Jazz

38 articles related to Jazz:

Big band

Begin the Beguine: discovering origin and meaning

During a Pacific cruise from Calabai to Fiji in 1935, the celebrated American composer and songwriter Cole Porter...
FILM

Jumpin' Jive: a celebration of swing and scat singing

Jumpin' Jive is a notable jazz hit that was originally recorded by the Cab Calloway Orchestra in 1939. The song...
SONGWRITER

Big Noise from Winnetka: timeless jazz melody born in a drum and bass jam

Big Noise from Winnetka is one of the best-known jazz tunes of the 1930s, first recorded by the Chicago-based band The...
SONGWRITER

Flat Foot Floogie: vulgar meaning of the swing hit song

Flat Foot Floogie (with a Floy Floy) is a jazz swing song that became a nationwide hit when it was released in the US in...
SONGWRITER

Minnie the Moocher: essential step in the history of scat singing by Cab Calloway

Minnie the Moocher is an iconic jazz composition showcasing essential examples of scat singing—a vocal technique for...
Music Theory

Popular songs featuring Phrygian mode and Neapolitan chord

Western music theory describes seven diatonic scales that are the basis of corresponding musical modes, among which the...
Collaboration

Marius Neset and London Sinfonietta: saxophone accompanied by world-class orchestra acquainted classical harmony with jazz rhythms

The intriguing cross-genre collaboration between the Norwegian jazz saxophonist Marius Neset and the London Sinfonietta...
SAXOPHONE

Pixinguinha: Brazilian saxophonist who established choro music as a pop genre

Pixinguinha, born Alfredo da Rocha Viana, Jr., was an iconic figure in Brazilian popular music who defined its new forms...
Choir

Gershwin's Summertime: the most recorded song draws inspiration from Ukrainian lullaby and African American spiritual

Written by the American composer George Gershwin in 1934, Summertime aria is now the most recorded song in the history... 3 comments
VINYL

The Original Dixieland Jass Band made the first-ever jazz recording over 100 years ago

The Original Dixieland Jass Band, also known as the ODJB, were among the pioneers of the new genre that originated in...
PIANO

Zawinul incited his electric piano to report the jazz weather

European jazz pianist Joe Zawinul is best known for his founding the iconic band Weather Report which is highly...
PIANO

Billy Strayhorn redefined jazz with a touch of classical

A versatile composer and pianist Billy Strayhorn was among the most grandiose personalities in American jazz,...
Big band

Great Depression cut short the extraordinary dance life of McKinney’s Cotton Pickers

Since the very start of the prohibition during the Roaring Twenties, many Americans sought refuge in entertainment clubs...
PIANO

Sgt. Pepper's inspiration behind Carla Bley's revolutionary jazz album

Born in Oakland, California, Carla Bley was raised in a Christian fundamentalist household and received remarkably...
Electric Guitar

Monnette Sudler: the first lady of jazz guitar

Grammy-nominated jazz guitarist Monnette Sudler is known as the “First Lady of Jazz Guitar,” among other titles. Her...
SONGWRITER

The three acts of Lonnie Johnson' blues

Lonnie Johnson (1889—1970) was a prolific American musician, singer, and songwriter, and one of the first major blues...
FLUTE

Incredible stunts by the blind virtuoso influenced a whole generation

Rahsaan Roland Kirk (1936-1977) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist who played saxophone, flute, and over 40...
SONGWRITER

La Mer poem became an international hit after years of searching for a melody

Charles Trenet was one of the most influential popular French songwriters in the mid-20th century. A performer of...
Collaboration

Literary recital for fiddle and harmonium with British flavour

A rare duo that brings together two of Britain's foremost folk and jazz artists was formed by a Scottish fiddler Aidan...
PIANO

To study academic theory, superb pianist Wynton Kelly took up bass

Wynton Kelly was born in Brooklyn, NYC in 1931 to Jamaican parents. His blues-based piano playing made him one of the...
TRUMPET

Jazz dinosaur of the new generation

Rising English trumpeter Laura Jurd has garnered an armful of awards in her relatively brief career, including both for...
Trombone

Moonlight Serenade got its name to contrast the sun

Glenn Miller, American big band leader, composer, and trombonist, is considered the primary musical symbol of the World...
OUD

Endless possibilities for one of the world’s oldest instruments

Joseph Tawadros was born in Cairo, Egypt in 1983 and moved to Australia three years later. Several members of his family...
PIANO

Abdullah Ibrahim created his African music of peace in exile

The works of South African pianist Abdullah Ibrahim, born Adolph Johannes Brand, fuse the melodic sounds of his homeland...
HANG

Electronic jazz achieves ambiance with exotic Swiss-made drum

The Portico Quartet is a contemporary jazz and ethnic fusion ensemble from South London. The band is known for their use...
SAXOPHONE

Chu Berry: finest tenor sax voice of the '30s silenced by fatal car crash

Leon 'Chu' Berry (1908-1941), perhaps one of the most brilliant American tenor sax players, found interest in music at a...
MODERN JAZZ QUARTET

Bebop meets baroque in memorable Collaboration

Modern Jazz Quartet (MJQ) is an American musical ensemble noted for their innovations in jazz forms and consistently...
VIBRAPHONE

Cal Tjader: the inception of Latin jazz in the Bay Area

Vibraphonist Cal Tjader was a fruitful composer who combined Afro-Cuban and Brazilian rhythms with jazz harmonies,...
SONGWRITER

Peggy Lee's sensual version of Fever replaced the original

Fever, one of the biggest songs to define a generation, is a passionate love proclamation that spoke to listeners of all...
Big band

The Stride Piano founder left nightclubs in favor of symphonic music

James P. Johnson has secured an honorable place in jazz music history as one of the most gifted piano players and...

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