Vera Miles

A comparison of “Koko” and “So What” “Koko” as well as “So What” are two of the most influential and famous pieces pertaining to Jazz. With “Koko” being composed and performed by Charlie “Bird” Parker and “So What” being composed and performed by Miles Davis. These two musicians are no doubt heavily involved in the development of jazz and are two of the most renowned musicians in the world. “Koko” was composed in the early 1940’s, where as “So What” was composed in the late 1950’s. Although…

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…

This Documentary concerning American jazz trumpeter as well as singer Louis Armstrong, Louis Armstrong's (known as Satchmo or Pops) basic declaration to his initial life is a fun and incredible read. Composed with extraordinary realism, Louis conveyed a rousing story starting from his origination, to his existence with his grandmother, to his initially cherish (which was extremely disagreeable), to his initially separation (which I believe was beneficial for him), to his initially enterprise…

Charlie Parker also known as “Yardbird” or “Bird” was born on August 29, 1920 and died on March 12, 1955. He was one of the most important and influential saxophonists and jazz players of the 1940’s. A legendary figure in his own lifetime, he was idolized by those who worked with him, and he inspired a generation of jazz performers and composers. Charlie had a magnetic personality; wherever he would walk into he would change the feel of the room. He started studying music in a local school in…

Throughout history, suicide has not only been seen as a sin, a crime, and more recent, as a result of a disease. Nonetheless, there is more to just committing such act, there are societies, social factors that influence and push individuals to take their lives. The book, Suicide: A Study in Sociology by Emile Durkheim examines suicide and its social causes. With this in mind Durkheim makes the claim that in order to understand suicide we have to understand the social factors that lead…

Spiritual Journey For my paper, I will be covering and exploring scientific theories that are then applied to my personal life experiences to form a sort of hybrid story/academic research paper, which I feel suits perfectly my strong character traits of constant hesitation. I will bring to mention my personal philosophies, past/present dependency problems, acute depression, and individual spiritual experiences which were able to defy my understanding of science, and thus exist without…

Although while he is playing in the moment, his concentration is less on what he was playing but more on the technique and strategy of how the music was delivered to his audience. The musical development and growth of Miles Davis stems from the many years of practice and performances with jazz greats of his time. His high level career performance was constructed through the combination of these motivic strategies such as repetition, embellishments, inversions, transpositions…

What is Cool? Groovy,tubular,brisk and relaxed could all be considered synonyms for the same word but with very different meanings behind them. The word cool is used describe such vast variety of things from people,places,events and feelings. “Grab your jacket honey, it's cool out there!” Mom exclaims as he is walking out the door to catch the bus on that first crisp cool morning of November. Then he had responded by saying “its cool mom, I will be alright” explaining how nonchalant and feeling…

The concet I attended is called Azesu (Maria Marquez) held in the California Jazz Conservatory. Azesu is comprised by Grammy winners David Pinto on bass, Omar Ledezma on percussion, Sheldon Brown on reeds, Alan Hall on drums and Jonathan Alford on piano. They plays songs from the Latin American Songbook and originals which represent the diverse musical heritage of its members. Featuring the vocals of Maria Marquez and Omar Ledezma, Azesu is a true hybrid group combining the rhythms of the…

What a great show from the veteran super group The Cookers. They presented their magnificent repertoire in two sets at the Nublu Jazz Festival. The band comprises an inflammatory frontline composed of Billy Harper on tenor saxophone, Donald Harrison on alto saxophone, and trumpeters Eddie Henderson and David Weiss. The respectful rhythm section brings us George Cables on piano, Cecil McBee on bass, and Billy Hart on drums. For tonight’s concert, pianist David Bryant, 33, replaced the…