Herbie Hancock has played an incredible role in jazz history, particularly jazz fusion and funk jazz. Jazz fusion incorporates musical elements from other musical styles such as, rock and roll. Funk jazz is characterized by the Hammond B-3 and organ. With my love for electronic instruments and funky sounds I decided to watch Herbie Hancock’s performance at the Newport Jazz Festival located at Newport, Rhode Island. Originally, the performance was done in 2008 making it a relatively recent performance. Hancock performed alongside some wonderful musicians and artists: Dave Holland, a bass player; Chris Potter, a saxophone player; Vinnie Colaiuta, a drum player; Lionel Loueke, a guitar player; and lastly the two beautiful vocalist, Sonya Kitchell …show more content…
I noticed he constantly switched from the synthesizer to the keyboard, and this was to change the tune and make it sound layered as I mentioned before. I also noticed that at times he played the keyboard slowly and other times he would play extremely fast. So rapidly that I even questioned how a man can first not only move his arms so fast but also play so beautifully at such high speeds. A tune he played even sounded like a swish-swashing sound, and I was amazed by how a synthesizer and keyboard can possibly make such sounds. I also noticed that for this song that both Lionel Loueke and Dave Holland played the guitar, and I think this was to match the fusion electric instrument style. Overall, the entire band did a great opening for their performance; everyone looked like they were doing their own thing and were very content.
The next song played was “River” which is originally by Joni Mitchell. This song included the beautiful vocalists Sonya Kitchell and Amy Keys. “River” took a very different approach and was a lot mellower than the first, definitely not in the jazz fusion genre. Although, jazz fusion is my favorite I do have to say Herbie Hancock originally started off with classical music and like I mentioned before was not introduced to fusion until joining Miles’s band. This being said, Herbie Hancock played very slowly and softly in the piano. And everyone else followed the same
Eleanora Fagan (April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959), professionally known as Billie Holiday, was an American jazz artist and artist musician with a vocation traversing almost thirty years. Nicknamed "Woman Day" by her companion and music accomplice Lester Young, Holiday affected jazz music and pop singing. Her vocal style, firmly propelled by jazz instrumentalists, spearheaded another method for controlling stating and rhythm. She was known for her vocal conveyance and improvisational aptitudes, which compensated for her restricted range and absence of formal music instruction. There were other jazz vocalists with equivalent ability, however Holiday had a voice that caught the consideration of her crowd.
The performance at the sands is vocal jazz but the music in itself is swing andpop combined. Even though it is not improvisation the artists do take liberties sneaking in embellishments here and there. When you think of Frank Sinatra you think of the songs that are on his performance at the Sands. The Basie Rhythm machine establishes a stable swing beat allows Sinatra to sing freely around the music making a one of a kind performance. A lot of the credit for the success of the performance goes to Count Basie’s arranger and conductor Quincy Jones. Jones created a groove that blended Sinatra’s strong voice, use of phrasing and his free embellishing with Basie’s Orchestra so well it that has the band, Sinatra, and the crowd all feeding off each other.
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.
John Hancock was a very influential man for our independence during the War for Independence. He was born in Braintree, Massachusetts, which is now known as Quincy, Massachusetts.1 Different sources had a different birthday listed for him. One source said that it depends on the calendar that was in use at the time, therefore, his birthday is either January 12 or 23, 1737.2 His parents were Mary Hawke Hancock and the senior John Hancock.3 The name “John Hancock” was handed down for three generations making the John Hancock that was influential during the War for Independence the third. John’s father died in 1744, when he was only seven years old.4 Mary Hawke Hancock felt that she was too poor to raise her children on her own5, therefore, she
Richard Cook & Brian Morton. The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD. Seventh Edition. East Rutherford, NJ: Penguin Books(USA), 2004
Not only could he sing and dance but he could also play the keyboard, synthesizer, drums, and percussion. Something awesome about him is that he could not read or write music but he could play so many instruments. And all the stuff he didn’t learn from his brother’s or father he learned himself.
