...New Orleans is a city built in a location that was by any measure a mistake. North American settlers needed a way to import and export goods via the Mississippi River, so a city was created atop swamps. By virtue of its location and its role in the international economy, New Orleans became home to a population that was as heterogeneous as any. Besides the French and, for a time, Spanish colonial powers, other groups included African Americans (both free and slave), people from the Caribbean and Latin America, and Scandinavians and other Europeans. The United States purchased Louisiana from France in 1803 (for $15M), and this more than doubled the size of the young country. The Louisiana Territory included parts of Alberta and Saskatchewan, as well as almost a quarter of the modern-day United States. Naturally, New Orleans became one of the country’s major cities. Its variegated racial realities played a major role in the spiritual and moral lives of Abraham Lincoln and Walt Whitman, both of whom first witnessed the true cruelties of slavery there. In his series of essays that eventually comprised the classic The Cotton Kingdom, Frederick Law Olmsted stated the following about New Orleans in the mid-1850s: I doubt if there is a city in the world, where the resident population has been so divided in its origin, or where there is such a variety in the tastes, habits, manners, and moral codes of the citizens. Although this injures civic enterprise—which the peculiar situation...
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...Edgardo Del Rosario MUS 114 Richard Armandi 21 February 2016 Billie Holiday The career of jazz singer, Billie Holiday, was full of intense, life-changing moments. Billie was born on April 7, 1915 in Philadelphia. One of the first major events in her early life was being raped at the age of 11. Billie was always an outspoken person, who often swore. At the age of 14, she joined a brothel. She claimed she was 24, but her lie was soon exposed and was punished. These types of experiences molded her strong exterior and personality, which changed the course of her life. Billie added her own improvisation to her singing. When she sang at restaurants, she would go around to different tables, and sing her own improvised chorus each time. People were very impressed by her improvised singing, and caught the attention of recording artists. He was able to land a part in a Duke Ellington movie as well. In a certain scene, Billie’s character was beaten. They had to record the scene so many times that she was bruised black and blue towards the end. Her life events so far show a contrast between her natural talent as a singer, and the harsh brutalities of being a black female during a time of prejudice. Eventually Billie Holiday would have a masochistic side to her, opting to stay in relationships where she is abused. Her suitors introduced her to various drugs, such as opium and heroin. Needless to say, she would easily become addicted to them. The influence of drugs on Billie’s life...
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...The History of Jazz and Reggae In the history of music the smooth sounds of jazz and reggae has influenced listeners all over the country for many years. Although some prefer to listen to Hip Hop and R & B the genuine sounds of Jazz and Reggae is some of the most delightful music to listen to. Jazz and Reggae has been two of the most popular and unique musical categories with similar styles but different in their own way. When these particular styles of music was introduced they made great impressions in the music industry. In the early 1800’s jazz was born in the city of New Orleans where it was performed in festivals such as the Mardi gras also at funerals. In 1940 they began to broadcast the music over the radio when the music was played people found themselves dancing, clapping, and singing to the musical sounds being played. Jazz is considered to be a mixture of blues and marching band music when it first started out it was played by african americans and creole. When jazz hit the music charts and became more popular the europeon and african culture got together and presented a new sound for jazz to make it even more exciting. It has continued to be performed in the streets of new Orleans, night clubs, dancehalls, and concerts throughout the countries up until this present time jazz is still popular more than ever. The roots of reggae music originated in Jamaica in the 1960’s introduced in dancehall clubs where people danced to the low beats and rhythm of this particular...
