The story of Count Basie is very much the story of the great jazz band that he led for close to 50 years (1935-1984)‚ an orchestra with a distinctive sound‚ anchored by a subtle but propulsive beat‚ buoyed by crisp ensemble work and graced with legendary soloists still to date a catalogue of featured players which read like a Who’s Who of jazz. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Count Basie band’s achievement was his steadfast perseverance in staying strong with a 50-year music run with several
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Coleman Hawkins’ Reign During the Harlem Renaissance A very big part of the 1920’s was the Harlem Renaissance also known as the "New Negro Movement." It brought out the art‚ music‚ and literature side of most African American people. This took place in New York and during the 1920’s and ended around the early 1940’s. Coleman Hawkins was an African American figure during the Harlem Renaissance that sparked jazz music. A modern figure that resembles Coleman Hawkins is BB King‚ who continues to promote
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3 July 2013 A New Jazz “Post-war America‚ Jazz and Heroin” by Zenga Longmore and James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” Life after the Second World War changed for many‚ including the previously jolly jazzmen in Harlem. Whether through conspiracy‚ a search to remedy the anxieties of a ‘struggling for image’ musician‚ or just something that was pressed as a requirement to belong‚ heroin certainly made its bleak presence known. Trumpeter Red Rodney once said‚ “Heroin became the thing that made
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With his Db-ish project‚ Canadian trumpeter Darren Barrett excavates voguish ground by merging different styles such as post-bop and hip-hop with a nice‚ cool touch‚ and then spicing it with the addition of electronic samples and other valuable soundscapes. Barrett’s music background includes a graduation at Berklee College of Music and the first place in the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition‚ as well as enriching collaborations with the likes of Elvin Jones‚ Jackie McLean
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Formerly based in London and now in New York‚ Andrew Hartman is a passionate guitarist/composer whose sophomore album‚ Compass‚ comes out in May. This work was recorded with a tight quartet whose members include the much-admired saxophonist Chris Cheek‚ bassist Ike Sturm‚ and drummer Zach Harmon. The compositions were written while Hartman was still in London and reflect a period of travels and moves between cities and countries. “The Heights” opens the album with Hartman uttering a continuous melodic
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The state of Louisiana is known for Cajun food and Zydeco music‚ but Louisiana casinos are helping to add to the state’s reputation. Louisiana casinos stretch from north to south and run east to west in the state. Louisiana became the fourth state to approve riverboat gambling casinos in 1991. The next year‚ Louisiana approved one land-based casino to be located in New Orleans. Louisiana is also home to three land-based Indian casinos. Visitors to Louisiana are in for a one-of-a-kind experience‚
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“This old town can slow you down‚ People taking the easy way. But I know exactly where I’m going‚ And getting closer and closer everyday. I’m almost there.” As a consequence of living in a homogeneous area for my entire life‚ I crave change. My intrigue for the city of New Orleans began with The Princess and the Frog‚ the Disney movie from which the previous lyrics originate from. My nine year old self was drawn in by the representation of African Americans in mainstream media‚ however I left with
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Music is a spectacular commodity that is often overlooked within our everyday life. We listen to music when we’re sad‚ angry‚ happy and everything in-between. Jazz is one of the few genre’s desirable to everyone despite the mood or environment and has remained so for decades while other genre’s fade over time. But what exactly is Jazz? Most genres of music have distinct sounds‚ rhythms‚ and overall feel to them. It’d almost be impossible to mistake rock for gospel or hip-hop for classical. Each
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Polymodality in Jazz Polymodality is a term that has been rarely mentioned in the jazz literature‚ in the same way it has been infrequently practiced as a compositional tool by jazz arrangers and composers. Very few books mention either polymodality‚ polytonality or its related terminology‚ and when done‚ is sometimes to describe a different concept from the one discussed in this research. A clear example of this‚ is the use of the term polymodality by George Russell in his book Lydian Chromatic
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I saw The Santa Fe Big Band 22nd‚ Annual Evening of Jazz Concert. The band was dressed up all matching. The men were wearing black dress shirts and pants‚ with dress shoes. The women wearing black formal dresses with red shoes. They all looked very professional and when they started playing it immediately took me back to the 1930s‚ the big band era. Most of the songs were of long length and with many solos through the songs. The instruments used to create the songs were: saxophones‚ trombones‚ trumpets
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