Jazz fusion

term “jazz” is freely used by many people around the world to describe a particular category of music. Every person will have their own definition of such a broad category of music. However, attempting to set boundaries and limit the definition of jazz to a simple “Google-like” definition is not only an injustice to the art of jazz, but also to listeners’ ability to appreciate the vast meanings and interpretations of jazz music. Prior to taking a semester long course on understanding jazz, I too…

Jazz is a music genre that has characteristic qualities like swing, interaction by a group, slow beats and has its origins in New Orleans. Jazz came into existence in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Jazz has a fusion of African, European and American beats and instruments hence making it a unique type of music. During that time, New Orleans was the only place in the “New world” that allowed black people to own drums. This greatly contributes to the rise of Jazz in that they were able to…

one of the greatest jazz musicians. Davis’ career spans fifty years, which is almost unheard of in the music industry where careers tend to be short. His long career includes awards such as eight Grammy awards, a life time achievement Grammy, and three Hall of Fame awards. Through his music, Davis inspired many other musicians during his career. Davis is an icon in the jazz world, not only for his long career, but for revolutionizing the jazz genre. Without Davis’ influence, jazz would not be…

emotionally consistent guitarist, doesn’t confine itself to just one style. His salutary versatility and originality have been noticeable throughout a successful career that spans more than 40 years, addressing styles such as jazz, funk, rock, M-base, post-bop, and fusion with the same unquestionable quality. After last year’s “Past Present”, a Grammy-winning masterpiece of original works, Scofield releases “Country for Old Men”, an album exclusively made of covers that pay homage to American…

Jazz and the City of New Orleans Among the various genres of music, Jazz is one that is greatly misunderstood and underappreciated. Jazz is an original type of music that was developed in New Orleans during the 20th Century. Many factors contributed into the development of Jazz, including cultural, political, and economic aspects as well as prior music from various countries and the influence of New Orleans’s Storyville district. The development and success of Jazz is greatly due to the fact…

American Jazz sensation, Miles Dewey Davis III was born in Alton, Illinois, on May 26th 1926. The nine time Grammy winner is considered to be one of the top musicians of his era. He forever changed the style of jazz and history of music. Throughout his years in music, he has proven to be a universal musical genius that was able to stretch his style of sound for miles. Davis grew up in a middle class home with his parents, Miles Davis Jr. and Cleota Henry. His father was a successful oral…

vocalist/composer/dancer, Jen Shyu, meritoriously earned the trust of groundbreaking jazz luminaries such as Steve Coleman and Anthony Braxton. Born in Illinois to Taiwanese and East Timorese immigrant parents, the New-York based singer brings her musical heritage and other multi-cultural influences into nine original compositions, which she calls doors (to other worlds). Although heavily steeped in the world music genre, her work also includes gritty jazz layers piled up by her Jade Tongue…

time periods and genres. Even in two distinct genres, such as hip-hop and jazz, two greats can be found with similarities in their tutelage, rise to fame and personas. Miles Davis and Kanye West, despite having so much between them, contain many parallels when observing what made them into icons. Miles Davis is one of the greatest, if not the greatest jazz musician ever. His album, “Kind of Blue”, is the best selling jazz album of all time, going platinum four times. That is nearly four times…

wasn’t received well. Some of the slaves later on went to Europe where their dancing was recognized. African jazz with European influences then made its way back to America. African Slaves→America→Europe Jazz→ Europe→America • Ragtime • Syncopated rhythms (marches, waltzes, other classic rhythms…) o Tommy Turpin (piano) Harlem Rag → the first Ragtime musical composition • 1900’s – Classic Jazz o Small musical ensemble, brass • Instruments from confederate war • Clarinet, trombone, tuba,…

One of the main differences between jazz and rock is that the lyrics of rock music are typically more explicit than those of jazz. In jazz, when there were lyrics in the song, they used more metaphors as codes for situations, like the slaves’ field hollers. However, in rock music, lyrics are much more common as a main part of the song and the dirty lyrics have a clearer meaning, although there are still some metaphors. Another difference is that rock music has, from its start, been influenced by…