Jazz dance

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…

African American Music came about during the time of slavery in America. Africans from many different ethnicities and nationalities built their religious and secular rituals, festivals, and social gatherings on the foundation of song, dances, and rhythms they invented to cope with the New World realities. During the slavery era, enslaved African American became the musicians of choice for white and black celebrations because they were recognized as the best “musicians” around. Enslaved Africans…

being encouraged by their slave traders, the roots of African music trace back to the 1600’s where slaves began singing and dancing to help maintain their physical condition and keep them from despair and suicide (Collier: The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz). These experiences would come to shape customs of resilience, with the African American musical culture affirming this. Beginning with the development of Blues and Ragtime, this paper will discuss the…

James Baldwin’s “Sonny Blues” takes place during the jazz music era of 1957 in Harlem, New York. This story expresses the importance of a well found relationship between an older brother and young brother needing each other. The elements of character and figurative language are the most suitable elements of fiction that best describes the story “Sonny Blues”. In “Sonny Blues”, character is illustrated by the use of minor characters telling the readers of the unique qualities of the major…

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…

1920’s Music Have you ever wondered how your favorite jazz song came to be or a favorite old time broadway show was thought of? Music has been a long part of history. It is believed to have been around since ancient Greece, instrumentally and singing wise (“The National Solo”). Jazz was a major popularity in the 1920’s. It was soft, relaxing, and it could be loud. During the 1920’s technology and historical landmarks effected music. Prohibition, talking movies, and the first car radio are…

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…

and Blues contributed to the emergence of Jazz? Beyond the fact that Jazz has several contributors, Ragtime and Blues each have their own way of adding onto and impacting what is already a well-known genre. Jazz is a type of music of black American origin (which emerged at the beginning of the 20th century) characterized by improvisation, syncopation, and usually a regular or forceful rhythm. The two styles (Ragtime and Blues) of music contributing to Jazz differentiate in many ways such as…

live and view life. This story takes place in the 1950’s, which is shortly after the Harlem Renaissance, which is labeled as the “literary, artistic, and intellectual movement that kindled a new black cultural identity” (history.com). At the time, Jazz was exploding in popularity and is one of the main aspects of the story. While it may appear that the use of Louis Armstrong and Charlie Parker (Bird) in the story is just because of their popularity at the time. These artist’s different…

New Orleans is a melting pot of varying music, cultures, and atmospheres; and is by far, my favorite place to visit. New Orleans music is a mix of Jazz, Gypsy, and Cajun music, which seems to uplift your soul and make you want to dance. The culture there is a true melting pot of international backgrounds that mix together, like a good bowl of Jambalaya. And the atmosphere is like magic, with its café’s and street performers. There is almost never a dull moment in New Orleans, and the energy…