Whenever I teach the history of jazz, it seems that one of my students' favorite styles is "Hard Bop." This genre came of age in the early 1950s, but its true heyday was the late 50s and early 60s. It picks up where bebop left off: fast tempos, complicated chord changes, and fiery soloing. In fact, unless you know the specific performers on a given recording, a lot of hard bop sounds just like bebop. However, many hard bop artists slowed down the tempos and added the earthy sounds of blues and gospel music to their artistic palettes. In doing so, they created a subgenre known as "soul jazz." The Blue Note record label is synonymous with this style, and since it is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year, there are a lot of tributes to its vast catalog and stable of artists both in print and on the web.
One such tribute can be found on NPR's "Take Five" jazz site. Their goal is to teach people about jazz, five tracks at a time. Each week they post a different theme with brief notes, pictures, and, of course, full length recordings. The hard bop page posted this week has five of the greatest Blue Note recordings of all time. Check it out!
Monday, January 26, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Inaugural Chamber Music
If you missed hearing the lovely piece John Williams wrote for the presidential inauguration, you can hear it here. It's posted on one of my favorite blogs, The Rest Is Noise. The blogger is Alex Ross, NY Times classical music critic and author of a wonderful book by the same name about music in the 20th century.
The piece, Air on Simple Gifts, is based on an old Shaker song that was also used by Aaron Copland in his ballet, Appalachian Spring. The instrumentation of violin, clarinet, cello, and piano was used most famously by French composer Olivier Messaien for Quatour pour le fin du temps (Quartet for the End of Time) which he wrote while in a German POW camp during WWII. He used the instrumentation because those were the musicians he had as fellow prisoners.
Williams' arrangement was, in my opinion, a wonderful addition to the ceremony. The many faces of America were represented by the performers: Itzhak Perlman, a white, Jewish, differently-abled senior citizen; Yo Yo Ma, a middle aged Asian man; Anthony McGill, a young African-American; and Gabriela Montero, a young Latina. What a wonderful tribute to American diversity!
If you get a chance, listen to the piece and post your own comments below.
Update: It turns out that the music heard live over the speakers and on television was a recording the musicians made earlier. They were playing the piece live on the stage along with the recording, but because of the sub-freezing temperatures, they did not want to risk breaking a string and ruining such a solemn occasion. Those people who were close enough to the musicians heard both the live and recorded versions, but the rest of us only heard the recording. Read the details here.
The piece, Air on Simple Gifts, is based on an old Shaker song that was also used by Aaron Copland in his ballet, Appalachian Spring. The instrumentation of violin, clarinet, cello, and piano was used most famously by French composer Olivier Messaien for Quatour pour le fin du temps (Quartet for the End of Time) which he wrote while in a German POW camp during WWII. He used the instrumentation because those were the musicians he had as fellow prisoners.
Williams' arrangement was, in my opinion, a wonderful addition to the ceremony. The many faces of America were represented by the performers: Itzhak Perlman, a white, Jewish, differently-abled senior citizen; Yo Yo Ma, a middle aged Asian man; Anthony McGill, a young African-American; and Gabriela Montero, a young Latina. What a wonderful tribute to American diversity!
If you get a chance, listen to the piece and post your own comments below.
Update: It turns out that the music heard live over the speakers and on television was a recording the musicians made earlier. They were playing the piece live on the stage along with the recording, but because of the sub-freezing temperatures, they did not want to risk breaking a string and ruining such a solemn occasion. Those people who were close enough to the musicians heard both the live and recorded versions, but the rest of us only heard the recording. Read the details here.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Good Luck on Finals!
Remember, the best way to give yourself a break from your studying is to practice your instrument! For CB, SB, and WE, our concert is only 4-5 rehearsals away. For MAJ and TAJ, we have three rehearsals left. It's time to dig in and get those last few notes learned. If you keep practicing this week, you won't have tone and endurance problems when we reconvene!
I wish you best of luck on your exams!
I wish you best of luck on your exams!
Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!
Today our country pauses to celebrate Dr. King's legacy and the courage of all who have championed civil rights in our history. This year it is especially meaningful as we are on the eve of inaugurating our first African-American president, Barack Obama. It has always bothered me that we commemorate these important days, such as Veterans Day and Memorial Day, by staying home from school and not learning anything about their significance. Therefore, I offer you two articles to provide some perspective about Dr. King and Mr. Obama.
First, Dr. King made a famous speech about jazz music 45 years ago at the 1964 Berlin Jazz Festival. He spoke eloquently about the relationship of jazz to the Freedom Movement in America.
