When I think of Jazz, my mind goes back to being a little girl running around in the Annual Michigan Blues Fest. Each year I would attend this particular fest in our small town. Back then I didn’t understand the background or concept behind Jazz, yet it made me smile and jump in joy. The lemon strawberry soft serve ice cream in my hand contributed quite a bit to this smile. This semester, taking this music class has made me appreciate music in a different way. Till now, I’ve enjoyed music but understanding the theory behind how it is created and written in this structured language pleasantly surprised me. I moved to California this past year and I had missed the sound of Jazz which is why I decided to attend the Annual Jazz Fest here at CSM. The show was put together by Mike Galisatus, also known as you.
I went to the 1:30 show which had a special guest, Jeff Jarvis. Jeff Jarvis, as I came to know, is quite the man. He is a trumpeter, composer, jazz educator, and music publisher. He currently serves as Director of Jazz Studies at Cal State Long Beach. He is a former
…show more content…
The first was “When you're smiling” originally created by Tom Kubis. I enjoyed this first piece. I loved how everyone was different ages yet beautifully blended together. Each person had their own individual uniqueness but together they were one. Little things I noticed were some kept their own rhythm tapping their foot with the drummer. The piece was either a 2-beat or 4-beat I had a hard time telling. The next piece was called “View of the Valley”. This was quite a bit faster than “When you're smiling”, it started with a cymbals and picked up tempo as the piece progressed. I could hear the trumpets more prominently in “View of the Valley”. This particular piece featured trombone player, the youngest of the players. Two pieces later, Jeff Jarvis was
This was my first Jazz event I had ever been to. I went to see the band The Chairman and the Board. This was a blues swing band. Having been to other concerts, I was expecting something similar as far as atmosphere and crowd. I was proved very wrong as this concert defied all my expectations and was in a whole different field as far as life entertainment goes. The first thing I noticed right off the bat was the audience. The age range of this audience was mainly 40-70. I definitely felt like the odd man out when I was there. It did get me thinking though, why was this audience so much older? I looked into the era of when most of those people were born, which was roughly around the years 1935-1980. I came to find out that in the 1940s bebop jazz had been created and swing music was very popular. Also at this time cool jazz emerged. It appears the 1940s were a wonderful time for jazz. In the 60s, Cuban jazz appeared. Every year there was something new and on the cutting edge in jazz. I think the reason no young people were there was because jazz is no longer a part of the modern-day music. It's not played on the top hits of the year radios. It's lack of exposure has made young people unaware of its glory. I don't see any advertisements for jazz music on the tv, or social media. I never hear about jazz while listening to the radio. It could be that teens want something to relate to in their music, that also has a catchy beat and modern lyrics. This event was hosted at the only live entertainment specific venue in Big Bear which is the cave. They have concerts there every weekend. This venue was absolutely perfect for this type of band because it was quaint and quiet with a respectful (yet very engaged) audience. I had no problem hearing what the performers were saying, Despite being far from the stage. The lighting at this venue looked like an old school jazz concert
Music is magical: it soothes you when you are upset and cheers you up when you are down. To me, it is a communication with souls. I listen to different genres of music. When appreciating each form of music, with its unique rhythm and melody, I expect to differentiate each other by the feelings and emotions that it brings to me. However, I would definitely never call myself “a fan of jazz” until I witnessed Cécile McLorin Salvant’s performance last Friday at Mondavi Center. Through the interpretations and illustrations from Cécile’s performance, I realized that the cultural significance and individual identity are the building blocks of jazz music that create its unique musical features and support its development.
When researching the history of a specific topic, the viewpoints of historians can widely differ. My findings have concluded that each critic or historian has his own way of arguing who or what made jazz a beloved genre within American pop culture. Some even contend the location of its early origins. Throughout the text, several other sources remain indifferent in summarizing jazz. Paying no regard to any of the authors’ stance, the sources mentioned within my writing have provided beneficial information that will be used within my research assignment.
Jazz is referred as “America’s classical music,” and is one of North America’s and most celebrated genres. The history of Jazz can be traced back to the early era of the 20th century of the U.S. “A History of Jazz” presents From Ragtime and Blues to Big Band and Bebop, jazz has been a part of a proud African American tradition for over 100 years. A strong rhythmic under-structure, blue notes, solos, “call-and response” patterns, and
The word “jazz” is significant to America, and it has many meanings. Jazz could simply be defined as a genre or style of music that originated in America, but it can also be described as a movement which “bounced into the world somewhere about the year 1911…” . This is important because jazz is constantly changing, evolving, adapting, and improvising. By analyzing the creators, critics, and consumers of jazz in the context of cultural, political, and economic issue, I will illustrate the movement from the 1930’s swing era to the birth of bebop and modern jazz.
