Jazz Report: At the Mezzrow
This is a jazz performance report on the show by Aaron Parks with Ralph Alessi and John Hebert at the Mezzrow -- a Greenwich Village showplace. The show was performed on 23 July 2016. Aaron Parks played the piano, Ralph Alessi the trumpet and John Hebert the bass. This was an instrumental performance.
As is typical of most jazz, the instruments used were piano, trumpet and bass and the three combined to produce harmonious sounds that were rhythmically conducted by the bass rhythm and punctuated by the hammers of the piano and the bursts from the trumpet. The piano and the bass are chordophones and the trumpet is an aerophone, according to the classifications of the Sachs-Hornbostel system (Schmidt-Jones).
The timbre of the instruments is rich and poppy. The base drives the sounds but yields up energy to the horn and to the piano, letting the two duel…...
mlaWorks Cited
Kubik, Gerhard. Africa and the Blues. MI: University of Mississippi Press, 1999. Print.
Schmidt-Jones, Catherine. "Classifying Musical Instruments." Openstax, 2015. Web. 9
Aug 2016.
Music Producers
Biographical Introduction: Teo Macero
Producers work behind the scenes and are the unsung heroes of music. While some producers receive public notoriety like Brian Eno and George Martin; others like Teo Macero remain known mainly to music scholars and serious audiophiles. In 2008, when Macero died, The New York Times ran an obituary with the tagline: "Teo Macero, 82, ecord Producer," as if readers would need that crucial bit of vocational data. Indeed, Macero is best known for his work on Miles Davis's masterpieces Kind of Blue and Bitches Brew. He was also a composer, whose approach to music takes into account the big picture rather than attention to minute detail.
Macero was ahead of his time. He incorporated electronic effects and electronic media in ways that made Bitches Brew as momentous and groundbreaking an album as it is. The embrace of new technology is therefore a hallmark of Macero's style.…...
mlaReferences
"George Martin," (n.d.). Beatles Bible. Retrieved online: http://www.beatlesbible.com/people/george-martin/
Martin, G. (2012). Interview with Marc Myers. Retrieved online: http://www.jazzwax.com/2012/09/interview-sir-george-martin-pt-1.html
Ratliff, B. (2008). Teo Macero, 82, Record Producer, Dies. The New York Times. 22 Feb, 2008. Retrieved online: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/22/arts/music/22macero.html
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2010). George Martin Biography. Retrieved online: http://rockhall.com/inductees/george-martin/bio/
Music Review
The Miami Big Sound Orchestra is an ensemble group that plays original arrangements by Miami composers. The music that the ensemble plays has a distinct sound that can be attributed to the cultural influences of Miami and the instruments that are used. It is difficult to describe the ensemble's specific style as they appear to embrace a variety of styles.
The Miami Big Sound Orchestra is clearly influenced by Latin sounds, which is evident through the style, rhythm, and composition of the music being played. The music the Miami Big Sound Orchestra plays sounds a lot like music that was played by major artists such as Tito Puente. The music relies heavily on brass and woodwind instruments. It was interesting to see how one of the songs highlighted the use of the flute. In the song, there was a prominent flute solo, however, the solo sounds a little out of…...
Music Association
Music and Personal Association
What music do you associate with childhood? How did/does this music make you feel? How do your choices reflect your childhood experiences?
There is not much that I can recall about my childhood in detail. My memory tends to be unreliable at best. That is why I find it so incredible that the music of the Beatles remains a vivid and constant presence in my memories. Indeed, even before I remember knowing that red means 'stop' or green means 'go,' I knew all the words to "Yellow Submarine." It was almost as if I was born with the melody to "Hey Jude" in may head. In fact, since my parents were such devoted listeners to the Beatles, I have little doubt that this was the soundtrack to my gestation.
The constant presence of the Beatles would have an indelible impact on me. There are few songs in their…...
People are now looking ways to fight this problem of stress. Some people take help of drugs to control the stress issue but the side effects of drugs create more problems rather than solving one. Exercise has been proven as a natural solution to the problem of stress with no side effects. In certain cases of other psychological problems combining exercise and music can be helpful.
Effects on Mental Performance: esearches have also shown that both music and exercise combined together have positive effects on cognitive abilities. In a research including 33 men and women in the final weeks of a cardiac rehabilitation program after bypass surgery, angioplasty or cardiac catheterization, the effects of classical music and exercise were studied. All participants were asked to complete a verbal fluency test before and after two separate sessions of exercising on a treadmill. Vivaldi's 'The Four Seasons', a classical music piece, was…...
mlaReferences
Henderson, S. (August, 2005). The Rhythm of Capoeira: Aerobic Workout Combines Cultural Music and Dance for an Effective Exercise. Ebony. 60(10): 94+.
