Billy Strayhorn's Influence On Jazz Music

The Legacy of Billy Strayhorn

Jazz music emerged from the city of New Orleans at the beginning of the 20th century. By the 1920s, jazz music had swept through the nation and became one of the most popular genres of music in the country. There were many different forms of jazz, and in the 1930s, a new form emerged known as "swing". The swing era lasted from 1935-1945, and was arguably the most popular era of jazz in the U.S. The Swing Era also known as the "Big Band Era" is characterized by the large size of the bands or orchestras. There were many popular and successful big bands that arose, and in New York, one such band was known as the "Duke Ellington Orchestra". Ellington's orchestra lasted over fifty years, and recorded some of America's

At a very young age, Strayhorn wrote a song called "Life is Lonely", which would later be renamed "Lush Life". This piece later became a jazz standard and is largely recognized as a one of Strayhorn's greatest creations. This song was such an influence that it led to many notable jazz musicians such as Nat King Cole, and John Coltrane to make recordings of this piece. Frank Sinatra was even noted to have tried to do a recording of the song, but gave up on it due to the song's unusual structure. Although this song was written in the 30s, famous musicians and vocalists are still performing renditions of this song to this

One musician that he had a major influence on was a vocalist named Lena Horne. Strayhorn used his classical background to help improve the singing style and technique of Horne. They developed a very close friendship, and Horne even sang some of the compositions that Strayhorn wrote such as "Something to Live For" and "Maybe." Lastly, Strayhorn had a big impact on jazz as a whole. At a time, where jazz entered the new swing era, the bands were being changed from the combos to big bands. The pieces that Strayhorn wrote and arranged were written in a genius way that helped to showcase the individual talents of the band members. Ellington's Orchestra is known for having sidemen who were accomplished soloists. Strayhorn's compositions helped to usher in the new swing era musical style, and along with Ellington created many jazz standards for this new form of jazz