The Fusion of Acid Jazz and Funk: A Critical Musical Analysis of Jamiroquai’s "Emergency On Planet Earth" This critical study will examine the musical and cultural aspects of Jamiroquai’s "Emergency On Planet Earth", which was released in 1993. The release of this album coincided with the cultural apogee of the ”grunge movement” in popular alternative music. Jamiroquai’s music relies heavily on the acid jazz and funk style as a uniquely popular genre during this historical period. Singer, Jay Kay, resembles Stevie wonder’s singing style, which also defines a reliance on a 1970s proto-funk style of horn arrangements and funk groove in the rhythm section. These cultural influences also define the rise of retro-funk in bands like the Red Hot …show more content…
Culturally, Jamiroquai released this album during a time of punk/heavy metal revival in the “grunge movement”, yet this album epitomizes a successful and graceful merger of funk and acid jazz in the early 1990s. The songs “When You Gonna Learn (Digeridoo)” and “Revolution 1993” define a new approach to the mix of acid jazz and funk as the primary element of a new experimental approach to this genre. Perhaps, this was a major reason why this album tended became very popular in a time when Nirvana and Pearl Jam dominated the airwaves. In fact, Jon Kay and his band also fused the classic elements of jazz instrumentation and rhythm through the Hammond organ sound in “Music Of The Mind” to achieve this graceful application of psychedelic and jam session ideology into the music. Overall, Jamiroquai’s "Emergency On Planet Earth" defines a new genre development in the pioneering mix of acid jazz and funk during the early 1990s. More so, this album had a major impact on redefining the funk sensibilities of an era of funk, such as the popular version of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, into a more experimental and jam-based application of this music. Jamiroquai’s "Emergency On Planet Earth" is a masterful fusion of acid jazz and funk that should continue to influence musicians of the future well into the 21st
For centuries, music has been defined by history, time, and place. To address this statement, Tom Zè, an influential songwriter during the Tropicália Movement, produced the revolutionary “Fabrication Defect” to challenge oppression as a result from the poor political and social conditions. On the other hand, David Ramsey discusses, in mixtape vignettes, the role of music to survive in New Orleans’ violent setting. Furthermore, “The Land where the Blues Began”, by Alan Lomax, is a film and perfect example to understand under what musical conditions profound ways of communication are made to stand the hard work of cotton plantations. As a result, music plays a crucial role in the sources’ cultures and its creation relies on particular conditions such as the social
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.
The band consist of 8 members, Nathan East bassist/vocals, Andy Fairweather-Low, lead guitar/vocals, Steve Ferrone- drums, Chuck Leavell-key boardist, Ray Cooper- tambourines, Katie Kissoon and Tessa Niles- vocals, and Eric Clapton- composer, rock n roll guitarist, lead vocalist. The band members dressed in casual attire. The band members were professionals, they knew exactly how to orchestrate every chord, they collaborated with the lead singer and each other in ways that wasn’t so noticeable to the audience but they knew which chords to use for every song, the band was a top notch team. The tempo of the songs were a mixture of fast, slow, to a medium style beat. The texture of the songs was homophonic and well put together lyrics. The style of the music was from the 1960s-1970s which genres were rock, blues rock, psychedelic rock, hard rock, jazz and blues.
The word “jazz” is significant to America, and it has many meanings. Jazz could simply be defined as a genre or style of music that originated in America, but it can also be described as a movement which “bounced into the world somewhere about the year 1911…” . This is important because jazz is constantly changing, evolving, adapting, and improvising. By analyzing the creators, critics, and consumers of jazz in the context of cultural, political, and economic issue, I will illustrate the movement from the 1930’s swing era to the birth of bebop and modern jazz.
In the 1950s rock-n-roll established its own marks in history. It spread throughout the decade in a thrilling, substantial, and even livid to those Americans trying to get rid of all sorts of conflicts and challenges that occurred during this time period. As exciting as this music was, the novel “All Shook Up” portrays how rock-n-roll brought many changes to the American culture and later to the sixties. It expresses many concerns such as race relations, moral decays, and communism, but in ways that are partially true.
