musik

100 YEARS OF BIG BAND JAZZ

Around 100 years ago, the big band format as we know it today was established, with seventeen musicians in four sections and written arrangements in which the orchestral sound takes precedence over individual improvisations. In this programme, the Gotland Big Band shines in carefully selected pieces from the rich big band repertoire. Our guide through the stylistic eras is the trombonist Magnus Fahlén. Jazz developed in New Orleans in the early 1900s and spread rapidly across the world. Over time, the ensembles grew, and in the 1920s the big band format was established. The first golden age of big band jazz culminated during the swing era, around 1935–1945, when big bands often served as dance bands for dances such as the lindy hop and the jitterbug. In the decades that followed, big band jazz gradually moved into concert halls, bringing with it new musical styles and more complex arrangements. Today, there is a wide variety of genres, which is reflected in the repertoire of the Gotland Big Band, comprising most of the musicians from Gotland Musik, supplemented by a number of freelance musicians.