Music is virtually everywhere we go, no matter if it is background noise in a coffee shop or singing along while shopping for groceries, we can find music somewhere. The event I attended was the Flint Symphony Orchestra on October 8, 2016. I have never attended a symphony before so I was excited to go, especially since I had invited my friend to attend with me. For this event, I was already informed by my teacher that the symphony will be formal so we needed to look the part since others will be dressed fancy. This made me curious how this event will turn out. Walking past the ticket area and through the doors to the lobby made me feel instantly memorized at how grand it was on the inside. I went downstairs and there were a vast
Throughout my lifetime I’ve been exposed to many different styles of music. One of the most emotionally connected music styles I’ve encountered would definitely be instrumental jazz. When I was younger I mostly listened to blues and smooth jazz, but more recently I’ve been attracted to faster tracks and harder beats like those you hear in the Swing era of the 1920’s. On Tuesday, October 27th I attended the performance of the jazz band: Sylvan Street, as a part of the University of Miami’s music festival (Festival Miami). The show started at eight o’clock at night cost ten dollars for students. Throughout the show, the band provided an incredible mixture of different styles of jazz while delivering an electrifying performance that captured the true essence of what jazz truly is.
The next element I discovered was the pitch of the music. Relatively speaking, I would estimate that the majority of the pieces were on the high side of the pitch, and therefore frequency, scale. The range of pitches was moderate, but as stated previously, mostly higher notes were used.
On February 17th, I attended the “UIC Jazz Ensemble” at 7 in the evening. The concert was located at the Illinois room in Student Center East. The concert director was Mr. Andy Baker, and he is one of the music professors at UIC. Besides, he is a lead trombonist of the Chicago Jaz Ensemble, co-leader of the sextet BakerzMillion. He is also a first-call theatre and studio musician. The lights in the room were pretty dim, and the room was filled with audiences. I noticed that there were a total of nineteen musicians performing that evening, and a lady jazz singer accompanied the musicians throughout the concert. There were sixteen members playing the wind instruments, including the trumpet, trombone, saxophone, flute, and French horn. Some of them were standing, and some were sitting. Besides wind instrument, the concert also included a guitar, drum and piano into the performance. They were played by Edwin Garcia, Aaron Gorden, James Wenzel and Will Gingrich respectively.
The musicians were able to keep time by taping their feet, listening to the piano and drums play a steady beat, and along with a lot of practice beforehand. When it comes to the meter of the piece I noticed that when each musician was playing their part in the song the rhythmic structure would change. When the trumpet player and saxophone player were playing together the beat was steady and loud, but when they were playing separately the sound was not as loud, but the beat remained the same. Each instrument created a different feeling to the music, even though they were playing the exact same part.
The majority of the pieces featured a rather slow steady beat, provided by the drum and the piano, while the other instruments (mainly the brass section) were used to play the main motif along with some minor ornamentations. The third song they played, one of my favorites, was simply a steady 4/4 tempo kept by the drum, with some minor variations. The saxophone and trumpets took turns drifting in and out to carry the melody. The saxophone player delivered an entertained solo which consisted of very light and amusing trills, this created a very soothing and relaxing
I enjoy and listen to variety of music from classical music to rap music. I have attended many concerts, mostly symphony bands concerts. However, interestingly, through whole my life, I have never experienced jazz music and I have never been to jazz concert. Therefore, it was hard for me to decide which jazz concerts would give me most pleasure and exciting experience. I researched for jazz concerts listing and I have decided to go to the Ron Eschete Trio Concerts because it was held closed to my house and was free.
The jazz band I observed played a series of six different songs. Although all the songs were categorized as jazz, each song had its own special style and sound to it. The band consisted of three different players. Paul Meyers, the guitarist and composer, Andy Eulau, the bassist, and Dave Rataczak, on drums. The songs performed were entitled “Love for Sale” by Cole Porter, “Once I Loved” by Antonio Carlos Jobim, “Stars” by Paul Meyers, “Blues for Mel” also by Paul Meyers, “Last Night When We Were Young” by Harold Arlen, and “Samba Novo” by Luis Eca.
“Jazz, and other African American musical forms, utilizes the horizon of the future only as an excuse for its insistent emphasis on the present. Though not without its own form of entanglement with the past and the future, jazz is the music of the present” (Barnhart 2013:16). For about century, jazz has been influencing people around the world with its infectious nature and passionate emotion. The birth of jazz can be traced back to New Orleans in the late 19th and early 20th century, where a need for live music and entertainment sparked the creation of this genre.
Now a days, many believe that jazz is not that important of music genre, but with our history, jazz plays a big role. “Jazz does not belong to one race or culture, but it is a gift that America has given to the world.”, quoted by Ahmad Alaadeen. Jazz in the 1920’s opened the eyes of whites and invited them into African American culture; it evolved Americans to where we are today since it brought a change to the music scene, an acceptance of African Americans, and a change of lifestyles.