'Music Analysis: Duke Ellington At Newport'

Duke Ellington was a jazz author, conductor, and entertainer amid the Harlem Renaissance. During the developmental Cotton Club years, he explored different avenues regarding and built up the style that would rapidly bring him overall achievement. Ellington would be among the first to concentrate on melodic shape and sythesis in jazz. Ellington composed more than 2000 pieces in his lifetime.

What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong and Fleurette Africaine (Little Flower) by Duke Ellington.

The performers are Greg Billings: Lead vocals, Tom King: Bass guitar, George Harris: Guitar and vocals, Rob Stoney: Keyboards, vocals and harmonica, Mark Busto: Drums and vocals. Kyle Ashley: Guitar. The band today includes Greg and Tom from the original band Stranger. Greg is a friend of mine as well as a colleague. He has since left the company to pursue music full time. I have seen Greg and Tom perform as Stranger and The Greg Billings Band. Greg is a very down to earth typical guy that anyone could associate with. Stranger released several albums as had some hits that established them as a “Florida Rock Band”. Greg has been performing since the early 1980s when Stranger began in 1981. Stranger was together for 16 years. Greg then was in another band Damn the Torpedoes for a few years which then led him to start The Greg Billings Band.

Jazz has shaped the world we know today. Jazz would have never been as popular without the help of the famous musicians: Jelly Roll Morton, Joe King Oliver, Sidney Bechet, Louis Armstrong, and Duke Ellington. These people helped spread the new genre through radio, railroads, and the records that they played. Where did this all start? The jazz age began in New Orleans where a certain King was born.

In 1922, Gennett Records, an independent company located in Richmond, Indiana, began recording jazz groups performing in Chicago. The first group they recorded was the New Orleans Rhythm Kings, followed in 1923 by King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band with young jazz player Louis Armstrong. Louis Armstrong is and will continue to be remembered for his contribution to the Jazz Age of music. By 1929 Armstrong was a big star, touring the U.S. and the continent with his bands. His singing style became as popular as his trumpet playing. It’s safe to say that Louis will go down in history as one of the greatest in Jazz to ever live. (Tyle

Sonny's Blues was written in 1957, 37 years after the roaring twenties had come to an end. Long after the great Migration, where millions of blacks moved to northern cities to escape Jim Crow, and embrace the new found possibilities offered. During this period African-Americans in New York, collectively gathered in Harlem mainly, it was usually alluded to as the black capital. There blacks shared culturally and also, influenced music greatly. This is also where the "new negro" persona was crafted, blacks were no longer going to be referred to as someone's mammies or boy. They started taking pride in being black and weren’t going to walk around ashamed anymore, all of this lead to the Harlem Renaissance. Harlem Renaissance is where colored photographers,

The Harlem Renaissance was the development of African American culture, particularly in the creative arts, and the most influential movement in the African American history. It started in the early 1920s and lasted up till the mid 1930s. During this time period, there was a lot of advancements in African American literacy, music, theatre and and visual arts. The African Americans became significant figures in the American society. The Harlem Renaissance was beneficial and had a positive impact on the African Americans because they became important figures with creativity in the American society.

Jazz is most often thought to have been started in the 1920s as this explosive movement, but that is in fact not the case. Starting in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century many African American musicians have started to explore their taste in improvising, and where better to do that than New Orleans (Anderson). Before the 1920s these jazz musicians have already been going around sharing the unique sound, but up until then, jazz had remained majorly in New Orleans. Interestingly during this period, a common jazz band would consist of a cornet, a clarinet, a trombone, and a rhythm section when at this period of time the clarinet is not commonly associated with being a jazz instrument, it moved into being the saxophone rather. A big

“It [the Harlem Renaissance] was a time of black individualism, a time marked by a vast array of characters whose uniqueness challenged the traditional inability of white Americans to differentiate between blacks.” (Clement Alexander Price). Price’s mentality describes the tradition of American society persecuting African Americans. This reference to tradition forces the audience to consider how this persecution began. African Americans were abducted and forced into slavery. After going through many years of being imprisoned and forced to work, African Americans were emancipated after the Civil War, but they were still not completely free. This lead many African Americans to move to the north where there were more jobs and less oppression.

The first piece, Swimming with the Sharks, was a lively piece. Listening to the piece made me feel as if i was in a superhero movie. This jazz performance the instrumentalist seemed to have fun with the pieces however the one before seemed more uptight. Also compared to the previous performance I attended there was a greater use of the guitar. The ending was heavy

In the 1920s and 1930s, a large movement of art and literature took place in the city of Harlem. Many African American authors express their thoughts and ideas through anyway possible. Whether it be music, art, or literature, its impact gave the African Americans a new place in society. One composer of music was very influential to all people. His name is Duke Ellington. The impact from Duke’s musical arts is very large, and that impact still stands. He is able to construct over three thousand songs, many of which pertain to freedom, identities, reunion, and last but not least, racism. Duke’s impact on bringing people together is enormous, and ends racism in all of society.

I have selected ‘Cross Roads Blues’ written and recorded by Robert Johnson in 1936, one of the best Delta Blues singer, song-writer and musician (May 8, 1911-August 16 1938). Robert Johnson performed ‘Cross Roads Blues’ as a solo piece with his vocal and acoustic slide guitar in the style of Delta Blues, produced by Don Law. This song has become a part of Robert Johnson’s mythology because in this song he is talking about the place where he met the devil and sold his soul to the devil in exchange of his musical talent, even though lyrics do not comprehend those references.

The Santa Fe Evening of Jazz was a great concert featuring the Rhythm and Blues, Jazz Combo, and Big Band from Santa Fe College with special guest Professor Scott Wilson from the University of Florida Jazz Studies. This Evening of Jazz was the ninth one to be held and was superbly done; getting a ticket was quick and simple, finding a seat was as easy, and leaving was not hard. The whole performance was led by Doctor Steven Lee Bingham who also played with all the bands on the alto saxophone along with giving information about each band, song, scholarship players, and on Mr. Wilson and his unique instrument called a E.V.I.. The audience had a pleasant feel, everyone was talking and laughing before and after the performance, they also were

Due to the reputation of Herbie Hancock, there are publications about him, ranging from books, journals, interviews to dissertations. Topics of these literatures cover almost everything about him from Herbie Hancock to his language of music.

Jazz is such a unique and distinguished genre of music that delights the ear of every person who listens to it. Found in New Orleans, it grew in fame all around the world and will always be popular. Why New Orleans? The history of the founding jazz and what impacted it is astonishing.