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Evolution of jazz music
Jazz and the evolution of the music
Importance of miles davis in the developement of jazz
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Ee Suk Ahn
Instructor Matt Carr
Music 131B
22 November 2017
Evolution of Jazz Music By Miles Davis In the development of jazz, Miles Dewey Davis III is considered one of the most influential and commended figures from his era. As an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer, he was renowned as a master of musical self-restraint, just like Count Basie and Lester Young, and also as a musical genius who effectively evolved jazz through the many stylistic changes he made during his career. In this paper, we plan to observe how his musical styles have changed over time from 1940s to 1980s and compare his musics and musicians along with the backgrounds for each music and its group. Born on May 26, 1926, Miles Davis had been raised from
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Miles Davis organized a nonet, called The Miles Davis Nonet, with pianist and arranger Gil Evans and baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan, taking an active role that soon became his own project. While still considered to be a bebop group, this band was unique in which it featured a more unusual line-up with a French horn, trombone, and tuba. In the compositions, it is also remarkable that the arrangements were “similar to human voice” through “carefully arranged compositions and by emphasizing a relaxed melodic approach to the improvisations” (Early 212). While recording sessions with the nonet for Capital Records lasted until April 1950, many of the recordings were not published until the launch of Birth of the Cool, a significant album which marked Davis’s brilliance and initiated the cool jazz …show more content…
Having reached the number 134 on the US Billboard Top LPs, Miles Davis kept producing a music of fusion jazz after a new formation of his new ensemble group. In 1971, Davis had signed a new contract with Columbia for three years including royalties (Carr 302). During the contract, Davis wanted to make music for the young African-American audiences, so he creates more commercial, groove-oriented style of popular music of the time. Having released Live-Evil, Davis’ ensemble, which includes drummer Leon “Ndugu” Chancler and percussionists James Mtume and Don Alias, had become much more funk-oriented. Later on he creates another fusion jazz group which includes guitarist Reggie Lucas, organist Lonnie Liston Smith, tabla player Badal Roy, and more. In contrast to previous eras, Davis continues to play more funk-oriented jazz or fusion jazz in this
Jazz music of the 1940’s and 1950’s was defined by a history of change since its beginning at the dawn of the 20th century. Almost every decade brought a new flavor to the movement, and by the 1940’s jazz had developed into a mature, complex form of music, with many nuances and avenues for continued change. It is important to trace the early movements in jazz to better understand the innovations of the Bebop and Cool jazz eras of the 40’s and 50’s.
The music of jazz became an important aspect of American culture in the early 20th century. The crisp syncopation of ragtime and the smooth tunes of the blues seeped into American mainstream music through dance halls and saloons and later through ballrooms. Instruments like the piano, trumpet, trombone and clarinet became important and symbolized the “swing-feel” of jazz because of their capability to syncopate and improvise precisely. With the help of the booming recording industry, musical geniuses were discovered and their talent and contributions to the emergence of jazz spread throughout the entire country. Such musicians include composer, arranger and pianist Jelly Roll Morton who heavily influenced the development of early jazz by his unique piano style, his “invention” of musical notation for jazz, and his compositions that have become the core in the jazz repertory. Because the style was new and different and so successful in drawing in large audiences, musicians around the world tried to mimic it. Furthermore, Morton’s masterpieces were the first to show notation for complicated jazz music and thus, formed the basis for standard notation in jazz compositions today.
By the end of World War I, Black Americans were facing their lowest point in history since slavery. Most of the blacks migrated to the northern states such as New York and Chicago. It was in New York where the “Harlem Renaissance” was born. This movement with jazz was used to rid of the restraints held against African Americans. One of the main reasons that jazz was so popular was that it allowed the performer to create the rhythm. With This in Mind performers realized that there could no...
Sammy Davis, Jr. was born in Harlem on December 8, 1925, to Elvera Sanchez, a chorus girl, and Sam Davis, a dancer. He was raised by his father and grandmother. His father was in an act with Will Mastin, who was a close friend of the family. At a young age, Sammy joined the act as a singer and dancer. They were known as the “Will Mastin Trio”. It was not the best job, but it put food on the table.
