...Since the age of 12, Miles Davis’s life was driven by his passion and love of music. Born in 1926 into a middle-class home, Miles Davis had the opportunity to take his first trumpet lesson from a family friend named Elwood Buchanan. When he was not taking lessons, Davis spent his time practicing relentlessly and studying complex concepts of music theory (Frankl, 21). Miles Davis took advantage of his musical resources and eventually became an iconic jazz trumpeter and bandleader. As an active jazz musician for over 50 years, Miles Davis was able to contribute a stylistically diverse body of music compositions to the jazz community and the world (Gridley, 261). Miles Davis impacted the development of modern jazz by creating a novel trumpet playing style, producing numerous noteworthy recordings and spreading his enthusiasm and appreciation for jazz music. Miles Davis’s colorful trumpet style and sound was very distinct and unique. Thus, many other trumpet players during the cool and hard bop periods admired Davis sound and were influenced by it. Davis was known to use a Harmon mute without the stem in order to soften the instrument’s loud sound down to an intimate whisper (Frankl, 14). At the Newport Jam Session in 1955, Davis became highly recognized for his Harmon mute solo in the song “Round Midnight.” His improvisation had a beautiful sound conveyed a sense of sadness and loss (Frankl, 14). In addition to producing beautiful sounds with his trumpet, Davis used periods of silence...
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...One of my favorite trumpet players is Miles Davis. Miles Davis, "American jazz musician, a great trumpeter who as a bandleader and composer was one of the major influences on the art from the late 1940s." Miles Davis was, and still is one of the greatest jazz trumpeters of all time. His style and smoothness on the trumpet caught the ears of many people. Miles Davis was born in Alton, Illinois., on May 26, 1926. For most of Miles's life he was raised in East St. Louis in an upper middle class family. Before Davis got interested into music he liked sports a lot. He loved playing baseball, football, boxing, and basketball. The first trumpet he received was in his preteen years. He practically fell in love with it the first time he played it. Davis liked to play in his high school band and in R&B bands. In 1942 Miles married his wonderful wife, Irene. In July of 1944 he sat in with Billy Eckstine and his band, where he met his life long idols, Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. In the fall, Miles goes to New York to attend Juilliard School of Music. "I spent my first week in NY and my first month's allowance looking for Charlie "Bird" Parker. Later I roomed with Parker for a year and followed him around down to 52nd street. Every night I'd write down chords, on matchbook covers. Next day, I'd play these chords, all day in the practice rooms at Juilliard, instead of going to classes." "Instead of taking classes he hooked up with Bird, playing in his quintet...
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...IAll Blues General Points - Comes from the album 'Kind of Blue' - The band is a 'sextet' consisting of a front line and a rhythm section. - The album was recording with next to no rehearsal and the musicians have no score, they were told only the following things: Structure, basic chord sequence, main melodic idea and which mode or scale to improvise on. Instrumentation The band consists of 2 different sections, the front line and the rhythm section. In the front line there is: - Miles Davis on trumpet. - Julian Adderly on the alto sax. - John Coltrane on the tenor sax. In the rhythm section there is: - Bill Evans on on piano. - Paul Chambers on bass. - Jimmy Cobb on the drums. Structure - 'All Blues' is based on a 12 bar blues progression. - The main melody is called the head and is played by the trumpet and is heard at the start and end of the piece. Miles Davis Melody - The head melody is quite simple and is characterized by a rising 6th (from D to B). The head is then followed by 4 solos. - Trumpet: Lasts for four choruses and is made up of short syncopated motifs. - Alto Sax: Lasts for four choruses and uses quicker notes and a wider range than the trumpet. - Tenor Sax: Lasts for four choruses and uses fast scales and quick runs. It's very virtuosic. - Piano: Lasts for 2 choruses. This is a much calmer improvisation that the others with a simple melody and a string of parallel chords. Harmony and Tonality - The piece is in G Major but has a flattened...
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...Jazz and It's History Jazz started when World War I had just ended and a social revolution was on it's way. Customs and values of previous were rejected. Life was to be lived to the fullest. This was also known as the era of the "lost generations," and the "flapper" with her rolled stockings, short skirts, and straight up-and-down look. They disturbed their elders in the casino, night clubs, and speakeasies that replaced the ballrooms of prewar days. Dancing became more informal - close of the nineteenth century in the unpleasant dance halls and whorehouses of the South and Midwest where the word Jazz commonly meant sexual intercourse. Southern blacks, delivered from slavery a few decades before, started playing European music Afro modifications. The first place of jazz has many origins: New Orleans, St. Louis, Memphis and Kansas City are just a few. But New Orleans was and still remains an important jazz center. The ethnic rainbow of people who went to the bars and whorehouses were a big part of the development of jazz. The city had been under Spanish French rule because of the Louisiana purchase. By 1900, it was a blend of Spanish, French, English, German, Italian, Slavic and countless blacks originally brought in as slaves The first jazz bands contained a "rhythm section" consisting of a string bass, drums, and a guitar or banjo, and a "melodic section" with one or two cornets, a trombone, a clarinet, and sometimes even a violin. Years later, jazz was taken over...
