Death of the Big Bands

[Teasing the Korean]

Maybe a Jazz 101 question, but I've never been fully clear on why the big bands "died" in the postwar era, at least as live performing units.

Is there a general consensus as to why this happened?

Clue me in...

[John Tapscott]

Maybe a Jazz 101 question, but I've never been fully clear on why the big bands "died" in the postwar era, at least as live performing units.

Is there a general consensus as to why this happened?

Clue me in...

I think it had a lot to do with money, (most things do). It just became to costly to keep a band on the road playing 6 or 7 nights a week (and the venues just weren't there). As the bands incorporated more advanced arrangements, the broad public interest began to wane. (The public always wants simple). Woody Herman's 2nd Herd (one of the greatest big bands in jazz history, IMHO) was a huge money loser. So too was Stan Kenton's Innovations Orchestra (which reportedly cost Kenton $250,000). Basie broke up for a while. Ellington was able to keep going almost without interruption because of his royalty income. Service men came home from the war and started having families. TV, movies, etc. - there was only so much disposable income for entertainment. Ballroom dancing had a much smaller slice of the pie.

Probably the death of the big bands began during the war years, because of the shortages of gas, musicians, tires, etc.

The irony is, of course, that the big band is a very resilient and creative musical force. They are definitely not "dead." Check out recent recordings by Bill Holman or Bob Florence (just to name a couple) if you want proof of that. There are a ton of big bands (and big band recordings) out there today. It's just that only 2 or 3 do any travelling any more.

[Christiern]

John is right, the big bands took a back seat due to financial concerns and changing public taste. The latter will do it every time.

Big bands did not die, the spotlight dimmed and turned to shine on the next hot thing.

BTW, I share your enthusiasm for the Herman band and often find myself reliving such gems as "Bijou," "Northwest Passage," and "Summer Sequence" with that wonderfully ethereal tenor solo by 20-year-old Stan Getz.

[Teasing the Korean]

Thanks for the resonses. Wasn't there also some issue that had to do with either musicians unions, ASCAP/BMI, or the venues? I remember hearing something about this but I'm unsure of the details.

[John Tapscott]

Thanks for the resonses. Wasn't there also some issue that had to do with either musicians unions, ASCAP/BMI, or the venues? I remember hearing something about this but I'm unsure of the details.

I believe there was a union-led recording ban in 1948, but surely that would have applied to all types of music, not just big bands. I think there was also some kind of entertainment tax which made attending live venues more expensive (and no doubt providing an early, if unintended, boost for the TV industry). The writing was on the wall for the big band era well before 1948 (though a handful would continue on the road for a few decades).

[porcy62]

I would add that advanced technology in recorded music, radio and amplification systems slowly replaced one of the primary reasons of the proliferation of Big Bands: DANCING. Along with changing in the public taste, obviously.

[Fer Urbina]

I agree with John Tapscott and Christiern, although it might be added that Herman's band from 1945-46 was quite a profitable venture. (There was a ban in 1948, that's the reason for the December 47 sessions by the Second Herd, "Four Brothers", "Goof and I", "Summer Sequence, part IV", etc)

IIRC Donald Clarke's "Rise and Fall of Popular Music" adds to the mix the decay of public transport, at least in the West Coast, as well as the soldiers coming back from war to start families and not going out as much as before.

Basie giving up the big band for the octet was probably the lowest point of all, or at least the most visible.

F

[BruceH]

Thanks for the resonses. Wasn't there also some issue that had to do with either musicians unions, ASCAP/BMI, or the venues? I remember hearing something about this but I'm unsure of the details.

I believe there was a union-led recording ban in 1948, but surely that would have applied to all types of music, not just big bands. I think there was also some kind of entertainment tax which made attending live venues more expensive (and no doubt providing an early, if unintended, boost for the TV industry).

Yes, the entertainment tax was one piece of the puzzle. I read that it dated from WWII, but when the war ended the government negelcted to phase out the tax, at least for a few years. This certainly didn't help matters.