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A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a dance band, rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays
A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a dance band, rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music
Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...
as a small combo or a big band
A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...
, such as one which plays jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
, blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
, rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...
or rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...
music.''Club Date Musicians: Playing the New York Party Circuit''. Bruce A. MacLeod. University of Illinois Press. (1993) Most bandleaders are also performers with their own band, either as singers or as instrumentalists, playing an instrument such as electric guitar, piano, or other instruments.
Roles
The bandleader must have a variety of musical skills. A bandleader needs to be a music director who chooses the "setlist" (the list of songs that will be played in a show), sets the tempo for each song and starts each song (often by "counting in"), leads the start of new sections of songs (e.g., signalling for the start of a guitar solo or drum solo) and leads the endings of each song. The bandleader is also onstage with the group, so they have to be a strong performer on lead vocals or an instrument. The bandleader also needs to have a good general knowledge of the different parts played by all the rhythm section instruments (guitar, keyboards, electric bass, drum kit) and solo instruments (e.g., lead guitar, saxophone, etc.), as they have to audition prospective new members of the band and lead rehearsals. The bandleader also typically selects new songs for the group, particularly if the group is a cover band or atribute band
A tribute act, tribute band, tribute group or tribute artist is a Musical ensemble, music group, Singing, singer, or musician who specifically plays the music of a well-known music act. Tribute acts include individual performers who mimic the so ...
. In some cases, the bandleader may manage other aspects of the band, such as organizing tours and sound recording sessions. Some bandleaders are also composers and songwriters for their group.
Often the bands are named after their bandleaders, or the backing band
A backup band or backing band is a Band (music), musical ensemble that typically Accompaniment, accompanies a single artist who is the featured performer. The situation may be a live performance or in a Studio recording, recording session, and the ...
is given its own name, distinct from the bandleader (e.g., Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band or Elvis Costello
Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...
and The Attractions). Some older bands such as The Count Basie Orchestra have continued operating under their bandleaders' names long after the death of the original bandleader.
See also
* Bandmaster * Lead vocalist – often the leader of their musical group in genres such as rock and popFurther reading
* Whiteman, Paul and Lieber, Leslie – How to Be a Bandleader (New York City: Robert M. McBride & Company, 1948)References
{{Authority control * Occupations in music