Duke Ellington Essay

them his music by playing it for them, and would take a more active role in directing the band. By the end of his teens, Mingus had become proficient in music theory, and had a vast knowledge of music, classical and Jazz. Among his influences are Duke, Wagner, Strauss, Debussy. This becomes evident in the fact that most of Mingus’ music is programmatic and quite on the romantic side. Staying on the west coast, Mingus began playing gigs and on recording dates. His first high profile exposure

were starting to respect them more and there art, writing, and music. The Harlem Renaissance created a very new type of music. A new upbeat jazz genre was created. And with this music new dances came with it. Some popular musicians include, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Billie Holiday. It also brought in new poetry. Some famous poets include Langston Hughes, Claude Mckay, and Countee Cullen. Please consider adding the poems “I too”, “After the Winter”, and “Let America Be America Again”

a coping mechanism as for many other African Americans during the Harlem Renaissance. “Jazz continued its development as a uniquely American art form in Harlem, where prominent nightclubs like the Cotton Club featured great jazz composers like Duke Ellington and Fletcher Henderson. Their music lured whites uptown to Harlem to share the excitement of the Jazz Age…. The

and honesty and love for people to keep her love alive.      Billie Holiday spent 1934 moving up the rungs of the competitive New York bar scene. By early 1935, she made her debut at the Apollo Theater and appeared in a one-reeler film with Duke Ellington She made her first record with Benny Goodman. In 1935, she got her big breakthrough when she recorded four sides, which featured What a Little Moonlight Can Do, and Miss Brown to You. She made the songs classics because of her singing ability

John Coltrane: An Experimental Musician Jazz, which evolved from African American folk music, has developed and changed over the last century to become an art form in America. It places particular importance on inventive self interpretation. Rather than relying on a written piece, the artist improvises. Jazz has taken many forms over the past seventy years; there is almost always a single person who can be credited with the evolution of that sound. From Thelonius Monk, and his bebop, to Dizzy Gillespie’s

*This PBS series explores the history of the great American art form, Jazz. In this episode swing from 1937 to 1939 is featured. This documentary tells the story of the people. It dose it using the sound and soul of the music of the era. The film uses the soaring achievements and lives of the musicians. As we progress throw our course I felt it necessary to revisit swing and its development in American culture. Swing reigned supreme it evolved and modernized in the 1930s, it blossomed regardless

Charles Mingus was one of the most influential and groundbreaking jazz musicians and composers of the 1950s and 1960s. The virtuoso bassist gained fame in the 1940s and 1950s working with such jazz greats as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, and many others. His compositions pushed harmonic barriers, combining Western-European classical styles with African-American roots music. While examining his career is valuable from musical standpoint, his career also provides a powerful

When we are born into this World, some say we are born with no predefined path, others will say one 's Destiny is already chosen. It is one of the many wonders of the Human experience to try and seek purpose and meaning in life, to be freed of the constraints society puts upon others. Many people living today do not know what path they are taking, they are walking blindly, in the dark. However, it is possible for one to open their eyes and to see the many opportunities that come their way and to

Louis Armstrong was born in one of the poorest sections in New Orleans, August 4, 1901. Louis a hard-working kid who helped his mother and sister by working every type of job there was, including going out on street corners at night to singing for coins. Slowly making money, Louis bought his first horn, a cornet. At age eleven Armstrong was sent to juvenile Jones Home for the colored waifs for firing a pistol on New Year’s Eve. While in jail Armstrong received his first formal music lesson from one

During the Harlem Renaissance, many African-Americans were able to reveal and experience their culture through music, literature, and art. In the poem "Bottled", Helene Johnson writes a narrative about someone experiencing the Harlem Renaissance. Helene Johnson, a poet during the Harlem Renaissance, appears to have wrote "Bottled" as an example of African-Americans realizing their heritage and being proud of where they originated. The poem "Bottled" does tell a story of one seeking their heritage