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...Jazz is a very bulky genre, especially to cover in just 60 minutes. However, this lack of time has allowed me to condense my beliefs about it one strong section believe that changed Jazz completely. Trumpets complete the sound of a Jazz band and I believe that it is the most important section. There are a few artist that transformed the trumpet section and their innovation set the bar for nothing below perfection. Jazz without trumpets would be equivalent to a peanut butter and jelly sandwich without peanut butter because it just would not be the same. So what makes the trumpet so special? The trumpet is by far the loudest and sharpest sounding horn in the band. The interesting shaped horn amplifies sound with the bends on pipes within it. This makes playing trumpet natural for leaders, and to become successful with it if they are good too. In 1894, early trumpet pioneer Buddy Bolden became the first known jazzman simply because he was a trumpeter. From then on other musicians followed this trend and the trumpet reigned king ever since. King Oliver was a very influential band to bring out the best of what the trumpet could offer. Musician Louis Armstrong began his ride to fame with this group in 1922. Armstrong's playing technique was honed by constant practice, which extended the range, tone and capabilities of the trumpet. Armstrong also almost single-handedly created the role of the jazz soloist, taking what was essentially a collective folk music and turning it into an art...
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...(1909-1956) Born in Toledo, Ohio. Tatum was the most extraordinary of all pianists and jazz musicians. He was blind; training as a youth, own radio show 1929-1930. His left hand control and right hand doubled time amazed all. 1933 virtuous recording “ Tiger Rag”. He traveled the United States appearing in nightclubs and sessions. He served as a inspiration to the young bebop musicians in New York in the early 1940s. Charlie Christian- Guitar (1916-1942) Dallas, Texas grew up In OKC. * First guitar out cigar boxes * First work came from bands which he played bass * Began using amplification in 1937 * Developed a style by Django Reinhardt, Christian took his style and applied it to playing melodies on his amplified guitar. * 1939 John Hammond put him on with Benny Goodman he hired him cause he was so impressed * Moved to NY many nights at the Milton’s Playhouse exchanging ideas with the young bebop musicians. Some phrases were incorporated into standard bebop vocabulary. * Died March 1942 cause of developing tuberculosis. Charlie Parker- Alto Saxophone (1920-1955) Kansas City, Missouri. * Sneaking out after mom went to night job to hear Jazz * Idol Lester Young * Had music training by band teacher, played in various bands 1935-1939. * Became Proficient in all twelve keys * Nickname Yard bird or bird * 1938 joined Jay McShann Band * Jazz was forever changed after the Parker/Gillespie 1945 recordings were released...
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...trumpet player, Armstrong was a foundational influence on jazz, shifting the music’s focus from collective improvisations to solo performers * With his distinctive gravelly voice, Armstrong was also an influential singer, demonstrating great dexterity as an improviser, bending the lyrics and melody of a song for expressive purpose * He was also greatly skilled at scat singing, or vocalizing, using syllables instead of actual lyrics. * Renowned for his charismatic stage presence and deep, instantly recognizable voice almost as much as for his trumpet-playing, Armstrong’s influence extended well beyond jazz, and by the end of his career in the ‘60s, he was widely regard as a profound influence on popular music in general * Listening: Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five West End Bles- see page 95 Sidney Bechet (1897-1959) * Was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinestist, and composer (soprano saxophonist) * Born in New Orleans to a wealthy Creole family * Became best remembered as the first great master of the soprano saxophonist * Played duets with Louis Armstrong * Forceful delivery, well-constructed improvisations, and a distinctive, wide vibrato characterized Bechet’s playing * Listening: Sidney Bechet- Petite Fleur (the Olympia Concert Paris) James P. Johnson (1891-1955) * Was an American pianist and composer * Johnson was one of the originators of the stride style of jazz piano playing * James P.’s piano style later was to...