I believe that the west coast psychedelic music, such as Jimi Hendrix’s "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" in 1968, played a huge part in the Counter Culture movement. This musical piece by Jimi Hendrix embodies the West Coas...
African-American music is a vibrant art form that describes the difficult lives of African American people. This can be proven by examining slave music, which shows its listeners how the slaves felt when they were working, and gives us insight into the problems of slavery; the blues, which expresses the significant connection with American history, discusses what the American spirit looks like and teaches a great deal from the stories it tells; and hip-hop, which started on the streets and includes topics such as misogyny, sex, and black-on-black violence to reveal the reactions to the circumstances faced by modern African Americans. First is about the effect of slave music on American history and African American music. The slave music’s
Ryan, John. “The Seventh Stream: The emergency of rock n roll in American popular music,” (Book reviews) Social Forces (1994): March, p. 927. Star, Alexander. “Hole in Our Soul: The Loss of Beauty and Meaning in American Popular Music” (book reviews)
Music can be traced back into human history to prehistoric eras. To this day archeologists uncover fragments of ancient instruments as well as tablets with carved lyrics buried alongside prominent leaders and highly influential people. This serves as a testament to the importance and power of music, as well as its influence in society. Over its many years of existence, music’s powerful invocation of feelings has allowed it to evolve and serve many purposes, one being inspiring change. American journalist and author Hunter S. Thompson once said, “Music has always been a matter of energy to me, a question of fuel. Sentimental people call it inspiration, but what they really mean is fuel.” This fuel is the very things that powers the influence of Rock ‘n’ Roll on American society, that author Glenn C. Altschuler writes about in his book, “All Shook Up – How Rock ‘n’ Roll Changed America.” Between 1945 and 1965 Rock ‘n’ Roll transformed American society and culture by helping to ease racial integration and launch a sexual revolution while most importantly developing an intergenerational identity.
Some weaknesses of James McBride’s “Hip Hop Planet” include its cynical tone and his attitude towards the musical side of Hip Hop. McBride opens the essay with a reflection on what his ultimate nightmare is. He showcases the Hip Hop community in a negative light with phrases like, “music that doesn’t seem to be music—rules the world” (McBride, pg. 1). This starts the essay off negatively because it misleads the reader by letting them think he is not a supporter of the Hip Hop movement. As you read the entire essay you realize this is not the case. The article itself isn’t very inviting because tone of the entire essay is very cold and cynical. He also doesn’t agree with the typical Hip Hop sound saying things like, “It sounded like a broken record” (McBride, pg. 1). The sound of Hip Hop music is what helps define it and is a crucial aspect of
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...
Not only is it nearly impossible to pinpoint jazz’s conception in time, many locations are accredited with its origin, the United States allowed for jazz to start gaining popularity and leading into the change it had to the music scene. When jazz is brought up, many first think of its birth place being New Orleans, Louisiana. New Orleans has always been a big musi...
As it mentioned above, the title itself, draws attention to the world-renowned music created by African Americans in the 1920s’ as well as to the book’s jazz-like narrative structure and themes. Jazz is the best-known artistic creation of 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
(2011). Jazz as a Black American Art Form: Definitions of the Jazz Preservation Act. Journal of American Studies, 45(1), pp. 113-129. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/artshumanities/docview/854847335/85B97DDA6F0F40B1PQ/1?accountid=3783
Swing music – and its predecessor, jazz – is, as famed swing artist Benny Goodman put it, “folk music special to the United States” (Erenberg 65). It is perhaps one of the most “American” genres of music. The very characteristics that define swing music are uniquely “American”; it is lively, promotes freedom of expression (through improvisation), and bursts with seemingly endless optimism. It is energetic, youthful, and most importantly, unifying. As it is formed from a mix of elements from African American, European and American folk music, swing played a crucial part in bringing the issue racial integration to the forefront of the American psyche, especially among the younger population. It is no surprise that swing was so wildly popular – it promised “personal freedom, hope for a better life, and a measure. . . of racial acceptance” (Erenberg 70), which seems an apt remedy for a society suffering from not only widespread unemployment and hardship, but also rampant racism and classism.