Test Your Jazz Knowledge

Jazz has been described as "America's classical music", "America's home-grown art form", etc. It is the only style of music that has enjoyed a continuous fan base ever since its creation at the beginning of the last century. Jazz history and performance are taught in schools, nearly every city has a jazz radio station, and it has gained true worldwide recognition as a music that is uniquely American.

Whether you're a hobbyist, a musician, a jazz educator, or just a music fan in general, here's your chance to test your knowledge of Jazz Music and Jazz History.

1. What is your age?
Under 18 Years Old
18 to 24 Years Old
25 to 30 Years Old
31 to 40 Years Old
41 to 50 Years Old
51 to 60 Years Old
Over 60 Years Old
2. What is your gender?
Male
Female
3. Complete the following sentence: "Jazz is..."
...instrumentally driven improvisational music
..."Smooth" (i.e. Kenny G)
...a spontaneous conversation between musicians, using notes instead of words.
"If you have to ask, you'll never know."
...a basketball team from Utah
4. The book "Music is my Mistress" is the autobiography of what famous jazz musician?
Duke Ellington
Benny Goodman
Artie Shaw
Count Basie
Charlie Parker
5. What Miles Davis album is considered an important and pivotal contribution to music?
B----es Brew
Birth of the Cool
Kind of Blue
Miles Smiles
Miles who?
man, what Miles album WASN'T important?
6. John Coltrane was arguably the greatest tenor player who ever lived. Who were two of HIS major influences?
Johnny Hodges and Lester Young
Frankie Trumbauer and Bix Beiderbecke
Wayne Shorter and Joe Henderson
Sonny Rollins and Dexter Gordon
Michael Brecker and Bob Berg
7. Who was the jazz trumpeter who helped coin the term "bebop"?
Miles Davis
Clifford Brown
Dizzy Gillespie
Chet Baker
Louis Armstrong
Trick question; the term "bebop" was actually coined by a listener
8. Jazz is best characterized by the use of the following musical elements:
swing or syncopated rhythms
dissonant or "blue" harmonies or chord structures
20-minute sax solos
expressive, spontaneously-composed melodic lines
collective improvisation
9. What is Louis Armstrong's nickname (the name he preferred, not the name given him by others)
Pops
Satchmo
Louie
Scat-man
President of the Vipers
10. Clifford Brown died from...
gunshot wounds
a plane crash
a car accident
drug overdose
natural causes
11. Sax players who want to play like Bird should...
get an alto sax and practice scales until your fingers fall off
get hooked on heroin and experience "the life"
memorize every solo in the Omnibook, in all 12 keys
transcribe solos directly from the recordings; the omnibook's a crutch, man
sit outside under a tree and listen to our feathered friends for inspiration
12. The producer of the famous "Jazz At The Philharmonic" recordings was:
Leonard Feather
Rudy Van Gelder
Norman Granz
Quincy Jones
Barry Gordy
13. Sun Ra, a.k.a. Herman Blount, claimed that his music was not from earth but from:
Jupiter
Saturn
Neptune
Alpha Centauri
Rigel 7
Xenu
14. Don Ellis's music is best known by what characteristic
strong improvisation
sweet, syrupy melodies
odd time signatures and complex rhythmic meters
harmolodic theory
heavily orchestrated large-ensemble composed works
15. The nickname "Pres" was given to which saxophonist?
John Coltrane
Gene Ammons
Lester Young
Dexter Gordon
Bill Clinton
16. Referring to the previous question: the name "Pres" was given to him because:
He "pressed" a lot of albums
He carried himself in a "presidential" manner
He was considered to be a "president of the Vipers' club"
He was elected to the highest political office in the United States
He was known to "press on" against formidable odds
17. Of the following jazz musicians, which one is NOT a scientologist?
Chick Corea
Lee Konitz
Branford Marsalis
Al DiMeola
Isaac Hayes
18. Many of the songs that were "hits" for Benny Goodman during the Swing Era, were actually written/arranged by what other bandleader?
Lionel Hampton
Duke Ellington
Fletcher Henderson
Kid Orry
Louis Armstrong
19. "Fusion" is a style of music that blends what other two styles?
Jazz and World Music
Jazz and R&B
Jazz and Classical
Jazz and Rock
Jazz and Hip-Hop
20. "Acid Jazz" blends what two styles of music?
Jazz and World Music
Jazz and R&B
Jazz and Classical
Jazz and Rock
Jazz and Hip-Hop
21. "Smooth Jazz" is actually closer to what other style of music
Classic Rock
Easy Listening
R & B
Hip Hop
Heavy Metal
22. Duke Ellington's songwriting partner was:
Sammy Cahn
Jimmy Van Heusen
Johnny Mercer
Billy Strayhorn
Count Basie
Paul McCartney
23. Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker were part of what movement in Jazz?
Bebop
Swing Era
Cool
Avant-garde
Neo-swing
24. Which artist was known for bringing Calypso music to modern jazz?
Stan Getz
Sonny Rollins
Airto Moirera
Arturo Sandoval
Ricky Ricardo
25. What jazz drummer was the leader of the group "The Jazz Messengers"?
Buddy Rich
Gene Krupa
Max Roach
Art Blakey
Billy Higgins

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