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...From 1960 to 1963 Miles took a short vacation, but sure enough he came back well rested and better than ever. One year later he had brilliant players such as Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams playing in his rhythm section. Together they brought forth the invention of Funky Soul Jazz with George Coleman as the tenor, which Wayne Shorter later came to replace. Very predictable of Miles, he changed his style again, this time a unique mix between Hard Bop and Free Jazz. After this movement was fully established by Miles, surprisingly enough, he changed again, he just could not keep a straight pace. He brought in Chick Corea, electric keyboards, and doubled up sopranos as rock influenced his new style better known as Fusion. Two...
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...In Keith Waters’ progressive analysis on The Studio Recordings of the Miles Davis Quintet: 1965-68, he gives examples of analytical strategies related to the quintet’s studio recordings compositions and improvisations. Waters focuses on a set of studio recordings, calling attention to details in the music through description and transcriptions in argue for another way of hearing the music. Throughout, Waters distinctively displays the collaborative element of the group’s ongoing musical motives during improvisation. The interactions between each player during the transition of each passage, gives way to the combined musical practice, in which one improvised solo evolves to the next. Waters demonstrates how the Quintet’s recordings embrace the group’s connection between hard bop and avant-garde. The combining of these two genres played a huge role in the definitive influence of the Quintet’s music. Waters also explores various improvisational and accompaniment techniques through the use of motives, structure and form in improvisation....
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...Kevin Cullors X325y434 COMM301 Obituary Assignment Herbie Hancock the modern music icon dies at 75 The music icon who played with the late Miles Davis musician dies from natural causes at 75. Herbie Hancock was a child prodigy who played the Mozart piano concerto with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at only 11. Hancock started playing jazz in high school and was influenced by the late Oscar Peterson and Bill Evans. Along with music he developed a love for science and doubled majored in music and electrical engineering at Grinnell College. In 1960 a trumpeter named Donald Byrd observed Hancock’s talent, Hancock was only 20 then. Byrd also connected Hancock to Alfred Lion of the Blue Note Records and then two years later after working alongside...
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...Trumpeters Louis Armstrong and Miles Davis became two of the most inspiring American jazz musicians of all time by accessing very differently to their art. In the analysis an album from each artist, I choose “What A Wonderful World” of Louis Armstrong and “Kind of Blue” of Miles Davis. Louis Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971) was the most influential performer to affect a lot of Jazz musicians. He influenced the whole jazz population with his amazing voice and energetic trumpet. And he played a great role in the modernization of jazz. His career spanned almost 50 years, from the 1920s to the 1960s, and different jazz eras. The work of Louis Armstrong summed up the achievements of New Orleans jazz style and indicated the way to the later...
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...with variation Jimmy Smith- Hammond B3 Organ- made organ respectable, organ trio- organ drums guitar playing the bass on the organs foot pedals. both hands and feet Bill Evans- piano composer, lyrical sensitive and swinging. piano trio- equal play trio included: Scott Lafaro - Bass, Paul Motian - Drums Free Jazz- Atonal, No form, Dissonance, High Energy, Collective Improv, Unusual ensemble, Ornette Coleman -Alto,trumpet,commposer- free jazz, no set solos or form, double quartet. Cecil Taylor-explosive pianist, aggressive. Drawn to percussive and physical aspect John Coltrane- Tenor, Soprano Sax. Miles Davis Quintet-Hard Bop. Joined Monk Quartet. influence by Monks unorthodox recorded album Giant Steps. didnt play cool jazz, Kind of Blue, formed Coltrane Quartet -McCoy Tyner- Piano, Jimmy Garrison-Bass, Elvin Jones- Drums made A love Supreme. free jazz Miles Davis- trumpet, played some bebop, some cool jazz, modal jazz, jazz fusion. -original trumpet style. birth of cool jazz, pioneered modal jazz, jazz-rock fusion. bitchesbrew -middle range, melancholic sound, melodic soloist. First Quintet- john coltrane-sax, red garland-piano,paul chambers-bass, phillyjoejones-drums Sextet-added cannonball...
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...Thelonious Sphere Monk was born october 10,1917. Died february 17,1982 (age 64)in Englewood. Siblings were Marion Barbara monk and Thomas Monk. Spouse (m. 1994-1982) father of Thelonious Monk has the same name and mothers name is Barbara Monk same as her Daughter. By his early teens he began to play the church organ after that he began to find jazz and got better and better at it. In the early to mid-1940s he was a house pianist at a nightclub called Minton's Playhouse. Most of his style was from the nightclub. He got better as well when he participated in cutting contests which featured many leading jazz soloists. Monks musical work at the nightclub was in the formulation of bedpop. Witch would be furthered along with other artists,...
