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Books > Music > Contemporary popular music > Jazz
While the history of the non-violent Civil Rights Movement, from
Rosa Parks to Martin Luther King, is one of the great American
stories of the twentieth century, the related Black Power movement
has taken a more complex path through the nation's history. Formed
by a multitude of individuals, the long history of the Black Power
movement stretches before and beyond its political manifestations.
Beginning with the folk-narratives told on the plantation, Black
Power and the American People charts a course through the
iconoclasm of the Harlem Renaissance, the battleground of the
American campus, the struggle and skill of the Negro Leagues, the
drama of the boxing ring, the killing fields of Vietnam and the
cold concrete of the penitentiary, right up to the Black Lives
Matter movement of the present day. Tracing these connected
cultural expressions through time, Black Power and the American
People explores the profound legacy of Black Power from its
earliest roots to its most futuristic manifestations, its long
history in American culture and its profound influence on the
American imagination.
FROM JAZZ FUNK & FUSION TO ACID JAZZ: The History Of The UK
Jazz Dance Scene by Mark 'Snowboy' Cotgrove (Chaser Publications)
From UK soul weekenders to Tokyo dance jazz sessions, Mark
'Snowboy' Cotgrove's forthcoming book, From Jazz To Funk to Fusion
to Acid Jazz: The History Of The UK Jazz Dance Scene has already
acquired a mythical status. With an introduction by Professor
Robert Farris Thompson of Yale
Ornette Coleman's career encompassed the glory years of jazz and
the American avant-garde. Born in segregated Fort Worth, Texas,
during the Great Depression, the African American composer and
musician was the zeitgeist incarnate. Steeped in the Texas blues
tradition, Ornette and jazz grew up together, as the brassy blare
of big band swing gave way to bebop, a faster music for a faster,
post-war world. At the dawn of the Space Age and New York's 1960s
counterculture, his music gave voice to the moment. Lauded by some,
maligned by many, he forged a breakaway art sometimes called `the
new thing' or `free jazz'. Featuring previously unpublished
photographs of Ornette and his contemporaries, this is the
compelling story of one of America's most adventurous musicians and
the sound of a changing world.
The vibrant world of jazz may be viewed from many angles, from social and cultural history to music analysis, from economics to ethnography. It is challenging and exciting territory. This volume of nineteen specially commissioned essays offers informed and accessible guidance to the challenge, taking the reader through a series of five basic subject areas--locating jazz historically and geographically; defining jazz as musical and cultural practice; jazz in performance; the uses of jazz for audiences, markets, education and for other art forms; and the study of jazz.
(Guitar Educational). Take your playing to the next level with this
comprehensive jazz-blues guitar instructional book/CD pack. With 15
hands-on lessons you will be immersed in the realm of jazz blues,
learning to both improvise and comp with full-band play-along CD
tracks and step-by-step instruction. The well-planned lesson style
and organized design of this thorough source will have you jazzin'
the blues in no time
(Artist Books). The music of Thelonious Monk is among the most
requested of any jazz composer, but accurate lead sheets and
sources have never been widely available until now. This folio has
70 of the master composer/pianist's most familiar pieces, as well
as a number of obscure and unrecorded tunes, in easy-to-read
versions. Includes counterlines and ensemble parts for many pieces,
as well as bass-lines and piano voicings where applicable. Also
includes a biography, a glossary, and a definitive discography of
the compositions in the book. Titles include: Ask Me Now * Bemsha
Swing * Blue Monk * Blue Sphere * Boo Boo's Birthday * Bright
Mississippi * Brilliant Corners * Bye-Ya * Crepuscule With Nellie *
Criss Cross * 52nd Street Theme * Functional * Gallop's Gallop *
Hackensack * I Mean You * In Walked Bud * Jackie-ing * Let's Cool
One * Little Rootie Tootie * Misterioso * Monk's Mood * Nutty * Off
Minor * Pannonica * Played Twice * Rhythm-a-ning * 'Round Midnight
* Ruby, My Dear * Straight No Chaser * Thelonious * Well You
Needn't * and 39 more.
