Top-Rated Free Essay
Preview

Jazz Concert Reflection

Good Essays
574 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Jazz Concert Reflection
Jazz Concert Reflection

Jazz is a musical style that began in African American communities in the southern United States around the beginning of the twentieth century. It was a new style of music that brought together music traditions from West Africa and Europe. Some of its West African musical influences give jazz its unique sound. Jazz has many different elements, which are improvisations, swinging, using blue notes, and combining different rhythms. I attended The Bill and Helen Murray Jazz Residency Program featured Ellery Eskelin on the Saxophone with Susan Acorn on the pedal steel guitar and Michael Formanek on the acoustic bass and The Towson University Jazz Faculty Ensemble Featuring Dave Balloy on the trumpet, flugelhorn, and piccolo trumpet, Jim Mc falls on the trombone and baritone, Tim Murphy on the piano, Jeff Reed on the bass and last but not least, Frank Russo on the drums and cymbals. At each concert about four songs were performed. The musical elements in both performances that classify the music I heard as jazz were the swing rhythms and improvisations. The Jazz Residency Program was based on improvisations. Each player at this concert; had the ability to instantaneously compose, revise and perform their parts amazingly. As Ellery played the Sax, Susan and Michael played their instrument spontaneously creating fresh melodies. At the Jazz Faculty ensemble, the musicians played songs that were previously written. Their musical styles were mostly bebop and swing with lots of call and respond. Jim Mc falls would play his trombone and all group members would follow after him. The song “Moodly” sounded like bebop, because there were a lot of bass drum bombs and tonal clashes. “Marsch der freien Sound Fur Funf Instrumente” was also a bebop song that was played with extended harmonies and tonal clashes.

Some of the non-traditional jazz elements that I heard were played at both of the Jazz Concerts. Susan Acorn played the pedal steel guitar, which I found to be a non-traditional element. The sound was completely different from what I had ever heard before. At the Jazz Faculty Ensemble, Dave Ballou played the Piccolo Trumpet for the last piece “Conversion”. The high-pitched sound made the song slur and blend with soft melodies.

Listening to each concert, gave me two totally different experiences. The Jazz Residency concert was all improvisations, so it didn’t remind me of any of the music I had heard before. The Jazz Faculty ensemble was a reminder of music styles like Art Tatum, John Coltrane, and Duke Ellington. When they played Hamster in a bucket it’s reminded me of “In a Mellotone” by Duke Ellinton. Then Dave Ballou played the trumpet in the song “Cry Baby” like Miles Davis played the trumpet in the song “So What”.

In conclusion, the quality of both performances was outstanding. Each performance was completely different and that’s what I loved. The jazz residency program was completely improvised, leaving me opened and surprised at every note each player chose to play. The Jazz Faculty Ensemble’s songs had a distinctive vibe. They made the sounds of their music come together and I felt the rhythm. I would defiantly pay to see each performance again. I left the concerts smiling, because I felt as if I knew exactly what they were trying to accomplish with their music. The two ensembles I attended featured some of the most talented musicians I ever heard performing at Towson University.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    According to Christopher Wilkinson, Jazz is a creation of African - American culture which emerged from American musical traditions around the beginning of twentieth century. Characteristics of Jazz music are improvised, rhythmic complexity and related to dance. There are period Jazz as functionality which is for dance and period Jazz as quasi art which is to be listened rather than to be enjoyed.…

    • 493 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Swing Music Essay

    • 1004 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Jazz first originated in the early 1900s. Jazz didn’t just miraculously emerge as the defining music of the time however. It was a product of various emotions and cultures that reflected the attitude of society that manifested into jazz. Jazz was an improvisation. The 1920s is most commonly thought of as the jazz age as a result of how renowned it became. The improvisational character of the music reflected the relaxed social codes, and loose morals of the time. Furthermore, Jazz is most often associated with the changing role of…

    • 1004 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    1.09 Lab Questions

    • 267 Words
    • 2 Pages

    1. Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern USA. One of the contributions of Latinos to the US, Latin jazz gained popularity in the 1930's into the late 1940s.…

    • 267 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Musical Genre: Jazz

    • 192 Words
    • 1 Page

    Jazz is one of the musical genres that represent America. It had a combination of influences from Africa and Europe. When Africans were brought to the United States as slaves, they brought their music and culture with them. Samuel A. Floyd Jr. stated “…particular musical tendencies were brought with Africans to the New World…and spread throughout African-derived populations in the United States, eventually becoming an integral part of the music we know as jazz.” African slaves used musical expression for social purpose in the 1800s; they sang songs when they are working or they played drums. The immigration of Europeans started in the seventeenth century. They brought the instrumentations, the tonality, the chords, and the form into the United…

    • 192 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Jazz Music

    • 585 Words
    • 3 Pages

    I went to recital hour and heard The College Concert Jazz Band. They were a big band that consisted of various instruments such as: alto and tenor saxophones, trumpets, trombones, drums, bass, guitar and piano. They played Swing, Swing, Swing, Sunny Side of the Street, Bebop Charlie, which is a song that is a transition between swing and bebop, Blues for Sita, which was played by the big band and was intended to sound like a small band, It Had to be You, which featured a guest vocalist named Stav Sokolov, and Howdiz Songo?, which was a salsa style piece and it featured Charlie Chavez, who was awesome. I am going to write about Swing, Swing, Swing by Marty Conley and Blues for Sita by Mike Barone.…

