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I’m always thinking about creativity. My future starts when I wake up every morning... Every day I find something creative to do with my life.” A very inspiring quote from Miles Davis, whom was a famous American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He’s regarded as one of the four most influential musicians in jazz history.
Miles Dewey Davis III was born May 26 of 1926 in Alton, Illinois, but he grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. His father, Dr. Miles Dewey Davis, Jr., was a dental surgeon and his mother, Cleota Henry Davis, was a music teacher as well as a violinist. He has two siblings; an older sister, Dorothy Mae Davis, and a younger brother, Vernon Napoleon Davis.
Davis moved to New York in 1944 where he studied at Juilliard. He
Joseph Nathan Oliver, also known as King Oliver, was THE MOST important person in all of jazz history. Joe was born on May 1885, Abend, La. Joe was a Bandleader, composer, and soloist cornet/trumpet player that arose from New Orleans. Oliver was also the mentor of Louis Armstrong and together, they changed jazz and American music forever.
Lil Hardin Armstrong was born on February 3, 1898 in Memphis, Tennessee. Her parents were Dempsey Martin Hardin and Taylor Martin. Her father left her mother shortly after she was born, so her mother and grandmother raised her. The Hardin family was well-off financially, which allowed them to pay for Lil to receive formal piano lessons. She was taught with classical and spiritual music, and frequently played in her church. Lil yearned to delve into the southern jazz music that was big at the time, but her family was strictly against it.
When it comes to jazz music, there is one name that everyone knows, whether they’ve never listened to jazz before or if they’ve listened to it their whole lives. That name is Louis Armstrong. Armstrong was one of the pioneers of jazz music, from his humble beginnings in one of New Orleans roughest districts, “the Battlefield”, to playing concerts for sold out crowds in Chicago and New York City, Louis left a massive impact on the way America listened to music for a long time. One of his premier tracks, “West End Blues”, left an impact on jazz music, which other musicians would try to emulate for years.
Jazz music did not become successful on its own. Its huge success during the 1940’s and 1950’s is due to the talented jazz singers and musicians who contributed to music. One of the successful musicians who contributed to Jazz was Louis Jordan. Jordan was an African American singer, bandleader and best known for his amazing technique and style while playing the saxophone. What set Jordan apart from all the other Jazz singers of his time was his appearance; being a comedian before going into music helped him appeal a wider and a more diverse audience. Appealing a more diverse audience was especially important during a time where segregation was an ongoing problem. His success was also due to his amazing band, the Tympany Five. The band included
Sammy Davis, Jr. was born in Harlem on December 8, 1925, to Elvera Sanchez, a chorus girl, and Sam Davis, a dancer. He was raised by his father and grandmother. His father was in an act with Will Mastin, who was a close friend of the family. At a young age, Sammy joined the act as a singer and dancer. They were known as the “Will Mastin Trio”. It was not the best job, but it put food on the table.
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.
Music is an art that has been in this world for tens of thousands of years and has proven
Imagine you are walking the streets of New Orleans. You are standing right where jazz was established in the United States of America. Jazz wasn’t just about music, it also affected the culture involving social, economic, artistic and jazz leaders.
At the mention jazz music, that people will first think of is likely to be a great figure with a clown image, nicknamed Uncle Satchmo. The man was Lewis Armstrong. He is a husky singer, often with a trumpet in his hand. He played dramatic works of simple structure in Orleans jazz style and with the accompaniment of Dick jazz music. Each of the books on jazz music will mention his name. Lewis Armstrong was to jazz music what Bach is to classical music, Presley is to rock music (Berrett 230). This essay will have an introduction of the king of jazz music—— Lewis Armstrong and his great influence on jazz history.
Born in Alton, Illinois, Miles Davis grew up in a middle-class family in East St. Louis. Miles Davis took up the trumpet at the age of 13 and was playing professionally two years later. Some of his first gigs included performances with his high school bandand playing with Eddie Randall and the blue Devils. Miles Davis has said that the greatest musical experience of his life was hearing the Billy Eckstine orchestra when it passed through St. Louis. In September 1944 Davis went to New York to study at Juilliard but spend much more time hanging out on 52nd Street and eventually dropped out of school. He moved from his home in East St. Louis to New York primarily to enter school but also to locate his musical idol, Charlie Parker. He played with Parker live and in recordings from the period of 1945 to 1948. Davis began leading his own group in 1948 as well as working with arranger Gil Evans. Davis’ career was briefly interrupted by a heroin addiction, although he continued to record with other popular bop musicians.
This generation is severely lacking cultural diversity. The United States school system feeds its students “American History,” but some believe it has only educated them on a few main points in history, and most of them have been from the view point of Euro-Centric America, and not the Melting Pot America is. There is so much to American history that even Americans are not aware of, however this generation is so consumed with celebrities, technological advancements, and up-to-date fashion. There is so much technology and access to the past, and yet most people do not take advantage of it. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to open those of this generation up to a culture rarely discussed unless in a detailed study specifically catered to it.
Born September 23rd 1926 in Hamlet, North Carolina, John Coltrane is both one the most significant figures in jazz and one of the most controversial figures in jazz. In addition to being a jazz saxophonist, he also made important contributions to jazz as a composer.
Louis Armstrong was known as the King of jazz, a trumpeter and singer who was one of the most influential figures in jazz music. Famous for his innovative methods of playing the trumpet and cornet, he was also a highly talented singer blessed with a powerful voice. Known for his skills on being able improvise, he would bend and twist the many lyrics and melody of a song with dramatic effect. As his popularity grew in the mid-20th century America when racism was more prevalent, he was one of the first African-American entertainers to be highly popular among both the white and the colored segments of the society. Fondly nicknamed Satchmo or Pops by his fans, he is often regarded to be the founding father of jazz as a uniquely American art form. Born into poverty in New Orleans, he had a very difficult childhood after his father abandoned the family. As a young boy, he
A single artist can have a very strong impact on a whole genre of Music. We have seen this time and time again through artists such as Charlie Parker, David Brubeck, John Coltrane, Art Blakey, Miles Davis, and various others. All of these artists had tremendous influences on the different eras that evolved throughout the history of Jazz. Bill Evans, and American jazz pianist, was no different. Just as Charlie Parker had started the evolution of Bebop and influenced the subsequent generations of Jazz Artists, Bill Evans has influenced Modern Jazz and the generations of artists that followed him. Throughout his career and his works with various other artists, Bill Evans has cemented himself as one of the great influences on modern day Jazz.
The term modern jazz generally referred to the musical period after bebop, when musicians begun to approached harmony in different aspect. Modern jazz was often overlooked, often defined as jazz derivation or hybrid and was influenced by variety of musicians; among them was Bill Evans. He was one of the most important jazz pianists, and remained to be one of the most influential musicians of post-bebop jazz, due to his prominent sound that made him recognizable to everyone. According to Bert Konowitz, “Bill Evans Sound is created by using chords in the left hand that often do not have the root of the chord on the bottom, as well as voicing chords with tone clusters” (198). Bill Evan’s sound was distinct and involved unique technique like chord cluster and block chord. Bill Evans was an important figure that influenced the development of modern jazz, including the progress of modal jazz technique, the re-harmonization by chord voicing and the expressivity of jazz.