The Effect of Music on Exercise', Retrieved on September 26, 2007 at http://www.anselm.edu/internet/psych/theses/2004/hall/webpage/
Morris, a. Myers, S. Schaumburg, L. Schrage, K. And Veasey, M. (2006). The Perceived Effects of Music on Exercise Performance. Retrieved on September 26, 2007 at http://clearinghouse.missouriwestern.edu/manuscripts/541.asp
Little Music with Exercise Boosts Brain Power, Study Suggests' Retrieved on September 26, 2007 at http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/hartsong.htm
Music on Life
How Music Has Influenced My Life
Music has always played a major role in my life. For as long as I can remember, I have always looked to music as a way to define my life. I even found it amusing when my high school began to play music over the PA during our lunch hour, making me feel as though my life was, for a brief moment, a silly teenage movie. I am very grateful for my family's introducing me to music as I have found that it has helped me to define various, important milestones in my life.
As long as I can remember, my parents have listened to the Beatles. They had all their songs on records and cassette tapes. This was the first band to which I felt loyalty towards and pretty soon, I knew all the lyrics to all the songs on all their…...
mlaReferences
Blue Monday. (1983). New Order. Single. London.
God Bless the Child. (1956). Billie Holiday. Lady Sings the Blues. Clef Records.
Yellow Submarine. (1966). The Beatles. Revolver. Capitol Records.
jazz as a musical tradition not only has a bright future ahead of it, but has also had an illustrious past. The reasons for this are its flexibility. This flexibility, as well as its ability to effortlessly mould itself not only to current events, but also to current musical paradigms, ensures that jazz has a past, a present and a future that can be rivaled by few other genres in music.
The flexibility of jazz translates to and from the world around it. We live in a very dynamic world, with overnight change accepted as the order of the day. Jazz then caters to this by being a flexible musical tradition.
Jazz has also become a sort of language; the "English" of the musical world. It crosses all musical boundaries and is likely to appeal to most audiences. The audience for jazz then is the "global village." Jazz can potentially appeal…...
The Hippie community was rapidly expanding and its primary stimulator was music, as people were literally going through brain-affecting experiences as they listened to psychedelic music.
IV. Music is essential in some people's lives because they associate it with particular feelings. Patriotic music is a very important factor in most countries because it makes individuals identify with it and because it triggers sentiments related to belonging. Religious music is also important, considering that many religions accept that religious teachings can be expressed more efficiently by being sung. People often turn to music simply because they feel that it helps them as they try to relax or as they attempt to amplify their feelings.
hereas music can be beneficial when used in certain contexts, it can be particularly harmful when used inappropriately. Aggressive language alongside of a rapid beats-per-minute tempo can influence listeners in adopting hostile attitudes and in behaving unethically. Many…...
mlaWorks cited:
Bonta, Steve, "Morality of Music: Because Music Primarily Communicates Emotions, Its Morality May Be Judged According to Whether the Feelings Conveyed Are Positive and Noble or Negative and Base," The New American 8 Apr. 2002
Kirkweg, Sara B. "The Effects of Music on Memory," Retrieved October 27, 2011, from the National Undergraduate Research Website: http://clearinghouse.missouriwestern.edu/manuscripts/230.php
Oldfield, Amelia Interactive Music Therapy: A Positive Approach: Music Therapy at a Child Development Centre (London: Jessica Kingsley, 2006)
He has also learned to appreciate an even wider and more eclectic variety of music than even his mother enjoyed. But without an early musical foundation and exposure to music as a part of life, he does not think he would be nearly as adventurous. The pairing of certain musical styles against one another, like posh vs. common, classical vs. contemporary, and Mod vs. Rock, has more to do with personal, class-based and aesthetic self-definition, he felt, than the fact that one musical style is inherently superior to another musical style.
As he has grown older, Martin says that he listens more for personal taste, rather than to suit his tastes to a particular style because of personal self-definition. He attributes this to being more secure in his own identity. He says that he likes to listen to the music of his youth, although he also listens to a great…...
Miles Davis
One cannot think of Jazz without thinking of Miles Davis. Davis is widely regarded as one of the foremost jazz trumpeters. However, it would be a mistake to believe that Davis' influence on the world of jazz was limited to his abilities as a trumpeter. Davis was recognized as a composer, a bandleader, and a keyboard player. In addition, Davis helped develop improvisational playing techniques, which incorporated modes. Finally, "Davis had an uncanny ability of always selecting great sidemen for his recording sessions. These recordings are full of original and creative sensitivity and are outstanding examples of jazz recordings made at that time." (The Official Miles Davis Website, 2001).