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...Coleman Hawkins. Coltrane was one of the pioneers in bebop, cool jazz, modal jazz and Avant-Garde music. The collaboration between John Coltrane and Thelonious Monk was undeniably unforgettable and left a lasting impact on music. In 1957 after becoming sober from narcotics and alcohol. Trane had the opportunity to join Thelonious Monk’s band when his career and psyche needed it most. During this time John Coltrane was looking for something different. He had just released his solo album “Blue Train” full of lush blues harmonies, unpopular song forms, and original tunes expect for the standard I’m Old Fashioned”. This album was a very big step forward in Trane’s unique sound, but nowhere near his music’s end result. After being fired from Miles Davis’s band, like many before him was forced to find new work. Finding a new...
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...Cultural Event Report The cultural event that I attended prior to my departure for Afghanistan is a jazz concert at the Richmond Library. The concert was performed by the Richmond Youth Jazz Guild and the event was free. My youngest son has been performing with the Jazz Guild since 2010 and they are some of the most talentant kids. I physical don’t remember the date and time but the start time was 8:00 p.m. This music selection on this night was from Miles Davis; one of the greatest jazz performers of all times. The night was very calm, everyone was very professional, and the kids had black suits with white shirts and black ties. The concert was schedule for one hour and a half but the audience loved the kids so much it went for two in half hours. That night every kid got a chance to perform multiple solos and some kids sound like professional performers. This particular concert had some of the local music professor which invited some the kids to their jazz summer camp free of charge. The whole was amazing to see your men and women below the age of 15 that love the art of music; this program has done wonders for my son and the other kids. Richmond Youth Jazz Guild had received an invite to perform with Wynton Marsalis and open up for his concert at Christopher Newport College. This night was so incredible for the kids; there were sparking all night. It was like Christmas time all over again; Mr. Marsalis took two hours before the concert to speak to each child and...
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...Jazz, taking its roots in African American folk music, has evolved, metamorphosed, and transposed itself over the last century to become a truly American art form. More than any other type of music, it places special emphasis on innovative individual interpretation. Instead of relying on a written score, the musician improvises. For each specific period or style through which jazz has gone through over the past seventy years, there is almost always a single person who can be credited with the evolution of that sound. From Thelonius Monk, and his bebop, to Miles Davis' cool jazz, from Dizzy Gillespie's big band to John Coltrane's free jazz; America's music has been developed, and refined countless times through individual experimentation and innovation. One of the most influential musicians in the development of modern jazz is John Coltrane. In this paper, I examine the way in which Coltrane's musical innovations were related to the music of the jazz greats of his era and to the tribulations and tragedies of his life.John William Coltrane was born in Hamlet, North Carolina, on September 23, 1926. Two months later, his family moved to High Point, North Carolina, where he lived in a fairly well-to-do part of town. He grew up in a typical southern black family, deeply religious, and steeped in tradition. Both of his parents were musicians, his father played the violin and ukulele, and his mother was a member of the church choir. For several years, young Coltrane played the clarinet...
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...bebop became more popular, more artists learned to play the style and it began to fade in popularity. Musicians began to get tired of the technical difficulties and demands of bebop and wanted to move on to other directions. Then along came a new kind of jazz called “cool jazz”, this kind of music would go back to arrangements and use instruments that were not commonly used in jazz. In the early 50s, "cool" was a term used to describe a toned down type of jazz. It also became a term used by white musicians that moved to California to get work. This was easier for whites to do than African Americans at the time. It later became known as “West coast jazz” in this area. Hard Bop was from the East coast and was harder than Bebop. Miles Davis was said to have been reacting to wanting a tougher, urban edge and more emotion in jazz music. Hard Bop was primarily from bigger cities like Detroit and was more urban in feel as opposed to the West coast. It was darker and more funky and danceable. Both Bebop and Hard Bop were natural progressions from “Bop” Cool jazz has an influence of African American music and their culture. Many of the musicians of the “Cool jazz” era were the ones that played in jam sessions held in Harlem clubs. These African American musicians had influence because of their own styles and they brought in improvisation and new ideas of harmony. In these ways it brought change and influence to all jazz music. ...
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...Justin Baird Professor Tolson African American Music 1/28/15 Review #1 On Monday night, January 26th I had the pleasure of attending a Jazz Combo that consisted of three different bands. This Jazz Combo was performed by the University Of Louisville School Of Music and was held in Bird Recital Hall. These bands included the Clark Terry Combo directed by Tyrone Wheeler, Terence Blanchard Combo directed by Ansyn Banks, and the Fats Navarro Combo directed by Ansyn Banks as well. One of the bands that I enjoyed the most was the Terence Blanchard Combo which was directed by Ansyn Banks. This group consisted of Jon Driver who played the saxophone, Doug Finke who played the trombone, Hanks Evans who played the piano, Will Kinman who played the bass, and John Walther who played the drums. Most of the performers were young but the older men still kept up with them and made for a great performance. The band itself felt comfortable playing their instruments, but seemed a little timid when it came to actually performing in front of everyone though. They were confident in what they were doing, but just seemed like they were a bit nervous in the beginning. The energy with each other was a little sluggish at the beginning of their performance but picked up midway through the first song and continued to increases as they performed their second piece of the night. They all got into their instrument and you could really feel the passion they had for playing it as well. The Terence Blanchard...
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