A Portrait Of Duke Ellington By Tracy Frech

This small inexperienced child, who was picked up by chance, would re-invent Jazz like no one could imagine! After successfully completing high school and playing for his high school band, Miles went on to New York to Julliard to study music. Although Miles was very involved and interested in his schoolwork, it turns out that he spent more time on 52nd street than in college. 52nd street was the Jazz filled street in New York that included all the hip night clubs of the time. Meant for both white and black people, 52nd street was all about Jazz and alcohol and it was the happenin' place to be, especially if you wanted to be discovered as a Jazz musician.

And the considerable legions of Miles fanatics are willing to dish out the money. In addition to his playing and nurturing of excellent talent, Miles Davis was quite remarkable in his rare ability to continually evolve. Most jazz musicians generally performed their style early on and spend the rest of their careers refining their sound. In contrast Miles Davis every five years or so would forge ahead, and do to his restless nature he not only played bop but helped found cool jazz, hard bop, modal music, his own unusual brand of the avant-garde and fusion. Jazz history would be much different if Davis had not existed.

The Jazz music of the Big Band Era was the peak of over thirty years of musical development. Jazz was so innovative and different that it could literally sweep the world, changing the musical styles of nearly every country. Big band Jazz that makes the feet tap and the heart race with excitement that it is recognized with nearly every type of music. The musical and cultural revolution that brought about Jazz was a direct result of African-Americans pursuing careers in the arts following the United States civil war. As slaves African-Americans has learned few European cultural traditions.

The fact that he was unique was a disadvantage a few years earlier when all modern jazz pianists were expected to sound like Bud Powell, who was ironically a close friend. By 1957 the jazz public was looking for a new approach. Due to this, Monk was suddenly a celebrity and his status would not change for the remainder of his career. In 1958 his quartet featured the tenor of Johnny Griffin, in 1959 he appeared with an orchestra at Town

In a similar way, Jazz was also the music of the civil rights movement. Jazz was supposed to be music of unity that would unite classes, genders, and races, and is often portrayed that way in history. It was a “great social leveler and unifier,[and] melded black and white citizens for love of fast music aided by help of radio, social dance music, one of first opportunities for public integration”(Jazz). However Black musicians were out of jobs more often than white bands. That is why Duke Ellington toured Europe, because he was more respected over there.

Ellington was a Pulitzer Prize for Music nominee in 1965, although he didn’t receive the award. Then 67 years old, Ellington reacted by saying, "Fate is being kind to me. Fate doesn't want me to be famous too young." Ellington played his last three shows in 1973 before he passed away at the age of seventy-five, a month after his birthday on May 24, 1974 from lung cancer and pneumonia. In conclusion, Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was of the most talented jazz composers and pianists of the 20th century and did amazing work and composed some of the most famous compositions of jazz.

Born in New York City, Artie Shaw would become one of the top bandleaders in the swing era. He began his musical career as a highly sought-after alto saxophone player in the New York area, and was able to benefit from the growth of radio and studio recordings. As he perfected his technical ability with various dance bands, he was still relatively unknown in the early 30’s when he began to focus exclusively on the Clarinet while Swing music began to grow in popularity. While we may carefully analyze the two pieces to satisfy our curiosity regarding musical evolution in Jazz, we should also not lose sight of the fact that these are two very enjoyable styles of music. From the lively swing orchestras inspiring large audiences to dance, to the softer Bossa Nova sound which is pleasing to hear in a relaxed setting, both have contributed to the growth of musical creativity in Jazz from the 1930’s through today.

Initially, jazz music was strictly played in highly orchestrated ensembles where musicians could not go solo for an extended period. Thanks to Armstrong, jazz musicians began embracing his new style and his reputation intensified, and he became a highly sought after

Jazz only appeared as a kind of entertaining music, but since 1940, it is played in the Bars and Night Clubs and also is shown in the important concert performances. For more than 100 years of non-stop development, jazz has produced a talented musician as Louis Armstrong. He was the greatest man among of famous Jazz musicians, who contributed jazz music through his life and his songs. Louis Armstrong changed jazz into a solo art. He infused blues feelings, changed the rhythms and made it swing.

Gillespie wanted to expand his career in music so he moved to New York City. There, he played in small bands but soon found out that, “Teddy Hill needed an experienced trumpet player because the original trumpet player did not want to go on tour” (PBS). Going on this tour made Gillespie’s name stand out upon other famous musicians at the time. To widely brighten his career, Gillespie implemented his newly created version of Jazz, Bebop (PBS). This was a new style of playing Gillespie used while playing Jazz that many people really enjoyed at the time.