Jelly Roll Morton was one of the greatest most talented mans to play the pianist at the tempo he plays it’s at. After sitting and listening to for an hour and a half I realized what a great pianist was. I was exotic when I heard him playing; it was nothing to do but flow with the music after hearing it. It really lit a fire under me to actually enjoy music with a nice pitch and a definite tone.
Ferdinand Joseph “Jelly Roll Morton” LaMenthe was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on October 20, 1890. As a child he began to learn how to play the piano at age 10 years old. He was taught by Tony Jackson; compose of songs like “Pretty Boy” and other hits. Tony Jackson is among the few musicians whom Morton admired and respected. Jackson was also known to him as the greatest single-handed entertainers in the world. After his mother’s passing, Morton began playing in gigs in the bordellos of the Storyville district of New Orleans. In New Orleans he became active as a gambler, pool shark, and many more things that made him get kicked out by his grandmother. With him doing all of this gambling she didn’t want his sisters to see that life that he was going down.
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Louis, etc. playing with different musical groups as for musician that were needed but he could never stay long with one band. “He couldn’t stay long in one band too long because he was too irregular and emotional, and he was a one-man band himself,” bandleader George Morrison who Morton once played under said. Morton really wanted to stand out and be an over the top musician. After he left the groups he toured the south in a musician show for about a year and a half. In a bar somewhere in St. Louis where piano players hung out, Morton had to prove his skills by playing and reading music in
Buddy’s playing married all of the contemporary popular styles of music, creating something never before heard, Jazz. “Jazz music emerged from the confluence of New Orleans’s diverse musical
He began playing the piano at age 10 and started performing in front of an audience at just 12 years old. He played in the red-light district bordellos in New Orleans, Louisiana. Ferdinand mainly played ragtime and the blues. However he mixed a little Caribbean dance music in his songs as well, which closely resembled the new jazz music. While playing at the bordellos, he earned the nickname, Jelly Roll. Young and confident, Jelly Roll Morton set off playing
When J.J. Johnson was 11 years old, his mother, Nina, sent him to piano lessons, and he briefly played the baritone saxophone at school. At the age of 14, J.J. Johnson’s classmates wanted to be in a band and needed a trombone player, so he took the opportunity and never looked back. Johnson and his friends were really enjoying the concept melody solos from the tenor saxophonist, Lester Young, and he was also drawn to the Trombone work of Dickie Wells. Therefore, around 1941 and 1942, J.J Johnson joined two bands called Clarence Love’s Regional Touring Band and Snookum Russell’s Band. Johnson then received a suggestion to join the band of Saxophonist Benny Carter for an extended tour, so the spring of 1945, Johnson worked with Carter’s band as a trombonist and a staff manager.
Aside from the typical cultural, social, and political factors influencing any musician’s style, an early life filled with poverty and hardship also shaped Louis Armstrong’s musical development. Some even theorize that it was Armstrong’s difficult upbringing that made his music so wise, so unique, and so revolutionary. Armstrong was an African American child growing up in the slums of New Orleans, close to abandonment, impoverished, and with too few constant people, resources, or homes. However, had his upbringing been different, his musical talents may never have been established to grow and thrive into one of the most internationally influential jazz musicians ever. When Louis Armstrong was placed in a boys’ home as a young boy, he was presented with the opportunity to play the cornet. He took up work in Joe (King) Oliver’s house, doing chores in exchange for musical lessons, developing into a
“Other kids could play cowboys and Indians and imagine that they’d grow up to be cowboys,” he wrote in his Living Proof autobiography. “I couldn’t do that. I knew that I would never grow up to be a cowboy or a fireman or the president of the United States. I knew I’d grow up to be a singer. That’s all there ever was, the only option, from the beginning.” http://www.hankjr.com/career-biography/
This was a hard move for Armstrong because he did not want to leave his hometown of New Orleans, but he knew it was a move he needed to make(Tirro). He made his first ever recording with Oliver’s band in 1923 under the Gennett Label. Though, in 1924, Armstrong was given the opportunity to move to New York City. He did not want to make the move, but his wife convinced him it was best for his career, and he went. In New York, Armstrong was the third cornet in Fletcher Henderson’s band(“Louis Daniel Armstrong”). While performing in Henderson’s band, Armstrong made many more recordings, and was lucky enough to work with some famous jazz singers and instrumentalists; Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, Alberta Hunter, and Sidney Bechet. But Armstrong became unhappy with the band because he was given few opportunities to solo and was rarely allowed to sing, which forced him away from Henderson’s band(Cogswell 18). Though he was only in New York for a year, this trip helped his talent become more nationally recognized. He built confidence, learned about showmanship, and improved his ability to read music(“Louis Daniel Armstrong”). Everybody in New York fell in love with him because not only was he a great musician, but his humor brought so much more to the performance(Shipton 26). He then returned to Chicago where he was given a spot in his wife’s band as the first chair cornet, his first time in
