and King Oliver.

Dixieland took influence from both Ragtime and early Blues music, mainly in structure and harmonic development. In contrast to later Jazz trends like Big Band that normally had a few designated soloists while others played accompanying roles, Dixieland usually had all instruments at some point take the role of soloist playing in an improvisatory manner with instruments normally trading accompaniment/solo roles in each recurring verse. There were often polyphonic sections, where each instrument would play their own melody whilst retaining the same harmony, sometimes sounding contrapuntal and cacophonous yet still maintaining consonance unlike the polyphonic sections in later forms of Jazz such as Bebop. Harmonic structures within Dixieland Jazz were often straightforward and easy to follow.

Dixieland ensembles were usually small but often used piano, trumpet (often muted), clarinet and drums. The saxophone was not really popular during Dixieland's prime and rarely used, however it was not uncommon to use more unconventional instruments such as banjos and vibraphones.

As Dixieland grew in popularity it began to spread to other states until eventually declining at the prime of the Swing-era in the 1930s. Many Jazz artists conformed to the Swing trend and Dixieland fell into obscurity. Although no longer popular in the present day, it was highly influential on the preceding Jazz movements particularly among the use of improvisation, with songs such as "When the Saints Go Marching In" still being well known to even non-Jazz fans (a track often played by Dixieland ensembles).