Jazz Festivals » Musical Genre

The Bloch Jazz Shoe is Known the World Over

admin2 — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 12:00:50 +0000

There are many famous brand names available in the world of dancing shoes and there are many different types of musical genre associated with dance shoes too. When you combine the best of both worlds, you usually end up with the best products imaginable and the very best companies supplying. Not every type of music is universally liked and some seem to cause a bit of controversy between fans and non fans but when it comes to naming the best products around, most people can think of the best brands available. The Bloch jazz shoe is renowned and respected the world over and if you want to make the best possible impression in the world of jazz, getting the Bloch logo onto your feet is one of the best places that you could ever choose to start.

No matter what type of music that a person likes to listen, a dance shoe must be able to put up with a lot of abuse and ensure that the person feels safe and secure at all times. It is not enough to just look good but the Bloch jazz shoe does look extremely good. This is the least that people would expect from such a quality brand name like Bloch but the range of styles and reliability are what really make this product one of the top in the entire industry. Buying Bloch is not just a guarantee of looking good; it should give any jazz dancer the confidence and freedom to perform to the very best of their capabilities. Dancing talent is very important but being able to perform the moves is crucial and having a psychological edge is something that really matters for so many dancers.

Knowing that you have a top class brand name like Bloch jazz shoes on your feet will be enough to make people believe they have every chance of making the right moves and this is very important. Jazz dancing can be very quirky and moves more energetically and unexpectedly than some forms of dance music so there is a need for the dance to be agile and ready to move when required. The right form of footwear will give a massive boost in this area and should ensure that the right moves are being made. Whether the dancer is undertaking solo routine or they are performing as part of a larger ensemble, there is a massive need to be able to move with confidence and spirit.

Bloch jazz shoes come in a range of styles and colours which should ensure that they are able to meet the demands placed upon them by a demanding audience. As more and more people take up dance, so the opportunities to dance rises and this is seen in the n umber of musicals and plays that can be seen these days. Presentation is extremely important in all of these areas so the Bloch jazz shoe is crucial for looking good and feeling great about the performance. These are all very important things that can make the difference when performing so get the best of style and functionality when you dance.

By: Treak Eric

The Boundless Vistas of Jazz Pianist Hiromi

admin2 — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 10:52:26 +0000

She goes by Hiromi, the only identification needed for the Japanese wizard of the keyboard who is ranked as the number one instrumentalist in her native land. Her award-winning gold albums showcase eclectic arrangements and compositions influenced by every musical genre that strikes her fancy. In “Beyond Standard” released in 2008, she even fuses jazz, classical, rock and avant-garde in such familiar compositions as “Clair De Lune,” “Caravan,” “My Favorite Things” and “I’ve Got Rhythm.” In this and all six of her CDs and two Live in Concert DVDs, her over-the-top energy propels each number to the outer limits.

“I always give everything I’ve got and I look for that in the musicians I work with,” she says. “I play each concert as if this is the very last I’ll ever give. Fate gave me the opportunity and I must not waste it, so I play my very best to thank the audience for being there.”

Hiromi refuses to put a name on her style. A child prodigy, she began studying classical piano at age five, but her world expanded at eight when her piano teacher introduced her to jazz. She credits that “very special” teacher, Noriko Hakita, with pointing her in a wide open direction. By twelve, she knew that she wanted to be a professional musician and within two years she performed with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra.

It’s no coincidence that the influence of jazz pianist Chick Corea, along with those of Oscar Peterson, Art Tatum, and Ahmad Jamal, bursts forth in her music. Upon meeting and hearing the then-seventeen-year-old in Tokyo during a tour, Corea invited her to play with him the next day. Their friendship and musical attunement pulsates on “Duet/Chick Corea and Hiromi” recorded live at Tokyo Blue Note.

After spending several years writing jingles for Nissan and other Japanese companies, Hiromi began studies in earnest under Jamal at Berklee College of Music in Boston. There she perfected her capacity for extracting energy wherever it exits. She proclaims that the energy inherent in classical works by Bach and Liszt is every bit as influential to her keyboard virtuosity as is that projected by powerful athletes like Michael Jordan.

Following “Another Mind,” her debut album of 2003, she released “Brain,” “Spiral,” and “Time Control.” Each is unique for intellectual pairing of swing, jazz, be-bop and rock influences and song titles that invite visual challenges. “Old castle, by the river, in the middle of the forest” appears in both “Spiral” and “Duet.” Like many of her original compositions, the piece was suggested by the places she visits throughout the world.

While she is off on her current international tour with the explosive Stanley Clarke Band, fans can luxuriate at home with “Places to Be,” a collection of songs she wrote while traveling. The locations she incorporates within range from Sicily, Bern, and the Azores to Cape Cod and the Las Vegas she captured from the daytime, gambling and show girl perspectives. It’s a given that the vistas of Russia, Spain and points in between will inspire new keyboard creations.

By: Emily Cary

Saxophone Blues Scales – If You Want To Play Blues, Rock, Jazz You Need To Start Here

admin — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 05:37:24 +0000

If you’re a saxophonist interested in playing any type of blues based music including rock and roll and even jazz then you need to use the blues scale as your number one tool to make things sound right.

