The 19th century had been a very erratic ride for music, with the arrival of Jazz. Jazz itself also had a very interesting journey, from a sorrowful blues to a very technical bebop. Cool jazz was introduced in the early 1950s as a reaction to bebop, through Miles Davis’ “The birth of cool”. Two examples of cool jazz include the following, Dave Brubeck’s “Unsquare Dance” and the modern jazz quartet’s arrangement of Bach’s “Rise up in the morning”. These extracts of music both consist of the characteristics of cool jazz, however these characteristics have been utilized in completely different ways to set their own mood.
Brubeck’s work of the “Unsquare Dance” conveyed a very lively, energetic and unsettling mood for the listener. He successfully achieved this through his use of musical elements, including instrumentation and timbre. The instrumentation of Brubeck’s work was composed for a double bass, grand piano and untuned percussion of hand clapping. The grand piano was played with a light a mellow timbre to evoke the listener to feel lively and excited. This piano melody is accompanied with a Double bass, played using pizzicato, creating a round, warm and sound to compliment the cheerful piano lead. Lastly Brubeck uses a harsh timbre of the hand clapping which was very effective in giving a very earthy, lively feel. This
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The rhythm is Brubeck’s work had a very significant impact on setting a lively, energetic and unsettling mood for the listener using a complex meter. The meter used for the extract of music was a 7/4. The rhythm is used very carefully, to indirectly provoke the listener. This can be seen in the differences of accents in the different parts. The introduction is made up with a pattern of, 1,2,1,2,1,2,3. The strong beats in the percussion is; 2, 4 and 6 which contrasts from the double bass, where the strong beats fall on 1, 3 and 5. This further increases the uncertainty for the
The rhythms of the suite is in 3-beat meter. It can be described as fast-slow-fast. It is slow until the piece hits the 3:30 mark. Then it speeds up until the 16 minute mark before slowing down again.
Jazz music of the 1940’s and 1950’s was defined by a history of change since its beginning at the dawn of the 20th century. Almost every decade brought a new flavor to the movement, and by the 1940’s jazz had developed into a mature, complex form of music, with many nuances and avenues for continued change. It is important to trace the early movements in jazz to better understand the innovations of the Bebop and Cool jazz eras of the 40’s and 50’s.
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
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 issue, I will illustrate the movement from the 1930’s swing era to the birth of bebop and modern jazz.
This concert is held by the Stony Brook University music department and is to perform seven pieces of music written by seven student composers. The concert is performed in Recital Hall of Staller Center in Stony Brook University. Since it is a small hall, audiences are very close to the performers. In fact, it is the first time I am this close to the performers and the sound for me is so clear and powerful that seems like floating in front of my eyes. Among the seven pieces, “Ephemeral Reveries” and “Gekko no mori” are piano solo, “Two Songs for Joey” is in piano and marimba, “Suite” and “Fold Duet No. 1” are in woodwinds, “Elsewhere” is played by string groups, and “e, ee, ree, and I was free” is in vocal. Personally, I like the sound of piano and guitar the best. Therefore, in the latter part I will analysis two pieces in piano, “Gekko no mori” and “Two Songs for Joey”.
After a short introduction, Andy Baker began the concert by playing the song “Sedentary Motion” composed by Tom Garling. The style of the song was set in an easy modern Samba feel, the music lines were smooth and the chord voicings were merged to produce a gentle, yet complex conversation between sections of the jazz ensemble. As the chords were free and unrestrained, the solo performance of the tenor saxophone and trumpet were able to stand out and present their ideas. The drummer accompanied them throughout the whole song, which makes the song sound more colorful. The tempo of “Sedentary Motion” was set in an easy medium tempo, and the whole song lasted for over nine minutes.
There are two main rhythmic ideas that are present in this piece. The first is the regular rhythmic pulse in the pianos and mallet instruments
...ers and the audience. The dramatic nature of this piece alone is something to be reckoned with as it is extremely passionate. The symphony is presented in 4 movements as is common and begins with a Poco Sostenuto- Vivace, followed by a Allegretto movement, Presto movement, and finally ends on an Allegro con brio movement. the central theme of this piece is introduced in the first movement by a flute playing in tripple meter continuously ascending up the scales rising in dynamic contrast, continuing to grow into a louder and more stark contrast between it’s highs and lows. Consistently dance like, the piece is celebratory of its roots buried in historical Austrian music that has been present in the culture for years. The accomplishments of the soldiers for which the piece was composed for are easily told of simply by the energy and power present throughout the piece.
