The Harlem Renaissance was a literary, artistic, and intellectual movement that kindled a new black cultural identity, spanning the 1920s and to the mid-1930s. While reading the article “Black Renaissance: A Brief History of the Concept” I learned that the Harlem Renaissance was once a debatable topic. Ernest J. Mitchell wrote the article, explaining how the term “Harlem Renaissance” did not originate in the era that it claims to describe. The movement “Harlem Renaissance” did not appear in print before 1940 and it only gained widespread appeal in the 1960s. During the four preceding decades, writers had mostly referred to it as “Negro Renaissance.”…
Alain Locke said that African artist should reconnect with their roots. Locke’s writings were a major force behind the Harlem Renaissance movement. Sargent Johnson is a reflection of the ancestral arts with works like forever free, that show very pronounced African features on raw wood. Jacob Lawrence studied the ancestral arts of Africa and then produced his own version. He used his new style of African painting to create 41 paintings showing the revolt that led to Haiti’s independence. Archibald Motley went a decidedly different way by painting everyday Negros doing normal everyday activities. He wanted to tell the story of his people and what it meant to be Negro. Langston Hughes felt like Motley in that he wanted to tell the story of the…
Native American had a big influence on Jazz music in America. Mildred Bailey was one of the most prominent Native American women in Jazz music. Bailey began singing at the age of Sixteen. Her mother inspired her to sing on a trip to her reservation in Idaho. When her family moved to Spokane, Washington Mildred and her brother began working with Bing Crosby. She began singing at the age of sixteen, then in the 1920s she traveled to Los Angeles to further her musical career. After moving to Los Angeles, Mildred Bailey was introduce to Paul Whitman with who she joined his band. Around this time, she also began her recording with one of her most popular songs, “Rockin’ Chair.” At the bottom of this slide, you can listen to Rockin’ Chair.…
Charles Mingus, an icon in the Jazz world “only second to Duke Ellington (CHARLES MINGUS BIO). Mingus played a very important role in the development of jazz music, he left his mark on the world that got him a lot of recognition. Along with a plethora of grants that were donated to him and the different organizations that were centered on him. He was also honored in New York City by having a “Charles Mingus Day” dedicated to him and many other dedications and assortments of honoring’s (CHARLES MINGUS BIO). Charles Mingus was a phenomenal musician that has not only inspired those of his time, but a number of musicians even today.…
Benny Goodman really drew my attention after watching the film about him in Jazz class a few weeks ago. I was very surprised to see that his instrument of choice was the clarinet. I didn’t think the clarinet t was that influential in the musical world until I learned more about Benny.…
by DukeEllington. The song can be found in Section 1: Basic Musical Concepts, "FolkMusic, Art Music, and All That Jazz."As a referential listener, two things come to mind as I listen to this easy go jazz song by Duke. The first, I remember the first time really hearing jazz musicwas when I was at a dinner banquet for my great grandmother. Since then, Ihave always associated Jazz with a fine dining background music or elevatormusic at a nice hotel or business. The second, is a reference to Duke Ellingtonhimself. I had to a little project on Ellington for Black History month as a gradeschooler. So I am fairly familiar with his music and his life. In respect to my firstcorrelation,…
Edward Kennedy Ellington was born April 29, 1899 in Washington, D.C. Ellington's parents James and Daisy actively supported his educational development. Duke had his first piano lesson at the age of seven or eight; this did not fancy him too much. At this time he was interested in baseball, which brought his first job as a peanut salesman at the Washington Senator's games. This helped Duke overcome stage fright, which was of use for the future to come. With his piano lessons fading in the past, he showed interest in the art. As a result he attended Armstrong Manual Training School to study commercial art instead of attending and academics-oriented school. As time went by Duke began to listen and seek out pianists in Washington,…
People who are upcoming or currently musician, jazz fans, or anyone who loves music would find this book useful. This book and its information was well researched and has many great tools within it. In the back of the book it has a useful index that allows the reader to have the page number of certain time periods, people, and places with the exact page number. It also has this great Chronology that gives a timeline of Duke Ellington’s life in full. The main focus of this book is mainly a biography, but within the book it has small analysis certain music pieces that Duke engaged with. From this book I learned from the classical music world that anyone can become successful in whatever you do as long as put I the work that it takes to reach that success, and Duke Ellington was a great example of…