Miles Dewey Davis III, the son of a music teacher and a dental surgeon was born on May 26, 1926, in Alton Illinois. At the age of thirteen Davis’ father introduced him to the trumpet and from then on he developed a love for playing the trumpet. Davis’ father paid for him to study under Elwood Buchanan, who owned and directed a private music school. Davis played professionally all throughout high school where he was often bullied and beat on for playing. He also got beat up for being a lame band geek in high school. At the age of seventeen he was invited to be in a band with Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. Soon after Davis left Illinois for New York, where he enrolled at The Institute of Musical Art (Now known as Julliard) Davis soon dropped
Watching Louis Armstrong’s live performance in Berlin during the year 1965 was a pleasure, especially because I am a great fan of his music. Throughout the concert in Berlin, Armstrong and his chamber orchestra played 13 different pieces. With the exception of Jewel Woods’ entrance on vocals for two songs, the makeup of the chamber orchestra did not change throughout the concert. As a result, the cello, clarinet, drums, piano, trombone, and trumpet remained vital parts of each song throughout the concert.
As time went on Miles Davis III became a part of the music society. He first played
musical talent came honestly. His father was a mellophonist and his mother was a pianist.
In 1902, Morton started to use the word: jazz. Morton explained jazz had adapted French tunes and Spanish tunes in the early jazz time. He supported his idea with his song “La Paloma” that he was surprised the Spanish tune were perfectly in the tempos, and he arranged it into New Orleans style by changing the right hand only with more syncopation. Moreover, Morton criticized those people who did not play ragtime well; they tended to increase the tempo to make them sounded well. He believed that it was a mistake and he was confident that he was right because everyone took his style after. After talking about ragtime, Morton discussed harmony, break, and vibrato in jazz. He started with the purpose for each element, then gave detail explanations
Instead of keeping with his studies, Miles was more concerned with his career as a musician in a band. Miles made some of his first recordings in 1945 and also joined Charlie Parker's quintet. Though Miles was not as developed during this time, his style was already easily recognizable and distinguished. In 1949, Miles had the opportunity to lead a band which consisted of nine players, also known as a nonet. The band used non-traditional instruments in a jazz setting. Many consider this to be the birth of. That same year Miles visited Europe and played at that year's Paris Jazz Festival in May.
Nps.gov states that some of the greatest musician in America History has come from the jazz side of the world. Artist such as Louis Armstrong, Billy Holiday and Jelly “Roll” Morton, pave the way for jazz to reach its height as it did in the early 20’s with the upbeat tempo and smooth classical sound. These artist brung a unique sound to jazz that was not there. Louis Armstrong contribute to jazz is so remarkable, he played the trumpet like no other. His sound was so soothing to the ears. When you think about jazz, Louis Armstrong is one of the first names most people relate to jazz. Jelly “Roll” Morton was probably the most influence artist there is. An innovative piano stylist and composer, began his odyssey outside of New Orleans as early as 1907. He continue his work throughout the 1920’s and was mainly consider the reason of the swing era.
Maynard Ferguson, jazz legend, internationally renowned big band leader and one of the world’s greatest trumpet players with his Big Bop Nouveau Band. He draws upon bebop, straight-ahead jazz, funk, swing, classical and contemporary music to create a fresh sound within the classic big band form. (cite from Jazz Alley web site) Because me being Korean, I personally was little surprised and impressed by two Korean were members of his big band. A massive piano player, Ji Young Lee, pretty amazing in all pieces, her extended work on “but beautiful” was really lovely and the most memorable. Stockton, powerful drum player, thrilled the audience especially one of my friend, with his solos. He was banging away using all his gear, play in energetic and lively. M.F. and his band provided a remarkable arrangement of "Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone," as well as some elegant and very impressive, as Maynard ended a song by playing a soft muted trumpet, while the rest of the band played softer and softer, creating the effect of a fade-out.
One night in 1937, a teenage musician named Charlie Parker joined a jam session onstage at Kansas City's Reno Club. It was a special because a big-time drummer, Jo Jones, was there. He was the drummer for Count