In contrast to the typical jazz emphasis on improvisation, big bands relied on written compositions and arrangements.

[1][2][3] The division in early big bands, from the 1920s to 1930s, was typically two or three trumpets, one or two trombones, three or four saxophones, and a rhythm section of four instruments.

Boyd Raeburn drew from symphony orchestras by adding flute, French horn, strings, and timpani to his band.

[4] In the late 1930s, Shep Fields incorporated a solo accordion, temple blocks, piccolo, violins and a viola into his Rippling Rhythm Orchestra.

[9][10] Jazz ensembles numbering eight (octet), nine (nonet) or ten (tentet) voices are sometimes called "little big bands".

These ensembles typically featured three or more accordions accompanied by piano, guitar, bass, cello, percussion, and marimba with vibes and were popularized by recording artists such as Charles Magnante,[12][13] Joe Biviano[14][15] and John Serry.

[24] One of the first prominent big band arrangers was Ferde Grofé, who was hired by Paul Whiteman to write for his “symphonic jazz orchestra”.

[29] Typical big band arrangements from the swing era were written in strophic form with the same phrase and chord structure repeated several times.

With the exception of Jelly Roll Morton, who continued playing in the New Orleans style, bandleaders paid attention to the demand for dance music and created their own big bands.

Henderson and arranger Don Redman followed the template of King Oliver, but as the 1920s progressed they moved away from the New Orleans format and transformed jazz.

They were assisted by a band full of talent: Coleman Hawkins on tenor saxophone, Louis Armstrong on cornet, and multi-instrumentalist Benny Carter, whose career lasted into the 1990s.

Walter Page is often credited with developing the walking bass,[41] although earlier examples exist, such as Wellman Braud on Ellington's Washington Wabble (1927).

Many bands featured strong instrumentalists whose sounds dominated, such as the clarinets of Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw, the trombone of Jack Teagarden, the trumpet of Harry James, the drums of Gene Krupa, and the vibes of Lionel Hampton.

[citation needed] The popularity of many of the major bands was amplified by star vocalists, such as Frank Sinatra and Connie Haines with Tommy Dorsey, Helen O'Connell and Bob Eberly with Jimmy Dorsey, Ella Fitzgerald with Chick Webb, Billie Holiday and Jimmy Rushing with Count Basie, Kay Starr with Charlie Barnet, Bea Wain with Larry Clinton, Dick Haymes, Kitty Kallen and Helen Forrest with Harry James, Fran Warren with Claude Thornhill, Doris Day with Les Brown,[44] and Peggy Lee and Martha Tilton with Benny Goodman.

[46] A distinction is often made between so-called "hard bands", such as those of Count Basie and Tommy Dorsey, which emphasized quick hard-driving jump tunes, and "sweet bands", such as the Glenn Miller Orchestra and the Shep Fields Rippling Rhythm Orchestra[47][48] who specialized in less improvised tunes with more emphasis on sentimentality, featuring somewhat slower-paced, often heart-felt songs.

[49] By this time the big band was such a dominant force in jazz that the older generation found they either had to adapt to it or simply retire.

With no market for small-group recordings (made worse by a Depression-era industry reluctant to take risks), musicians such as Louis Armstrong and Earl Hines led their own bands, while others, like Jelly Roll Morton and King Oliver, lapsed into obscurity.

[51] The major "black" bands of the 1930s included, apart from Ellington's, Hines's, and Calloway's, those of Jimmie Lunceford, Chick Webb, and Count Basie.

The "white" bands of Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Tommy Dorsey, Shep Fields and, later, Glenn Miller were more popular than their "black" counterparts from the middle of the decade.

[53] Many musicians served in the military and toured with USO troupes at the front, with Glenn Miller losing his life while traveling between shows.

Kenton pushed the boundaries of big bands by combining clashing elements and by hiring arrangers whose ideas about music conflicted.

Ra's eclectic music was played by a roster of musicians from ten to thirty and was presented as theater, with costumes, dancers, and special effects.

Progressive bands were led by Dizzy Gillespie, Gil Evans, Carla Bley, Toshiko Akiyoshi and Lew Tabackin, Don Ellis, and Anthony Braxton.

[56] In the 1960s and 1970s, big band rock became popular by integrating such musical ingredients as progressive rock experimentation, jazz fusion, and the horn choirs often used in blues and soul music, with some of the most prominent groups including Chicago; Blood, Sweat and Tears; Tower of Power; and, from Canada, Lighthouse.

[59] In Kansas City and across the Southwest, an earthier, bluesier style was developed by such bandleaders as Bennie Moten and, later, by Jay McShann and Jesse Stone.

By 1937, the "sweet jazz band" saxophonist Shep Fields was also featured over the airways on the NBC radio network in his Rippling Rhythm Revue, which also showcased a young Bob Hope as the announcer.

Similarly, Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians Orchestra also achieved widespread notoriety for nearly half a century as a result of their broadcasts on the NBC and CBS networks of the annual New Year's Eve celebrations from the Roosevelt Grill at New York's Roosevelt Hotel (1929-1959) and the Ballroom at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel (1959-1976) .