Bill Evans was one of the white jazz musicians who were accepted as powerful innovators (Gridley 1978). Since he was a little child, he was largely interested in music and started learning various instruments. He began learning about classical music more in depth as he got into college and later came to be called the “Chopin of the modern jazz piano” (Tirro 1993). He developed his own distinctive musical style while working as a sideman with Miles Davis, and working as a bandleader of three trios. Later on, he received seven Grammy awards for his recordings and was even posthumously granted a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1994. This paper will examine few of his influential techniques and works as well as their impact on the structure …show more content…
He was a creative composer who used the basic jazz unit of eighth notes as well as various other notes. He often began with simple and short rhythms and extended it with increasing complexity then ended it in a burst of notes that resolved those complexities. This rhythmic technique was influenced by early pianists including Lennie Tristano and Lee Konitz , but none of them came up with the integration of many sources at once like Bill Evans did (Israel 1995). In terms of harmony, Evans spent hours studying the theoretical harmonic structure of any music piece he was working on before writing his own music. Then, he built his own ideas on top of the body of principles from the original piece (Ginell 2013). He often took a phrase from the existing piece and used his unique ideas to accompany it in order to develop its rhythms and melody lines. He not only focused on developing new chords and strange intonations but also on chord voicings. For instance, he composed “Flamenco Sketches” from the Kind of Blue album based on the harmonic structure and tempo on “Peace Piece” and “Some Other Time”. Thus, these three songs all have similar patterns in their harmony and tempo (Kahn …show more content…
The group was comprised of Bill Evans, the pianist and composer, Scott LaFaro, the double bassist, and Paul Motion, the drummer. Most trios at that time distributed the roles unequally among members, but Bill Evans’ trio was regarded as a more egalitarian group. Since he emphasized the highly interactive improvisation among three members, he gave the double bassist and the drummer an active role as much as that of the pianist (Berardinelli 1992). On top of that, they avoided the most obvious beats and abandoned walking bass. They did not emphasize every beat, but still made the tempo present in the music piece. Followed by the first album, Portrait in Jazz, the last two, Sunday at the Village Vanguard and Waltz for Debby albums they recorded were released in 1961. He was well known for being very critical of his work, but he showed satisfaction with these last recordings and viewed these as the peak of the musical performance of his trio (Berardinelli 1992). Unfortunately, LaFrao’s tragic death ceased the interplay of his trio and Evans stopped recording for a year due to his deep
3. Davis, Nathan T. Writings in Jazz. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company. Dubuque, IA. 1996. p. 152-153, 163, 166.
Over all, I can honestly say that I never really had an appreciation for Jazz music until I read some of Langston Hughes’s work and was able to attend the Jazz Big Band performance. I really enjoyed seeing and listening to the different styles of Jazz music. By attending this performance I noticed that are parallels between Hughes work and some of the Jazz music herd today. Some of these comparisons consist of repetition, racial collaboration, and
Charles Mingus is one of the most original and influential jazz composers of the twentieth century. He created the second-largest volume of jazz work after Duke Ellington (McDonough 20), and is the first African-American composer to have his work acquired by the Library of Congress (Harrington B1). Mingus is known for his unusual style of composing and playing, which attempted to reconcile jazz improvisation with orchestration, in order for the final composition to conform most closely to his vision. Also, Mingus liberated the bass from its mundane role of keeping time, turning it into a fully versatile instrument as capable of stating the theme as the horns. While forging a new role for his instrument, he also forged a new style of jazz, one that acknowledged the influence of bebop but did not cater solely to that genre. Instead, Mingus' music incorporated a wide range of styles, from Ellington's big band sound, to gospel music, to early New Orleans jazz bands. At the same time, he imbued modern sentiments and an avant-garde feeling into his music. In the 1950s, his music made several important aesthetic and technical advances, punctuated by the release of numerous influential albums. These productive years were crucial in shaping Mingus' sound, as he fully incorporated gospel elements into his music and developed a means of composing and working with his musicians that allowed for endless innovation.
At the mention jazz music, that people will first think of is likely to be a great figure with a clown image, nicknamed Uncle Satchmo. The man was Lewis Armstrong. He is a husky singer, often with a trumpet in his hand. He played dramatic works of simple structure in Orleans jazz style and with the accompaniment of Dick jazz music. Each of the books on jazz music will mention his name. Lewis Armstrong was to jazz music what Bach is to classical music, Presley is to rock music (Berrett 230). This essay will have an introduction of the king of jazz music—— Lewis Armstrong and his great influence on jazz history.
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...
The process of establishing Miles Davis in the field of the jazz music has many different aspects. The story of his professional development is very interesting and unstable as it has its breakthroughs and setbacks, and indeed, all turning points in his life has made a significant impact on the evolution of the jazz music sound. In this essay, I am going to discuss how Miles Davis affected every stream of jazz and how jazz affected him during his all life.
The two pieces that Will Campbell composed were “Down South” and “Leaving Soon.” Both pieces are almost total opposites from each other. “Down South” started the concert and instantly grabbed my attention. It is a upbeat tune that makes you think that you are listening to one of the great classics. The mid section was opened up for improvisation solos that everyone in the sextet got a turn to let loose. Each solo was amazing, but the piano solo by Freidline stuck out to me the most. His style of playing not only makes listening to him enjoyable, but watching him play also. Freidline clearly gets into what he is playing and has fun doing it. “Leaving Soon” was a slower and soulful tune. It featured a saxophone solo, by Campbell himself, and also another piano solo. The piece was very calming and alluring, but never lost my attention.
C. Stephen Evans is stating there is a problem with the philosophy of religion having a neutral stance. Evans rejects both fideism as well as neutralism, and believes that by trying to have a, “neutral, disinterested posture,” a person could, “cut themselves off from the possibility of even understanding what religion is all about,” (Evans, 1985 p. 115). Evans notes that the view of faith and reason, by some religious believers think it is an impossibility to have “rational reflection” on religion. After his arguments that disprove many ideas in both fideism and neutralism, he proposes an alternative solution which he has named, “critical dialog”, that he hopes will, “preserve the strengths and eliminate the weaknesses of the initial theories,” (p. 115). “Correct thinking about religion is rather a genuine faith, a personal commitment,” (p. 116).
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.
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.
This essay, as the title suggests, will be about the origins of jazz music. Starting from the roots when African slaves arrived in North America, they helped the development and the emergence of early jazz a great deal. It is also important to not forget the significance of the Congo Square which kept the music alive in New Orleans, never letting it die out. Then, continuing on with the slavery theme, the essay will talk about why and how jazz music appeared in its widely considered birth place, New Orleans. Also, as early jazz developed into different styles, the text will mainly be focusing on its two most prominent ancestors: ragtime and blues. Additionally, jazz would not exist as it is known today without the assistance of some of the
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
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.
Bill Evans was an impressionist piano player, influenced by his earlier age of classical music. He learned piano when he was a child and also attended Southeastern Louisiana University majoring in music (Pettinger 14). His educational background on classical music allowed him to improvised and explored the depth of jazz. As Leonard Feather's Encyclopedia of Jazz suggested, "The most personal characteristics of his work were his uniquely delicate articulation, his oblique harmonic approaches and manner of voicing chords, his occasional use of the left hand in rhythmic duplication of the right-hand line, and the ability to create a warm, beautiful mood within the framework of a popular song, a jazz standard or an original work". According to Professor Harrison’s lectur...