Jazz is America’s classical music that evolved from the blending of African and European cultures. The artists are in an improvised jazz ensemble, and they are equal partners in the developing musical selections. Jazz music originated in New Orleans. In the late 1700s-1840 there was a common meeting place for most slaves called, Congo Square. Slaves were permitted to dance, sing, and play drums on Sundays.
If you have ever heard the original versions of “Take The “A” Train”, “It Don’t Mean A Thing…”, “Satin Doll”, or “Stompin At The Savoy”, and the long list of jazz hits goes on and on, then you have undoubtedly had the pleasure of listening to one of the greatest composers and musicians that has ever lived. If you have heard those works performed live by the originator, then you have sat amongst greatness. Many great names come to mind when jazz is mentioned but there is one that leads the crowd and has left a legacy that will not soon be forgotten. While his birth certificate may read Edward Kennedy Ellington, he is more commonly known through out the world as “Duke”. He was born on 29 April 1899 to mother Daisy Kennedy Ellington and
By 16, he made the successful choice to switch to the baritone saxophone and was then involved in the Lucky Thompson’s band in 1947. His music has been described as being “very long, tumbling, double-time melodic lines. And that raw, piercing, bark-like timbre”. He had an amazing ability to play the difficult baritone at very fast paces of hard bop music like no other player had before. Some of his most famous songs include; Binary, Alone Together, and Now in Our lives.
When a couple of white composers introduced "ragtime" music, many black performers took it and adapted it to their out style After beginning in New York City , progressive, or cool, jazz developed primarily on the West Coast in the late 1940s and early 50s. Intense yet ironically relaxed tonal sonorities are the major characteristic of this jazz form, while the melodic line is less convoluted than in bop. Lester Young's style was fundamental to the music of the cool saxophonists Lee Konitz, Warne Marsh, and Stan Getz. Miles Davis played an important part in the early stages, and the influence of virtuoso pianist Lennie Tristano was all-pervasive. The music was accepted more gracefully by the public and critics than bop, and
Vivaldi is an Italian Baroque composer, priest, and virtuoso violinist, born in Venice. Vivaldi is recognized as one of the greatest Baroque composers, and his influence during his lifetime was widespread over Europe. Vivaldi is known mainly for composing instrumental concertos, especially for the violin, as well as sacred choral works and over 40 operas. His best known work is a series of violin concertos known as The Four Seasons. Vivaldi was progressive musically.
This song was definitely arranged however they had their own improvisations. The song was very upbeat and I was immediately focusing all my attention on the band. Gordon Jones, on alto sax, performed a solo in the middle of the song that was unbelievable. DJ Williams also soloed, and demonstrated his skills as a guitarist with a great rhythm. After the first song, I was amazed.
Roland Carter, one of the world’s greatest composer and CEO of MAR-VEL, made a great impact on African American music. Mr. Carter is known as a distinguished composer, conductor, pianist and most of all an educator. Carter is the Ruth S. Holmberg Professor of American Music in the Department of Music at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. In recognition of his stature, he has served on National Endowments for the Arts’ Heritage, Access and Choral Panels and received an honorary Doctor of Music degree from Shaw University. For his outstanding contributions to American Music, Carter was given honorary membership in the nation’s largest music fraternity, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia and elected to the charter class of Signature Sinfonians.
As it started spreading around the world, Jazz made an amazing impression on national, regional and local cultures forming many distinctive styles of jazz. Some of the most famous styles/genres of jazz includes Afro-Cuban jazz, Ska jazz, Indo jazz, soul jazz, Latin jazz, jazz fusion, punk jazz and bebop. The style of Bebop jazz is characterized by its fast tempos, instrumental brilliance and improvisation that’s based on a combination of harmonic organization and melody. The bebop style of jazz began at the beginning of World War two and right after the end of the swing jazz era. The music of the swing era was popular from the 1930’s to around the beginning of World War two when most of the Jazz musicians went off to fight in the war.
Bach came from a family of musicians who brought him into the whole scene; his father was a director and had several uncles who were musicians (Christoph Wolff, Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician (New York: W.W. Norton and Company, Inc., 2000.) The great composer enhanced the sound of the time and was the pinnacle of his time; his great gift for future generations would be his use of harmonics and
It is recognized all over the world, and it has the ability to bring people together in times of joy, tragedy, war, and peace. As someone who understands both the simplicity and the complexity of music, I am very opinionated as to what makes music “good” or in better words, worth listening to. Composers such as Vivaldi, Mozart, and many others helped to define music of their generations. Everyone knew and appreciated the works they composed, and a great number of people still find the time to appreciate it. In the rock and roll era, The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Jimi Hendrix, and Led Zeppelin started revolutions in their own ways.