What I Attended A Concert

I stood up in front of a hundred curious, gleaming eyes. “Hey guys,” I began, “I’m going to show you why the trombone is the coolest brass instrument ever!” I immediately whipped the slide out and performed a series of sequential glissandos, each one with more vigor than the last. That morning, I was performing with my school’s jazz band at the KIPP Elementary Academy in Philadelphia. Over a decade passed since I had last stepped foot in a Philadelphia school, when I attended the James Dobson School in kindergarten, yet the cozy gymnasium and the children’s crisp uniforms instantly evoked memories of my childhood. But one thing I did not remember from the past was having the opportunity to experience jazz at a young age. Thus, I desperately wanted to display the awesome power of brass instruments that is the soul of jazz music and inspire the kids to partake in the timelessly euphoric journey of music that I am blessed to have taken.

On March 30th, 2017 I attended a well-performed jazz concert at Prince George’s Community College. The concert was performed by a group called The Reginald Cyntje Group. The Reginald Cyntje Group was made up of Brian Settles, Herman Burney, Lenny Robinson, Hope Udobi, and Reginald Cyntje. The group performed seven songs including: “The Rise of the Protester,” “Ballad for the Masses,” “Chant of the Revolt,” “Descension and Ascension,” “No Justice No Peace,” “The Piece of Resistance,” and “Blues People vs the Deplorables.” While I enjoyed all of the songs my favorite was the “Dance of the Crooked Heads,” which will be the topic of my report.

Thesis: Although Jazz music was first introduced over 80 years ago, the genre still influences artists and the new music they make to this day.

Buddy’s playing married all of the contemporary popular styles of music, creating something never before heard, Jazz. “Jazz music emerged from the confluence of New Orleans’s diverse musical

This review is about the Studio Big Band and their performance in the Casa Loma Room at the University of Redlands on Thursday, February 23rd at eight in the evening, under the direction of Prof. David Scott. The concert was made up of the following tunes: “High Maintenance” by Gordon Goodwin, “Four” by Miles Davis (arr. Dave Bardhun), “Nica’s Dream” by Horace Silver (arr. Frank Mantooth), “Witchcraft” by Cy Coleman (arr. Sammy Nestico), “Footprints” by Wayne Shorter (arr. Mat Harris), “Category 4” by Jeff Jarvis, and “Giant Steps” by John Coltrane (arr. Mark Taylor). The music on this program was very relevant for the eras we are covering or will be covering soon in the class, and to this end, the piece I will be focusing on

In the 1890’s, a number of music publishers set up shop in a district of Manhattan, referred to at the time as Tin Pan Alley (Brackett, 1). These New York City music publishers and songwriters dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Before the decade was over, musicians from the African American culture created a new genre of music called “ragtime” which heavily influenced jazz artists. During the 1920’s jazz was one of the most popular

“JAZZ” is a documentary by Ken Burns released 2001 that focuses on the creation and development of jazz, America’s “greatest cultural achievement.” The first episodes entitled, “Gumbo, Beginnings to 1917” and “The Gift (1917-1924), explain the early growth of jazz as it originates in New Orleans and its expands to Chicago and New York during the Jazz Age. In assessing the first two episodes of Ken Burns' 2001 documentary, "JAZZ," this essay will explore the history of jazz, the music's racial implications, and it's impact on society. In doing so, attention will also be given to the structure of the documentary, and the effectiveness of documentary film in retelling the past.

I attended the Baylor University Concert Jazz Ensemble directed by Alex Parker on Tuesday, November 10th. This ensemble consisted of saxes, trombones, trumpets, drums, a piano, and bass. The concert showcased many individual talents by including solo’s or duet’s in every song. The program consisted of seven songs with no intermission. The pieces I selected were “Big Dipper” by Thad Jones and “Undecided” by Frank Mantooth.

One of the most iconic happenings in this age was the creation of jazz. Jazz had always been popular in night clubs in the south but during the great migration, jazz was brought to the north. After just a few weeks, jazz was the new fad and everyone was playing it. “Jazz flouted many musical conventions with its syncopated rhythms and improvised instrumental solos…improvisation meant that no two performances would ever be the same…” (The Decade That Roared, page

A conventional jazz band would consist of a front line of a trumpet, trombone and clarinet or the saxophone, and a rhythm section of drums, a bass, a piano, and often times a guitar or banjo. The blues is a type of

This movement led to the more stylized and more format variety of jazz would become orchestral jazz, imagined first by Whiteman as symphonic jazz. This stylization of jazz had elements of classical European composing , coupled with the rhythmic and instrumental sound of New Orleans jazz. Orchestral jazz was musically distinct from its southern processor for a variety of reasons: not only were the bands bigger , creating a certain richness of sound , but also the music was structurally more sophisticated . While New Orleans jazz was characterized by collective improvisation and the spontaneous reinterpretation of standard tunes, jazz orchestras played head arrangements that were composed and arranged prior to the performance in which they were executed. The busy, raucous style of early jazz did not hold the same kind of popular appeal that the comparative reminiscent of New Orleans jazz was replaced during the transition into the swing era by the bass innovations of Wellman Braud. His use of the “walking style” of bass made the four beats to the jazz standard ; furthermore , this rhythm was conductive to the kind of dancing audiences

The jazz music of the 1920’s is one example of the scandalous lives of the elite and their elaborate parties that broke barriers for the innovation of American culture.

The mystery of Jazz and its powerful impact on the music community can be explained largely by the context of it’s creation. Jazz was born in the United States, and because of this, many have referred to Jazz as “America’s music.” Like America, Jazz has a balance between structure and spontaneity. It capitalizes on the fluidity of the musicians, having several different instruments with independent spirits, coming together as one to form a great piece of music. Unlike other styles of music, Jazz has a certain way about it that makes it stand-alone in the world of genres. It improvises, moves, and transforms itself in a moment’s notice based on the musician’s intuition. Just as America harbors democracy, so too does a jazz ensemble, showing both the responsibility to a larger group, yet still allowing room for individual freedom. It all comes down to how well others can respect the overall framework and structure of the jingle.

On Thursday April 25, 2013 , I attended a jazz vocal concert at the Music Concert Hall. The first vocal ensemble opened up the performance with a slow rhythmic song called Blue Skies. It began with vocals and I noticed a light auxiliary percussion and drum rhythm. Also, the bass guitarist used walking bass and the piano and electric guitar joined in as well. The first song also consisted of two soloist Regina and Chantel who took the front stage to show off their chops. After the solo performances they fell back into the vocal sections and finished off the song as a complete band. The second performance had a piano opening which led to vocals joining in at the same time as the rhythm section. This performance

The 1920’s in American history seem to be very exciting. It was the height of the Harlem Renaissance, where African American literature, poetry, art and music emerged. You had all this African American talent growing and blasting into the mainstream. Historians refer to this time period as “The Jazz Age”. When jazz music was introduced to the public at clubs and dance halls it took off! People were either captivated by it, or appalled by it. Jazz was all about movement; it was driven by syncopation and improvisation, and for some it was considered “the devil’s music.” The novel Jazz by Toni Morrison allows you to wonder down the seductive streets of Harlem where it all began. The book gives a sense of both the scandal of Jazz music and the