Short Papers
Blues and Early Jazz - Due Feb. 1O. (in class) *
Below you have been assigned a composition to discuss. Write a 1-2 page paper that discusses the characteristics of this composition and how it typlifies either blues or early jazz. Your paper must include a brief biographical sketch of the performer or group(preferably a paragraph). The thesis must appear early in the paper(preferably in the opening paragraph)clarifying your objective(s). I suggest that you listen to the recording several times and then decide what characteristics you believe contribute to the organization, cohesiveness, style and overall feel of the composition. Therefore I do not want an in depth analysis of every aspect of the composition. This is an example of a clear and concise thesis: In this paper I will discuss the use of breaks and collective improvisation in Doctor Jazz.
Your paper must include the following:
General features:
- form(AABA or 12-bar blues),
- genre(early jazz, blues or ragtime),
- instrumentation,
- melody. Who is playing or singing the melody? (The sax section or the vocalist)?
- meter,
- tempo.
Specific characteristics:
- breaks,
- call and response patterns,
- collective improvisation,
- stop time,
- solo sections.
EARLY JAZZ. 1920s - 1930s (These recordings are on reserve in Burling Library Listening Room)
Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz
Grandpa's Spells Jelly Roll Morton (Jan and Joseph)
King Porter Stomp Jelly Roll Morton (Julie and Paul N.)
West End Blues (John and Tala)
Lost Your Head Blues (Bryan and Tamrah)
Potato Head Blues Louis Armstrong (Adam and Ericca)
Hotter Than That Louis Armstrong (David and Leah)
Dinah Red Nichols and His Five Pennies(Vol.II) (Lindsay and Madeline)
Jelly Roll Morton: The Pearls
Kansas City Stomp (Jackie and Robert )
Red Hot Pepper Stomp (Stephen and Charles)
The Bix Beiderbecke Story
Royal Garden Blues ( Paul W. and Lauren)
Clarinet Marmalade (Rachel and Alyssa)
Sidney Bechet: The Victor Sessions. Master Takes 1932-43
Lay Your Racket
Ja-Da (Eliza and Kathleen)
Really the Blues ( Diana)
Original Dixieland Jazz Band 1921/1936
Jazz Me Blues (Hanna and Howard)
Dangerous Blues (Christopher)
Tiger Rag (track 9) (Trevor)
The New Orleans Rhythm Kings
Eccentric
Bugle Call Rag (Nicholas)
Tiger Rag (Samuel)
Weary Blues (Kevin)
THE MODERN JAZZ AGE: 1940 - 1980 - Due April 28 (in class)
Write a 1 -2 page paper that discusses the salient characteristics of the composition that has been assigned to you. Your paper must include a brief biographical sketch of the performer or group. The thesis must appear early in the paper(preferably in the opening paragraph)clarifying your objective(s). I suggest that you listen to the recording several times and then decide what characteristics you believe contribute to the organization, cohesiveness, style and overall feel of the composition. Your paper could possibly discuss the use of riffs and sax soli in a particular piece.
General features:
form(AABA, AB or 12-bar blues),
genre:blues, swing, bebop, hard bop, fusion, Afro-Cuban jazz etc.
instrumentation,
introduction
melody. Who is playing or singing the melody? (The sax section or the vocalist)?
meter,
tempo.
Specific characteristics:
breaks,
call and response patterns,
riffs
sax soli
solo sections,
trading solos.
shout chorus
tag
Finally since you will be discussing a piece played by a combo, please mention the members and when they play either the melody or solo. For example in A Night in Tunisia do not say the trumpet plays the melody but rather Gillespie plays the opening melody. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.
TAPE LIST: These recordings are on e-reserve
Ken Burn's Jazz: The Story of America's Music Disc 3
Scrapple From The Apple Charlie Parker Quintet - Jan and Eliza
They Can't Take That Away From Me Sarah Vaughan and Her Trio -David and Lindsay
Walkin' Shoes Chet Baker and Gerry Mulligan Steven E. and Kathleen
Disc 4
Doodlin' Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers -Charles and Adam
Django The Modern Jazz Quartet -Trevor and Diane
Original Fables of Faubus -Paul W. and Julie
Kind of Blue Miles
All Blues -Ericca and John B
The Essential Nina Simone
Four Women -Rachel and Hanna
An Outline of American Jazz. Disc. II
Desafinado Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto -Tala and Tamrah
Killer Joe The Jazztet -Kevin and Nicholas
Pat Metheny
Third Wind -Bryan and Jackie
The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz Vol. V.
West Coast Blues -Madeline and Paul N.
Thelonious Monk Genius of Modern Music
Round Midnight -Howard and Jaime
Giant Steps John Coltrane
Naima -Leah and Lauren
Portrait of Marian McPartland
Time and Time Again -Robert and Howard
Tito Puente and His Latin Orchestra El Rey
Linda Chicana
-Alyssa and Chris
The Amazing Bud Powell
Bouncing With Bud
Wail