If Davis' mother had her way, jazz music today would be dramatically different. Davis was born to Miles Henry Davis, a dentist, and Cleota Davis. Cleota Davis was a blues pianist, but she kept that fact hidden from her son because…...
mlaReferenced
Frankling, K. (1986). Miles Davis: life size. Retrieved November 9, 2005 from Jazzhouse.org
Web site: http://www.jazzhouse.org/library/library2.php3?read=franckling1
The Official Miles Davis Website. (2001). Biography. Retrieved November 9, 2005 from MilesDavis.com
Web site: http://www.milesdavis.com/bio.htm
The piano plays quick octaves and the urgent bass motive portrays an intense wild ride. This strong galloping is also being formulated by the piano's triplet rhythm which allows for the development of the dramatic storyline's urgency.
5. ) There are four different characters in this piece: the Narrator, the father, the son, and the Erlkonig. Although Schubert uses one singer to portray and sing all of the four parts of the characters, the listener is able to quite clearly differentiate them from one another. The son is sung in the high register in a minor key with dissonant harmonies. On the other hand, the father is sung in low register while the Erlkonig is sung in a coy with pleasant and soft melodies in the major key.
6. ) There are two ways that Schubert builds momentum in his piece. The first way is by using the bass as a…...
mlaReferences:
Kamien, R. (2010). Music: An appreciation, brief edition. (7th ed. ). New York: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages.
Fake books with jazz notation might look as if they are intended for amateurs. However, although beginners may use the simplified notation to practice music, the fake book's original intention was to provide a stepping-stone for a musician or an ensemble to create their own, unique rendering of the music. Thus jazz notation reflects the stress in this musical tradition upon the musician or the band's individual style. The musician, rather than the composer is the star, when using jazz notation. Rather than attempt to slavishly recreate a performance from the past, which is impossible, as every audience, every musical context changes from night to night, jazz notation empowers the musician to create a living and vibrant performance on the stage, with his or her fellow musicians. ("Fake Books," ikipedia, 2006)
Fake books and jazz notation originated with illegal transcriptions of overheard music, although most fake books today copyrighted with…...
mlaWorks Cited
Fake Book." Wikipedia. [6 Jun 2006]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fake_book
Marsalis, Wynton. "On a slave's need for improvisation." From Jazz: A PBS documentary by Ken Burns.2001. Companion Website. [6 Jun 2006] http://www.pbs.org/jazz/time/time_slavery.htm
Musical notation." Wikipedia. [6 Jun 2006] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_notation
Music, Art, Literature Trends
From impressionism to pop art, jazz to hip hop, science fiction to beat poetry, artistic, musical, and literary expressions have varied considerably between 1870 and 2005. The period between the end of the nineteenth century to the current day can be generally described as the modern and postmodern eras. The beginning of the modern era, during the final decades of the nineteenth century, coincided with the Industrial evolution. Along with fascination with modern technology and optimism for the future came simultaneous disillusionment. However, modern technological advancements have made such widespread creativity possible. Social and political trends have also influenced creative endeavors, and vice-versa. Art, music, and literature are more accessible and more possible to create than they ever were in the past. The modern era has been characterized by an overall flourishing of the expressive arts, but some trends have a more lasting significance than others. For…...
mlaRock music became more than just a musical trend; it also characterized the rise of the teenage culture, symbolized rebellion, and influenced political and social attitudes. Furthermore, rock and roll remains a viable creative endeavor today, and is also internationally popular, which is why the trend is so important. Beyond rock and roll, electronic music and hip hop are recent significant musical trends. Electronic music has been around for decades, and reached a peak with the advent of the rave. Electronic music remains a vital force in the industry, and has also impacted the development of hip hop. Hip-hop is yet another musical trend that coincides with social and race-related realities in the United States. The genre is so important because it represents American urban culture.
Among the literary trends between 1870 and the present day, the most significant ones include post-colonialism, science fiction, beat poetry, and horror. Post-colonial literature such as the works of Joseph Conrad brought awareness to the problems associated with the colonialist mentality. Post-colonial fiction put a human face on the very real political, social, and economic issues of the modern world. Realism was a major literary method used by post-colonial authors, who depicted their worlds with stunning detail. With the modern fascination with technological advancements, science fiction became a highly significant literary trend to emerge during the twentieth century. Science fiction originated in the early twentieth century when Orson Welles' reading of H.G. Wells' novel the War of the Worlds shocked the nation into believing that aliens had indeed attacked the United States. Science fiction literature strongly influenced television and film, too, and is responsible for the popularity of both Star Trek and Star Wars. Related to but different from science fiction, fantasy writing also emerged during this time and gave rise to the writings of J.R.R. Tolkein, whose works recently spawned motion pictures.