    • 585 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Jazz Concert Report

    • 737 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The UF Jazz Band Concert was an energetic, exciting and very entertaining. The University Auditorium provided a great atmosphere and vibe for the concert. From the start of the concert, it was very obvious how passionate all of the musicians and the director were about their performances. The band consists of five saxophone players, four trumpet players, five trombone players, and a rhythm section with guitar, piano, drums, and bass players. On saxophone were John Milado, Dustin Ferguson, Ben Greer, Monica Bello and Gregory Snider. On the trumpets were Sean Bokinsky, Mark Kindy, Anthony Bobo and Bobby Polidan. Playing the trombones were Kevin Hicks, Nick Arnheim, Brandon Allen, Adren Hance, Corbin Robeck and Mark Doerffel. In the rhythm section, Harrison Barron played guitar. Lincoln Antonio, Mitchell Morlock and Jason Bontrager played piano. Benny Cannon, Ethan Harman and Jonathon Foster played drums. Keegan Musser and Nate Garland played bass. The show wasn’t just the jazz band performing, the University of Florida Jazz Choir also performed two songs during the jazz band break. Jean Hickman directed the choir, which consisted of eight singers.…

    • 737 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Jazz Concert Paper

    • 996 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The concert was centered around the musical genre of jazz. Jazz is an All-American genre that started in the early 20th century. The biggest names in jazz history include Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Count Bassie, Art Tatum and Benny Goodman. These musicians created a new kind of music that the world has never seen before. The groundbreaking feats that these people made changed the world of music and made it something that breaks all the rules of traditional music.…

    • 996 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Jazz Concert Report

    • 409 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Before taking Jazz class I barely knew anything about this type music. Six different bands performed fifteen pieces. Most of the pieces are written by popular Jazz composers, such as “Cantaloupe Island” by Herbie Hancock or “Donna Lee” by Charlie Parker. Also, there was one band that performed pieces written by its members, which really impressed me. For example, “Preparation” was composed by Alex Reiff, who plays bass in the band called Krista White 3 PM Combo. In this report I would like to pay attention on two pieces that I enjoyed the most.…

    • 409 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    "Understanding Jazz: What Is Jazz?" The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Kennedy Center. Web. 14 Oct. 2011. <http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/jazz/ambassadors/Lesson1.html>.…

    • 1375 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Jazz Concert Review

    • 1225 Words
    • 5 Pages

    concert gave me a chance to look more deep into what Jazz music is all…

    • 1225 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Jazz Concert Review

    • 560 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The first question I asked myself at the beginning of the quarter was how much do I actually know about jazz? I have always characterized jazz music as a rhythmic and instrumental form of music. My impression on the basis of the jazz has always been portrayed with the African-American race. I think this was build up from the rhythm ‘n' blues era and meaning according to the dictionary ("style of music that was invented by African American musicians in the early part of the twentieth century and has very strong rhythms and often involves improvisation"). But Louis Armstrong's famous reply was "if you had to ask, you'll never know". Whatever else he meant, he was at least saying that jazz is noticeable, but not necessarily understandable by words. (do not really know exact cite where I have got this quote)…

    • 560 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Jazz: Then and Now

    • 962 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Jazz has been around for centuries, starting in the 1600s with the rhythms and movements brought to America by African Slaves. Being forced into America, Africans from many cultures were cut off from their families, languages and tribal traditions. African cultures intermingled creating a new culture with both African and European elements. African dance has rhythms and movements such as vocal soundings, hand clapping, and foot stomping and tapping. All of these were woven together to create what is known as jazz dance.…

    • 962 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Concert Jazz Report

    • 860 Words
    • 4 Pages

    They played about 5 different songs but I could only catch four of them. The first song they played was called “You Don’t Know What Love is”. They didn’t mention who made the song. The song had a rough texture. All the instruments were playing very loud and wildly throughout the song. There wasn’t much form to this song. The saxophone was playing its own tune while the piano, cello, and drums had some type of repetition. There wasn’t a melody. I felt like they were playing off each other’s energy. There was some rhythm to this song but majority of the time it sounded like it was all freestyle. I think its just because jazz is played like that. The dynamics to this song was very soft and low key aside from the saxophone. The tempo was slow at first then it really picked up 30 seconds into the song. Overall…

    • 860 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Early jazz was developed among African Americans in the 1880s. Then, it was fully developed in New Orleans at the beginning of the 1900s. New Orleans style jazz became known from the city’s own musical traditions and mostly street parades. But now, this type of jazz is called classic jazz, traditional jazz or Dixieland jazz. New Orleans was the musical home of many jazz musicians (Jazz History).…

    • 800 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Jazz Concert Review

    • 637 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Guests
Zoe Christiansen, clarinet
Luke Park, clarinet and alto saxophone
Alex Henton, Jennifer Hyde, horn
Lucas Jensen, bass trombone…

    • 637 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics