Jazz Age

Park Plaza Ballroom – a favorite hangout place for enthusiastic dancers. As the Rumba was exhausting its enthusiasm, Mambo really flourished in the 1940s to 1950s, and it became a popular dance in the U.S., when the Cuban music merged with American Jazz and Swing. Prado made some modifications to the Mambo so as to make it more commercial. Due to the violent acrobatics, it had to be toned down and therefore a modified version was presented at dance studios, resort hotels, and at nightclubs in…

Sonny from the short story “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin is a sympathetic character. Throughout the story, the reader is made to feel sympathy for Sonny even when the narrator is frustrated with him. While some might argue that the narrator is the sympathetic character and Sonny is a difficulty, by the end it is obvious that even the narrator is sympathetic to Sonny and regrets having treated him as a difficulty. One might be tempted at first to argue that Sonny is a burden on the narrator…

I consider my ethnic and musical background to be not just African by blood; but American by birth. When I visited Africa, I noticed a great deal of differences; on top of various similarities, between the Western culture and African tribal culture. No matter where I go or the type of music I listen to, I have always been entertained and pleased by the sound of music; but I have always felt a deeper comprehension and connection through the power of music. The most rarest and extraordinary…

classic Rock and Pop, who were your influences? Arthur: “Well, It’s very wide. It wasn’t just influenced by classic Rock and Pop. I was influenced by Classical music, and Jazz, and Rhythm & Blues music--all kinds…

older musical genre. Being derived from rock and roll music; Pop began in the middle portion of the 1950s. Early pop music drew on the sentimental ballad for its form, gained its use of vocal harmonies from gospel and soul music, instrumentation from jazz,…

The main character in A Raisin in the Sun was Walter Younger. Walter was a 35 year old black man living on the south side Chicago during the 1950s. He was a father, husband, and also lived with his mom and sister all under one roof. Walter had big dreams to open up a business but those dreams were crushed after he got extorted. Walter was the type of man that was very ambitious. At many times, his ambition got in the way of what’s really important in life. Throughout the novel, Walter went on…

music. For example, Wynton and Branford Marsalis was train in jazz by their father, the great pianist Ellis Marsalis. Both of the sons has became successful classical artists. Bran- ford’s saxophone captures the richness of pieces by Ravel and Stravinsky. Wynton’s albums of classical trumpet music from the Baroque period has brung him many awards. Still, if he was to choose which kind of music he likes best, Wynton would probable choose jazz. In contrast to the Marsalises, violinist Nigel…

A Raisin in the Sun written beautifully by Lorraine Hansberry, depicts the life of an African- American family named the Youngers, residing in the southern side of Chicago during the 1950’s. The story begins with the family arguing about how a check (we later find out this check is Mama’s deceased husband, and the children’s deceased father’s, life insurance policy) is going to be used. Mama wants the check to go towards buying a house, a dream she envisioned with her now dead husband. Walter,…

For this live response I was able to go to the George fox jazz concert. I was surprised there was not more people there. The cool thing was there was on stage seating! I was bummed because I was not able to go up there because my back was hurting me so bad. Its alright though, the acoustics were still fine from the seat in the auditorium. The lighting was focused on the left of the stage and the performers, as usual. The performers who were not playing were seated at the front left of the…

avant-garde jazz, experimental ensembles, free improvisation, noise rock, electronic, contemporary classical, and music for film and opera/theater. The 66-year-old Cleveland native studied several theoretical correlations on music and scientific algorithms, which helped him becoming a first-rate innovator. Unstoppable, he keeps composing with a fierce autonomy and unrestricted creative sense. On a persistent explorative state of mind, he was responsible for another delicious avant-garde jazz…