Another significant literary trend to emerge during the middle of the twentieth century was beat poetry and beat literature. Beat poetry was completely free verse and free form, in sharp contrast to earlier, more structured forms. Moreover, beat poetry was far more abstract than previous works. Just as modern art was becoming more abstract and expressionist, so too was literature. Another key literary trend to emerge during the past century was horror fiction. While horror derives from earlier Gothic literature as well as from science fiction, the horror genre has had a huge impact on modern literary expression. Authors like Stephen King have become immensely famous by making people afraid, and his works as well as the works of countless other horror writers have impacted the plots and themes of films and television shows.
Music Since 1900
A Survey of hree Works by Ives, Schoenberg, and Barber
In the film Legend of 1900, im Roth plays an orphan who grows up aboard the SS Virginian, where he becomes a virtuoso piano player, whose styling rivals the greatest Jazz pianists of the early twentieth century. he Italian film is supposed to represent the impermanence of art and the cheapness of capturing a live performance on a record. However, what cannot be achieved in the film is actually achieved by the film, as the New Orleans jazz artist is surpassed by the glorious skills of an orphan who has spent his entire life aboard a steam liner. What it says is that music may be recorded, but what is even greater than the recording is the music itself and the story that inspired it. his paper will compare and contrast three different works of musical art of the…...
mlaTornatore G. 1999 The Legend of 1900 Fine Line Features Los Angeles
White DA. 2000 Lecture on Music Theory St. [sound recording] Thomas Aquinas
Seminary Winona
..it has to affect people in predictable ways regardless of particular circumstances" (Linton pp). However, music, says Linton isn't like that because one listener might hear the opening E-minor chorus of the St. Matthew Passion and become grief stricken, while someone else might become bored, and another might find that piece incomprehensible (Linton pp). According to Linton, listening to a particular kind of music does not throw listeners into a trance any more than heavy metal music turns its listeners into sociopaths (Linton pp).
However, even Linton back-stepped a bit when he revealed that there was one area of life in which music apparently had the ability to affect people's behavior, grocery shopping (Linton pp)! Several studies reveal that faster paced music tends to make American shoppers walk down the aisles more quickly than slower paced music (Linton pp).
Apparently Holloway believes that society can be transformed by the cultivation of the…...
mlaWorks Cited
Music. http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=music
Society. http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=society
Linton, Michael. "The Politics of Music.'
http://www.firstthings.com/ftissues/ft0110/reviews/linton.html
Thesis Statement
Crafting a Compelling Thesis Statement for a Music Thesis
A thesis statement is the central argument or claim that your music thesis will explore and support. It is the foundation upon which your entire thesis will be built, guiding your research, analysis, and writing. Crafting a strong and effective thesis statement is essential for the success of your thesis and requires careful consideration.
Characteristics of a Strong Thesis Statement
Clear and Concise: Your thesis statement should be concise and to the point, stating your argument or claim in a clear and unambiguous manner.
Specific and Focused: Avoid broad or general statements.....
I. Introduction
A. Brief overview of the film "La La Land"
B. Thesis statement: "La La Land" is a cinematic masterpiece that explores themes of love, ambition, and following your dreams.
II. Love in "La La Land"
A. Relationship between Mia and Sebastian
B. Conflict between love and ambition
C. How love drives the characters to pursue their dreams
III. Ambition in "La La Land"
A. Sebastian's passion for jazz music
B. Mia's desire to become an actress
C. The sacrifices and challenges of pursuing ambitious goals
IV. Following Your Dreams in "La La Land"
A. The importance of staying true to oneself
....
Crenshaw: A Tapestry of History and Cultural Vibrancy
Crenshaw, a vibrant and historic neighborhood in southwest Los Angeles, holds a significant place in the city's history and cultural landscape. Named after a prominent early settler, David Crenshaw, the area has evolved over the decades to become a diverse and influential hub.
Early Settlement and Infrastructure
The Crenshaw area was first settled in the late 19th century, as part of the agricultural boom that transformed Southern California. In 1888, the Los Angeles Pacific Railway extended its line to Crenshaw, connecting it to downtown Los Angeles and other coastal towns. This railway played a crucial....
The cultural movements of the Roaring Twenties, such as the Jazz Age, the Harlem Renaissance, and the rise of flappers, had a significant impact on society's views on traditional norms and values. These movements challenged and often subverted long-held beliefs and customs, leading to a shift in attitudes towards issues such as gender roles, race, sexuality, and the role of government.
One of the most noticeable changes during this time was the shifting attitudes towards gender roles. The rise of the flapper, who was characterized by her independence, bold fashion choices, and embrace of new social freedoms, challenged the traditional image....
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now