Smaller jazz bands, also known as combos, are common in night clubs and other small venues and will be made up of three to seven musicians; whereas big bands are found in dance halls and other larger venues. Jazz bands can vary in size from a big band, to a smaller trio or quartet.
Dixieland was made by jazz artist or a band that played Dixie music. Swing music was a type of jazz that people also played and was known as the Big Band Era and served a good part in the war.
In contrast to the typical jazz emphasis on improvisation, big bands relied on written compositions and arrangements. They gave a greater role to bandleaders, arrangers, and sections of instruments rather than soloists.
The Jazz combos are smaller jazz groups [small instrumental and/or vocal ensembles of 3-7 members each.] Jazz combos allow student musicians the opportunity to explore jazz composition, arranging, and improvisation in a more creative and interactive way than what is possible in larger ensembles.
Dixieland Combo Pack No 3 (Severson) Includes all parts and an accompaniment recording for the tunes Lazy River; Royal Garden Blues; South; When The Saints Go Marching In. Instrumentation is clarinet, tenor sax, trumpet, trombone, guitar/banjo, bass/tuba, piano, drums.
Military bands play ceremonial and marching music, including the national anthems and patriotic songs. A concert band's repertoire includes original wind compositions, arrangements of orchestral compositions, light music, popular tunes and concert marches found in standard repertoire.
The terms “swing” and “big band” are not really interchangeable, though you will hear people use them that way. One reason for this is that big bands dominated jazz music during the swing era.
The main differences between a combo and a big bands are, for the most part, the number of members, amount of improvisation involved, and types of charts played. Usually, a nonet is the largest “accepted” combo, although that's debatable!
Basically, big bands during this era performed music that was "laid back," sentimental, sweet, not so rhythmically hot or charged. The melodies were lush, easy and memorable. Swing bands stepped up the rhythm by increasing the tempo (the rate at which the beats pass).
A small band or orchestra of about 3 to 8 performers designed to perform jazz or popular music for dancing. Combo is short for " combination " or combination of instruments.
A jazz orchestra, also called a “big band,” typically consists of 5 saxophones, 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, and a rhythm section (made up of piano, bass, guitar and drums). Sometimes the Jazz Orchestra will add vibraphone (which is a part of the xylophone family), clarinet, violin and singers to the group.
A typical group will consist of a rhythm section (drums, bass, piano and/or guitar), and at least one horn player (sax, trumpet, or trombone, but not limited to these). However, you can start a combo with virtually any combination of instruments.