...narcotics and alcohol. Trane had the opportunity to join Thelonious Monk’s band when his career and psyche needed it most. During this time John Coltrane was looking for something different. He had just released his solo album “Blue Train” full of lush blues harmonies, unpopular song forms, and original tunes expect for the standard I’m Old Fashioned”. This album was a very big step forward in Trane’s unique sound, but nowhere near his music’s end result. After being fired from Miles Davis’s band, like many before him was forced to find new work. Finding a new home in Thelonious monks quartet where things seemed to operated in an entirely different universe. The First thing drawing Monk towards playing to Trane was his work with Miles Davis. The two musicians both conveniently lived in New York allowing them to start collaborating. Trane spent hours at Thelonious Monk’s house learning Monk’s tunes and exploring the new intricate dissonances utilized within Monk’s compositions. This was uncharted territory for the young saxophonist who up until this point in his career had played mostly straight forward jazz. He would later become rather obsessed with complex harmonies producing tunes such as “Giant Steps” or “Central Park West” coining the term “Trane changes”. Although the two musicians only spent a short time together before their careers truly took off. Despite only managing to record one studio album titled “Thelonious with John Coltrane” due to contractual problems, and...
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...________________________________________________________________________ Waiting for Balance: A Review of Waiting for Superman Directed by Davis Guggenheim Paramount Vantage and Participant Media, 2010. Approximately 90 minutes. ________________________________________________________________________ Reviewed by Joseph Flynn, Northern Illinois University Introduction Waiting for Superman is the latest documentary by the Academy Award winning director Davis Guggenheim. Guggenheim also directed An Inconvenient Truth, the Al Gore documentary about climate change and global warming. What made An Inconvenient Truth such a masterwork was that it presented stark and incontrovertible information about the destruction of our environment and further challenged the viewers to do something about it. Waiting for Superman follows a similar formula. It presents the viewer with an incredible amount of troubling information about our public schools and models of seemingly progressive advocates for change. The data represented is also properly cited on-screen, differentiating it from personal polemics like Michael Moore’s Bowling for Columbine and Fahrenheit 9-11. It concludes with a challenge to act for the best interests of our nation’s youths; the end credits include a web site where viewers can go for ideas. That makes it difficult to speak negatively about the film, but upon a closer analysis we find that most of the information presented in the film is over-generalized and highly debatable. The problem with the film, ultimately...
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...One Night with Blue Note “One Night with Blue Note” directed by John Jopson is based on a jazz concert performed at The Town Hall in New York City on February 22, 1985. This film brings together some of the jazz legends associated with Blue Note over the years as well as some newly signed artists. The concert introduces more than 30 of the world’s most revered jazz musicians in the form of all-star bands and is considered by many to be one of the most important nights in jazz history. Some of the great jazz musicians we heard were Freddie Hubbard, Jackie McLean, Jimmy Smith, Woody Shaw, Walter Davis Jr., Michel Petrucciani Art Blakey, Stanley Turrentine, Joe Henderson, Grover Washington, Jr., and Tony Williams. My favorite artist in the film was Michel Petrucciani. He is not only a great talented pianist but an inspiration as well. Michel Petrucciani was born with osteogenesis imperfecta which is a genetic disease that causes brittle bones and short stature. He still became one of the most accomplished jazz pianists of his generation, despite having arms which caused him pain. I believe that he teaches us that anything is possible with hard work and dedication no matter how hard things may seem. Although I am not a big music fan, I feel this concert was worthwhile watching as well as listening too. At the end I am glad I watched this film because it allowed me to be more open minded to music and the different styles and forms. These people and countless more, and innumerable...
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...BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG; A TURNING POINT IN WAR What comes to mind when you hear the words “The Battle of Gettysburg”? To me, I think of the event itself. The United States was two years into the Civil War, when the bloody battle in Pennsylvania broke out. General Lee, also known as the general of the Confederate army, plotted an attack at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle started on July 1st, 1863 and continued on for three straight days. In just those three days, it turned the Civil War around. A turning point is an action or event that alters the outcome of a situation. Why was the Battle of Gettysburg a turning point? The Battle of Gettysburg was a turning point for three reasons; geographic advantage, the many losses and the change in morale. The geographic advantage was a reason why Gettysburg was a turning point. In (Document A), Lincoln created the Anaconda plan. His plan was three steps; blockade, control the Mississippi River and take the capital of the South; Richmond, Virginia. The blockade was to prevent any European imported goods. That way the Confederacy didn’t have any access to shipped resources. Next, was to control the Mississippi River. By dividing the south into two, Lincoln’s scheme went as planned. Last but not least, was to capture Richmond, Virginia. This was the Confederacy’s capital! If the capital were to surrender to the North, then the Union will have more power, while the south remains helpless. This evidence shows that geographic advantage...
