Jazz Song By Frank Sinatra

In “My Papa’s Waltz,” Theodore Roethke illustrates an image of a father-son romp around the kitchen that is both harsh in its play and delicate in its memory. Roethke illustrates the poem’s images from his own childhood memories. Roethke uses simple words to create puzzling phrases that could be interpreted in different ways. The poem is ambiguous due to certain word choices that have baffling double meanings. Roethke’s poem paints an image of his childhood interactions with his father. Roethke paints this picture by using ambiguity within a waltz-like structure.

To start off, the first stanza in her song represents a sense of how unavoidable change is and how the confusion of the bond combined with the stress of the blame game can lead to a doomed

The song “Somewhere over the Rainbow” originally appeared in the movie the Wizard of Oz in 1939. It was created to be a part of the movie’s soundtrack. Its original title is “Over the Rainbow”, but it is now more popularly known as “Somewhere over the Rainbow”. Judy Garland was the actress in the movie who performed this song. Edgar Yipsel Harburg wrote the lyrics for “Somewhere over the Rainbow” and Harold Arlen was the composer for this song. This song reflected the general attitude of most Americans at the time. Although not released until 1939, this song clearly encapsulates the hardships of the 30’s in America. Americans felt a deep need to get over the hardships of the era. New politics, the Depression,

“I find it very, very easy to be true, I find myself alone when each day is through.” These lines in the second verse again reiterate the idea of devotion. They even further the idea by saying how Cash finds himself alone at night when he touring, and not with another. Staying true to ones lover means not going awry, and not cheating on this. So Cash uses this for a lyric in this stanza, and adds in that he himself finds doing so to be “very, very easy.” This of course will prove to be ironic later in his career (Cash).

La Vie En Rose was originally written and recorded in France, because of this the song is filled with romantic styles. When Louis Armstrong recorded the song, many aspects were left the same but more trumpets were added to increase the Armstrong’s influence. The song starts with the piano and through the song trombones, saxophone, guitars, bass, and drums are added to create a homophonic texture. As Louis Armstrong is known for his trumpet playing skills, the trumpet plays a key role in this song. As these instruments blend together, a 4/4 rhythm, with accents placed on 1 and 3 is created, this rhythm along with a lento tempo creates a calming, romantic sound. The melody follows this style to become light and simple. The harmony in

The end of the 1920s was known for the ending of the silent film in Hollywood. With the advancement of sound technology, it has transformed the way we view films in today’s world. It all began with a film called The Jazz Singer, directed by Alan Crosland, starring Al Jolson, Warner Oland, and May McAvoy. The film is about a little boy named Jakie, whose father is a Jewish cantor, and he defied his father by not wanting to follow the family tradition of cantors. He wanted to be a performer, specifically, a jazz singer. One day, he was discovered by his neighbor Moisha and thus he got beat up and kicked out of the house. Jakie vowed to never return home. A decade later, Jackie is a performer with the help of his lover Mary with a new identity by the name of Jack Robin who wears a black face when on stage. One night, his father fell ill and was asked to sing at the synagogue, however, it fell on the same day as his opening show on Broadway. Jakie had to make a tough decision choosing between his family or his career.

The first is evident in m. 3, when the bass, tenor, and alto sing “Care”, and a c seventh diminished chord is sung. It then breaks off, and is resolved into a B major chord. Nevertheless, dissonance is portrayed in this word again when the soprano joins in at m. 7 and an augmented c triad is sung. This is significant in delineating the sadness of the piece. This first section continues with this technique, oscillating between dissonance and consonance. A highly consonant area is in the following section starting at m. 15, rightfully expressing the joy that music can bring. In m. 23, there is a dissonance for a one beat duration before the piece returns to the melancholic text. A dissonance is heard again in a c diminished chord between the top three parts in m. 26 in the word “deadly”, bringing back the text’s tension. The dissonances become less prevalent as the piece moves into the next section discussing happiness. Properly, the first part ends on a major chord, providing an uplifting end and supporting the triumphant mood the text brings.