A little history

If you want to investigate back to the beginnings of the blues as it came about in America just start with W.C. Handy, who was a black composer active in the early 1900’s when the blues form began to get popularized in large part because of his instrumental compositions “Memphis Blues” (1912) and “St. Louis Blues” (1914). Of coarse the blues oral tradition can be traced back to the mid 1800’s.

The blues scale

Because our western music has it’s roots in European classical music the music theorists needed to notate the blues scale as it was naturally played and sung into an understandable notation which could be analyzed and played by western trained musicians.

The simplest way to explain it’s theory is this:

Simply take the traditional major scale; C D E F G A B C and flatten the 3rd, 5th, and 7th. Now it looks like this: C D Eb E F Gb G A Bb C.

(Please look at the example on my website for the full musical notation). Notice the E, G, and B have been flattened, they are the 3rd, 5th and 7th notes of the C major scale and flattening them makes the scale sound minor thus giving it the “blues” or sad sound as opposed to the “major” or happy sound.

For us sax players these flat notes are perfect to incorporate a “growl” sound to further emphasize that “bluesy” expression or make it a bit more nasty. Two other things to notice; the 3rd and 5th can be played as a flat or not but the 7th generally is only played as a flat and not the major 7th in this type of scale or musical genre. (for some audio examples please refer to the website version of this article).

So now our basic major scale of 8 notes is now a blues scale of 10 notes. There are other variations to this blues scale; the basic version for example is a 7 note scale: C Eb F F# G Bb C (the F# being the same as the Gb). Adding the D, E natural and A give us more musical possibilities and will not change the basic sound of the blues scale. Even adding a flat 9th ( D flat) was a favorite thing Charlie Parker did a lot and is a good way to jazz up your phrases.

The blues progression

Of coarse this is all just words and notes and theory. You have to apply it and in any blues music this is done over a musical progression thats 12 measures in length, thus the term “12 bar blues”.

We’re in the key of C so the first 4 bars will be the C chord. The 5th and 6th bars change to the 4 chord which is F (4th note in the C scale).

The 7th and 8th bars change back to the 1 chord (C). The 9th and 10th bars change to the 5 chord, which is G. The 11th and 12th bars change back to the 1 chord (C). There are variations in this 12 bar pattern and can be seen on the website version of this article.

When starting out you can get away with just playing the same C blues scale over the entire progression but try to emphasize 1 or 2 of the notes in the F and G chord to make things a little more interesting. For example, over the F chord play an F or an A note to emphasize the harmonic color of the chord a little more.

In conclusion

The blues mean different things to many people ranging from musical styles to a way of life or philosophy. The blues do have musical influences from Europe and Africa but it is truly an American musical form and tradition fully rooted in the black experience of the post-war southern United States.

I want to be clear that when I talk about the blues or the blues scale I’m not only referring to this type of musical tradition and style but include funk, R&B, country, jazz and pop. Like the old saying goes; The blues had a baby and they names it rock & roll and from there came just about every form of pop music in western history since that explosive time in the mid 1900’s

And so, I think it’s safe to say that the blues scale is easily one of the most used and important scales for all types of western popular music.

By: John Ferreira

A Brief History of Jazz

admin — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 07:11:16 +0000

Jazz became organized as a musical genre in the United States in the early 20th century, but its roots originated in the l9th century in the South. The Atlantic Slave Trade brought over half a million Africans to America and with them came musical influences from their native land. As African americans learned to play European instruments in the 19th century and developed their own styles of music, like the cakewalk. The Cakewalk is a combination of harmony and syncopation. It became very popular and caught on among white folk, and was played in minstrel shows.

Toward the end of the 19th century, a new style of music emerged called ragtime. After the abolition of slavery, opportunities to learn opened up to many African americans. However, there were not many job openings. Many talented African americans took jobs as musicians in minstral shows, in bars and clubs. Ragtime was created in the red-light districts of New Orleans and was a modifcation of the march, characterized by polyrhythms and syncopation. It was very upbeat and perfect for dancing. Ernest Hogan was a black entertainer who first recorded ragtime on sheet music in 1895. It became very popular music and was even adopted by white musicians in America and in Europe. The ragtime is considered the first type of jazz music.

The ragtime carried its popularity into the 20th century. Small jazz groups began to travel and eventually spread the music from coast to coast. Jazz even traveled across the seas. During World War I, the “Hellfighters” infantry band carried ragtime to Europe. By the 1920’s Jazz had become the dominant genre of music in America. Jazz was associated with parties, extravagent behavior and drinking. The peak of Jazz music in the first half of the century lasted from 1920 to 1933. Many believed it was the cause of moral decay in American society. This period was the dubbed “The Jazz Age.”

By the 1930’s ragtime had lost its novelty. A new grand and exaggerated form of jazz was introduced, the big band swing. Big band or swing jazz was composed of a very large section of brass and reed instruments and was headed by a bandleader or an arranger. Some of the most famous bandleaders were Duke Ellington and Glenn Miller.

