Big Band

Should be used to describe recordings by a large orchestra which feature brass sections
with multiple trumpets and trombones and a large reed section. A feature is that whole
sections (the brass, the reeds) often play some parts of the tune in unison while leaving
room for soloists at certain times. This style of orchestra began to be developed in the
early 1920s by prominent dance band leaders such as Paul Whiteman and Fletcher Henderson,
but the majority of 1920s dance bands were smaller groups and did not play in the "big
band" style. It was not until 1929/30 or so that the majority of dance bands adopted this
configuration (examples are the Casa Loma Orchestra, Mills Blue Rhthm Band, Duke
Ellington's Orchestra) and big bands became the norm from the mid-1930s onwards. This
style should be use sparingly before about 1930 as while there were other orchestras
recorded similar to those led by Whiteman and Henderson (already mentioned) the majority
of 1920s dance bands are not "big bands". From the 1930s onwards this style can be applied
to recordings by any large orchestra. There were both jazz big bands (such as Benny
Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, Jimmy Lunceford, Count Basie, etc.) and "sweet" big
bands (such as Freddy Martin, Sammy Kaye, and Guy Lombardo's Royal Canadians). This style
is often linked to the "swing" style (as in "big bands of the swing era") but it is better
to avoid use the big band and swing tags together as they do not mean exactly the same
thing. In reality not all swing groups were big bands, and some big bands featured small
groups made up of star musicians from the larger orchestra (Benny Goodman
Trio/Quartet/Sextet, Tommy Dorsey's Clambake Seven, Artie Shaw's Gramercy Five, etc.) and
it is these smaller groups which played in the "swing" style. A useful distinction is that
big band recordings feature large amounts of section work (notably the brass and/or the
reeds) while smaller "swing" groups were more about featured soloists backed by a rhythm
section. The big band style was most prominent during the 1930s and 1940s but was still
very popular up into the 1950s and many big band style recordings continued to be made
during the 1960s and later.