I did finally narrow the search down to two songs; both are cover songs, “Have a Little Faith”, and “Hallelujah”. The song “Have a Little Faith” is a beautiful song to begin with, but to listen to just the instrumental version with Frisell on Guitar is amazing. And while I could listen to it all day I had to go with the remake of my favorite song ever, “Hallelujah”. This version is
For example, the song at times changes from a quiet saxophone soli, to a loud shout chorus, to a uniquely created improvised solo. The second track on this album—“Love Theme from Hair”—is my favorite on the CD. I like this song because it is a soft ballad that is simplistically happy. Mike Vax delves into this tune and explores range, melody and emotion as the featured soloist. This song is not a standard or an original, but it holds a special place in my jazz repertoire.
Later, the strings came in as an accompanying section along with the guitar playing chords. After the English horn finished the melodic solo, Mr. Williams played the melodic line, which is almost identical to that of the English horn. Mr. Williams’s solo was very melancholic, yet uplifting. Both the soloist and the orchestra were very sensitive to harmonic changes and drama during the movement. The cadenza was very impressive musically and technically.
There are also blues inflections in the vocal and guitar duet where the flat 3rd is emphasised by bending the notes at the beginning of phrases. The use of blues notes are very common in the style due to the heavy blues influence in New Orleans Jazz. Chromaticism is also featured in Duke Ellington’s Koko, again blues notes are used, for example in bar 8 of Nantons trombone solo he uses a fragment of the blues scale making use of the flattened 5th, 3rd and 7th. Another example of Chromaticism in Koko is in the double bass solos where Blanton plays descending chromatic phrases. The use of chromatic notes adds to the mood created by the minor blues chord progression.
The use of first person text conveys the feelings sensed by the composer and creates a sense of relationship and connection for the listener. The use of such a powerful opening line instantly connects to the audience. From the first verse, the song slowly and gracefully slides threw into the bridge where drum beats and a second guitar begin to be incorporated to lift the volume and drop the key which produces a louder and deeper sound. The use of this sound technique empowers the listener and also builds a sense of attachment to the upcoming lyrics. The chorus “And I don’t want the world to see me, ‘cause I don’t think that they’d understand.
For them this song always brings fond memories and we can see it, when Ilsa is sitting adjacent to Sam’s piano quietly enjoying this song. Casablanca is not only admired for its music, but also for excellent actors, who transmit their characters’ situations very well. I love the acting of Rick because at all times he shows an incredible personality. He’s intimidating, but also respectable. However, this also shows as he faces his loneliness when smoking a cigarette, plays a game of chess unopposed and is always taking sips from his glass of wine.
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.
Overall, the whole performance had a gentle feel to it. Another major part of the performance that I found remarkable and memorable was the ''story telling'' feel that was presented. Alana Bridgewater, singer and narrator, communicated everything as if it was a story about Africville, this was evident throughout the whole concert. This also made the concert more entertaining because it helped the audience create a picture of what the music is about and it created an image for the audience as they were listening to the band. The introduction that Alana read and performed before each song told a story along with the actual song, this made a perfect representation of what Joe wanted the audience to see from the experience.
Becoming a Jazz Singer There are countless different aspects that should be thoroughly examined when reviewing assets that are essential to becoming a successful jazz singer. To be clear, a jazz singer is a vocalist who brings his or her own interpretation to a song and improvises through sounds, notes, words and/or phrasing. A jazz singer has spontaneous elements as well as solid technique, and an excellent example of always singing how you feel. Through technique, great influences, and practice, we will explore different ways of becoming a flourishing jazz vocalist. Jazz technique is something that can be interpreted differently to each individual, but generally the following are summarized methods that can greatly influence overall exceptional execution.
History of Jazz Music Jazz music, one of the most popular genres there is today in American culture. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines jazz as a type of music with lively rhythms and melodies that is often made up by musicians as they play. American music developed especially from ragtime and blues and characterized by propulsive syncopated rhythms, polyphonic ensemble playing, varying degrees of improvisation, and often deliberate distortions of pitch and timbre. Although the jazz has been defined in the dictionary there is no common definition of this music has been reached according to musicians. Jazz music consists of several layers and the process is very difficult with composing and performing joined together.