Rapp on Jazz

"Lady Sings the Blues" is much more than a song—it’s the title of Billie Holiday’s 1956 autobiography and a window into the life of one of jazz’s most iconic voices.  Visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/rapponjazz for full transcripts.

"Lady Sings the Blues" is one of Billie Holiday’s signature recordings, and it’s a masterclass in vocal jazz.  Visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/rapponjazz for full transcripts.

Jazz helped reshape the visual arts. Artists like Romare Bearden and Jackson Pollock translated jazz's energy, rhythm, and improvisation onto canvas.  Visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/rapponjazz for full transcripts.

Colson Whitehead’s fiction often pulses with the spirit of jazz, shaping both rhythm and structure in his narratives. Visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/rapponjazz for full transcripts.

Throughout American literature, jazz has been a storytelling tool. Writers like Ralph Ellison and Toni Morrison didn’t merely write about jazz — they wrote with it.  Visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/rapponjazz for full transcripts.

Ralph Ellison, author of "Invisible Man," grew up playing the trumpet and carried jazz in his bones.  Visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/rapponjazz for full transcripts.

Toni Morrison, one of America’s greatest novelists, often turned to jazz as both subject and structure. Visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/rapponjazz for full transcripts.

Allen Ginsberg, a powerful voice of the Beat Generation, drew deep inspiration from jazz.  Visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/rapponjazz for full transcripts.

When you think of the Beat Generation, you think of Jack Kerouac, and behind his writing, you’ll almost always find jazz.  Visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/rapponjazz for full transcripts.

Langston Hughes, the celebrated poet of the Harlem Renaissance, was deeply inspired by the music of Duke Ellington.  Visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/rapponjazz for full transcripts.

Langston Hughes, one of the leading voices of the Harlem Renaissance, often described his poetry as “jazz written on the page.” He was deeply inspired by the rhythms, improvisation, and spirit of African American music.  Visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/rapponjazz for full transcripts.

Though set in the American South and often associated with stream-of-consciousness narrative, William Faulkner’s "The Sound and the Fury" also resonates with jazz's rhythms and improvisational spirit.  Visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/rapponjazz for full transcripts.

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s "The Great Gatsby" is as much a story of jazz as it is of love and ambition. Set in the Roaring Twenties, the novel captures an era when jazz was the soundtrack of a generation—lively, improvisational, and a little rebellious.  Visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/rapponjazz for full transcripts.

In jazz, the bassline is the heartbeat of the music. The bassist provides the harmonic foundation, outlining the chord changes while keeping the rhythm moving.  Visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/rapponjazz for full transcripts.

One of the defining sounds of jazz is the blue note—a pitch slightly lowered from the standard scale. These notes give jazz its characteristic tension, color, and emotional depth.  Visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/rapponjazz for full transcripts.

When we talk about jazz standards, we’re really talking about a shared songbook—a common language that musicians use to connect. Most standards follow a structure borrowed from popular songs of the 1920s through the 1950s. Visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/rapponjazz for full transcripts.

Jazz fusion emerged in the late 1960s and ’70s as musicians began blending jazz improvisation with the rhythms, textures, and energy of rock, funk, and world music.  Visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/rapponjazz for full transcripts.

From the Great Depression through World War II and into the postwar era, jazz has been a story of resilience and innovation.  Visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/rapponjazz for full transcripts.

By the 1950s and ’60s, jazz had become a global art form. American musicians toured widely, sometimes as part of U.S. State Department “jazz ambassador” programs.  Visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/rapponjazz for full transcripts.

In the late 1950s, a new approach to improvisation began to take shape—modal jazz . Visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/rapponjazz for full transcripts.

After World War II, jazz entered a bold new chapter. Visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/rapponjazz for full transcripts.

World War II left a profound mark on jazz.  Visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/rapponjazz for full transcripts.

The Great Depression of the 1930s was a time of hardship, but it was also the era when jazz became America’s popular music.  Visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/rapponjazz for full transcripts.

When Prohibition went into effect in 1920, it was meant to end the nation’s drinking habits. Visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/rapponjazz for full transcripts.

Fred Wesley is a key figure in funk and jazz history. As music director and arranger for James Brown, he helped shape the explosive horn sound that defined Brown’s band in the late 1960s and early '70s. Visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/rapponjazz for full transcripts.