Edward Kennedy Ellington, American jazz composer, orchestrator, bandleader, and pianist, is considered to be the greatest composer in the history of jazz music and one of the greatest musicians of the 20th century. He composed over 2000 works and performed numerous concerts during his musical career. A compilation of some of his most popular music is collected on a CD called, “The Popular Duke Ellington.” Duke Ellington can be considered important for numerous things. To choose a few reasons, Duke Ellington is important for his music, influence on people, and being a superfluous composer in his century and now.…
The Jazz Age was a cultural movement that began around 1918, post WWI. It was born in New Orleans but later spread around the world, it was a beautiful mixture of jazz and march banding styled music and was often played by African-Americans. It was the first time that people began to move to the cities rather than in rural areas. It was the first time that African American were given the opportunity to progress in a society that failed them since the ending our slavery. After the war, new trends began to surface, for example: dancing, music, fashion, theater and all the other arts in an attempt to help ease the post-war feeling of the nation.…
The birth of jazz music is often accredited to African Americans but both black and white Americans are responsible for its immerse rise in popularity. It is present in black vocals, music-spirituals, work songs, field hollers, and the blues. Jazz united people across the world and had powerful meanings about their lives. Jazz music was completed with a trumpet, clarinet, trombone and section of drums. The music was created with passion inspired by people’s lives. Ragtime was a musical style emerged from St. Louis in the late 1890s. The swing was the new style for Jazz. Benny Goodman was the “king of swing.” and he was the first white bandleader to feature black and white musicians playing together in public. There were other different styles…
Harlem Renaissance was African-American’s cultural movement that began in 1920, it was blossoming of African American culture in terms of literature and art starting in the 1920 to 1930 reflecting the growth of Black Nationalism and racial identity. Some universal themes symbolized throughout the Harlem Renaissance were the unique experience of thralldom slavery and egressing African-American folk customs on black individuality. African American population of United States highly contributed in this movement; they played a great role to support it. In fact, major contribution was made by black-owned businesses and publication of their literary works. Nevertheless, it relied on the patronization of whites.…
The Harlem Renaissance is known for many unique objectives, but one of the most important objectives that it was well known for is how many wonderful artists’ and writers came about during that time period. One of the most famous writers or what many consider a “prolific and versatile writer” (Beckman 65) was Langston Hughes. Langston Hughes was an American poet, novelist, and play writer whose African-American themes made him a primary contributor to the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s” (“Langston Hughes Bio.”). Hughes was born February 1, 1902, In Joplin Missouri and sadly died May 22, 1967. During his time he first started off writing about ordinary African Americans. He was said to be a “Major creative force in the Harlem Renaissance”…
Louis Armstrong, an influential figure in the Jazz world, once said, “If you have to ask what jazz is, you’ll never know.” Over time, jazz has kept its essential elements and original style, even as new styles have developed. Jazz, in its most basic form, is defined as “music that includes qualities such as swing, improvising, group interaction, developing an 'individual voice', and being open to different musical possibilities,” by Travis Jackson, a Professor of American Music. Improvisation, being the key element in every type of jazz, must be present for a piece to be considered jazz music. This element turns jazz musicians into composers and is essential to jazz styles of music. Another thing unique to jazz is its approach to rhythm. The…
The Harlem Renaissance was an iconic movement of the nineteenth century. It was a social and intellectual eruption that was located in Harlem, New York. Legends such as Duke Ellington, Zora Neale Hurston, Aaron Douglas, and many more, all originated from this extraordinary movement. Claude McKay is one of the most legendary authors that contributed the Harlem Renaissance. McKay wrote many iconic pieces. To name a few, he wrote poems titled, “If We Must Die”, “Harlem Shadows”, and “America”. By doing the impossible and being heard when he could not speak, Claude McKay has used his voice for social justice and has changed the world for the better.…