Raoul Duke

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…

On Sunday, May 21st, American soprano saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom has stepped on the bandstand of Cornelia Street Café accompanied by a taut rhythm section consisting of longtime cohorts Mark Helias on double bass and Bobby Previte on drums and percussion. The show served to promote her latest album, Early Americans (Outline, 2016), a solid body of work inspired by the work of the British poet Emily Dickinson. The opening track of the album, “Song Patrol”, was also the opener of the performance…

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…

Throughout the 1920s to the 1930s, New York’s Harlem Renaissance brought a new wave of progress and radical black movement. This historical Jazz Age was essentially an emergence of new life within Harlem and the gay community. One aspect of the Harlem Renaissance that was crucial to its upbringing of progressive “New Negroes” is the black lesbian subculture that began to arise. This subculture intertwined with Afro-American jazz and the blues, working as both outlets for sexual and emotional…

On Friday, July 10th, the local instrumental jazz group Yuma Jazz Company played at Lutes Casino for a couple of hours. The instrumentation was fairly standard for a jazz group, with trumpet, saxophone, guitar, double bass, and drums (I believe those were electric). The guitar and bass, along with the drums, served as a sort of basso continuo, generally backing the horns, but occasionally taking up the melody for themselves, resulting in a texture that was thinly polyphonic. Also noticeable was…

It was a breezy Sunday in Santa Monica, Hollywood. Lawrence Exeter and his wife were buying clothes for their soon to be son at Goosie Gander Baby Shoppe. “I don’t understand why our son needs to dress like this,” exclaimed Mrs. Exeter as she held up a navy blue button up shirt. “I told you already he needs to follow in my footsteps, the key to success is about how you dress!” replied Lawrence, a very successful businessman. Lawrence grabbed the shirt out of his wife's hands and walked up…

Imagine walking down the street into a place where the aroma is cigarette smoke, perfume, and sweat. At least the smell gave off the realization that you were about to have a good time. Even though the whole decade was a good time! During this time period, there was a social outbreak in all kinds of people. All the worries people had were: fashion, music, and dancing. In the 1920s, men dressed very sophisticated. The goal of dressing so elegantly was to become more attractive. In their…

In a music hall of Vienna, the pianist Friedrich Gulda performed Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto with his superb skills and receive lasting applause. After the concert, Gulda rushed to a nightclub and start to play the jazz, behaved like another person. Surprisingly, he played Beethoven’s masterpieces and intoxicated jazz music equally well. It made people wonder, how would that be by mixing jazz and classical music? In the article “Jazz, America’s Classical Music”, Dr. Billy Taylor introduces…

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…