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...Cheryl Hornung Research paper 11/14/2012 Jefferson Davis; President of the Confederacy Jefferson Davis was born in Fairview, Kentucky on June 3, 1808. Davis was the youngest of 10. They were all raised in Mississippi, and he was sent to various boarding schools. It was understood that he was not the best student and was often in trouble for one reason or another. In 1821, he attended Transylvania University in Kentucky where he did very well. One of his peers recalled that he was the best looking, the most intelligent, and loved by many. After that, he served in the US Army in remote garrison posts in Illinois and Wisconsin under the command of Zachary Taylor. In 1832, he fought in the Black Hawk War. Shortly after the war, Davis fell in love with his commander's daughter in 1833. Her name was Sarah Knox Taylor. Mr. Taylor did not approve of Davis. Sarah went to live with her aunt and Davis resigned his military post in order to join Sarah. Once they were reunited, they soon were married despite her father's wishes. Davis bought a small plantation called Brierfield, in Mississippi. Though this was the beginning of their lives together, their marriage did not last long. They both contracted malaria and Sarah died three months after their wedding. Davis continued to run his plantation for the next ten, lonely years in misery. He became very devoted to plantation life and owned many slaves. He was very generous and kind to them. He considered them to be part of his family. He never...
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...Miles Davis-Dark Prince, one of the well-known jazz trumpeter, composer and bandleader, virtuoso started in bebop, went on to pioneer multiple styles of jazz. He was born on 25 May,1926 and grew up in black middle class of East S t Louis. Before enter to the jazz society, he was study at Juilliard School of Music on 1944. His albums 'Kind of Blue', 'Bitches Brew' and 'Birth of Cool' are considered to among the best selling jazz albums in history. The album “Birth of cool” which developed the cool jazz. In this study the aim is focused on the reason that influence Miles Davis to create cool jazz and the impact of cool jazz towards the creation of Modal Jazz. As for cool jazz, we should start of with bebop era. Bebop is a form of jazz with the fast tempo, changing time signature and throbbing bass.On the top, we mentioned about that Miles Davis moved to New York City study at Juilliard school after graduation from high school, but the reason why he want to moved to New York is because there is a hottest jazz scene in the country and he could listen and learn bebop from jazz greats like saxophonist Charlie Parker, and trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie. When he arriving in New York, he spent most of his first weeks in town trying to get in contact with Charlie Parker, despite being advised against doing so by several people he met during his quest. On the early, he playing was sometimes tentative and not always fully in tune, unique, intimate tone and his fertile musical imagination...
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...In this report I compare two great historical figures: Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president, steered the Union to victory in the American Civil War and abolished slavery, and the first and only president of the Confederate States of America, Jefferson Davis. Abraham Lincoln was the President of the Union, and Jefferson Davis struggled to lead the Confederacy to independence in the U.S. Civil War. Lincoln was treasured by the African Americans and was considered an earthly incarnation of the Savior of mankind (DeGregorio 20-25). On the other hand, Davis was both admired and hated. Lincoln had a different view of how the U.S. should be in abolishing slavery. Davis was a politician, president of the Confederate States of America, and also a successful planter. He had beliefs for the South to continue in the old ways with slavery and plantations. Both Lincoln and Davis had strong feelings for the protection of their land (Arnold 55-57). Both Abraham and Jefferson Davis shared several differences and similarities. Lincoln was known to have an easy going and joking type attitude. In contrast, Davis had a temper such that when challenged, he simply could not back down (DeGregorio 89). Davis had been a fire-eater before Abraham Lincoln's election, but the prospect of Civil War made him gloomy and depressed. Fifty- three years old in 1861, he suffered from a variety of ailments such as fever, neuralgia, and inflamed eye, poor digestion, insomnia...