The next work of the program, Courtly Airs and Dances, is a multi-movement work composed by Ron Nelson. The piece is split into six movements: Intrada, Basse Danse, Pavane, Saltarello, Sarabande, and Allemande. Each of these present distinct characteristics that separate it from each other movement, yet all are united by being a style of dance. The first movement, Intrada, presents a fanfare-like opening to the multi-movement work. The trumpets and brass section as a whole lead this, as they create a sense of nobility. The key is major and the tempo is one that could be described as allegretto—it is not a fast tempo, yet more brisk than an andante pace. The texture is homophonic, as there are different parts being performed by different
...re was very interesting transitions between the variation, for example, string section plays the variation from low to high, when they reach the highest note, the brass family takes over and continue with the scale and make it more higher. Tremolo style was used in this piece, which is a quick ups and downs stroke mode. The music were very soothing and attracted the audience. Lastly, they end the piece with the same variations that was played at the beginning.
This piece was easier to understand than its predecessor and as such, became accessible to the growing percussion community and Xenakis’s most popular percussion work. Rebonds did however share the exclusive Xenakis character of sound as Psappha and continued to pushed the boundaries of performer technical limitations that Psappha introduced. Both works are thought to be some of the most powerful and difficult solo percussion pieces in the twentieth century and have become staples in modern percussion recitals. Rebonds is essentially a mandatory study for aspiring percussionists, in part to continue to improve the ambitious musician’s multiple percussion skill-set, but also to understand the piece’s influence in the on-going validation of solo percussion literature. Renown music critic, Jacques Longchampt who was present for the premiere of the work by percussionist Sylvio Gualda, eloquently declared Rebonds as a "immense abstract ritual, a suite of movements and of hammerings without any folkloristic "contamination", pure music full of marvellously efflorescent rhythms, going beyond drama and tempest.
jazz/) Works Cited:.. Andrews, John. The. a. The adage of the adage of the adage of the adage of the adage of What bebop means to jazz history. A review of Scott Devine’s book “The Birth of the Bebop: A Social and Musical History.”
The music accompaniment to this piece comes from one or two pianos which work in almost perfect collaboration with the dance so that neither one overshadows the other. While no other instruments are used, the melody of the piano changes from scene to scene in order to depict Jooss’ emotional responses. During the scenes with the politicians, the air of the piano is light-hearted and almost comedic. The purpose of this was to show the detachment of these men from the war. They are in a safe situation, unexposed to war and death. When the scene changes and we see what’s happening in the lives of citizens, this vaudeville-like tune is transformed into a thunderous and eerie song that haunts the audience. The reason for this change is to reveal Jooss’ feelings about the unnecessary brutality and death that always comes with a war, and how politicians don’t understand the horror of it.
...chestral introduction with an imperfect cadence. A strong rhythmic ¾ allegro passage, with sequences and descending scales is played by the orchestra, with timpani and cymbals. The music modulates, and a short, quiet woodwind passage is then alternated with an orchestral passage with dotted rhythms, creating a `terraced dynamics' effect. Part B begins with a major clarinet melody accompanied by pizzicato strings. A minor flute sequence follows, and is followed by a repetition of the oboe melody. A string sequence is then played, imitated by the oboe. There is a crescendo, then the rhythmic orchestral melody returns, alternated with a short flute passage. There are suspensions, descending scales and a crescendo, followed by a strong rhythmic passage with the timpani playing on the beat. Imperfect cadences are played, before the piece finishes with a perfect cadence.
In the 1950s, the growth of cool jazz stemmed a blend of white musicians, such as Chet baker and Gerry Mulligan, but major African-American groups, such as the Modern Jazz Quartet, were also expressing this style. However, it would take until the late-1950s for “cool jazz” masterpieces, such as Mile Davis’ The Birth of Cool, to become a dominant mainstream style of jazz. These musical trends define the origins of “cool jazz” within the context of the etymological use of cool as a musical style in the early 1950s. Certainly, the merger of “cool pose” culture in African-American culture had crossed over in white jazz music as a way to merge these two cultural phenomenon into a single musical