The Jazz Singer

A singer, songwriter and classically trained multi-instrumentalist, Alexander Kotz, otherwise known as Elderbrook, developed his love for music at an early age. Building his musical foundations upon the influences of Jazz artists Sam Cooke and Billie Holiday, London-native Kotz would forge his unique vocals with an instrumental knowledge of guitar, bass, piano, and drums. A student of the prestigious Bath Spa University, Kotz began experimenting with his sound, merging his acoustic and…

Louis Armstrong was an influential African American jazz trumpeter, composer and singer. He is known for songs like, Star Dust, La Via En Rose and What a Wonderful World. He is also known for his influence over jazz culture and music. He had many nicknames such as, Satchmo, Pops and, Ambassador Satch. He was born on August 4, 1901 in New Orleans Louisiana. He was born into a very poor neighbourhood known as “The Battlefield” and his life was very difficult growing up. Soon after his birth his…

For my own virtual jazz band, I wanted to try and pick jazz musicians who could mend well with a dance or a swing band. Max Roach on drums, Charles Mingus on bass, Benny Goodman on clarinet, Lester Young on tenor sax, Cannonball Adderly on alto sax, Joe “Tricky Sam” Nanton on trombone, Dizzy Gillespie on trumpet, Ella Fitzgerald and Cab Calloway as singers, and Duke Ellington on piano and as the bandleader. The group would have the style of early 20th century dance bands and do a live…

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 expression and social awareness. These music genres, their lyricism, and the lesbian singers that brought life to…

the form of music that was the most greatly imported from the U.S. was jazz. As with tango in the U.S., Argentinians interpreted and made use of jazz in different ways than those employed in the country of origin. They listened to jazz with varying attitudes, some critical, some complementary, and as their U.S. counterparts had done with Latin Americanism, Argentinians viewed jazz, and U.S. culture in general, as the other. Jazz was as exotic to them as tango was to people in the U.S.…

On December 11th, a Sunday night, I went to Les Joulins Jazz Bistro to listen to Bill “Doc” Webster and his band Jazz Nostalgia. Me and my friend were seated at a table for two, fairly close to the stage. The stage was not elevated and the musicians stood close to the tables and interacted with the audience in between songs. It made the overall feeling of the concert very laid back and non formal. The restaurant was not very crowded, but of the people that were there there was a wide mix of…

Bobby Darin was an American singer, songwriter and actor in movies and TV. He sang a variety of music. Before he rose to stardom he was a songwriter writing for singer Connie Francis. His first million seller came in 1958 “Splish Splash”. This was followed by a string of hits such as “Dream Lover”, “Mack the Knife”, and “Beyond the Sea”. In 1962 Darrin won a Golden Globe award for his first movie “Come September” in which he performed with his first wife Sandra Dee. Darrin began having health…

On November 12, 2015 I attended the Veterans Day Jazz free form concert held at CBC’s choir room. This was the first time I ever went through the music/art building and it was pretty cool. The choir room looked, well like a choir room; inspirational posters on the wall, instruments, sound system, etc. When I first walked into the room I was bit overwhelmed with the amount of people in the small to medium sized room. There was a total of three high schools performing and of course CBC. The high…

and spirituals. When listening to early slave era music you can hear certain elements or Africanisms that make connections to early blues and spiritual music such as the call-and-response style. Songs like “Daniel,” performed by Georgia Sea Island Singers (Week 1 Lecture pg. 17) depict the call-and-response and polyrhythmic pattern of hand clapping that is very common in ring shouts and slave songs. Another key element that shares this connection is the use of “blue notes” in combination with…

The Jazz Age: Prevailing Opportunities for African Americans During the Jazz Age, jazz music, primarily dominated by African Americans before 1920, began to gain popularity among whites and transformed into an important aspect of American culture. The increased popularity of jazz music led to a growing acceptance of African American culture and presented African Americans with the opportunity to gain social status. Music has always played an essential part in African American life and its…