He wrote his first symphony at the age of eight, his first opera at twelve and conducted twenty performances of that opera at fourteen. Wolfgang Mozart, a musical inspiration, influenced many musicians through his passionate works of complex styles of classical music. Known as one of the most accomplished composers of the 18th century, Mozart began composing music at age five. He wrote his first opera at age twelve. Mozart’s father, “a violinist at the court of the prince of Salzburg,” taught him how to play the clavier and encouraged him in his art (“Wolfgang” World History).
By 12 he was contributing to the family income by giving music lessons. Mertz eventually devoted most of his energies to the guitar, but it was not until he was 34 that he moved to Vienna to launch his career as a concert guitarist. He appeared in a concert at the Hofburgtheater in Vienna in November 1840 under the patronage of the Empress Carolina Augusta. The success of this concert introduced Mertz to the Viennese social, political, and artistic elite. Attesting to his early Viennese triumphs, guitar music by Mertz was first published during this same period by the prestigious Haslinger publishing house of Vienna.
(PBS.org) There, he took a music class which made him fall in love with music. In 1914, he was released from the shelter, and (for several years) he made money selling newspapers on the street, hauling coal, and street performing (song and dance). When he was 17 years old, Armstrong began playing at dive bars around town. This public exposure earned him invitations to play in local jazz bands, gaining him a lot of popularity. By 1920, Armstrong had left New Orleans.
Thelonious Monk Competition 2012 Winners of the Thelonious Monk Competition Announced By NATE CHINEN WASHINGTON –Jamison Ross took first prize in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Drums Competition, awarded at the Kennedy Center on Sunday night. Mr. Ross, 24, from Jacksonville, Fla., brought a relaxed but commanding sense of swing to his performance with a competition house band, consisting of the saxophonist Jon Gordon, the pianist Geoffrey Keezer and the bassist Rodney Whitaker. His victory reinforces perceptions of the Monk Competition as a proving ground for artists already active professionally. He can be heard on tour with the jazz singer Carmen Lundy, and he works regularly with the saxophonist Wess Anderson. This year’s other two finalists came with their own notable credentials.
John Coltrane – Who is he (Analysis) John Coltrane was born in September 23rd, 1926, in Hamlet, North Carolina and died in July 17th in Huntington, New York at the young age of 40. He was called a revolutionary saxophonist. He also helped pioneer the genre modal jazz along side the great, Miles Davis. Early in his career, he would play in two genres, which is bebop and hard bop. He grabbed hold of a saxophone at the age of 13 and shows great talent.
In the late 1830's to early 1840s Sax began inventing the clarinette-bourdon, an early design of contrabass clarinet, his first important invention was an improvement of the bass clarinet design, which he patented at the age of 20. Sax’s moved to Paris also allowed him to introduce his new instrument to the rest of the world. Soon to follow was the creation of an entire saxophone family: fourteen different saxophones in all. Each differed by size and pitch. They were the: E flat sopranino, F sopranino, B flat soprano, C soprano, E flat alto, F alto, B flat tenor, C tenor, E flat baritone, B flat bass, C bass, E flat contrabass, and F contrabass.
You could say that was the start of his career as a composer. Menken attended Rochelle High School in his home town and after graduation went to Pre-med school to become a dentist. Lucky for us he later changed his major to music. After college Alen attended the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop in New York where he worked at local clubs writing jingles and songs as an accompanist. Alen Menken got his first big break in January of 1979 with Howard Ashman in the Off-Broadway production “God Bless you, Mr. Rosewater.” Three years later he received a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Music in his Off-Broadway Production “Little Shop of Horrors” and from that in January of 1987 Menken was given his first Oscar nomination for a song with in it called “Mean Green Mother from Outer Space.” In 1990 Menken was nominated for three Oscar nominations and three Golden Globe Nominations and went on to win two of each for his work in the Walt Disney production “The Little Mermaid”.
The musician that caught my eye was the saxophonist. He put on a show for the audience and really left you up beat and ready to dance. The key board and drummer were somewhat to themselves, but they all contributed to the overall sound of the band. I got most in to the song “Sway” because it was one that I knew and I could really feel the beat and it definitely had my head nodding. The cultural aspect of the band was just as I imagined.
As good old Mr. Sinatra said, “If I can make it here, I can make it anywhere.” Francis Albert Sinatra was born on December 12, 1915 in Hoboken, New Jersey. He was the only child of Sicilian immigrants who moved to the states to make a better life for their family. At a young age Sinatra loved music and was influenced by many of the artist of his time such as Bing Crosby and Billie Holiday. As a teenager, he dropped out of high school and began to sing at local night clubs. Radio exposure brought him to the attention of bandleader Harry James, with whom Sinatra made his first recordings, including "All or Nothing at All."
Finally he realizes that this sound is the famous art of jazz music that he learned about in 6th grade orchestra class. He liked this unique style of music, it ran through his body and made him want to dance proudly and yell with an extreme amount of excitement. But his reaction to this