John Milton Cage Jr. also known as John Cage was born in Los Angeles, California on September 5, 1912. Although he passed away on August 12, 1992 his legacy as an American composer, music theorist, writer, and artist lives on. Not only was he a participant in a wide variety of music genres but he became the father of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments. Cage also became very active in a lot of contemporary and unique artistry and many of his influences can be found in the works of musicians globally. Every great artist has someone or something they can look to as a basis and guideline to start off their own work. In John’s case, he used South/ East Asian cultural components, largely implementing
things to create something new. John Cage’s legendary piece was entitled 4’33” in 1952. The whole song was written entirely in silence to emphasis a message. John attracted a great number of viewers due to the dramatics of it and the performance. It is not astonishing this piece would draw in the sort of consideration that it has. In the first place, it is a convincing sensational motion. At its first execution, virtuoso musician David Tudor sat at the piano, opened the console top, and sat noiselessly for thirty seconds. He then shut the cover. He revived it, and after that sat quietly again for an entire two minutes and twenty-three seconds. He then shut and revived the cover once again, sitting quietly this time for one moment and forty seconds. He then shut the top and strolled off stage. That was all. With the right sort of entertainer, such an occasion can be bolting, and Tudor was totally the right sort of entertainer, having a downplayed authority of the instrument and an earnestness of reason that was obvious to everybody in participation. Some portion of what makes the show so convincing is the utter straightforwardness of the idea. The arranger makes nothing by any means. The entertainer goes in front of an audience and does nothing. The gathering of people witnesses this extremely fundamental act, the demonstration of sitting still and being tranquil. This happens in a Western show lobby setting, loaning a recorded and masterful gravity to the procedures that implores us to put this demonstration into some sort of profound connection, full of significance.
The novel, ‘Jasper Jones’, is set in a small country town in outback Australia in the 1960’s. The setting was influenced by novels that Silvey, the author had read as a youth. Such as To Kill A Mocking Bird, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. people from this same hot desert climate and who have a decent knowledge of past events and times can really get into the book, as you can see the different perspectives of each character living in that time and place.
Vincent Van Gogh is one of the world’s greatest and most well-known artists, but when he was alive he considered himself to be a complete failure. It was not until after he died that Van Gogh’s paintings received the recognition they deserved. Today he is thought to be the second best Dutch artist, after Rembrandt. Born in 1853, he was one of the biggest artistic influences of the 19th century. Vincent Van Gogh created a new era of art, he learned to use art to escape his mental illness, and he still continues to inspire artists over 100 years later.
Some people may call him “The King”, Elvis Presley is a well-known musician who stepped out of the norm and created a different kind of music. Presley combined pop, country, gospel, and black R&B to create his musical style. Presley caught everyone’s attention with his dance moves and musical talent. Elvis Presley led the way for many musicians, and has impacted the lives of many people.
Though Jelly Roll Morton began his career without formal training, he grew to live an influential life. His piano style, musical notations on paper, and creative compositions thrived in the 1910s and the 1920s and even weaved its way into the later eras as musicians used Morton’s music as the foundation for their own. Even past his death, Jelly Roll Morton remains a legendary figure. His works are meticulously preserved and displayed in the prestigious Smithsonian Museum and universities around the world continue his legacy by teaching students about Jelly Roll Morton and his influential career.
The Grateful Dead are one of the rock bands that helped shape music into what it is now. The band is known for their signature live performances, which includes improvisational sections that can last for up to half an hour. The Grateful Dead has had many different members who all influenced their unique sound in a different way.
One man made his impression on the music world soon after he arrived to America. His
...frican American Musicians as Artists, Critics, and Activists. Berkeley, CA: University of California, 2002. 54-100. EBSCOhost. Web. 8 May 2015.
Recognized as one of the greatest all time jazz figures Duke Ellington, whose career reached over a span of fifty years was mostly known for composing thousands of influential songs. As well as constituting into jazz an ensemble of western sounds which was referred to as “American Music”. This iconic figure has left a mark in the world of jazz for centuries to come.
Django Reinhardt was born into the lifestyle of his gypsy parents on January 24th, 1910 in a village of Belgium known as Liberchies. Django, Romani for “I awake,” has inspired and astonished various generations of musicians and lovers of jazz with his remarkable control of the guitar and the story of his upbringing. At just the age of eight, his parents moved near the stretch of barricades that encompassed the streets of old Paris. Up until he was about twenty years old, he had never really set down roots somewhere, worn a suit, or lived in a real house. These French Gypsies, also known as Manouches, were living in a world of their own, primitive in their way of thinking and skeptical of popular science. Django was raised in a lifestyle that was one big contradiction, one moment he was in the swarming city of Paris and the next he found himself in the old fashioned life of a wandering gypsy. Although Django was born into a life of hardship, he had a righteous and honorable soul, which ultimately manifested itself into his music.
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."
Jhon Coltrane and Miles Davis to be among his biggest influences in music. After playing
Through his contribution to early Jazz, he had a direct hand in developing the new field of academic jazz scholarship, although it had been extensively debated on his contribution. None the less, his talent formed a popularity that was surpassed by none, even to the point that once in his career; he was more popular than the Beatles. Undoubtedly, he was the first, if not the only to present Jazz to the public as a form of art. This changed the direction of Jazz to not just leisure listening music, but a teachable and complicated
Steve Reich was recently called “America’s greatest composer” (The Village Voice). That is exactly what he is. He was born on October 3, 1936 in New York City, NY. Reich had his first big music debut at the young age of 14 when he was introduced to Stravinsky and Bach (Morrison). He went to Cornell University at the age of 16 and received a degree in philosophy (Morrison). After that, Reich entered The Julliard School in 1957. While he was there he studied with a tonal composer, William Bergsma, and pianist, Vincent Perschetti (Morrison). In 1970, Reich went to Africa and studied at the University of Ghana. After spending a few weeks there and listening to the Ghanaian style of music he was inspired to write his musical composition, “Drumming” (Morrison). This happening, and many others helped to develop Reich’s musical style. Reich also wrote his most famous compositions, Music for 18 Musicians, during this time.
...he connection between the composer and the music. Since composers generally write about events that had an impact in their lives, this analysis receives support.
Melamed, R. (Mar 5, 2002). John May discuses style, jazz influences. Retrieved for this paper Apr 4, 2014 from, http://www.michigandaily.com/content/john-mayer-discusses-style-jazz-influences