Second, performer/composer/producer Quincy Jones wrote an editorial entitled "Our Future of Hope" about his experiences as a young, black musician during the 50s and 60s. In it he discusses why the election of Barack Obama is so important to African-Americans and our nation as a whole.
First, Dr. King made a famous speech about jazz music 45 years ago at the 1964 Berlin Jazz Festival. He spoke eloquently about the relationship of jazz to the Freedom Movement in America.
Second, performer/composer/producer Quincy Jones wrote an editorial entitled "Our Future of Hope" about his experiences as a young, black musician during the 50s and 60s. In it he discusses why the election of Barack Obama is so important to African-Americans and our nation as a whole.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Rhythmic Precision and Perception
I have been thinking lately about the very small differences between playing a note at the proper time and rushing or dragging it. When you really examine it, it's amazing that anybody plays anything even remotely close to "in time." Take this example:
You are playing a Sousa march in cut time at 120 beats per minute (bpm). Since there are two beats per second, each beat is .5 seconds long. Therefore, if you have a string of quarter notes, they happen every .25 seconds. That means that if you are a bit late or a bit early, the most you are likely to be off is only .125 seconds. That's an eighth of a second! Yet we have the ability to perceive it as being late/early or rushed/dragged. When I remind the band to really listen, they can successfully eliminate that .125 second (or less) lag time.
Here's an even more extreme example:
The Jazz Band is playing "Can't Dance" by Joshua Redman. The tempo is about 96 bpm, and since it's a funk tune, the basic subdivision is the sixteenth note, which lasts for only .15625 seconds. I was working with them this morning to play a sixteenth note on the "a" of four a bit later, or as we say in jazz, "laid back." If you do the math, I am asking them to play a note approximately 6/100 of a second later. Usually we think of that kind of timing as occuring in Olympic sports, but even at the high school level, we can perceive the difference between landing on the beat and laying back--a difference so small as to be negligible in most real-life pursuits.
This just shows you how amazing the musical mind is!
You are playing a Sousa march in cut time at 120 beats per minute (bpm). Since there are two beats per second, each beat is .5 seconds long. Therefore, if you have a string of quarter notes, they happen every .25 seconds. That means that if you are a bit late or a bit early, the most you are likely to be off is only .125 seconds. That's an eighth of a second! Yet we have the ability to perceive it as being late/early or rushed/dragged. When I remind the band to really listen, they can successfully eliminate that .125 second (or less) lag time.
Here's an even more extreme example:
The Jazz Band is playing "Can't Dance" by Joshua Redman. The tempo is about 96 bpm, and since it's a funk tune, the basic subdivision is the sixteenth note, which lasts for only .15625 seconds. I was working with them this morning to play a sixteenth note on the "a" of four a bit later, or as we say in jazz, "laid back." If you do the math, I am asking them to play a note approximately 6/100 of a second later. Usually we think of that kind of timing as occuring in Olympic sports, but even at the high school level, we can perceive the difference between landing on the beat and laying back--a difference so small as to be negligible in most real-life pursuits.
This just shows you how amazing the musical mind is!
Monday, January 12, 2009
Minimalism
If your curiosity has been piqued by our class discussions about minimalism in music, you might enjoy Alex Ross' website "The Rest is Noise." He wrote a wonderful book about 20th century music, and his site has a number of audio examples that go along with it. If you go to this page and scroll down to "Minimalism," you can hear examples by Steve Reich and many of his colleagues.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
North Shore Honor Band Festival
Congratulations to all of the DHS band students who participated in the North Shore Honor Band Festival this weekend. I am proud of the hard work you put in preparing the music, practicing with the ensembles, and putting on a fine concert. I know both conductors were pleased with the results, and the audience had a great time. It was good to see a number of other band students there working on their second quarter concert papers.
It really struck me to hear just how many wonderfully talented musicians we have in our area, and I thought about what it takes to get to that level. Of course, talent level is something with which you are born, but hard work and passion are just as important, if not even more so. For example, let's say you have two musicians. The first just happens to have music in her genes, as she comes from a musical family. The second has talent as well, but maybe it doesn't come as naturally for her. Anyway, the first player has always been at the top of her section, never has to practice much for playing tests and still gets A's. She doesn't really have any competition, so she never moves beyond her comfort range on her instrument.
