Miles Davis is 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…
Heaven Walters MUS 110 Drew Hays 10 April 15 Album Analysis: Saxophone Colossus According to the Webster Dictionary, Colossus is defined as something that is gigantic or immense, which is also accurate when describing Sonny Rollins’ contributions to the jazz world. Sonny Rollins, himself, was knowns as the “Saxophone Colossus” back in 1956, and has been compared to Coleman Hawkins with his strong, intense notes combined with lyrical freedom and genius. Saxophone Colossus, recorded in June of…
In 1860s, because the fact of southern states wanted to remain the slavery stable while the North desired to abolish the slavery. Meanwhile Abraham Lincoln led the Union and fought with the Confederacy whose commander was Jefferson Davis. The goal of union was to protect the unity, but many armies were controlled by South, also they owned wide land. It seemed difficult for the Union troops to win the Confederacy drastically. Moreover, the strategy of Confederacy was only to defense, controlled…
inflation. However, it was not only the funding of the war that the cotton gin enabled. Due to the explosion of cotton as a cash crop, Southern racism and its white-supremacy-modeled social system was strengthened. Confederate President Jefferson Davis said in 1850, “... [the slaves] in useful employment, restrained from the vicious indulgences to…
Miles Dew Davis was an Iconic figure and trumpeter of the twentieth century in America, born in Alton, Illinois on May 26, 1926. Davis’ compositions changed the evolution of Jazz with masterpieces, such as, Kind of Blue in 1959, Sketches of Spain in 1960, and the Bitches Brew in 1969. Kind of Blue won the bestselling album of the year, and is one of the most sought-after recordings as late as 1998. It was the first Jazz album to reach double-platinum, in addition to being a Masterpiece, Kind of…
The topic I chose for my science fair project is: Which Saxophone Reeds are the Loudest? I chose this project because my cousin did this project a couple years ago and it inspired me to try for myself. I did not ever hear his final result about which reeds ended up being the loudest. I did hear some of the different materials and strengths of the reeds that he used and I chose more strengths of reeds than he did. There are three important facts about reeds. First, reeds can be altered as…
Lead by jazz director Marko Marcinko, with Jazz being one of my favorite forms of music, it was an honor to listen to Centre Dimensions Jazz Ensemble. Unfortunately, since I didn’t get the chance to listen to it live, I made sure to wear my beats headphones so I can hear every last instrument clearly. Instantaneously when the band started to play, I felt like I was in a 1920’s New Orleans club. The harmony was very upbeat and dance like, I began to tap my foot to the three beat tempo. The band…
Duke Ellington was born Edward Kennedy Ellington on April 29, 1899. The name “Duke” was a nickname given to him because of his choice of clothing. Duke’s parent both worked to live a decent life his mother a domestic and his father a butler who had a part-time catering business. Duke studied piano since the age of seven and was influences by pianist, James Johnson and Willie the Lion Smith. He wrote his first song “The Soda Fountain Rag”, at the age of seventeen. This title was influenced by a…
Louis Armstrong was a trumpeter, bandleader, vocalist, soloist, film star and humorist. Considered a standout amongst the most powerful specialists in jazz history, he is known for melodies like "Star Dust," "La Via En Rose" and "What a Wonderful World." Louis Armstrong was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist who was a standout amongst the most powerful figures in jazz music. Well known for his inventive strategies for playing the trumpet and cornet, he was additionally an exceedingly…
Count Basie, an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer, was born on August 21, 1904, in Red Bank, New Jersey as William Basie. He is considered one of the best bandleaders of all time and changed the entire jazz landscape. He also shaped the mid 20th century pop music and earned the title “King of Swing”. Both of his parents, Harvey and Lillian Basie, were musicians. He started piano at a very early age with his mother giving him his first lessons and played the drums in his…