For over three decades R. Crumb has shocked, entertained,
titillated and challenged the imaginations (and the inhibitions) of
comics fans the world over. The acknowledged father of "underground
comix," Crumb is the single greatest influence on the alternative
comics of today. The three companion sets of trading cards - Heroes
of the Blues, Early Jazz Greats, and Pioneers of Country Music -
have all been sought by collectors. Although, they were rereleased
in print as individual card sets, this is the first time they are
being published together in book form. A biography of each musician
is provided, along with a full colour original illustration by
underground cartoonist and music historian R. Crumb.
Although Frank Zappa died over 20 years ago, he continues to be
regarded as an iconic figure in 20th century culture. In 1973 he
famously said 'Jazz is not dead... it just smells funny,' and in
this new book Geoff Wills takes a look at Zappa's widely assumed
antipathy for the jazz genre. Along the way, he throws up some very
interesting facts. Frank Zappa's music has a unique and easily
recognisable quality, and it brilliantly synthesizes a wide range
of cultural influences. Zappa and Jazz focuses on the influence of
jazz on Zappa in an attempt to clarify the often-confusing nature
of his relationship with it. Zappa's early years are examined, from
his first foray into a recording studio to the formation and
progress of his band The Mothers of Invention. There are exhaustive
critiques here of the key jazz-related albums Hot Rats, King Kong,
The Grand Wazoo and Waka/Jawaka. Along the way, Wills analyses
Zappa's music and the wider influences that were crucial in forming
his attitudes, not only to jazz but to society in general. The book
concludes with a discussion of Zappa's similarity to more orthodox
jazz leaders, his legacy and the influence on jazz-related music.
Guaranteed to appeal to all Zappa fans who seek new insights into
his music, to open-minded jazz listeners and to anyone with an
interest in the melting pot of 20th century music.
Charlie Parker has been idolized by generations of jazz musicians
and fans. Indeed, his spectacular musical abilities--his blinding
speed and brilliant improvisational style--made Parker a legend
even before his tragic death at age thirty-four.
Now, in Chasin' The Bird, Brian Priestley offers a marvelous
biography of this jazz icon, ranging from his childhood in Kansas
City to his final harrowing days in New York. Priestley offers new
insight into Parker's career, beginning as a teenager
single-mindedly devoted to mastering the saxophone. We follow
Parker on his first trip to New York, penniless, washing dishes for
$9.00 a week at Jimmy's Chicken Shack, a favorite hangout of the
great Art Tatum, whose stunning speed and ingenuity were an
influence on the young musician. Priestley sheds light on Parker's
collaborations with other jazz legands, and illuminates such
classic recordings as "Salt Peanuts," "A Night in Tunisia," and
"Yardbird Suite"--music which defined an era. He also gives us an
unflinching look at Parker's dark side--the drug abuse, heavy
drinking, and tangled relations with women and the law. He recounts
the death of Parker's daughter Pree at just two-and-a-half years
old, and Parker's own death at thirty-four, in such wretched
condition that the doctor listed his age as fifty-three.
With an invaluable discography that lists every recording of
Charlie Parker that has ever been made publicly available, this is
a must-have biography of a true jazz giant, one that helps us
penetrate the dazzling surface to grasp the artistry beneath.
**FINALIST for the 2022 PROSE Award in Music & the Performing
Arts** **Certificate of Merit, Best Historical Research on Recorded
Jazz, given by the 2022 Association for Recorded Sounds Collection
Awards for Excellence in Historical Sound Research** Explores how
jazz helped propel the rise of African American Islam during the
era of global Black liberation Amid the social change and
liberation of the civil rights and Black Power movements, the tenor
saxophonist Archie Shepp recorded a tribute to Malcolm X's
emancipatory political consciousness. Shepp saw similarities
between his revolutionary hero and John Coltrane, one of the most
influential jazz musicians of the era. Later, the esteemed
trumpeter Miles Davis echoed Shepp's sentiment, recognizing that
Coltrane's music represented the very passion, rage, rebellion, and
love that Malcolm X preached. Soundtrack to a Movement examines the
link between the revolutionary Black Islam of the post-WWII
generation and jazz music. It argues that from the late 1940s and
'50s though the 1970s, Islam rose in prominence among African
Americans in part because of the embrace of the religion among jazz
musicians. The book demonstrates that the values that Islam and
jazz shared-Black affirmation, freedom, and self-determination-were
key to the growth of African American Islamic communities, and that
it was jazz musicians who led the way in shaping encounters with
Islam as they developed a Black Atlantic "cool" that shaped both
Black religion and jazz styles. Soundtrack to a Movement
demonstrates how by expressing their values through the rejection
of systemic racism, the construction of Black notions of
masculinity and femininity, and the development of an African
American religious internationalism, both jazz musicians and Black
Muslims engaged with a global Black consciousness and
interconnected resistance movements in the African diaspora and
Africa.
