Big Band is a style of jazz and dance that was most popular in the early 1900s. It’s named after the type of jazz band it originated with, also called big band, which are typically made up of at least ten musicians in four sections: saxophone, trumpet, trombone, and rhythm.

It had a boost in popularity in the 30s when traditional pop artists started teaming up with big band leaders for a lot of their music. While much of those songs were traditionally arranged, big band also features a lot of fully or partially improvised music like other styles of jazz. Over its history, big band has taken influence from several other genres and styles of music, most notably swing, Broadway music of the time, and ragtime.

Artists:

• Louis Armstrong and His Orchestra
• ​​The Glenn Miller Orchestra
• Duke Ellington and His Orchestra
• Buddy Johnson
• Bob Crosby