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Influence of Chinese Culture on American Culture
Describe asian american culture
Describe asian american culture
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Recommended: Influence of Chinese Culture on American Culture
Incredibly Talented Asian Jazz Musicians in America From Duke Ellington to Oscar Peterson, jazz has always been American music. Just recently, jazz has shone a spotlight on an Asian man, Joey Alexander, the youngest of jazz musicians and a composer, who was nominated for a prestigious music award. Renowned jazz trumpeter, Wynton Marsalis invited Joey to play at Lincoln Center’s gala in 2014 after seeing him on YouTube. As the first of Indonesian descent, Joey has caused a sensation in the jazz world. On the other hand, Toshiko Akiyoshi is a talented jazz pianist from Japan who is considered one of the first Asian females to be a leader that has dominated men and faced and overcome many struggles. Jazz has always been seen as a male-dominated …show more content…
With her upper-class education, Toshiko’s musical education was always Western, and she fell in love and played the piano at age seven. After World War II ended, the Akiyoshi family lost their business and possessions, including their piano. So, at the age of 19, instead of going to medical school, Toshiko continued her dream to perform the piano by auditioning as the pianist in a dance hall with an army dance band. She auditioned by performing a Beethoven piano concerto for the manager and got the position right away. That day Akiyoshi’s music career began. Akiyoshi became exposed to American jazz music when a record collector played several albums for her; she immediately fell in love with that musical style. After that, she learned by copying jazz from recordings and composing her own style of jazz. Because she wanted to expand more into jazz music, she headed to Tokyo which was one of Japan’s biggest jazz be-bop scenes of the …show more content…
After Akiyoshi fell in love with jazz, she spent much time listening to the best artists of the time such as Bud Powell and many more because Powell is considered to be a strong influence in her career. Powell was the major contributor to de-bop music in the United States in the 1940s. Toshiko’s piano style developed, and for most of her career, Duke Ellington was her main inspiration. Toshiko’s compositional style, as the jazz journalist Gudrun Endress stated in jazz profiles when focusing profiles on jazz and its creators, said, “The signature features of Toshiko Akiyoshi’s compositional style are unmistakable. First of all, there is the rootedness in bebop, secondly the amalgamation of big band jazz with Japanese elements of music, and thirdly the ingenious use of the woodwind section.”. An example of her composition is on the album “Kogun”. Her arrangement sounds like an oriental and swing that lasts for seven minutes long. Also, in her music, she wanted to tell a story in using the Japanese element in the song, but it still has a root in bebop
William Howland Kenney provides an in depth look at the Chicago jazz as a cultural movement that shaped the 1920’s. His new interpretation of the Chicago Jazz life reveals the role of race, cultural, and politics in the growth of this new musical style. This in depth look focuses on the rise of jazz from 1904 until its end in 1930. This book covers a lot of areas in Jazz that were fundamental in its development. My overall impression is that this book is well written, it is expansive in its overview of jazz. Kenney is knowledgeable in this area of cultural history, and his book is well researched. The purpose of this book is to
The popularity of jazz grew in the twenties, and its center changed from New Orleans to Chicago. From there it spread to Kansas City and New York. The end of WWI ushered in the Jazz Age in New York, and it came to be associated with the parties and wild behavior of the 1920’s (Verve). Music from this era is also sometimes called “The Chicago Style,” and includes artists such as Bix Beiderbecke on trumpet and Pee Wee Russel, Mezz Mezzrow, and Benny Goodman on clarinet.
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.
I have been thought to be Asian majority of my life, yet my heritage is not remotely Asian. Similarly, Jazz would not be a genre that most would expect to represent Asian culture. Yet as I listened, I am transformed into what I would envision would be the streets of Tokyo. Dan Nimmer’s use of percussion with a wooden block and a gong, instantly resonated sounds that you would associate with Japan. The trumpets used a cup mute to round out their sound. The cup also reduced their sound’s usual force, as it would be too much of a contrast for the scene the music is representing. The drummer’s, Ali Jackson, percussion also produced rapid rhythms and a unique hollow sound which further brought in the listener into another
Jazz first became a genre in the early 1900’s in New Orleans, California. Although it did
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
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.
Jazz is one of the only uniquely American forms of music. Its roots date back all the way to the Atlantic slave trade. Jazz is still alive and well today. This paper will walk you through Jazz’s rich history. We’ll start with the basics of African music and its influences. Then we will take you through the decades leading to modern Jazz.
To understand the genesis of Jazz one must also understand the setting of its origin, New Orleans. The city was founded by the French in 1718, then in 1763 the city ceded to Spain and remained under Spanish control until later being returned to the French in 1803, and then was immediately sold to the United States under the Louisiana Purchase. New Orleans was also heavily populated by African slaves making up 30% of the total population of the city at this time; so New Orleans was experiencing a lot of cultural diversity and was being shaped and molded by the many different fashions of people who lived in the city. These different social groups along with their culture also brought with them their deep rooted musical traditions, the fusion and combination of these traditions would give rise to what we know today as modern day Jazz. Jazz is a genre of music that could only have formed in America; it draws from many different cultures and art forms creating a cocktail of traditional European and African music, mixed with a blend of Spanish tinge, with a strong base of blues filtered through the American experience.
Many jazz artists as we know it are quite talented. Their talents are unique in that they can translate human emotion through singing or playing their instruments. Many have the ability to reach and touch people’s souls through their amazing gifts. Although this art of turning notes and lyrics into emotional imagery may somewhat come natural, the audience must wonder where their influence comes from. For Billie Holiday, her career was highly influenced by personal experience, the effects of the Great Depression, and the racial challenges of African Americans during her time.
All types of music require musicians. In the H.R. (Harlem Renaissance), there were many who contributed to this new style of music known as jazz. These musicians all have their own style and form. Each of these styles has in some way influenced the evolution of jazz. Louis “Sachmo” Armstrong is recognized as the most famous trumpet player of all time.
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...
We have always been told from a young age that there is a big difference between men and women. First of all, they look different from their body structure, their views are different, and what’s expected from them is different. But since then, the world has changed so much, to a point where women are able to do things that men can do and vice verse. There are still things that both aren 't able to do just because of nature. As connecting to jazz music, it is considered american classical music, which can be used to describe as strengths of American diversity. Women that have been associated with jazz music have held much respect.
Now a days, many believe that jazz is not that important of music genre, but with our history, jazz plays a big role. “Jazz does not belong to one race or culture, but it is a gift that America has given to the world.”, quoted by Ahmad Alaadeen. Jazz in the 1920’s opened the eyes of whites and invited them into African American culture; it evolved Americans to where we are today since it brought a change to the music scene, an acceptance of African Americans, and a change of lifestyles.
Like many genres of music, Jazz is of African roots, but it was not its birthplace. Jazz was born in the United States of America in the early 19th century; it is a skilful entwining of European harmonic music and the distinctive, contemporary rhythms of African music. Jazz transformed the 1920s and the years beyond in great measures-changing the US in drastic measures: women broke free from their standards, Africans finally pushed pass the boundaries of unemployment, and a completely new culture was brought about…but right now I’d like to talk about how it all started: How did African styles make their way into producing arguably the most revolutionary type of music of the century? The story goes way back- to the slavery times in the 1820s.