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...What is Jazz? Some people will tell you that jazz is a style of music that originated from African-Americans here in America and was adopted by white people over the years. Other people will tell you that jazz is the heart and soul of Blues music and a spinoff of Ragtime and a way of loosely expressing yourself through music. Both of these interpretations are correct, but by dictionary definition, jazz is music originating from New Orleans around the beginning of the 20th century and subsequently developing through the various increasingly complex styles, generally marked by intricate, propulsive rhythms, polyphonic ensemble playing, improvisatory, virtuosic solos, melodic freedom, and a harmonic idiom ranging from simple diatonicism through chromaticism to atonality. Jazz music is all of this and yet so much more. In order to play jazz, you have to take something and tweak it to make it your own. The biggest difference between jazz piano and regular classic piano is simply the style in which you play it. With classic piano, you stick to the rhythms and notes that are written on the pages. The music goes almost perfectly with the score and there is no room for relaxation between notes. With jazz piano however, you move with the music. Within the rhythms, you get to swing to your own style. Jazz piano is much more lose and free. Also with jazz, a lot of the times, you improvise the music meaning that it’s not written down and the player comes up with the notes and...
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...Sun Ra, a beloved jazz musician by many for his genre-bending style and creativity, is left out of a lot of histories of jazz e.g., every book and film I absorbed this semester leaves him out of the jazz narrative, why? Sun Ra is both praised and criticized for his creatively avant-garde representation of jazz. A brief background of the musician shows that he started playing piano at around the age of 11. In 1936, at age 22, he decided to drop out of college to pursue a musical vocation. Additionally, he claimed he was transported to the planet Saturn and told to drop out to teach through music. Nonetheless, ten years later he began playing for such acts as Wynonie Harris, Billie Holiday, Lil Green, Fletcher Henderson and formed a trio with...
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...The Harlem Renaissance was sparked by the Great Migration from 1919 – 1926 in which African Americans began moving to northern cities to find employment and a better way of life. The musicians of this era were very influential in renewing the culture and history of the United States. Jazz, race, and class divided Harlem and New York cities. Some historians have said the best way to understand the Harlem Renaissance is by understanding the music (http://historyoftheharlemrenaissance.weebly.com/index.html; www.1920s-fashion-and-music.com/Harlem-Renaissance-1920s.html). With the roots of jazz coming from slave songs, it is truly an African-American invention. This newly formed music utilized the dissonant “blue” note. This modification to the to the standard major scale allowed the musician to play the note flat; usually the third, fifth, or seventh note of the scale. Music critic Sidney Finkelstein stated, “It expresses the hope and struggle for freedom, the vitality which enables a people to wrest joy out of misery and to assert the triumph of human beings over the obstacles that would grind them down.” ("MindEdge," 2014) Jazz was the sound of the 1920’s; with the Roaring Twenties, individuality blossomed along with the pure jazz sounds from Harlem. Nightclubs began opening in New York. Many black musicians were employed to perform in these New York nightclubs, but none were allowed admittance (Hilliard, 2014). Per Ted Giogia, “Middle-class and upper-class black families were...
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...The Evolution of Jazz and its Modern Influence Jazz is a music art form that was created solely in America. It is considered to be one of the most influential forms of music in American history. Not only did it originate in America but it is also one of the few art forms that have two distinctive sounds. The jazz sound is separated into classical jazz and jazz fusion (modern) jazz. Jazz is also one of the only forms of music for which college music majors are required to study several artists’ techniques as a semester course. Jazz music has been used in many forms of music in America. With all the respect that jazz has garnered around the world, unfortunately, the art form has lost popularity over the last 20 years. With the emergence of hip-hop, techno, and other music forms, young musicians of today do not find the music appealing or relevant. All the awards for jazz musicians have been moved off the national television award shows. There is also a movement to remove the jazz categories from the Grammy list completely. This paper will discuss the history of jazz, where it began, how it evolved, and its future. To understand the future of jazz, one must understand what it really is and the instruments that were combined to make the ensemble. Jazz started to form early in the twentieth century in New Orleans. At that time, the sound was called Ragtime. This sound was produced by a band that included the string bass, drums, a guitar or banjo, and a "melodic section" with one...
