Understandably the focus of the episode titled 1959 The Year that Changed Jazz would focus on the events of 1959. The main point was outlining the four albums by four different bands that showed the different ways jazz was evolving. The first album to take focus was Kind of Blue recorded by Miles Davis and his sextet. Davis had started his jazz carer at the age of nineteen under his idol Charlie Parker in the late 1940's. Taking what he learned from Parker of the Bebop style, Davis went on to become an amazing artiest in his own right. Columbia Records was was easily able to turn him into a national celebrity, one that the women found highly attractive. From the sextet, Jimmy Cobb and Herbie Hancock were interviewed.
Another one of the four was Mingus Ah Um composed by Charles Mingus, an individual stated by many in the episode to be overflowing with emotion. The episode focused on Mingus antics and the song entitled “Fables of Faubus”. This track was a political statement about the acts of Governor Orval Faubus and the continued segregation of Little Rock, Arkansas after the Supreme Court ruled in unconstitutional. Mingus was very vocal about his views. He was outlived by his wife Sue made sure his legacy didn't die and was the one interviewed on him in this episode.
…show more content…
Third of the four was the odd ball album Shape of Jazz to Come recorded by the Ornette Coleman Quartet.
With this album Ornette Coleman wanted to showcase the potential of jazz and where he thought the genre was headed. The albums jumbled and urgent sound voiced the peoples concern of nuclear enialation. Although some instantly fell in love with Coleman's sound, many hated it at its debut. For this section the bassist Charlie Haden was interviewed and Ornette Coleman can be heard in an interview before his
death. The last important album of the year 1959 was Time Out recorded by the Dave Brubeck Quartet. This album was so influential for its experimentation with time signature in jazz. Brubeck picked up different sounds on the bands travels to Eastern Europe as a propaganda stunt by the US aimed at Soviet Russia. I was surprised to find this out, especially sense Eugene Wright, the bands bassist, was black and the nation was going through such turmoil with the ending of segregation. At one point in the episode one of the individuals interviews mentioned something along the lines of, 'the nation wanted to showcase freedom, even though not everyone in it was free' when talking about the tour. For this section band leader and pianist Dave Brubeck and percussionist Joe Morello were interviewed.
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.
When the United States were showing signs of economical growth, the unimaginable happen. When the 1929 stock market crash marked the day that the United States slowly crept into the Great Depression. The Great Depression caused nationwide panic. There was a decrease of production and the sale of goods. Many businesses started to collapse and close. Banks closed down since they took people’s money and invest in stocks. When the stocks crashed, banks went bankrupt and people lost their money and savings. Then there was a rise in unemployment and thousands of workers lost their jobs. Countless amount of people were homeless and they were trying their best to save their money. People were trying to figure out how to deal with their economic difficulties. During that time, people wanted to escape from their problems. They would watch movies and listen to music. At the time Jazz music was very popular. Jazz music had musical freedom and the songs show the way many people felt. It had the power to lift the gloomy spirits of the people affected. Jazz music has a style that appeal to many people, both young and old. One of the earlier Jazz
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.
But Armstrong and his jazz, more often than not, supported the civil rights movement. For example, in his 1929 song, “Black and Blue,” Armstrong speaks out, or moreso, sings out, against racism. This was a precarious topic to sing about as a black musician, let alone in front of white audiences. And later, in response to the Little Rock Crisis in 1957, Armstrong openly criticized the prevention of desegregation and canceled his tour in the Soviet Union as cultural ambassador of the United States in retaliation
In the 1930s, Goodman gradually gained recognition at recording sessions and radio shows in New York City, where he later formed his first band and began performing weekly on NBC’s radio show Let’s Dance (Collier 89). Around this time, Goodman had his first number one hit “Moonglow,” clearly marking his progression as a bandleader (Collier 96). This exposure allowed Goodman to achieve greater national fame that provided the foundation for the beginning of the Swing Era. With a national audience building from his radio performances, Goodman’s upbeat, hot jazz swing style was gaining traction, leading up to a pivotal performance on his band’s tour in Los Angeles that marked the transition to a new era in jazz. At Palomar Ballroom, Goodman and his band performed their new swing music, which combined elements of jazz and popular American dance music (Firestone 204). The gig is generally accepted as the start of the Swing Era, as Goodman’s style of swing music gained overwhelming positive feedback from the audience. Since the performance was broadcasted on national radio, Goodman’s jazz music dominated headlines and catapulted jazz into the forefront of American popular music. As dancers craved the upbeat swing music, bands copied Goodman’s style, which led to the proliferation of swing music and the birth of the Swing Era (“Benny Goodman:
The word “jazz” is significant to America, and it has many meanings. Jazz could simply be defined as a genre or style of music that originated in America, but it can also be described as a movement which “bounced into the world somewhere about the year 1911.”. This is important because jazz is constantly changing, evolving, adapting, and improvising. By analyzing the creators, critics, and consumers of jazz in the context of cultural, political, and economic issues, I will illustrate the movement from the 1930’s swing era to the birth of bebop and modern jazz. As the 1930’s began, the effects of the Great Depression still ravaged the United States, which in turn caused a dramatic change in the music industry.
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.
Jazz music prospered in the 1940’s and 1950’s. Jazz was created by African Americans to represent pain and suffering and also represented the adversity that racial tension brought. (Scholastic) African American performers like Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie “Bird” Parker came to be recognized for their ability to overcome “race relati...
Jazz is referred as “America’s classical music,” and is one of North America’s and most celebrated genres. The history of Jazz can be traced back to the early era of the 20th century of the U.S. “A History of Jazz” presents From Ragtime and Blues to Big Band and Bebop, jazz has been a part of a proud African American tradition for over 100 years. A strong rhythmic under-structure, blue notes, solos, “call-and response” patterns, and
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.
Jazz was portrayed through different styles of writing throughout each story. The first author focused on telling a story based on a time period of revolution while the second, focused on writing an interview-formatted story. Both stories did display sense of Jazz as a catalyst to feeling different types of ways no matter the situation. The group mentioned in the first story was able to revolt and share their beliefs of Jazz through performances. The author showed how Jazz affected even the people who were against it. Jazz touches everyone in some way like many other types of music. The second story didn’t mention Jazz a lot, but gave way to the feeling that Jazz heals people. As soon as the protagonist heard Jazz music, he was cured from his disease. Not everyone will view Jazz in the same way, but Jazz affects everyone as seen in the passages before.
Not only is it nearly impossible to pinpoint jazz’s conception in time, many locations are accredited with its origin, the United States allowed for jazz to start gaining popularity and leading into the change it had to the music scene. When jazz is brought up, many first think of its birth place being New Orleans, Louisiana. New Orleans has always been a big musi...
"History of Jazz | Black History in America | Scholastic.com." History of Jazz | Black History in America | Scholastic.com. Scholastic, n.d. Web. 09 Jan. 2014.
As it mentioned above, the title itself, draws attention to the world-renowned music created by African Americans in the 1920s’ as well as to the book’s jazz-like narrative structure and themes. Jazz is the best-known artistic creation of Harlem Renaissance. “Jazz is the only pure American creation, which shortly after its birth, became America’s most important cultural export”(Ostendorf, 165). It evolved from the blues
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.