Nearly 50 years after his death, Louis Armstrong remains one of the
20th century's most iconic figures. Popular fans still appreciate
his later hits such as "Hello, Dolly!" and "What a Wonderful
World," while in the jazz community, he remains venerated for his
groundbreaking innovations in the 1920s. The achievements of
Armstrong's middle years, however, possess some of the trumpeter's
most scintillating and career-defining stories. But the story of
this crucial time has never been told in depth - until now. Between
1929 and 1947, Armstrong transformed himself from a little-known
trumpeter in Chicago to an internationally renowned pop star,
setting in motion the innovations of the Swing Era and Bebop. He
had a similar effect on the art of American pop singing, waxing
some of his most identifiable hits such as "Jeepers Creepers" and
"When You're Smiling." However as author Ricky Riccardi shows, this
transformative era wasn't without its problems, from racist
performance reviews and being held up at gunpoint by gangsters to
struggling with an overworked embouchure and getting arrested for
marijuana possession. Utilizing a prodigious amount of new
research, Riccardi traces Armstrong's mid-career fall from grace
and dramatic resurgence. Featuring never-before-published
photographs and stories culled from Armstrong's personal archives,
Heart Full of Rhythm tells the story of how the man called "Pops"
became the first "King of Pop."
"Wonderful"-The New York Times. "Provocative, opinionated, and
never dull"-Down Beat. "A singular book."-Studs Terkel. When it was
first published, Alec Wilder's American Popular Song quickly became
a classic and today it remains essential reading for countless
musicians, lovers of American Song, and fans of Alec Wilder. Now,
in a 50th anniversary edition, popular music scholar Robert Rawlins
brings the book fully up-to-date for the 21st century. Whereas
previous editions featured only piano scores, the format has been
changed to lead sheet notation with lyrics, making it accessible to
a wider readership. Rawlins has also added more than sixty music
examples to help complete the chapter on Irving Berlin. One of the
most fascinating features of the original edition was Wilder's
inventive use of language, often revealing his strong and sometimes
irreverent opinions. Wilder's prose remains relatively unaltered,
but footnotes have been provided that clarify, elucidate, and even
correct. Moreover, a new chapter has been added, discussing
fifty-three songs by numerous composers that Wilder might have well
included but was not able to. Songs by Ann Ronnell, Fats Waller,
Jule Styne and many others are capped off with an examination of
ten of Wilder's own songs.
For over two decades Julian Joseph has been a towering figure in
contemporary jazz. A prodigious composer, a phenomenal pianist, a
respected bandleader, an inspirational educator and a
highly-engaging broadcaster, he is a true champion of the music. In
Music of Initiative Julian Joseph shares his insight into the
philosophy and practice of jazz and jazz performance. With incisive
text, stunning imagery, and downloadable exercises and videos, this
unique guide teaches the listener of jazz how to immerse themselves
in the music, and the performer how to approach learning repertoire
and improvisation. Bold, provocative, thoughtful and deeply
inspiring, Music of Initiative will provide life-long stimulation
and inspiration to fans, and performers, of jazz.
(Guitar Educational). Now you can add authentic jazz feel and
flavor to your playing Here are 101 definitive licks, plus a
demonstration CD, from every major jazz guitar style, neatly
organized into easy-to-use categories. They're all here: swing and
pre-bop, bebop, post-bop modern jazz, hard bop and cool jazz, modal
jazz, soul jazz and postmodern jazz. Includes an introduction by
Wolf Marshall, tips for using the book and CD, and a listing of
suggested recordings.
The companion volume to the ten-part PBS TV series by the team responsible for The Civil War and Baseball.
Continuing in the tradition of their critically acclaimed works, Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns vividly bring to life the story of the quintessential American music—jazz. Born in the black community of turn-of-the-century New Orleans but played from the beginning by musicians of every color, jazz celebrates all Americans at their best.