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...Jevon Tyree Afromusic Response Paper 11/11/13 “Dizzy Response” Jazz has played a major role in the history of society as well as the blue’s which both allowed individuals to succeed in the prejudice discriminative years of the 1900’s. As I was reading in the article “Dizzy Atmosphere”: The challenge of Bepop by Eric Porter, I realized that the history of music and where it has evolved to is somewhat surprising. Artist such as Charlie Parker, Scott DeVeaux, Duke Ellington and John Birks Gillespie aka “Dizzy” all talented African Americans that participated in having a strong persuasive impact on society from the sound and tempo played from their instruments. As I understand, slavery was abolished in the year 1830, and I’m also aware of prejudice movements and racism was lively up to 1960’s or 70’s. To think at the time these young African American men were making moves such as being played on the radio and performing to massive crowds is very impressive. Bebop was the musical language that had a majority of everyone satisfied from what bebop had to offer which included fast tempos, discordant sounds and other different chord transactions that listeners were new to. Most importantly soloing on the frontline instruments became big and allowed artists and musicians to express themselves in a musical manor. “Dizzy” was known for his solos and skills of playing chords on top of chords with the trumpet making up his own sound and tempo. Creating new music came with audiences adapting...
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...Jazz is considered the original art form of the American self. One person who fits this form of expression is Billie Holiday. Holiday happens to be my best choice of a recognizable jazz artist. I chose Holiday because she could take the composition of a song given to her and turn it into well-known music standards. Holiday showed that she could be great at anything. She is inspiration for me to be great at anything I am involved in. The purpose of this paper is to give insight on Billie Holiday, songs she sung that established jazz standards, and the impact she made as a performer. Holiday experienced many trials throughout her lifetime that could have caused her to give up. However, she managed to display her improvisational genesis combined...
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...History of Jazz 10/9/2011 Swing. A new evolution of music was developing during the 1930s. What was developing was possibly the most notable styles, movements and sub-genres to evolve out of Jazz, the unmistakable Swing. This new style was about more than just the music and great musicians, it was a reaction to a pivotal time in America’s history, it was a cultural phenomenon, it made people get up and dance. This was an important musical movement for this country, most notable the younger generation, in that it was a welcome distraction to the war that was engulfing all of our resources and attention, along with what was going on in our own backyards; the Great Depression. The danceability of swing was a great stress reliever and a way to have some much needed fun. One thing that makes Swing an experience is the size of the majority of the bands performing this music at that time. And due to the general size of these bands, it was dubbed the Big Band Era. These bands relied on complex scores of standards and new original material alike. Any improvisation was reserved for a soloist, since 10-20 musicians attempting to improvise all at once could be quite a fiasco. This new evolution of Jazz also added something new to the musical mix, and that new ingredient were lyrics. The more consistent musical arrangements and performances, along with the addition of lyrics, made Swing more relatable for larger audiences and therefore became popular amongst those that may have...
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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...
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...sounds that could be heard during the 1920s. The Jazz Age incorporated more than just jazz, with blues booming, ballads and ragtime filling the air, and show tunes enrapturing audiences on and off the stage, the 1920s were alive with all kinds of music. The 1920s brought significant changes to music in America with new musicians, styles, and innovations, all of which would influence music around the world for years to come. Jazz music was a significant source of music in the 1920s, a style which originated in New Orleans and had spread throughout the country by the 1920s. Large cities such as Chicago, and New York City become epicenters for jazz music. People of all backgrounds embraced the music which would become synonymous with the time period becoming known as the Jazz Age, named by author F. Scott Fitzgerald (Bruccoli ix). Jazz music was characterized mainly by syncopation and improvisation along with techniques to alter the sound of instruments such as mutes and slides, and the overall swing feel of the music (Tyle). An abundance of jazz musicians became well known for their various techniques, styles, and the instruments they played. Louis Armstrong was one of the most influential jazz Bellingeri 2 musicians of the 1920s. Hailing from New Orleans, the hub of jazz music, he would become a legacy for the Jazz Age with his trumpet and voice bringing jazz to life. Leon “Bix” Beiderbecke was another great trumpeter and jazz musician of the 1920s. He never learned to read...
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