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African american influences on jazz
History and influence of jazz
African american influences on jazz
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More handpicked essays just for you.
African american influences on jazz
History and influence of jazz
African american influences on jazz
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Jazz has shaped the world we know today. Jazz would have never been as popular without the help of the famous musicians: Jelly Roll Morton, Joe King Oliver, Sidney Bechet, Louis Armstrong, and Duke Ellington. These people helped spread the new genre through radio, railroads, and the records that they played. Where did this all start? The jazz age began in New Orleans where a certain King was born.
Edward ‘Duke’ Ellington, a name synonymous with jazz, is considered still to one of the most influential Big Band Swing composers and arrangers. Ellington identified himself as a composer and arranger primarily and then a musician, although he played in bands before becoming an arranger. Ellington’s work and arrangements were instrumental in shaping Big Band Swing and helped to create the longevity of this sound. Ellington learned to lead a band and arrange pieces when he formed his first band, the Washingtonians. Under Ellington’s guidance the band slowly increased in size and popularity and once he began touring he did not stop for almost fifty consecutive years.
Bebop is regarded by its focus on inventiveness. Borrowed from swing, and engrained in the blues, bebop is the foundation on which modern jazz was built. Bebop musicians played tunes at much faster tempos. Soloists did not focus on lyrics, but more with rhythmic unpredictability and harmonic complexity. These versions of Jazz was more modern than the scripted kind of Creole Jazz.
¨Jazz bands became nationally famous through their radio performances, and a host of other jazz musicians flourished as radio made the genre nationally popular¨(7.4
In 1924, Louis Armstrong first joined Fletcher Henderson’s band . The way Armstrong played, the style he used, and the iconic music he created would come to be known as the origins of a new type of music called swing. His talent on the trumpet, now common knowledge, would not be fully and widely recognized for almost ten years after he joined Henderson, and the Swing Era as it is known today would truly begin. In 1935, Benny Goodman’s band started with performances on the East Coast and wound its way across the country to California on a national tour, stopping to perform in major cities as it went.
Charlie Parker is probably one of the largest contributors to Bebop, but this doesn’t exclude Miles Davis who furthered what Parker created. Charlie Parker changed the way performances and writing of jazz music forever with his new style of music called Bebop or Bop for short. This genre replaced the previous style of swing which focused on dancing, which was popular for years. Bop music was all about fast tempos, expanding of the horn, soloing, and complex rhythms and harmonies. This style was all about the musician take the traditional format of swing which was formulated to be about 85% written and 15% soloing and switching it to 85% soling and 15% written.
(3) Bebop is a jazz style classified by having a more improvised fast tempo whilst having harmonic, rhythmic unpredictability; giving it a distinct style compared to normal jazz. (4) Davis did play a significant role in bebop’s beginnings, but he never confined himself to performing just that style. He actually curated many other forms of jazz such as hard-bop, fusion jazz, cool jazz and even modal jazz. (1) Davis began to form these sub-genres some years after being in a quintet led by Charlie Parker, a highly influential jazz musician who also laid down the foundations of bebop. With bebop on the rise, Davis soon felt a need to rid his music of the style, wanting to restore jazz's more melodic components.
Jazz is most often thought to have been started in the 1920s as this explosive movement, but that is in fact not the case. Starting in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century many African American musicians have started to explore their taste in improvising, and where better to do that than New Orleans (Anderson). Before the 1920s these jazz musicians have already been going around sharing the unique sound, but up until then, jazz had remained majorly in New Orleans. Interestingly during this period, a common jazz band would consist of a cornet, a clarinet, a trombone, and a rhythm section when at this period of time the clarinet is not commonly associated with being a jazz instrument, it moved into being the saxophone rather. A big
Today in class we viewed the fifth episode of Ken Burns Jazz documentary, Swing Pure Pleasure. In the late 1930’s Swing became the new Jazz among the young teenage Americans. With its popularity came fame for band leaders and bands. Bands started touring, band leaders were seen as rock stars, and swing became the obsession of many young Americans. This new fame wasn’t all flashing lights many bands and band leaders faced hardships in their career.
Ellis Island’s Historical Significance to New York and the United States “The study of past events,” as stated by Merriam-Webster is the definition of History. [2] Now, let us ask ourselves: What is the history of New York City? This answer can go back to several different decades and towards even centuries, and therefore we should thus specify our time and landmark of New York City. For this purpose, let us zoom in on a specific place that holds memories of many Americans from past to present. Let us look at Ellis Island, and its historical context in relevance to New York City.
During his time there he collaborated with Charlie Parker and other musicians with whom he helped form the basis of bebop (“Miles Davis”). Davis eventually left Julliard to explore his own voice and came across a composer named Gil Evans and they began to exchange ideas. They were looking for something other than swing and bebop and formed a style called “cool jazz” (Kirker, Tim). This new style was evident in his album Birth of the Cool which was performed with a nine-piece band that included artists such as Max Roach, John Lewis, Lee Konitz, and Gerry Mulligan (Macnie, Jim).
Improvisation was a big key in bebop which “is the process of spontaneously creating fresh melodies over the continuously repeating cycle of chord changes of a tune.” This gave soloist a variety of form, ranges and techniques. The solos were complex harmonies with an edger sound, it made it harder for another band to copy any music from the musicians. The different style of jazz thrived in the urban clubs, people came to listen to the music rather than to
In life, there are few things as organic as jazz music. With its raw sound and scrappy roots, one cannot help but feel life head-on whilst witnessing players produce such a sound right before their eyes. Its origins and arch are a product of the United States’ national culture and identity. Jazz exists not only as a deeply rooted form of art but as a cultural marker, particularly during its commercial peak in the first half of the 20th century. Its impact transcends borders, and it is one of the most beloved musical genres worldwide.
Guilt is a theme that Ordinary People and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest recognize. Ordinary People revolves around two perspectives coming from a father and son about the death of a loved one. However, in the clip from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Nurse Ratched and Billy are two characters who are polar opposites from one another. Furthermore, the power of guilt compels the two protagonists in both works.
Swing differentiates itself from other jazz styles by its large bands, relatively structured format, and emphasis on dancability. Swing music was very popular during this era, and proved that jazz could be respectable and commercially viable. Swing musicians were drawn to big cities by the burgeoning record industry, and formed hundreds of bands who played on many radio shows such as "Fitch Bandwagon," "Coca Cola Spotlight Series," "Camel Hit Parade," "Chesterfield Hour," "Phillip Morris Show". More than 70 bands had ongoing, sponsored radio shows. There were hundreds of music venues in big cities that hosted live bands playing for dancing audiences CITATION The00 \l 1033 (The Thelonious Monk Institute of