Here are the stories of the extraordinary men and women who made the music: Louis Armstrong, the fatherless waif whose unrivaled genius helped turn jazz into a soloist's art and influenced every singer, every instrumentalist who came after him; Duke Ellington, the pampered son of middle-class parents who turned a whole orchestra into his personal instrument, wrote nearly two thousand pieces for it, and captured more of American life than any other composer. Bix Beiderbecke, the doomed cornet prodigy who showed white musicians that they too could make an important contribution to the music; Benny Goodman, the immigrants' son who learned the clarinet to help feed his family, but who grew up to teach a whole country how to dance; Billie Holiday, whose distinctive style routinely transformed mediocre music into great art; Charlie Parker, who helped lead a musical revolution, only to destroy himself at thirty-four; and Miles Davis, whose search for fresh ways to sound made him the most influential jazz musician of his generation, and then led him to abandon jazz altogether. Buddy Bolden, Jelly Roll Morton, Dizzy Gillespie, Art Tatum, Count Basie, Dave Brubeck, Artie Shaw, and Ella Fitzgerald are all here; so are Sidney Bechet, Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, and a host of others.
But Jazz is more than mere biography. The history of the music echoes the history of twentieth-century America. Jazz provided the background for the giddy era that F. Scott Fitzgerald called the Jazz Age. The irresistible pulse of big-band swing lifted the spirits and boosted American morale during the Great Depression and World War II. The virtuosic, demanding style called bebop mirrored the stepped-up pace and dislocation that came with peace. During the Cold War era, jazz served as a propaganda weapon—and forged links with the burgeoning counterculture. The story of jazz encompasses the story of American courtship and show business; the epic growth of great cities—New Orleans and Chicago, Kansas City and New York—and the struggle for civil rights and simple justice that continues into the new millennium.
Visually stunning, with more than five hundred photographs, some never before published, this book, like the music it chronicles, is an exploration—and a celebration—of the American experiment.
From the Hardcover edition.
(Real Book Play-Along). These three CDs contain rhythm section
backing tracks for all 60 songs in the popular Charlie Parker
Omnibook lead sheet books.
Nikki Iles & Friends Easy to Intermediate is a collection of 22
original compositions and new arrangements for piano written by
Nikki Iles and her friends from the world of jazz. Expertly curated
and commissioned by Nikki herself, this book contains piano pieces
at Initial Grade to Grade 3 level written by some of the best-known
figures on the jazz scene. Also including audio downloads of every
piece,this book provides a wealth of new and original jazz piano
music for those seeking to explore accessible jazz and world music
repertoire, build a recital or a programme for ABRSM Performance
Grades, or simply play for pleasure. Award-winning jazz pianist and
composer, Nikki Iles has worked and performed with a plethora of
notable jazz musicians throughout her career. With over 30 CDs, she
has been described as the 'heroine of British jazz'. She has
received composition commissions from the London Sinfonietta,
National Youth Jazz Orchestra (featured at the BBC Proms) and UMO
Jazz Orchestra in Helsinki, Finland, among others. Nikki has been
awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to music, and
has also won the Ivor Composer Award for jazz composition. She is
professor of jazz piano at the Royal Academy of Music and Guildhall
School, London and also gives masterclasses around the world. She
has worked closely with ABRSM over a number of years, both as a
composer and arranger, and in syllabus development.
(Bass Builders). This book/CD pack features over 50 examples
covering walking bass, the two feel, 3/4 time, Latin, and ballads.
It covers soloing, performance protocol, and includes seven
complete tunes.
This book is part player's manual, part historical profile, and
part musical portrait. It explores in-depth all facets of jazz bass
playing - from the development of "walking" and other techniques,
to the human and musical interaction inside a rhythm section, to
the bassists who made their instrument an integral part of
America's greatest art form. Citing examples from key recordings in
the jazz canon, the book defines the essence of the musical
contributions made by every important jazz bassist. These
achievements are explained both conceptually and technically,
helping musicians and fans alike understand the art and craft of
jazz bass playing. Bassists get expert guidance on mastering proper
technique, practice methods, and improvisation, plus new insight
into the theoretical and conceptual aspects of jazz. The companion
CD featuring bass plus rhythm section allows readers to hear
technical examples from the book, presented in slow and fast
versions. It also offers play-along tracks of typical chord
progressions.
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