Miles Davis is considered one of the most influential musical artists to ever exist. Coming from a jazz and bebop background Davis’ extravagant trumpet skills were unmatched. He was at the forefront of major innovations in music including bebop, cool jazz, modal jazz, and jazz-fusion. At the façade of jazz-fusion, Davis released two very successful and yet controversial albums -In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew- that incorporated innovative musical characteristics fusing elements of rock and jazz to create groundbreaking musical flow. Many saw Davis’ experimental music as controversial and perceived it in negative reaction not only because it wasn’t traditional but also because of Davis’s past.
The release of In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew (both 1969) introduced innovative jazz sounds into the world. Davis began to cross boundaries by incorporating new electric instruments such as the bass guitar, electric guitar, and electric piano. By simultaneously playing them Davis’ bands brought a new rhythmic fusion to jazz. It allowed room for a more improvisational, looser, rock-influenc...
Developed in the early 1940's, Bop had established itself as vogue by 1945. It's main innovators were alto saxophonist Charlie Parker and trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie. In this stage in jazz, improvisation differed immensely. Bebop soloists engaged in harmonic improvisation, often avoiding the melody altogether after the first chorus. Usually under seven pieces, the soloist was free to explore improvised possibilities as long as they fit into the chord structure. Popular and influential jazz artists include: Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, & Cannonball Adderley. Armstrong is most known for his involvement in hot jazz as a trumpeter, but is especially renowned for his improvisation capabilities. Louis Armstrong, born August 4, 1901 right in the beginning stages of the jazz movement, was originally from New Orleans. Armstrong was a bandleader, soloist, comedian/actor, and vocalist. Another famous, Miles Davis, is what some consider to be the best trumpeter of the era. Davis was born on May 26, 1926 in Alton, Illinois. One unique thing about Davis was that he was taught to play without vibrato, which was incredibly contrary to the popular way of
Music is an art that has been in this world for tens of thousands of years and has proven
The jazz side of Fusion Jazz gives it a sense of sophistication and complexity from the improvisations among the musicians. The rock side of Fusion Jazz gave it the power and the hard yet simple rhythms that came from the electric guitars and basses from rock music. This style also incorporated more straight rhythms, such as eighth notes, instead of the previous swing style. Because of the wild popularity of rock music after Hard Bop jazz, the composers and performers of Jazz music wanted to get into the fad and capitalize off of it, thus the creation of Fusion Jazz. This plan worked, to an extent. Many true rock fans who did not consider themselves fans of regular, older styles of jazz enjoyed Fusion jazz more than “classic” fans of jazz. Many people do not even consider Fusion jazz to be “real” jazz music. However, many forget that Jazz music was created because people wanted to be able to interpret music however they please, not have it be constricted to the rules or guidelines of other genres. Miles Davis again holds an important role in this style of music, and created one of the most well known and important fusion jazz records, “Bitches Brew”. Other notable artists of the time and style include Chick Corea (keyboards), John McLaughlin (guitar), and Whether Report
The musical events Miles Davis created during his so-called electric period (1969-1975), are acts of constant exploring in c...
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.
A single artist can have a very strong impact on a whole genre of Music. We have seen this time and time again through artists such as Charlie Parker, David Brubeck, John Coltrane, Art Blakey, Miles Davis, and various others. All of these artists had tremendous influences on the different eras that evolved throughout the history of Jazz. Bill Evans, and American jazz pianist, was no different. Just as Charlie Parker had started the evolution of Bebop and influenced the subsequent generations of Jazz Artists, Bill Evans has influenced Modern Jazz and the generations of artists that followed him. Throughout his career and his works with various other artists, Bill Evans has cemented himself as one of the great influences on modern day Jazz.
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
Though I was introduced to numerous styles of Jazz this semester, each with their own merits, I will cover the phenomenon of Hard bop in this paper. I believe that hard bop is a style unlike any other, and it deserves more recognition. Though it only reached its height of commercial success through the 1950’s and 1960’s, I hope that it will be revived one day, as I believe it to be one of the greatest styles in Jazz history.
Through his contribution to early Jazz, he had a direct hand in developing the new field of academic jazz scholarship, although it had been extensively debated on his contribution. None the less, his talent formed a popularity that was surpassed by none, even to the point that once in his career; he was more popular than the Beatles. Undoubtedly, he was the first, if not the only to present Jazz to the public as a form of art. This changed the direction of Jazz to not just leisure listening music, but a teachable and complicated
musicians who idolized him were well aware of his drug use. Upon seeing their idol shoot up, then go on stage and rip through bebop like it was nothing, these young players began to think, "If I tried it, I might be able to play like that." One of these young players, who would eventually be come one of the most historical figures in jazz, was Miles Davis.
Even though jazz was associated with interracial sex and illegal drugs, jazz made a great influence on society, because it was the prayers and answer to the hard tim...
When it comes to jazz music, there is one name that everyone knows, whether they’ve never listened to jazz before or if they’ve listened to it their whole lives. That name is Louis Armstrong. Armstrong was one of the pioneers of jazz music, from his humble beginnings in one of New Orleans roughest districts, “the Battlefield”, to playing concerts for sold out crowds in Chicago and New York City, Louis left a massive impact on the way America listened to music for a long time. One of his premier tracks, “West End Blues”, left an impact on jazz music, which other musicians would try to emulate for years.
Throughout history, and even today, music has shaped America’s culture, society, and even politics. One of the most outstanding and enduring musical movement has been from African American artists, ranging from bebop to jazz to hip-hop to rap. During the 1920’s , jazz artists stepped into the limelight and began their impact on American and even world history. Louis Armstrong was one of the most influential leaders during the Harlem Renaissance and his jazz legacy and impact of American history is everlasting. A master of his craft, Armstrong and his music heavily influenced America’s white and black populations from the 1920’s and up until his death.
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.
Jazz music broke the rules in American Culture African American experience over White American experience. In addition, the article called ‘History of Black Dance’ said “Harlem during the twenties became the ‘in place’ to be for both black and white New Yorkers.”3 (“History of Black” par. 2). Breaking the rules of the 1920s American culture has not been done before, both men and women, both black and white, together in one place to enjoy music. In Carter’s article, “The Devils Music: 1920s Jazz” as jazz music grew in popularity, so did political and social campaigns to censor what the older generation considered to be the devils music, also known as jazz music.4 The older generation of the 1920s, believed that jazz music was made by the devil and by the end of the twenties,