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...Two of the most powerful men during the war of the North and South or ‘War Between the States’ was President Abraham Lincoln’s wife Mary Todd Lincoln, and Varina Davis, wife of the President of the Confederate States of America, Jefferson Davis. These were women from rival governmental systems, yet lived parallel to either in a world where personal tragedies helped to conform them to the world around them. Abraham fell in love with his wife in 1862, while Jefferson Davis met his ‘rose scarlet’ in 1865. Through four years of battles, these two women helped to hold down the fort and maintain our country’s legacy through valiance, grace, and dignity. For a first time in America two presidents ran the nation, alongside the two leading women who stood behind them. Through many of the differences suffered because of the war, the two first ladies both had similarities that brought their unity closer than the men’s although it did not occur to anyone that the women were the ones who were to hold this nation together behind closed doors. Both women were from the South and married men who were very stubborn and affected by the civil war. However, one of the first ladies would be hailed as a public symbol for peace during the war. The other first lady would go on to become a symbol of recourse as the two women who lived in separate White Houses helped to bring about a great change to our nation. Mary Todd Lincoln’s life in the White House came under very harsh conditions. During a very...
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..."Satchmo," "Pops," and "Ambassador Satch" were names for an outstanding jazz artist that inspired many. He was one of the most important musicians in jazz. He helped to transform the traditional New Orleans style into a completely different form of jazz. Louis Daniel Armstrong was born on August 4, 1901, in New Orleans, Louisiana in a very poor neighborhood. His father, a laborer, abandoned the family when he was young, and his mother was an irresponsible single parent. She left Armstrong and his sister in the care of their grandmother(Source C). Armstrong was taken out of school in fifth grade to begin working. On New Year's Eve in 1912, Armstrong fired his stepfather's gun in the air during a celebration and was arrested. He was then sent to the Colored Waif's Home for Boys and there, he was taught how to play the cornet and fell in love with music (Source B). In 1914, when they released him, he began dreaming of a life making music. Louis should be recognized in Black History Month for encouraging different races that if you follow your dreams, you can make it. One of the greatest cornet players in town, Joe "King" Oliver, began acting as a mentor to the young Armstrong, showing him pointers on the horn. In 1918, he replaced King in Kid Ory's band, which was one of the most popular bands in New Orleans. Beginning in 1919, Armstrong spent his summers playing on riverboats with a band led by Fate Marable (Source C). In the summer of 1922, he received a call from King Oliver to...
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...Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington is one of the most accomplished Jazz musicians of all time. He was born in Washington D.C. in 1899. Duke Ellington’s father worked as a butler at the White House, and both his father and mother were amateur pianist. As a young child Ellington preferred sports to music—which quickly changed. Ellington dropped out of high school in 1917 to pursue his music career, and by the mid-twenties had relocated to New York. Ellington’s spotlight to fame came from Harlem’s Cotton Club. Duke Ellington performed at the Cotton Club for a continuous six years, which during that time was a place where many distinguished musicians were born. Ellington is largely responsible for the birth of the “Big Band” era of Jazz. However, Ellington frequently referred to his music as “American Music”. He is credited with the composition of over 3,000 songs. “Mood Indigo”, composed and performed by Ellington and his band, is one of Ellington’s most recognized works. Ellington claimed that he wrote “Mood Indigo” in only 15 minutes one evening while waiting for his mother to finish supper. The rapid composition of this song further demonstrates the natural talent possessed by Mr. Ellington. Duke Ellington states that the song is about a young girl, about eight years old, who is in love with a boy her age. The boy comes to visit the girl daily. The young boy and girl never discuss their feeling for each other, the girl claims to like the way the boy wears his hat...
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...A Personality and a Pioneer: Jack Cole’s Influence on Modern Jazz Countless of women have marveled over Marilyn Monroe’s stunning performance of “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend” in the film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. The way she captivates the men around her while maintaining a dominant, sultry poise has made this an iconic scene in the history of American film. She comes across as a natural presence, dancing flawlessly and confidently. What most people do not know is that Marilyn was not trained in dance whatsoever before this debut. A man by the name of Jack Cole is responsible for her training and choreography during this legendary performance (Friscoe, September 10, 2013) Jack not only transformed Marilyn Monroe’s entire career, but reshaped theatrical performance in the film industry and modern jazz as a whole. In a post-war period marked by radical transformation, American Jazz made a shift from the “danceable rhythms” of 1930s swing to the “dissonant harmonics and frenzied rhythmic shifts” of 1940s bebop. A federal tax wage was placed on dance floors, causing them to shut down and the big swing bands that performed in them to be eclipsed. As Vaudeville houses closed and swing bands faded, jazz in its traditional form of tap dancing on the popular stage diminished. This environment...
