A cutting contest was a musical battle between various
stride
Stride or STRIDE may refer to:
Computing
* STRIDE (security), spoofing, tampering, repudiation, information disclosure, denial of service, elevation of privilege
* Stride (software), a successor to the cloud-based HipChat, a corporate cloud-based ...
piano players from the 1920s to the 1940s, and to a lesser extent in improvisation contests on other jazz instruments during the swing era.
Up to the present time, the expression ''cutting'' in jazz is sometimes used, sometimes facetiously, to claim a new musician's technical superiority over another.
Cutting contests first had a more earnest meaning only among pianists, and later existed for their own sake. Originally, to "cut" another piano player meant to replace them at their job by outperforming them. This serious form of rivalry ended by the 1920s when pianists began acquiring more stable engagements, and basic ragtime and "fast shout" piano evolved into the more improvised
stride
Stride or STRIDE may refer to:
Computing
* STRIDE (security), spoofing, tampering, repudiation, information disclosure, denial of service, elevation of privilege
* Stride (software), a successor to the cloud-based HipChat, a corporate cloud-based ...
style (a term that began to be used in the 1920s).
"Cutting" came to mean victory at a pre-arranged contest. These contests were usually held at
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...
home "
rent parties", where an entrance fee helped residents pay their rent. In the contests, often one pianist began a tune; then others took turns "cutting in", introducing increasingly more complex ideas, changing the key and/or tempo, and otherwise trying to outplay and out-style the previous musician(s).
The great stride pianists
James P. Johnson
James Price Johnson (February 1, 1894 – November 17, 1955) was an American pianist and composer. A pioneer of stride piano, he was one of the most important pianists in the early era of recording, and like Jelly Roll Morton, one of the key ...
and his "rival",
Willie "The Lion" Smith
William Henry Joseph Bonaparte Bertholf Smith (November 23, 1893 – April 18, 1973), nicknamed "The Lion", was an American jazz and stride pianist.
Early life
William Henry Joseph Bonaparte Bertholf, known as Willie, was born in 1893 in Goshen ...
, often participated in cutting contests. However, they had so much respect for one another that their contests usually ended in draws, and they "cut in" only for humorous effect.
Cutting contests continued into the 1940s.
Art Tatum
Arthur Tatum Jr. (, October 13, 1909 – November 5, 1956) was an American jazz pianist who is widely regarded as one of the greatest in his field. From early in his career, Tatum's technical ability was regarded by fellow musicians as extraord ...
usually won the contests he engaged in, beating out such notable pianists as
Fats Waller,
Teddy Wilson
Theodore Shaw Wilson (November 24, 1912 – July 31, 1986) was an American jazz pianist. Described by critic Scott Yanow as "the definitive swing pianist", Wilson had a sophisticated, elegant style. His work was featured on the records of many ...
,
Count Basie
William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...
,
Earl "Fatha" Hines
Earl Kenneth Hines, also known as Earl "Fatha" Hines (December 28, 1903 – April 22, 1983), was an American jazz pianist and bandleader. He was one of the most influential figures in the development of jazz piano and, according to one source, " ...
,
Albert Ammons,
Harry Gibson
Harry "The Hipster" Gibson (June 27, 1915 – May 3, 1991), born Harry Raab, was an American jazz pianist, singer, and songwriter. He played New York style stride piano and boogie woogie while singing in a wild, unrestrained style. His music car ...
,
Pete Johnson,
Marlowe Marlowe may refer to:
Name
* Christopher Marlowe (1564–1593), English dramatist, poet and translator
* Philip Marlowe, fictional hardboiled detective created by author Raymond Chandler
* Marlowe (name), including list of people and characters w ...
,
Clarence Profit
Clarence Profit (June 26, 1912 – October 22, 1944) was a jazz pianist and composer associated with swing.
Profit was born in New York, United States. He came from a musical family and began studying piano at the age of three, and he led a te ...
, and
Claude Hopkins
Claude Driskett Hopkins (August 24, 1903 – February 19, 1984) was an American jazz stride pianist and bandleader.
Biography
Claude Hopkins was born in Alexandria, Virginia, United States. Historians differ in respect of the actual date of his ...
.
Cutting contests also took place between blues musicians.
[Farley, Christopher John. "Memphis Minnie and the Cutting Contest". In Guralnik P, Santelli R, George-Warren H, Farley C.J. (ed.)(2003). ''Martin Scorsese presents the Blues''. New York: Armistad, p. 198]
An enduring form of the cutting contest is the "trading" tradition in jazz improvisation, where two or more musicians alternately play parts of solo choruses. Cutting contests are common events at
Tap Dance
Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm (jazz) tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses on dance; it is widely perf ...
festivals.
Rap battle
Battle rap (also known as rap battling)Edwards, Paul, 2009, p. 25. is a type of rapping performed between two or more performers that incorporates boasts, insults and wordplay. Battle rap is often performed or freestyled spontaneously in live ...
s could also be considered a present-day form of the cutting contest.
See also
*
Guitar battle
A guitar battle (or ''guitar duel'') is where two or more guitar players take turns soloing, either with or without a rhythm section. The purpose of the guitar battle is to determine who among each of the guitar players present is the most p ...
References
*
Jazz techniques
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