Conga

I. INTRODUCTION On Friday, November 6, 2015, I attended a concert at the New Victory Theater in New York, New York. The concert was given by the Isango Ensemble. The title of the concert was A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This title included compositions by many composers. The piece that I am choosing to focus on is Mark Danford-May A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Then, on Friday, November 13, 2015 I attended a concert at the New Victory Theater in New York, New York. The concert was given by Lizt…

We all know Michael Jackson to be the King of Pop, but do we really know the man behind the mirror? It all started in a small town called Gary, Indiana. After nine long months, the town’s expected arrival was born. Michael Joseph Jackson was the newest member of the Jackson family. Michael was born into a big family in Gary, on August 29, 1958. As the Jackson family grew older, they discovered some of their own musical talents. The beginning of their talents was created in the living room of…

considered to be one of the most influential artists in Brazil. Latin pop also began coming into its own genre with the music of José José and Joan Manuel Serrat. The music of the 1980s saw crossover Latin American music in full swing with hits like “Conga” from Gloria Estefan’s Miami Sound Machine. Juan Gabriel, Marco Antonio Solís, and Vicente Fernández also each made their mark as renowned Mexican artists singing in notably Mexican styles, such as ranchera and mariachi. In the 1990s, more…

Jazz music represents the combination of many different cultures into to one, to form something soulful and full of rich history. The basis to all music- melody, harmony, tone and rhythm- are all complex and full of hidden meaning in jazz. There are many variations on jazz as well, each full of its own meaning and its own rich history. Jazz started in the 1800s by African-Americans in the south. Plantation worker made songs, spirituals, and field hollers part of everyday life. These people used…

remember for my quinceañera (sweet fifteen), family from Louisiana, South Carolina, Florida, Kentucky, and of course, Puerto Rico came to my party. This was the ultimate family reunion. We danced salsa and merengue, dances from Puerto Rico. We sang with congas, pleneras, guitars, guiro, and…

Downtown Los Angeles holds L.A. Live, a sports and entertainment district that houses a wide variety of live entertainment all in one location. Whether you are looking to enjoy a sports game, go to a club or watch the newest movie in a cinema, the campus of L.A. Live can offer live entertainment for almost anyone’s taste. Located at the intersection of Olympic Boulevard and Figueroa Street, L.A. Live is directly across from the STAPLES Center, which is an arena hosting over 250 events annually…

Immigration is defined as the action of coming to live permanently in a foreign country, and an immigrant is the person doing this action. Not to mention that in the United States, about forty-five million citizens are immigrants! When immigrants come to the United States, they obviously have to get a job. Three immigrants in particular decided to work in the music, dance, and acting industries, and they were extremely successful in their occupations. The contributions of Gloria Estefan, George…

The trombones open up with vigor and power, the piano and bass discreetly accompanies them while the beat of the drums, conga and Guiro in the background makes everything flow to give rhythm and soul to this piece of Latin music I know as Salsa. As the intro makes its conclusion the trombones and drums act simultaneously as a heartbeat skipping a beat, giving the effect of a slight pause right before Hector Laveo “El Cantante” sings his first words. Hector with his high, pure and distinguished…

Since the creation of jazz, jazz has evolved into various different forms over time directly influenced by certain artists and events in America. There are a number of extremely influential jazz musicians over the years, but I argue to say that the most influential of them were trumpet players. I believe that the most influential trumpet jazz players were Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, Milles Davis and Roy Eldridge. These four artists were all musically gifted and were involved in the early…

According to Goodall, “rhythm is the part of music that interacts most immediately and spontaneously with human bodies. Without it, music would be pleasant enough, but it would be brain food. With rhythm, music becomes hypnotic and sensuous.” A simple example that I can give is the rhythm of human heartbeat. Besides, from walking to dancing, from clicking fingers to tapping toes, it is the program to respond to rhythm. Generally, rhythm is the time element in music. It is an ordered recurrent…