Observation

Candidates’ performance was average. The question was popular among the candidates and it was well attempted by most of the candidates. However, some candidates found it difficult to state the origin of Jazz music to get good marks in the question. In order to score high marks in the question, candidates were expected to state the following points:

(i)

• Jazz is a musical type that was first developed by African-Americans.
• It was around the first decade of the 20th century during the slave trade.
• Jazz grew up alongside the blues and popular music, and also these genres overlap in many ways.
• The development of Jazz has gone through many stages.  

(ii)

• Jazz is more of instrumental than vocal.
• It features a lot of improvisations, modulations and discords.
• Jazz is very contemplative as it is a listener’s type of music.
• It involves themes of popular folk songs.
• It has a unique combination of time keeping and syncopations.  

(iii) Some of the instruments of jazz are:

• double bass
• drum set
• guitar
• maracas
• moog synthesizer
• piano
• saxophone
• trombone
• trumpet
• vibraharp

(iv)  Some of the exponents of Jazz are:

•  Louis Armstrong
•  Sidney Bechet
•  Bunny Berigan
•  Kid Ory
•  Body Dodds
•  Duke Ellington
•  Jelly Roll Morton
•  John Coltrane
•  Ornette Coleman
•  Charlie Parker
•  Miles Davies
•  Groover Washington
•  Kenny G
•  Dave Koz
•  Bessie Smith