Émile Durkheim

American Jazz sensation, Miles Dewey Davis III was born in Alton, Illinois, on May 26th 1926. The nine time Grammy winner is considered to be one of the top musicians of his era. He forever changed the style of jazz and history of music. Throughout his years in music, he has proven to be a universal musical genius that was able to stretch his style of sound for miles. Davis grew up in a middle class home with his parents, Miles Davis Jr. and Cleota Henry. His father was a successful oral…

Gus Giordano is known for his amazing choreography in Jazz dance. He was born on July 10, 1923 in St. Louis, Missouri. Giordano was introduced to Jazz dance when he was 5 while on a trip to New Orleans to visit family. His cousin had taught him the Charleston dance step and he was hooked. When he returned home he soon began to study dance with a local dance teacher. Minette Buchman is whom Giordano credits his early training to. Giordano took ballet and theater dance classes as well as vocal…

Charlie Parker, or the ‘Bird’, was one of the best saxophone players in the world. His unique style of playing combined with this ability to combine chords rarely used in jazz, flowing seamlessly between them made Parker one of the greats. As a teenager, Parker was allowed the opportunity to play with the famous drummer Jo Jones, drummer of the Count Basie band, a most popular swing bands of the time. Parker enters his solo and starts to show off his unique style, but then he messes up, losses…

Racism was always mixed with jazz. But it just “created tension and strengthened” around the community at times but that changed in the 1930s. In the 1930s the Great Depression hit America which made a big impact in the economy and affected every part of America. Jazz music was mostly affected by the depression, people began staying “home and listening to the radio, instead of spending their money and going to nightclubs” (History of Jazz). In effort to save the jazz music and its popularity,…

Duke Ellington is an originator of big-band jazz, Duke Ellington was an American composer, pianist and band leader who composed thousands of scores over his 50 year career. Duke Ellington was born on April 29, 1899 In Washington, D.C. At the age of 7 he started learning piano and got the nickname duke. He wrote his first composition ‘soda fountain rag’ at the age of 15. He was awarded an art Scholarship in the Pratt institute in Brooklyn, New York, Ellington followed his passion for ragtime…

Edward Kennedy Ellington was one of the most famous jazz composers and performers of the twentieth century. It is a well-known fact that Duke Ellington went down in history of jazz music as one of the most significant composers, as well as outstanding bandleader, who led his own musical group of about fifty years. Thus, the main aims of this project are to think about Duke Ellington, and discuss how he fits into the history of jazz, dwelling on his style and other details with more attention.…

FLETCHER HENDERSON James Fletcher Hamilton Henderson, Jr. (December 18, 1897 – December 29, 1952) was an American pianist, bandleader, arranger and composer, important in the development of band jazz and swing music. He was one of the most prolific black musical arrangers and his influence was vast. He was often known as Smack Henderson (apparently due to his college baseball hitting skills) .Fletcher is ranked along with Duke Elington as one of the most influential arrangers and band leaders…

World War II was not only a time of destruction, but also a time of creation. Many new music styles appeared during this time period. One of these great innovators was George Gershwin, who created Rhapsody in Blue. Gershwin’s introduction of a new music style in his first performance sent waves around the country that pulled in people of all music preference. The musical genius, Gershwin, created a new rhythm and style by combining Classical and Jazz music. In the time before Gershwin rose to…

Cameron Davidson Associate Professor Karen Werner Music of America 28 September 2015 Paper #1: R. Carlos Nakai and Native American Music The field of Native American music is an interesting one. For myself, I have never heard much Native American music, but I have seen the rituals and dances that they perform in movies, most of them in history classes in my past. There is one person that I had never heard of before taking Music of America. That man is R. Carlos Nakai. He relates to the field…

McLaughlin & Miles Davis Go Ahead John is an excerpt from Miles Davis’s cool jazz double album The Big Fun. Album consists of many tracks that were not included in Miles’ previous studio albums and one of those “rejects” was this piece of beauty. Originally recorded on March 7, 1970, Go Ahead John is brought to life by many musicians like Miles Davis on trumpet, Steve Grossman on the soprano saxophone, John McLaughlin with his electric guitar and Jack DeJonette on the drums. Miles Davis, the…