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...After extensive research on composers from the 20th century, I landed on a unique Armenian composer. Aram Il'yich Khachaturian was a composer born in the capital of Georgia, a country that connects Europe with Asia. For this composer I will take you through the his life in a timeline format starting with his birth and education through his introduction into music, his works and influences and his recognition in this world. I will also talk about some of the awards he was granted for his works. On June 6, 1903, Aram Il'yich Kachaturian was born in the suburb Kodzori in the capital of Georgia, Tbillisi. He was born to father Ilya Voskanovich Ter-Khachaturian and mother Kumash Sarkisovna Ter-Khachaturian. Throughout his childhood, he grew up with a father that bound books for a living eventually leading to a business of his own in which he still bound books. In Aram Kachaturian's childhood, he grew up with three other brothers as well as a sister of whom he was the youngest and eventually ended up in a boarding school which specialized children into becoming merchants. During his early teen years he enrolled in the Tiflis Commercial School. During his time there, he was an amateur in his schools brass band. While enrolled in this band at school, he was introduced to the theater in which he saw the performance of Abessalom by Zakaria Paliashvili from whom he received his inspiration to do well as a musician and may have been the inspiration for him to becoming the composer he was...
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...Eddie Daniels was an extremely talented clarinetist on all fronts. He not only excelled in classical music with breathtaking virtuosity, but was equally as gifted in the art of jazz. In his jazz music, critic Leonard Feather said, “It is a rare event in jazz where one man can all but reinvent an instrument bringing it to a new stage of revolution.” However, his fame and talent did not stop there. A critic of classical music, Leonard Bernstein, further praised him by saying, “Eddie Daniels combines elegance and virtuosity in a way that makes me remember Arthur Rubenstein. He is a thoroughly well-bred demon.” Eddie Daniels first began to play the clarinet at age thirteen. He pursued this instrument throughout his school career. This persistence and natural talent eventually got him into Juilliard. From this school, Daniels received his masters in clarinet. Although he would pick up the clarinet again, Daniels was not originally seen in music with this instrument. His true career would begin on the tenor saxophone and the alto saxophone. From here, his career in music would only grow as his amazing and awe-inspiring talent would soon be recognized by the world. Eddie Daniels was first recognized on the music scene in jazz. He was a part of the Thad Jones- Mel Lewis orchestra, however he was not seen playing his famous clarinet. Daniels was one of the first musicians called when Thad and Mel began their search for talent. Their band was scheduled to perform on Monday...
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...Classical Composer Report Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington, was an american jazz composer, orchestrator, bandleader, and pianist, and was considered to be the greatest composer in the history of jazz music and one of the greatest composers of the 20th century. Duke was born on April 29th, 1899 in Washington, DC and was raised in a musical household where he started piano lessons at the early age of seven years old. He wrote his first piece at age 15 called “Soda Fountain Rag” inspired by his job as a soda jerk. Although, he did not start playing professionally until he was 19 and slowly after started his first group called The Dukes Serenades. When Duke started to become successful and his drummer Sonny Greer was invited to join the Wilbur...
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...This episode, titled “Miles Ahead” The music of Miles Davis focused on impact Davis had on those who heard his music and the personal musical journey he went through. The episode spands from his start as a 6th grader listening to Harlem Rhythm on the radio to his comeback tour in 1981. Over the years Davis touched the laves of many musicians and non-musicians alike. The episode gets interviews with Dizzy Gillespie, Herbie Hancock, George Benson, Bill Cosby, Gil Evans, Robben Ford, Terry Williams, Keith Jarrett, and Miles Davis himself. Some on the most memorable parts of this episode were the stories of Davis by his fellow musicians and the interviews with the man himself. When asked about his trumpet Davis replied with “What can I say...
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