Django Reinhardt was born into the lifestyle of his gypsy parents on January 24th, 1910 in a

He used his guitar as something or some way to speak to his audience and his friends, so you can only imagine why he played so many. He saw a guitar as a pen and the stage as his paper. You could break things, and sometimes we did. But I could never look Jerry in the eye and say, 'I don't have your guitar."his equipment manager Steve Parish said. He used this as an outlet in his life but,that outlet became the thing that made him famous.1963 Sunburst Strat with Brazilian Rosewood fingerboard. Would have been the guitar he used during the Woodstock. He got this guitar a few years before the Woodstock so that means he took his time to learn how to play the wright way for him so he could grow with that instrument.

African American influence in music has been an ever present and controversial subject in American history. Stemming from many different cultures, religions and backgrounds, large portions of American music was introduced by, and credited to African Americans. Although in many cases, this music was used for entertainment by the masses or majority, contrary to popular belief, black music served a greater purpose than just recreation. Dating all the way back to the beginning of slavery in the U.S. during the 17th century, music has been used to make a statement and send a message. As African American music progressed over the years, there were common themes expressed as the genres evolved. It has been an open letter to the world, documenting and protesting the ongoing oppression faced by blacks in the United States, as well as an outlet for frustration. For many African Americans, the music gave them the only voice that couldn’t be silenced by their oppressors.

In the memoir A Long Way Gone, author Ishmael Beah describes his survival journey as a lost child in his country, because of the civil war in Sierra Leone, then becoming a child soldier facing war daily, afterward the process that Beah went through during rehabilitation and finally in fear escaping the civil war. Ishmael Beah emotional journey has three stages of development in which Beah utilized music. In the first stage, Beah uses music as a survival mechanism to keep sane and safe. In the second stage, begins when he loses his brother and friends, Beah reaches the lowest point with the loss of his entire family again, some friends, music, and being forced to join the war. In the final stage, is the process of rehabilitation where Beah connects with music once again. Ishmael Beah exposure to music at a young age stayed with him throughout his life. (Beah, 2007, p. 5-218)

Dawes explains the critics she got from other blacks who accused her of living like the whites since she had a liking for white’s bands such as The Violent Flame and The Clash. She had emotional attachment to music as she describes in the book. Before globalization and invention of internet technology, she worked hand to ensure she access the kind of music that she found pleasing unlike other kinds of music that other people liked listening to. Her interest led him to become a music journalist, which was a great success to her music interest which resulted in writing of this book. The book contains Dawes’ personal bibliography, an analysis of the culture of the blacks in a perspective of political history, and heavy metal artists especially the black females.

Count Basie, was born August 21, 1904 in Red Bank, New Jersey. He was a gifted pianist, bandleader, and composer. His mother was a pianist and his father was a mellophonist. His mother, not realizing that he would become an amazing pianist and bandleader, started off his journey by giving him his first piano lessons. Later on, William and his family moved to New York, where he was further influenced by James P. Johnson and Fats Waller. In New York, Waller taught Basie organ playing techniques. Further on in his life Count Basie had many top chart hits such as “One O’Clock Jump” and “Blue Skies” In the 1858 Grammy’s became the first African-American male represent of a Grammy Award. Throughout his career, he won many more. Not only was he a great composer and musician, but he was a good person who influenced many people's lives. This essay will outline the life of Count Basie and all of his

Duke Ellington's pre-eminence in jazz is not only because of the very high aesthetic standard of his output and not simply due to his remarkable abilities as a pianist, composer and bandleader, but also to the fact that he has extended the boundaries of jazz more than any other musician, without abandoning the true essence of the music. Perhaps no other American musician left such a massive and challenging legacy in composition and performance.

The film “Searching for Sugar Man” focuses on a legend folk music star, Sixto Rudriguez, who is more popular than Elvis in South Africa but fails to gain fame in the United States. He knows nothing about his fame in South Africa and has no idea how he is deified there. The whole story is told in a linear way to present a dramatic journey of finding Rudriguez. It is not followed an old-fashioned “rough start-road to success-dream come true” style (Ning). It is a display of two parallel worlds of a legend music hermit. An artist who regards art as his ultimate faith in life remains unmoved either by gain or loss.

In contrast to Odysseus, Everett's view on faith is remarkably different from Odysseus' view. In "O, Brother, Where Art Thou?", Tommy tells the " Chain Gang" that for him to learn how to play the guitar, he sold his soul to the devil. Furthermore, Everett lets Tommy know that Delmar and Pete had just been baptized but he is the only one who is apart from any religious group or figure. This shows that no God, religion, or miracles are believed by Everett. Now in contrast to Everett, Odysseus believes in many Gods and relies on them to help him stay alive throughout his journey and reach home in one piece.

The roots of modern american rock and roll music, are firmly planted in Africa. As the native Africans were torn apart from their family’s and brought to the new world their lives were immediately and drastically changed forever. Finding themselves immersed in a completely new environment with a foreign culture, they thankfully persevered and carried on with their own traditions and most importantly to this paper, musical ones. Most American slaves originated from Western and Central Africa. The West Africans carried a musical tradition rich with long melody lines, complicated rhythms (poly rhythmics) and stringed instruments CITATION. The West Africans music was also strongly integrated into their everyday lives. Songs were preformed for religious ceremonies and dances and music was often a

To most people the infusion of African tonality into Duke Ellington's music to create "Negro art", questions the connection between European music and Jazz. Here Constant Lambert responds to this.

musical talent came honestly. His father was a mellophonist and his mother was a pianist.

The perception of one’s role and how they fit into a particular community can very important, so it makes sense that feelings of exclusion can be particularly devastating, especially at a young age. Shelby Martinez, who has been my closest friend since high school, has shared her adolescent experiences with these feelings of exclusion, with me on numerous occasions. On many of those instances, she reflected on how much time she spent by herself in her bedroom with headphones on, just listening to music. It was clear that music played a big role for her growing up, so I decided to do my musical ethnography on her. Shelby spent her adolescence in Yuba City, which is a relatively small Northern Californian town that embraces country life, with big focus on agriculture, hunting, and country music. However, Shelby was didn’t hold this same affinity for a rural

One of the most influential figures in modern music to this day, Jimi Hendrix, was a complex and unusual man for his time. Being most well-known for his eccentric performances and style, both in fashion and in music, Jimi stood out in the western world 's very uniform Rock’n’Roll scene. Playing with his teeth, burning his guitar, rising to fame in a matter of weeks all contributed to his remarkable life. Jimi Hendrix’s life and rise to fame were exceptionally unordinary and extraordinarily influential. Filled with curiosities from the day he was born to his tragic drug-related death, Jimi was unusual. Accordingly, these curiosities are what makes Jimi Hendrix such a notable figure in history.

When watching the movie Latcho Drom, it opened up my eyes about the Gypsies and their culture. I found it entertaining to learn about them. In the beginning of the movie, a background music started to play and it made feel happy and entertain to see what is going to happen next. In the movie, the people started to make noises with their tools, while a little girl starts to dance. It made me think that music can be made out of anything, even tools when constructing something. Throughout the movie, they kept singing in a high tone and melody. The tember of the song they were singing was sharp, high, and bright. When the people started to dance, it showed a story line of their culture, as if it was music without text. Overall, I enjoyed watching

Before hearing this lecture, I had no concept of the types of music in concentration camps, much less a sense of the music within World War II. The lecture taught me how music and the arts are something that can’t ever be stopped. Even though it’s not mandatory for human life or a lucrative career it has permanently etched a place inside of culture and the continuation of history.