Music Analysis: Logy Woogie

Mark Wade is a proficient double bassist and composer who has been playing in NYC for two decades, showing off his fluid, athletic sound. The follow-up to his widely recognized debut album, Event Horizon, is entitled Moving Day and like its previous, features a classic trio with Tim Harrison and Scott Neumann on piano and drums, respectively. Together, they achieve an impressive triangular tightness that can be heard without delay on the first track, the 6/4 post-bop wonder that gave the album its title. It kicks off with the pianist delivering an ostinato, which, minutes later, is reutilized by the bassist to install the groove. The bandleader embarks on an effusive back-and-forth solo, discharging equal parts of melody and rhythm, and the energy doesn't faint when Neumann unleashes his clear-sighted chops over a rock-inflected vamp.

Boogie Woogie is described as such; while usually categorized as a form of the blues, however, boogie-woogie is considerably more upbeat in mood. What sets it apart is the division of hands that goes into its performance, with the right hand engaging in improvisatory movements while the left hand maintains a constant beat. ( Jones 1).

“For some this has been, at least partially, a nostalgic trip to the “simplistic and charm” of the past(...)ragtime’s direct melodic and harmonic message, its irresistible, foot-tapping, rhythmic impulse.” (Berlin) Ragtime was the type of music that was intended to evoke happiness and joy using instruments like piano, guitar, and drums. Through the genre of Ragtime, many popular dances of the late 1900s became prominent like the “cake walk”, “ragtime marches”, “two-steps”, and many more. (Berlin) One of the most prominent characteristics of Ragtime is the fact that it has syncopation which was fairly new at the time. Syncopation is the emphasis of notes that are played in the off beats. Irving Berlin describes the relationship between syncopation and ragtime as

When I first read through the script of the musical “Into the Woods” the repetition of the word ‘festival’ rang like a bell in my head. I instantly knew this was what my concept would stem off of. And although I wasn't too sure of anything other than that, I soon figured out what I wanted to do with that word, ‘festival.’ All I had to do was to add the word ‘music’ in front of it.

Just as the other songs from the recital, this song is part of the modern era, and is a sonata genre. This song also had an allegro moderato tempo. In this performance, the saxophone was the main focus. The piano was just in the background, as for the tunes played before both the saxophone and piano were important. Indeed, there was a solo for the piano in this song. I assume that the saxophone player needs a time to rest, therefore the piano plays a solo in the middle of the piece. Overall, this song did have organization to it and had a lot of feel to it, as most jazz performances

‘Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing)’, was originally composed by Louis Prima, and was then subsequently made popular by Benny Goodman and his jazz orchestra in 1937. Unlike most recordings during the 1930’s, ‘Sing, Sing, Sing’ was not restricted to the usual three minutes, instead running to over 8 minutes, taking up both sides of a 12 inch 78. Goodman’s version, while following the AABA form, doesn’t seem to follow the 12-bar form particularly well, because of the constant solos of drummer Gene Kruper. Kruper’s drumming at the beginning of the song is iconic, as is the ‘screaming’ brass, and their call-and-response interaction with the melody-playing reeds. These constant interactions lend the song a vibrant energy and the many soli’s only add to the intensity – as well as the numerous ‘false’ endings hyping up the eventual actual ending.

Oya is the second track on Ibeyi’s self-titled debut album, preceded by a prayer to Eleggua, orisha of the crossroads and the first to be saluted in all Santería ceremonies. The song’s title is a reference to an orisha of the same name, who is believed to be the guardian of the dead and the harbinger of righteous change and destruction. Both sisters claim personal patronage from Oya, and in Ibeyi fashion, the track sounds more like a ceremonial evocation than a radio-friendly pop song.

Nowadays, the concepts and sounds of Funk prevails and funk is contemplated as one of the great American musical

weightlessly, and so quickly you can only make out a blur. The trumpet and saxophone float

For a composer, the modal system is useful for delineating a melodic “home” known as the final tone. A note called the reciting tone acts as the secondary “home” for the melody. The balance between these two “homes” creates drama for the listener. As the melody hangs on the reciting tone it often creates a type of tension that is resolved when the melody returns to the final tone. PHRYGIAN SKELETONS refers to the modal “skeletons” upon which tonight’s music is built. The selections chosen for tonight’s performance can be seen as a gallery of techniques that composers have used to handle the Phrygian mode. This mode stands out at once when one hears the idiomatic minor second interval that separates the final tone from tone above it (typically

George R.R. Martin’s A Song for Lya follows two telepathic lovers, Robb and Lyanna, who are pulled apart by their want and yet inability to understand each other. Published in 1974, it and won the Hugo Award for Best Novella in the following year. The story explores the connectivity between individuals and society. The origins of literature are people telling their own stories in order to create a sense of community. George R.R. Martin highlights the genesis of literature by telling a story of human nature that is set within a much larger story.

On Houston’s radio station on 91.7, they play music of the classical genre. I was required to listen to three musical pieces and identify each and state which out of the three I preferred the best. All of these songs were splendid but I did enjoy one musical composition more than the rest I listened to.

In the song It Don 't Mean A Thing by Duke Ellington, you here the violin, piano and the drums at the initial start of the song followed by voice and trumpets. Duke Ellington makes his voice vibrato a couple times. In the song it sounds like a person talking but that is a trumpet with a plunger on the end to create the effect. There are multiple voices in the song. The song has a feel to it as if you are in a dance mood. It has a New Orleans feel. In the song there is a trumpet and violin solo. The song gradually gets louder and faster as it progresses for dramatic affect.

This song was recorded with a piano which was unique because most free jazz groups did not use a piano. Although, there are some characteristics of the avant-garde jazz style present in this song. For instance, the saxophone players and trombonist used a range of low and high register sounds along with pitch bends to add colorations to the song. The tenor saxophone solos are littered with an assortment of pitch bends and at 1' 34" and 1' 58" the alto saxophone and trombone can be heard playing a sighing sound. The rhythm section alternated the rhythm during improvisations which created a steady and somewhat unsettled sound that actually complemented the melodies.

Ever since Jelly Roll Morton revolutionised jazz music in the early 1920’s, Piano has played a vital role in the development of Jazz music with greats such as Duke Ellington influencing jazz from the start of the swing era (Gioia, 2011). Jazz Pianists were often on the forefront of the ongoing development of jazz music. However, when the bebop era dawned, piano seemed to move into the background, with people like John Coltrane and Miles Davis leading the charge. However, this did not mean the piano disappeared, far from it; Jazz music is a genre that is in constant flux, driven by the players in the music. Often, the most famous jazz musicians were the most innovative and forward thinking players of their respective eras. Musicians hold jazz pedigree and genealogy in high regard, where playing with and learning from the masters that came before was almost a necessity. Some musicians learn from meticulously studying and transcribing solos and compositions performed by previous masters. Pianos ability to play melody and harmony together made it one of the most complex and diverse instruments in the world, especially in jazz music, being able to perform solo with rich musical timbres and complexity. Players such as Bill Evans and Thelonious Monk, whom are discussed in this paper, helped revolutionise jazz and bebop music in their own way, and are some of the best jazz pianists of all time, driving the genre of jazz forever forward (Solomon, 2013).