“His relaxed phrasing was a major change from the staccato style of the early 20’s and helped to set the stage for the Swing Era” (“Life & Legacy”). And as such a prominent artist, and in particular, jazz artist, Armstrong did not only change the perception of jazz and swing, but the views on African Americans and their culture. Armstrong and the Harlem Renaissance reflected black history and culture, and it became popular, even in white communities and clubs. Jazz as a whole genre helped further society’s views through the universal language of music, where any ethnicity could partake in it. And the revolution of jazz was lead by the stylings of Louis Armstrong. The duration of the jazz and swing era, lasting decades past the 1920s, symbolized the civil rights movement directly through the lyrics, sounds, and artists
The great trumpeter Miles Davis once said that the history of jazz can be summarized in four words: “Louis Armstrong. Charlie Parker.” There is no doubt that the former is held in the highest regard with respect to jazz and its origins in the 20th century. Parker was a much different figure, yet he is still known to be one of the greatest jazz improvisers and innovators of our time. Charlie Parker was a jazz alto saxophonist who, through his work in bebop and his immense talent as a musician, inspired many performers and composers throughout the years.
At one point during the fighting there were 39 band leaders in the army. Glen Miller, whose infectious hits like “In the Mood” epitomized the war years, disbanded his own hugely successful [jazz] orchestra, enlisted, and formed an all-star air force unit that some believe was the best band he ever had – and died in 1944 when his airplane disappeared over the English channel.” With the capitol of many bandleaders declining It became inevitable that in order to progress, the jazz ensemble would have to become smaller. Musicians that were not enlisted, but out of work, began to meet up at local clubs and perform, and were often unpaid, but happy to at least be able to play with other musicians. By this time a major change in jazz was afoot, and a young trumpet player named Dizzy Gillespie formed his own small prototype group at the Onyx Club in New York.
Not only did Davis serve as an architype for upcoming musicians, he exposed his audience to the realities of an oppressed American by way of his music. Growing up he had to work harder than his white peers to get the same chance, and he took note of this. According to the book, Miles Davis: the definitive biography, Davis commented on using injustice as his motivation, “It made me so mad that I made up my mind to outdo anybody white on my horn. If I hadn’t met that prejudice, I probably wouldn’t have had as much drive in my work” (Carr 6). Injustice made a profound influence on Miles. During the civil rights movement Miles Davis became a voice for the black community. Because of Davis’s initiative to deliver music that would bring strength and truth to the African American community, jazz music had become a symbol of power and strength instead of “black music.” In a book by Ingrid Monson she speaks about the relationship between the civil rights movement and jazz: “the defiance and resistance of jazz musicians has often been confused with romanticized politics of style that views music’s relationship to the civil rights struggle as mostly symbolic. Here the defiant attitude of musicians…has been viewed as the heart and soul of the relationship between music and politics” (Monson 56-57). Miles Davis was a manifestation of the
Jazz music prospered in the 1940’s and 1950’s. Jazz was created by African Americans to represent pain and suffering and also represented the adversity that racial tension brought. (Scholastic) African American performers like Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie “Bird” Parker came to be recognized for their ability to overcome “race relati...
Lynch is a writer and teacher in Northern New Mexico. In the following essay, she examines ways that the text of The Souls of Black Folk embodies Du Bois' experience of duality as well as his "people's."
This generation is severely lacking cultural diversity. The United States school system feeds its students “American History,” but some believe it has only educated them on a few main points in history, and most of them have been from the view point of Euro-Centric America, and not the Melting Pot America is. There is so much to American history that even Americans are not aware of, however this generation is so consumed with celebrities, technological advancements, and up-to-date fashion. There is so much technology and access to the past, and yet most people do not take advantage of it. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to open those of this generation up to a culture rarely discussed unless in a detailed study specifically catered to it.
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
Teachout, Terry. "John Hammond's jazz." Commentary 122.3 (2006): 55+. Academic OneFile. Web. 16 Nov. 2011.
Jazz is the best-known artistic creation of the Harlem Renaissance. “Jazz is the only pure American creation, which shortly after its birth, became America’s most important cultural export”(Ostendorf, 165). It evolved from the blues. In the formally standardized, instrumentally accompanied form of “city blues”(as opposed to the formally unstandardized and earlier “country blues”), the blues was to become one of the two major foundations of 1920s jazz (the other being rags). City blues tended to be strophic songs with a text typically based on two-line strophes (but with the first line of each strophe’s text repeated, AAB) and a standard succession of harmonies underlying each strophe’s melody.... ...
Powell, A. (2007). The Music of African Americans and its Impact on the American Culture in the 1960’s and the 1970’s. Miller African Centered Academy, 1. Retrieved from http://www.chatham.edu/pti/curriculum/units/2007/Powell.pdf