By these 3 songs, they were mostly played from wind instruments (trumpet, clarinet, saxophone, etc..) and sometimes piano and the cello, that could possibly be heard in all 3 songs. By playing these certain instruments, it made an impact on this decade by representing how jazz is a relaxing, calm, fast type of music. By playing the piano
Throughout my lifetime I’ve been exposed to many different styles of music. One of the most emotionally connected music styles I’ve encountered would definitely be instrumental jazz. When I was younger I mostly listened to blues and smooth jazz, but more recently I’ve been attracted to faster tracks and harder beats like those you hear in the Swing era of the 1920’s. On Tuesday, October 27th I attended the performance of the jazz band: Sylvan Street, as a part of the University of Miami’s music festival (Festival Miami). The show started at eight o’clock at night cost ten dollars for students. Throughout the show, the band provided an incredible mixture of different styles of jazz while delivering an electrifying performance that captured the true essence of what jazz truly is.
Edward Kennedy Ellington, American jazz composer, orchestrator, bandleader, and pianist, is considered to be the greatest composer in the history of jazz music and one of the greatest musicians of the 20th century. He composed over 2000 works and performed numerous concerts during his musical career. A compilation of some of his most popular music is collected on a CD called "The Popular Duke Ellington." Ellington personally created most of the music played by his orchestra. He often wrote pieces for specific players with distinctive musical styles in his band, such as "Concerto for Cootie" (1940) for fellow musician and trumpeter, Cootie Williams. With the help of American trumpeter James "Bubber" Miley, Ellington often incorporated in his music the jungle effect.
Jazz is a treasure to American culture, which originally came from New Orleans of South part of America in 19th century. It’s a special music because it contains changeable rhythm and improvisational performance. But what makes jazz so special in 1920s is that Jazz could not only be performed by an individual but also could be performed by a group of people. This music performance style shows important things about American society and culture itself.
What I enjoyed was the way that it was a sad, and inspiring song that kept the atmosphere very depressing and emotional, it really make you want to cry. I also really like his trumpet solo, which just added to the affect. It was vey loud making it stand out and it was so sad, that it really made me want to cry. It was a really smooth piece all on the same low music playing until he picked up the trumpet making it stand out louder then the rest of the piece. In the end he sorts of just mixes his trumpet part back into the song making the tone change back to a very low and depressing tone with nothing sticking out. All the notes were very low making the piece very smooth. Overall, he didn’t change it much except for making it a bit more on the jazz side. If you are interested in this song just go to YouTube and write down " Louis Armstrong- When You Wish Upon A Star (1968). The 3rd song is "Nobody Knows The Trouble I've seen." Many people have done classic variations on this song and it was a very famous song when it was first
Teachout, Terry. "John Hammond's jazz." Commentary 122.3 (2006): 55+. Academic OneFile. Web. 16 Nov. 2011.
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 this time. His “hot bop” style was heard in places like the Cotton Club and the Apollo Theatre. Everyone from all over the country would come to see him. Armstrong recorded such works as I’m in the Mood for Love, and You Rascal you (http://library.thinkquest.org/26656/english/music.html). Another famous person during this era was Coleman Hawkins, a saxophone player. Hawkins is recognized as the first great saxophonists of Jazz. His most famous work was a piece named Body and Soul (http://library.thinkquest.org…). Hawkins has also recorded with artists such as Thelonious Monk and Duke Ellington. Other people such as Bessie Smith, Josephine Baker, Duke Ellington, and “Dizzie” Gillespie have also made many contributions to the development of Jazz.
The jazz band I observed played a series of six different songs. Although all the songs were categorized as jazz, each song had its own special style and sound to it. The band consisted of three different players. Paul Meyers, the guitarist and composer, Andy Eulau, the bassist, and Dave Rataczak, on drums. The songs performed were entitled “Love for Sale” by Cole Porter, “Once I Loved” by Antonio Carlos Jobim, “Stars” by Paul Meyers, “Blues for Mel” also by Paul Meyers, “Last Night When We Were Young” by Harold Arlen, and “Samba Novo” by Luis Eca.
He began using live looping technology during performances with a friend in in café’s across London; looping beatbox, singing, and improvised lyrics over the top of a guitar. He states in an article in DJ Tech Tools that this was incredibly frustrating because the technology wouldn’t “play well with each other”, the loopers continually going out of time with one another mid-set (SWENSON, Kylee, 2012). After trying other looping technology such as Mobius and Looperlative, he realised the need for his live set up to be of a commercial standard. Non-commercial products were a problem for his live performance because the technology was unstable, unsupported, and kept crashing mid-set. Beardyman started looking towards commercial software such as Ableton Live, but found that, even though t...