Welcome, and I hope that you enjoy this portfolio blogging assignment. To recap, it should be on a topic that is related to the material that we cover in class. Your work should represent a minimum of one hour's research each week, but you'll likely want to spend more time on it for best results.
You may wish to investigate a specific genre of jazz, such as bebop or cool, or you might want to begin with a closer look at exceptional performers, perhaps outstanding saxophonists, bassists, trumpeters, trombonists, guitarists, drummers, pianists, etc., through the years. You may want to tailor it to your own major; if you're an elementary education major, let's say, then you might want to investigate jazz resources that are available for you as your create lesson plans for your classes. Or you might want to investigate the amazingly rich world of children's books that involve jazz or music, generally. You might want to look at how jazz is, and has been, used in film and TV scores, or if you're an aficionado of LP's (long play 33 1/3 records) and you've a special interest in art, then taking a close look at album cover art might interest you. Since we're close to Kansas City and its rich jazz history, you might want to focus on it or another city that has a significant jazz story attached to it, e.g. NYC, Chicago, etc.
It's OK to change directions with your research as the semester unfolds; there's no need to stay with the topic that you select now. Let your interest and curiosity guide you. Use my Jazz in Kansas City and the Southwest blog guide you (jazzinkcsw2011.blogspot.com), remembering that some of the blogs are acceptable and others are not.
Weekly Listening Assignment
In addition to your weekly research, you are required to do one in-depth listening assignment per week. This should be submitted here, along with your weekly research assignment. Again, take a look at those excellent examples from the Jazz in KC and SW blog and use those as a model. The key is that you think critically about what you're hearing. Simply saying that you like, or dislike, such and such and you don't like such and such is not acceptable. I.e. superficial reviews won't be graded as passing.
And lastly, if you have questions, don't hesitate to inquire of me. I'll be happy to speak with you, or meet with you, about these assignments. They should prove to be some of the most rewarding things that you do in the class all semester long.
I've listened to Ray Charles' "I believe to my soul" and I found this to be an emotionally driven piece. The lyrics were sung with passion while dialogues were trading back and forth between the lead and backup singers. The style of the instruments playing were very "lazy" and chill-like. The tempo was taking its sweet time. There was no need to rush. The melody was a bit mellow, but at the same time, the overall mood of the piece was not completely grim. The spirit of the song portrays that there is a hopeful moment that will come very soon.
ReplyDeleteJust saw these!
DeleteAs for the portfolio project, I am currently looking at a soundtrack of a french animation "les triplettes de belleville." The song is called "belleville rendez-vous" and the style is quite jazzy. The main reason why I was interested in french style was because the french were obsessed with jazz. It was interesting how their style influenced the nature of jazz. I find it easy for jazz to take form in many cultures because there is really no set of rules. Jazz has this "whatever goes" attitude to its fluid structure. I would like to research how jazz made an important impact in shaping the french music culture and how they used this idea in their arts.
ReplyDeleteI've listened to "la mangave" - french jazz trio and strings. The main melody had a slight swing feel to the piece. The tune was quite sad in subtle ways, and yet there was a pleasant quality to balance the feel for the melody. Although the piece dragged on a bit, it's something to listen to on a rainy day. Even though the piece seems a bit stretched, there is a very emotional violin solo as the background percussion and piano were playing. There is also a main piano part which sounds emotionally improvised. The cello solo was equally pleasant. There seems to be a conversation taking place between the piano and cello towards the end.
ReplyDeleteI listened to John Coltrane doing an improvisation. There was absolutely no structure to this piece. Everything seemed to be made up on the fly. It was interesting how artists make things up as they go. The John was a saxophonist. He emotionally invested when he plays and he takes his time to get the sound he wants. There was the bass and piano which accompanied him. The bass and piano didn't have their own solos. The saxophone was the dominant melody and lead of this piece. It's not my favorite piece, but I can appreciate his talent for improvisation.
ReplyDeleteIn continuation of french influence on jazz, there was a soundtrack that i discovered from the same animation "triplettes de belleville." This nice modern twist of rag-time is called "générique d'ouverture." It's quite short, but it starts out with a suspenseful trumpet escalation followed by an immediate descending piano arpeggio (tapering off). Then, the attitude completely changes into something very fun and enjoyable. The music is very danceable. There is a nice flowing conversation taking place between trumpets and saxophones. The piano and percussion adds a very satisfying background accompaniment to the excerpt.
ReplyDeleteSince I enjoyed listening to Jane Monheit in class, I figured I listen to more of her music on my own. "Honeysuckle Rose" starts out with a solo introduction with a succession of pizzicatos. Jane's comes in not too long into the bass solo. Her voice has depth and is not afraid to project her emotions out loud. She sounds confident and she has complete control of her craft without any fear. The piano background comes in with a light percussion beat. There is a lot of chromaticism which adds flavor and color to the piece. The piece has no clear-cut form. It sounds she could improv the entire piece.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxGUH96ulbU
ReplyDeleteThe piece starts with an orchestra pizzicato, then the percussion adds the beat to the piece. The accordion plays its solo introduction and caries the melody through the rest of the piece. This is not the typical jazz style due to its ultra modern twist. However, the vibe and the ambiance the piece emits does have is jazzy qualities. This is also very soothing. The bass gives depth and the electric keyboard adds a nice blend of colors. The trumpet solo pours out its emotion in the later part of the piece. The artist is not mainstream yet, but I believe he does a great job fusing the jazz elements and the modern elements together. There is a french quality as the accordion plays through out the music. This gives a typical parisian romantic quality. There is a bit of french whispering in the distance. There is also sound of city traffic played in the background. There is syncopation played throughout the piece that builds on each other.
The saxophone, trumpet and piano plays hot-potato to the main introductory melody. Then, Billie Holliday jumps right into singing. The bass plucks away with the light percussion background. The whole quality of the music sounds very soothing. The saxophone has a nice raspy quality during the solo. The trumpet sounds dampened. I'm not sure if it was the recording quality that altered the trumpet's quality of sound. The trumpet definitely triumphs over the ensemble since the percussion is only a complement to the main instruments. The piano also serves as a complement to the ensemble as well. It serves only as a embellishment to the piece, but as the focus of the song.
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