Courtney Amon Jazz Band Mr. McCarthy 04/07/2017 A Master Jazz Trumpeter In the world of music, especially Jazz, we have heard of many great musicians over the years, such as Nat King Cole and Louie Armstrong, but there is one that I think stands above all especially when it comes to trumpeter’s. One does not usually need to look to far down a list of greats before they find this world class trumpeter, Chet Baker. Chet has had many accomplishments in the music world, but also has had his shares of ups and downs, but remarkably he has been still one of the world’s greats. Music was his life and shaped the definition of who he was as a man.…
Performer: James Brown Career Span: 1960-1990 Location: James Brown was born in South Carolina but was raised in Southern Georgia. Band Members: James Brown’s first band consisted of members from his Gospel Based group from the 1950s where his career began as a musician. After his hit of “Please, Please, Please” they changed their name to James Brown and the “Famous Flames.” In 1970, Brown hired some young musicians to form his new band.…
“Real success is not on the stage, but off the stage as a human being, and how you get along with your fellow man,” said Sammy Davis Jr. This quote summarizes his personal mission towards improving relationships among all Americans. Sammy Davis is best known for his singing, dancing, and acting. Still, his real impact on American culture was his ability to get along with all walks of life regardless of any situation. Sammy Davis Jr.’s life was influenced by his early life.…
In the 1940s, the equivalent of a meteorite hit the American music industry, driving it into a new dimension of creativity and innovation. The predominantly white industry experienced exceptional African American artists in the last two decades, but nothing compared to the impact of Ray Charles. His art expression gave American music a new identity, and his raw talent rocked it into a new generation. Ray Charles is an influential and inspiring American figure because he created a new era of American music with his unique style, contributed considerably in the racial integration of entertainment industry, and proved that any child, despite challenges and handicaps, could achieve success if they worked hard and stayed true to their morals.…
Art Tatum and peanut m&ms share many of the same characteristics. The hard shell of the m&m is similar to the many challenges Art Tatum faced in his life and the chocolatey filling on the inside that surrounds the peanut is his family always surrounding him with support. Lastly, the peanut in the center is taste of peanut that never fades just like his music. It will never fade through the centuries. Art Tatum had lots of support from his family and friends growing up and was exposed to music at a young age.…
Armstrong was an originator of scat singing and influenced the way all popular music developed. He continuously broke race barriers by being the first African American to host a sponsored, national radio broadcast, and being the first African American superstar. Armstrong’s charisma and wit led him to becoming an iconic entertainer, inspiring generations for decades. Armstrong gave jazz a direction and a purpose. He utilized something he called “rhythmic freedom” along with improvisation in his music that let his creativity shine.…
The “Great Migration” led more than six million African Americans to large cities in the north looking for better jobs and racial equality. African Americans desperately wanted to prove their intellect and artistic abilities in direct contrast of the mockery that was prevalent during this time in history. In commercials, fiction, theater, and political, civil arguments, white Americans experienced pictures of blacks as uninformed jokesters and overlooked the extreme issues confronting black Americans. (Edwards; Great Migration) Between 1920 and 1930, African Americans experienced a change in attitude and embraced a new sense of African culture and pride.…
There has never been anyone like Art Tatum, who is one of the greatest jazz musicians in history. Tatum was born on October 13, 1909, in Toledo, Ohio, and he was the child of amateur musicians. His father was a mechanic, and his mother was a housemaid who worked in white homes. Although he was not born into a wealthy family, his unique talents helped propel him into the spotlight. If anything, Tatum proved that it was not impossible to become a world-class extraordinaire despite growing up with limited funds.…
The primary factor was the importation of African slaves to a world dominated by warring European colonists-- particularly the French, Spanish, and English. In striving to keep African musical traditions alive, the slaves eventually found ways to blend them with the abiding traditions of Europe, producing hybrid in North and South America unlike anything in the old world.” In 1987, the U.S. Congress passed a resolution declaring jazz a “Valuable National American treasure,” but the full text summarizes the confusion distributed by the music’s contradictory qualities. Jazz is an “art form” brought to the American people through well-funded classes and art programs, but it is also a “people’s music” that came upward from the desires of ordinary people.…
The story “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin is about differences, understanding and most importantly music. In the story, the unnamed narrator and his brother Sonny struggle to understand each other, which stems from the immense differences in how they live and view life. This story takes place in the 1950’s, which is shortly after the Harlem Renaissance, which is labeled as the “literary, artistic, and intellectual movement that kindled a new black cultural identity” (history.com). At the time, Jazz was exploding in popularity and is one of the main aspects of the story.…
Beautiful melody, unusually chords and a great sense of rhythmic patterns are only a few characteristics that describe Thelonious Monk’s music. Monk was one the few American jazz composers that gave a spiritual feeling in his music. During his lifetime he played melodies and used chord progressions that no one has ever played before. He epitomizes what a jazz musician is supposed to be, whether if it’s through his compositions, his piano playing or someone else playing his music, you know right away it is Thelonious’. Monk kept to his own style, which was a unique and difficult concept to maintain at the time and was vastly different from the other jazz pianist of his day.…
Charlie Parker’s Ill-Fated West Coast Trip Charlie “Bird” Parker is one of the most iconic figures not only in the modern jazz history, but also in the jazz history overall. Charlie Parker had an extraordinary melodic gift and regularly created solos that consisted of ling-lined melodies, each of which was elegant improvised composition unto itself. This gained a wide following among jazz musicians and greatly influenced the Jazz community in the iconic shift is music. Parker’s self-destructive behavior and lifestyle, despite being fatal to the musician ending his life at the age of 34, also attracted a lot of attention of the hipsters, poets, and researchers of the era of late 1940s jazz. As Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie traveled to the…
It was 8 a.m. during summer break and I had just walking into the high school to start my first year of marching band. Millions of thoughts rushed through my head, “What if I forget the music? What if I mess the drill up?”As I walked to the field one of my friends introduced me to someone who would become the greatest mentor during my high school career. Alex Murphy was the lead saxophonist at Kingsway Regional High School.…
The 1920s and 30s were a time of renewal and revival for the city of Harlem. This period of time has been dubbed “the Harlem Renaissance.” One of the artists at the head of this movement was Louis Armstrong. “Satchmo” or “Pops” as he was often called, released many important works, many of which are performed to this day (ABiography.com (Eds.), n.d.). His music has resonated throughout the world from his time to our time.…
Jazz Compare and Contrast Jazz was the music of the 20’s people who listened to it back then were considered rebels. The artists that really got the ball rolling with this new sound was Jelly Roll Morton, Joe King Oliver, Sidney Bichet, Louis Armstrong, and Duke Ellington. These men changed the way people looked at music for ever. They come from different backgrounds but impact the music world in a long lasting way, which leads to their own situations by the end of their careers.…