Mile End

Miles Davis was an ordinary boy, born and raised in Illinois, United States who created one of the most complete jazz albums of all time called Kind of Blue. Davis’s parents were a big part of his early success, being that his father bought him his first trumpet at the age of 13 and his mother being a music teacher helped Davis express his love for music. By the age of 16 Davis was talented enough to play at local restaurants and bars around the city. Within one year a band called “Blue Devils”…

Ever since the greats, such as Beethoven and Mozart, classical music has been a staple in society as “real music”, but some like Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews prefer a different beat of the drum, or in this case blow of the horn. Some art historians say that jazz had its start with Buddy Bolden and his first band in 1895. Others think it was the more well-known Nick LaRocca with his Dixieland Jazz band, and their premier record Lively Stable Blues. Either way jazz started near the 20th…

The American saxophonist based in Paris, Logan Richardson, released interesting albums in the past to make us curious about his next step. Shift, his Blue Note debut, was recorded with the illustrious Pat Metheny, Jason Moran, Harish Raghavan, and Nasheet Waits, but the new album, Blues People, features a new band whose exploration of sound allows a sensible coexistence between post-bop, blues, hard rock, hip-hop, and electronica. Throughout the 14-song repertoire, a past and present reflection…

The Life of Art Tatum Author Taylor Jr. who goes by the name of Art Tatum is said to be the greatest jazz pianist of all time, known for his famous two-handed runs. Art was born in October 13, 1909 in Toledo, OH to pianist Mildred Hoskins and Guitarist Arthur Tatum Sr. Completely blind by cataracts in one eye and nearly blind in the other, Art played music by ear, mimicking the sounds he heard from other musicians such as Fats Waller. He played so well that by age three he was considered a…

Courtney Amon Jazz Band Mr. McCarthy 04/07/2017 A Master Jazz Trumpeter In the world of music, especially Jazz, we have heard of many great musicians over the years, such as Nat King Cole and Louie Armstrong, but there is one that I think stands above all especially when it comes to trumpeter’s. One does not usually need to look to far down a list of greats before they find this world class trumpeter, Chet Baker. Chet has had many accomplishments in the music world, but also has had…

Duke Ellington Duke Ellington was a famous jazz musician in the 1920s. He was the leader of a band and composed songs such as “Ko-Ko”, “It Don’t Mean a Thing if it Ain’t Got That Swing”, and “Cotton Tail”. The jazz he played was distinctive just like his band was. Ellington was more than just a musician, however. Many people thought he was an apolitical man, however this was untrue. Ellington, like most Americans, practiced his rights in politics. Duke Ellington spent his life focused on…

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…

An Example of Functionalism: Education One example of functionalism happening in the world today is public education. In the United States, education is a State and local responsibility. To illustrate, the Department of Education was created “In 1867 to collect information on schools and teaching that would help the States establish effective school systems” (Anon 2012). According to the article of the U.S Department of Education (Anon 2012), it states and communities as well as public and…

The Industrial Revolution and Its Accompanying Theories Around 8000 years ago the world shifted to the Agricultural Revolution where we had at last achieved a surplus of food and goods. This had been done by harnessing the power of servitude through animals and slaves. Now that this boundary had been crossed, mankind was once again thirsty for more and 250 years ago, with the invention of engines and machinery, the Industrial Revolution was born. Although child labor was in effect prior to the…

In the beginning of the 1970's, a fresh America was going through a culture change. The Beatles breaking-up within the first year, the peace-loving hippies of the 60's were dwindling down to past fantasies, and Rock and Roll was about to have a new kind of monster pierce the ears of the youth. That monster was none other than the acclaimed "Hottest Band in the World", Kiss. Which would be absent idea without the thundering thump of the stick-wielding drummer Peter Criss. Peter Criss (George…