Paying tribute to Ella Fitzgerald is almost a priori to the concept of jazz vocalization itself. Her influence spans generations, genres, and instruments. Her voice is the voice of postwar jazz, and, perhaps especially for people of more recent generations, is probably the one that first comes to mind when we think of ‘classics’ or ‘The Great American Songbook’. Jazz violinist Regina Carter likely knew the idea of an Ella tribute wouldn’t be as novel as her previous two albums, but she seized upon the icon’s 100th birthday and took the advice of friends who saw how Fitzgerald’s music had been a constant influence in her musical life and told her, “why not make an album about it?” Approaching Fitzgerald’s work in fresh light, Carter sifted through …show more content…
Gone is the swing constant of Ella’s time: a variety of rhythmic and harmonic patterns are employed to create a sense of timelessness. Yet timelessness not conceived, to use Ralph Ellison’s words, out of time: the violinist says she wanted to utilize “the love of music” to provide an antidote to the negativity and division frontlining our national discourse--a sentiment embodied by the titular track. Originally, Carter says, the project was through-and-through violin-only--concerned with the propensity of vocals to overshadow the violin in the eyes of venue bookers, she wanted to ensure that her playing could stand alone. At the last minute she caved to gut feeling and added vocals to two tracks, but performs frequently without them, as she did in this concert. “Ella saw her voice as another instrument,” she notes, and conversely, “I see the violin as a voice.” So much is apparent in her playing. Her sound is utterly distinct: smoother than caramel and surer than day, yet alive with an honest …show more content…
The performance in Palmer on the 7th, which took form as a quintet, highlighted not only these qualities in her playing but also the spontaneity of her live persona. She effortlessly wove in and out of her vocal role, at some points improvising, at others, feeling her way about the stage by way of the music, giving her band a wide berth to bring out what they wanted while they took the melody themselves. Nothing felt regurgitated or tired, and all on stage seemed to genuinely enjoy their time intensely, acutely attuned to their contribution to the whole, engaging the listener in a seemingly spontaneous, conversational narrative. Marvin Sewell on guitar, Ed Howard on upright bass and Xavier Davis, playing masterfully the trifecta of keyboard, organ and piano, all took generous solos, but never crossed the line into
January of 1933 the Nazis came to rule of Germany. Nazis believed that Germans were racially superior and seen Jews as a threat to their German racial community. Due to this reason, the Nazis created the Holocaust. The Holocaust is known as a time in history when Adolf Hitler, the leader of the Nazis and his collaborators killed to about six million Jews, through Genocide, Ethnic cleansing, deportation, and mass murder. But the point of this story is to tell the story of a young woman who I had the privilege to meet by the name of Anna Seelfreud Grosz who survived this tragic time in history.
This work is directly inspired by Der Blaue Reiter Almanach. Primarily a work of prose, it consisted of plays, essays by leading artists and musicians detailing works of the era, and commentary on art, music, theater, and related subjects. The Brooklyn Rider Almanac is conceptually a modern recreation of this idea in music, in that musicians are providing a commentary of artists or their work through their music. In a way, The Brooklyn Rider Almanac approaches the idea of cross-disciplinary art from an opposite prospective as the Onomatopoetic Project. Many of the works presented during the concert as a part of The Brooklyn Rider Almanac were inspired by looking an artistic muse or idea as an inspiration to create music that reflects the muse. Artists from classically trained composers to jazz and rock musicians contributed to this collection of works, and the results are both fascinating and inspiring. One great example of this is Necessary…Henry by Albanian Cellist Rubin Kodheli. Inspired by the jazz musician Henry Threadgill, this work incorporates the styles of rock musicians like Jimi Hendrix into and what could be perceived as the farthest possible medium from rock: the string quartet. Like Threadgill’s earlier use of non-jazz instrumentation and ideas in jazz works, Kodheli uses sounds from the rock genre like virtuosic guitar-like riffs, rock groves, and highly
Howard, John Tasker. Our American Music. 1946. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1954. 666. Print.
Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday were both prominent jazz singer-songwriters during the same time and masters in their own right, but their worlds could not have been further apart. In 1939, while they were both in the midst of experiencing mainstream success, Ella was touring with Ella and her Famous Orchestra and showcasing her perfect pitch and tone to the world while singing songs that would soon become standards to fellow singers and musicians. Billie was singing solo, comfortable with her limited range, and gaining the adoration of audiences nationwide who loved her soulful voice. Both of these historic singers made contributions to the art of jazz, with vocalists and instrumentalists still using elements of their style today. Ella
Recognized as one of the greatest all time jazz figures Duke Ellington, whose career reached over a span of fifty years was mostly known for composing thousands of influential songs. As well as constituting into jazz an ensemble of western sounds which was referred to as “American Music”. This iconic figure has left a mark in the world of jazz for centuries to come.
To commerate Black History Month, I have decided to do reasearch on an exceptionally talented musician Ella Fitzgerald. She was essentially the Aretha Franklin of the Jazz Age. She was an incredibly talented jazz singer who was considered the best by almost everyone. The reason she’s been chosen as today’s Black History Month is because she holds the distinction of being the first Grammy Award Winner who was both Black and female. Ella Fitzgerald had an everlasting impact on, not only how jazz music sounded, but also who performed it. When looking at a compulsive life as Ella’s, I was inspired by the huge impact she brought throught out music; especially jazz.
Jazz is a treasure to American culture, which originally came from New Orleans of South part of America in 19th century. It’s a special music because it contains changeable rhythm and improvisational performance. But what makes jazz so special in 1920s is that Jazz could not only be performed by an individual but also could be performed by a group of people. This music performance style shows important things about American society and culture itself.
In this assignment two Jazz works from two different decades will be compared. The 1959 recording, “Take Five” by Paul Desmond(Wikipedia, 2015) will be compared with “Hallelujah Time” by Oscar Peterson, recorded between1963 and 1966(Wikipedia, 2013). Firstly, the influence from the composer’s background and experiences on his composition will be discussed; secondly, the development of technology and its effect on the composition will be examined; finally, the use of instrumentation and compositional devices of each work will be discussed and compared.
Carringer, Robert L.. The Jazz singer. Madison: Published for the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research by the University of Wisconsin Press, 1979. Print.
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.
The blues emerged as a distinct African-American musical form in the early twentieth century. It typically employed a twelve-bar framework and three-lined stanzas; its roots are based in early African-American songs, such as field hollers and work songs, and generally have a melancholy mood. The blues can be divided into many sub-genres, including Classical, Country, and Urban. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the careers of two of Classical blues most influential and legendary singers: Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith.
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.
Heritage of Music: Volume II The Romantic Era (Heritage of Music). New York: Oxford UP, USA, 1992. Print.
Although folk music played a big role in most of these artists’ performances, folk links back to the blues, and is similar...