Music is such a beautiful creation, the way the melody, rhythm, tempo, all mix together to become a masterpiece. One specific genre of music, the blues, was heavily popular in the early 20th century. The blues is a tradition-oriented music style from the rural Southern African-American origin (“Jazz in America”, n.d. ). It usually had secular content, which is disparate from how it was when it first began. Blues music originated in plantations, where slaves sung, using it as a mental escape method from their oppression. Even though it started off in a simple way, it eventually turned into a serious entertainment. Bessie Smith and Billie Holliday, two well-known blues female singers, became hit sensations.

there relationship. In that scene John says a lot about how he feels about the relationship

The story “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin centers on the conflicting relationship between two brothers that is explored throughout various stages of their lives. Through the structured, melodic style used by Baldwin there are reoccurring themes of suffering, family, and home that are used to further convey the idea of two brothers who love each other, but don’t understand each other. Ultimately, the relationship between the two brothers is greatly strained due them being polar opposites, their lack of effective communication, and failure to truly hear one another rather than seeing. The characters do not have much in common beyond the blood that they share, thus making it difficult for a bond to form until the walls of judgement are torn

“Walkin and Swingin” is a piece of jazz performed by Andy Kirk and his band, the Twelve Clouds of Joy, that could be described as light, bouncy, and perhaps easy or even uncluttered. This was written by Mary Lou Williams for Andy Kirk and is a thirty-two bar piece with four choruses. However, the length of the sections is handled differently, with the last chorus section being shortened to six bars after the transitions between different instruments, from the saxophone and brass to the piano (seen from 2:16 to about 2:24). The song overall has a light tone, and has many instruments that contribute, including two alto saxophones, one tenor saxophone, three trumpets, two trombones, a guitar, a piano, a bass, and drums, as observed from the written sheet music. The piece is different from others in multiple ways, perhaps the most noticeable being the piano solo played by Mary Lou Williams, the multiple solos played by members of the brass instrument section, very quick but effective transitions, and the overall swing groove of the music. There is also a walking bass used at the bridge, and a very intriguing trumpet lead of the brass instruments.

Before watching “The Jazz Singer”, I had no idea of its cultural or historical significance. I learned that it was the first motion picture to have synchronized dialogue and words. It set the precedent for cinematography, live voice recordings, and real-time dialogue. The film was based on a short story written only a few years prior. The story was called “The Day of Atonement” and was authored by Samson Raphaelson. The short story was then adapted into an onstage musical in 1925 before finally becoming a full length feature film in 1927.

Even after slavery, African American women are still imprisoned by their inferior role to men. The women could be from different statuses based on job, wealth, or marital status, but they are would find themselves suffering under the rules of their men. The blues “Wild Women Don’t Have the Blues” by Ida Cox and “Mamie’s Blues” by Jelly Roll Morton talk about the challenges of women living during the Harlem Renaissance. The blues surrounded the African American women during this time, and these songs talk about women facing hardships in life because they are second class citizens compared to men.

Frank Sinatra’s songs helped Italian Americans embrace their heritage. Sinatra brought various, diverse experiences and, through music, made them relatable to both United States citizens and non-citizens. The lyrics in which Sinatra sang allowed Italians to feel a sense of belonging in America. This project will focus on Frank Sinatra and how his music influenced Italian Americans. Though I do not have a personal stake in this subject matter, I believe it is important to tell this story in hopes that anyone going through change will start to realize that they are not alone. In this project I am looking to emphasize the role that Frank Sinatra’s music played in influencing Italian Americans and allowing them to not feel isolated.

Frankie Beverly started the group as Raw Soul in 1970. They recorded a couple of singles on the small Gregar label, but without any major hits. With a few personnel changes, a relocation from Philadelphia to the San Francisco Bay Area in California in 1971, and an introduction to Marvin Gaye, the group became an immediate success. Gaye took the group on the road with him as one of his opening acts, and in 1976, he suggested that they change their name from Raw Soul to