Duke Ellington

This paper will inform you all about Bill Robinson and his carrer. Bill Robinson as known as “Bojangles” was a huge iconic African- American tap dancer and actor during the Harlem Renisance. Bojangles was best known for his Broadway performances and film roles. At the young age of five Robinson began his carrer, performing at the local beer gardens in Richmond,Virgina. At the age of nine he joined the Mayme Remington’s touring troupe. In 1891 he had joined a traveling company, performing as a…

After hearing the music on the list, Charles Mingus’s “Boogie Stop Shuffle” is the one that I like the most. Even though this song is actually the hardest one for me to distinguish all those instruments with each other. “Boogie Stop Shuffle” is from the Album Ah Um released in May 1, 1959, and it’s clearly is a 12-bar blues. The instruments are including Trombone, Piano, Saxophone, Trumpet, and Percussion. Besides of Charles Mingus, the artists are including Booker Ervin, Horace Parlan, John…

The songwriting team of songwriter Eubie Blake and Lyricist Noble Sissle were the ones who found success with shuffle along. Blake was born and raised in Baltimore. Blake had a religious mother but a drunken father. Blake began by performing hymns in church to later preforming at clubs and later Blake joined Sissle as a “Hell fighter member. Later the pair began performing in Vaudeville acts where they created the act Shuffle Along. Shuffle along was a huge success both colored and the white…

Max Harrison is an author and a musicologist who has published several books, such as The Essential Jazz Records, A Jazz Retrospect, Modern Jazz as well as the biographies of Charlie Parker and Rachmaninoff. He had worked for The Times and The Gramophone from 1967 to 1990, and contributed to the 1980 edition of The New Grove Dictionary of Music and The Oxford Companion of Jazz. The article starts with the date of the swing era, August 21, 1935, when Benny Goodman’s band performed at Palmoar…

On Sunday, May 21st, American soprano saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom has stepped on the bandstand of Cornelia Street Café accompanied by a taut rhythm section consisting of longtime cohorts Mark Helias on double bass and Bobby Previte on drums and percussion. The show served to promote her latest album, Early Americans (Outline, 2016), a solid body of work inspired by the work of the British poet Emily Dickinson. The opening track of the album, “Song Patrol”, was also the opener of the performance…

Kendrick Lamar is a modern day Harlem Renaissance author. He talks about personal experiences with struggles he has gone through and seen and that all other blacks have gone through. He mentions the typical black stereotypes of physical features that are used to put a label on black people. His newest album has mostly this dark, depressing story like format about the battles and struggles that himself and other blacks have gone through. Though included on the album is what he claims to be the…

In Whiplash, at 1:17:25, Nieman is at a jazz club where his former teacher, Terrence Fletcher is playing. The scene opens with Fletcher playing a beautiful song while Nieman simply watches. However, when the song ends, Fletcher nods and gazes into the crowd, until he spots Nieman which causes him to immediately stop. This cause Nieman to turn around and leave the club when suddenly Fletcher calls out his name. Nieman pauses and then lets out an awkward, “Hey.” A hard transition takes place and…

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…

Listening to Jazz for the Soul Jazz is widely regarded as one of the most influential types of music in American History. Since it’s formation, jazz has represented the literal sound of freedom for many African Americans. James Baldwin’s “Sonny's Blues,” tells the coming of age story about a young man named Sonny and his life as an aspiring jazz musician. To become one of the great jazz musicians Sonny must focus on listening to those around him including his older brother. Ironically the…

Bolero reaches Puerto Rico Music Scene Generally, when you discuss about Puerto Rico’s music, some of the first things that occur to your mind include dynamic and a diversity of cultural resources. In addition to the original Puerto Rico music, nowadays, the musical scene of this country is also influenced by genres coming from other cultures, as well. One of these genres is bolero, which originates from Cuba. Having its origins in Cuba, bolero has quickly reached the souls of Puerto Ricans, so…