Desmond Miles

Francisco Mela, an invigorating Cuban-born drummer, percussionist, and composer, releases a powerful new album entitled “Fé” (faith), which works as a tribute to his late parents and a way of gratefulness toward the masters who believed in his capacities. He recorded it with his Crash Trio, which includes the Argentine pianist Leo Genovese and the American bassist Gerald Cannon. The master guitarist John Scofield appears on two tracks as a very special guest. “Ancestros”, a breathtaking tune…

for the mentally disordered, where he remained until 1947, when he moved back to New York (Bio.com, Creating Bebop). Despite this setback, Parker came out with several popular solos and recordings, forming groups with acclaimed musicians, such as Miles Davis and Max Roach, and set out for the most productive years of his life from 1947 to 1950 (Megill, 159), he toured all of Europe and New York (Verity, Relapse), he recorded for Dial, Savoy Records and…

Binyi Wu Ethnomusicology 50A Discussion 1E November 23, 2015 Billy Strayhorn “The extent to which Billy Strayhorn gained recognition during his years with us was never commensurate with his contribution” said Leonard Feather, the British-born jazz musician. Indeed, though contributing enormous brilliant jazz pieces to the swing era, Billy Strayhorn, compared to his collaborator Duke Ellington, was relatively unknown to public. Instead, living most of his professional life as the protégé of…

Miles Davis was an ordinary boy, born and raised in Illinois, United States who created one of the most complete jazz albums of all time called Kind of Blue. Davis’s parents were a big part of his early success, being that his father bought him his first trumpet at the age of 13 and his mother being a music teacher helped Davis express his love for music. By the age of 16 Davis was talented enough to play at local restaurants and bars around the city. Within one year a band called “Blue Devils”…

Ever since the greats, such as Beethoven and Mozart, classical music has been a staple in society as “real music”, but some like Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews prefer a different beat of the drum, or in this case blow of the horn. Some art historians say that jazz had its start with Buddy Bolden and his first band in 1895. Others think it was the more well-known Nick LaRocca with his Dixieland Jazz band, and their premier record Lively Stable Blues. Either way jazz started near the 20th…

The American saxophonist based in Paris, Logan Richardson, released interesting albums in the past to make us curious about his next step. Shift, his Blue Note debut, was recorded with the illustrious Pat Metheny, Jason Moran, Harish Raghavan, and Nasheet Waits, but the new album, Blues People, features a new band whose exploration of sound allows a sensible coexistence between post-bop, blues, hard rock, hip-hop, and electronica. Throughout the 14-song repertoire, a past and present reflection…

The Life of Art Tatum Author Taylor Jr. who goes by the name of Art Tatum is said to be the greatest jazz pianist of all time, known for his famous two-handed runs. Art was born in October 13, 1909 in Toledo, OH to pianist Mildred Hoskins and Guitarist Arthur Tatum Sr. Completely blind by cataracts in one eye and nearly blind in the other, Art played music by ear, mimicking the sounds he heard from other musicians such as Fats Waller. He played so well that by age three he was considered a…

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…

Duke Ellington Duke Ellington was a famous jazz musician in the 1920s. He was the leader of a band and composed songs such as “Ko-Ko”, “It Don’t Mean a Thing if it Ain’t Got That Swing”, and “Cotton Tail”. The jazz he played was distinctive just like his band was. Ellington was more than just a musician, however. Many people thought he was an apolitical man, however this was untrue. Ellington, like most Americans, practiced his rights in politics. Duke Ellington spent his life focused on…

Duke Ellington (1899-1974) is known to many Americans as the leader of a swing-era dance band as well as a writer of pop tunes. Some musicians and jazz fans also know him as a major composer--arranger. In fact, there are musicologists and journalists who consider Ellington to be America's greatest composer, which puts him in a league with Charles Ives and Aaron Copland. Though many jazz fans think of Ellington as a pianist too, few scholars have examined how unique and original his approach to…