On the other hand, the second musician is motivated from within. She has sought out the best private teacher she can find, and she is diligent about taking her weekly lessons. She prioritizes her practicing, and although she is busy with other pursuits, she gets in a solid 30 minutes four times a week. She works on fundamentals and uses a tuner and a metronome. One year she decides to go to a music camp for a week in the summer. There she is challenged by more difficult band music and a master class with a university professor. This gets her even more excited, so she decides to join a youth orchestra outside of school. She works hard on her IMEA audition and makes the band. Suddenly, she finds herself a leader in school and enjoying her music on an even higher level.
At the NSHB this weekend, there were students of both types, but for the most part, those at the top of the sections are like the second musician above. They have a passion for music and want to go beyond the ordinary in their musical experience. If you think you'd like to be in that second category, let's chat. I can give you some guidance along that path.
If you'd like to see what some DHS band alumni have done with talent, passion, and drive, click on the links below:
Charles Lane (jazz tenor saxophonist)
Greg Spero (jazz/funk/rock keyboardist)
Geoff Shell (composer, electric bassist)--Geoff is our artist-in-residence at DHS, and he will be starting up this week.
It really struck me to hear just how many wonderfully talented musicians we have in our area, and I thought about what it takes to get to that level. Of course, talent level is something with which you are born, but hard work and passion are just as important, if not even more so. For example, let's say you have two musicians. The first just happens to have music in her genes, as she comes from a musical family. The second has talent as well, but maybe it doesn't come as naturally for her. Anyway, the first player has always been at the top of her section, never has to practice much for playing tests and still gets A's. She doesn't really have any competition, so she never moves beyond her comfort range on her instrument.
On the other hand, the second musician is motivated from within. She has sought out the best private teacher she can find, and she is diligent about taking her weekly lessons. She prioritizes her practicing, and although she is busy with other pursuits, she gets in a solid 30 minutes four times a week. She works on fundamentals and uses a tuner and a metronome. One year she decides to go to a music camp for a week in the summer. There she is challenged by more difficult band music and a master class with a university professor. This gets her even more excited, so she decides to join a youth orchestra outside of school. She works hard on her IMEA audition and makes the band. Suddenly, she finds herself a leader in school and enjoying her music on an even higher level.
At the NSHB this weekend, there were students of both types, but for the most part, those at the top of the sections are like the second musician above. They have a passion for music and want to go beyond the ordinary in their musical experience. If you think you'd like to be in that second category, let's chat. I can give you some guidance along that path.
If you'd like to see what some DHS band alumni have done with talent, passion, and drive, click on the links below:
Charles Lane (jazz tenor saxophonist)
Greg Spero (jazz/funk/rock keyboardist)
Geoff Shell (composer, electric bassist)--Geoff is our artist-in-residence at DHS, and he will be starting up this week.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Comments have been enabled
After the urging of the non-orchestra winds, I have turned the comments function on. Feel free to comment on my posts or to add your own related content. All comments will be previewed before they are posted, so it may take a day or to for you to see your message. Please keep posts appropriate and professional. Thanks!
Mr. B
Mr. B
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Western Swing
On the way home from work yesterday, I was listening to WBEZ, Chicago's National Public Radio Station. Occasionally, they have segments about the music world, covering everything from classical to avant garde rock. This time they featured a band called The Time Jumpers, a group of first-call Nashville studio musicians. This means they spend their days in recording studios and on tour, backing up major recording artists like Alison Krauss. When they aren't laying down tracks for other musicians, they get together to jam on their favorite style of music, Western Swing.
Now I'll admit, I only have a vague idea about this genre and its history, but from what I do know, it sounds like bluegrass musicians playing swing era jazz. It's similar to the gypsy jazz of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grapelli (that's a post for another day!) The sound is mainly acoustic with the fiddles, stand-up bass, and the soft touch of brushes on the drum kit, but there's also the sound of cleanly amplified jazz guitar. Reedy accordion and shimmering pedal steel guitar are also there, so it has a traditional country sound as well. All of these sounds and influences come together to make a kind of music that can't help but make you smile. Check it out at the NPR Music website.
If you want to learn more about country music instruments, visit the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Now I'll admit, I only have a vague idea about this genre and its history, but from what I do know, it sounds like bluegrass musicians playing swing era jazz. It's similar to the gypsy jazz of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grapelli (that's a post for another day!) The sound is mainly acoustic with the fiddles, stand-up bass, and the soft touch of brushes on the drum kit, but there's also the sound of cleanly amplified jazz guitar. Reedy accordion and shimmering pedal steel guitar are also there, so it has a traditional country sound as well. All of these sounds and influences come together to make a kind of music that can't help but make you smile. Check it out at the NPR Music website.
If you want to learn more about country music instruments, visit the Country Music Hall of Fame.
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