In the 1940’s Swing Jazz introduced a string section and vocals to the big band. Swing jazz was broadcasted over the radio and soon travled to other countries. During World War II, for example, a collection of dissenting german youth known as the “swing kids” adopted swing jazz and swing culture. They would dance and play swing music in defiance to Hitler. He had forbidden any Swing Jazz or swing dancing because of its ties with African-Americans and Jews.

During the 1950’s a type of jazz called “cool jazz” was preferred. The 1950’s was a decade of conservatism and the jazz music of the period definitely reflected that. Cool jazz was a toned-down version of jazz, where the big band reduced in size and sound.

The 1960’s and 1970’s saw a new forms of jazz with the introduction of Latin cultural influence rock and roll and soul. In the 1960’s Afro-cuban jazz became popular, but was soon replaced by Brazilian Jazz. Latin jazz combined traditional jazz with unconventional instruments like bongos, morracas and different types of flute. Into the 1970’s soul jazz was formed from a mixture of soul, blues and gospel music. The unique thing about soul jazz was that the solo instrument was typically an organ, which was very new to jazz music. Finally the 1970’s saw a rise in rock and roll. Jimmy Hendrix was famous for infusing jazz with rock and roll and established a form of jazz- jazz infusion. In the recent history jazz has been experimented with and a plethora of subgenres have emerged like, pop fusion or “smooth jazz”, jazz rap, nu jazz and even vocal jazz.

By: L Law

Jazz Improvisation is a Study in Theory

admin — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:35:24 +0000

Jazz has long been considered to be one of the most demanding forms of contemporary music to master. So much so, that many would be Jazz musicians will spend years learning music theory, alongside developing advanced playing techniques, simply to get a start in this fascinating musical genre.

The major difference between Jazz and most other forms of music is in the fact that improvisation is not only encouraged, it forms the very backbone of the style. Although there are many Jazz classics, no two musicians or bands will play these songs the same. They will follow the basic progression, but will be given a new inflection through personal and group improvisation.

The ability to play improvisations relies heavily upon two things; first the musicians creativity, and secondly upon the musicians knowledge of musical theory. Of course, there are many fine Jazz players out there who will tell you that they do not know any music theory. The simple truth of the matter is that they do, they just do not know it. They have spent years learning to play by ear, and although they cannot name the correct musical terms for what they do when they are playing, they are clearly demonstrating a deep knowledge of music theory at a base level.

For those wishing to take up playing Jazz, then a firm grounding in music theory is entirely recommended. Even the rhythm section of a Jazz band is encouraged to improvise and embellish the piece being played. Rhythm guitar players will be called upon to construct complex chord patterns, including augmented, diminished, 5th, 9th and 13th chords. They will also be expected to follow the soloist, should they decide to shift tempo, key or mode.

As a soloist, playing Jazz is all about creativity, backup up by an understanding of what they are doing musically. Many Jazz musicians, when questioned about scales, will smile and reply, “What is a scale? I don’t know any!” This is something of an insider’s Jazz joke, as most Jazz soloists play what they feel, not what they know works mathematically. Of course, this is far from the truth, but a Jazz player will have transcended standard scales in many ways. Instead, using their ear, they will be able to find step off points, into new scales and modes, shifting the music as they go. This of course, requires an immense amount of theoretical knowledge, either learned conventionally, or learned over years of playing by ear.

Playing Jazz can be one of the most rewarding experiences any guitar player is likely to experience. A good Jazz performance will see the musician develop ideas, and musical concepts on the fly, breathing fresh life into Jazz classics, while enthralling the audience like a true virtuoso. Although a thorough understanding of music theory is not a prerequisite for becoming a competent Jazz player, it can be seen as an effective short cut, removing the requirement to play Jazz for decades before becoming entirely competent in its application.

By: Bill Kernodle

Jazz Guitars – 5 Guitars for a great Jazz Tone

admin — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 14:17:22 +0000

As a musical genre traditional Jazz requires a fairly specific Guitar sound – generally this has involved a very clean dry tone – with little to no effects (perhaps only a hint of reverb) – usually the neck pickup is used with the resultant sound required to be clear enough to pickup the subtle nuances and articulation of the playing.

Jazz Guitarists therefore need to carefully consider their Guitar when setting out – luckily Jazz has been around for many years and there is a wide selection of instruments available. Traditionally Jazz Guitars are hollow body semi acoustics (though not always) and these have tended to favor P90 or Humbucker style pickups to produce the required sound – as stated there are many guitars on the market today – but here we list 5 classic Jazz guitars that helped shape the scene.

1 Gibson ES150

Made famous to the jazz community by Charlie Christian the ES 150 became his guitar. The ES150 became one of the world’s first commercially available electric guitars. With its single coil pickup fitted at the neck and its acoustic shaped body with f holes – the 150 has that sweet warm jazz tone that became a world favorite.

2 Gibson L5

Another of Gibson’s Jazz power trio (the others are the ES150 and the ES175) – the L5 features a large resonant body. With a history that goes back nearly 90 years the L5 has changed a little over this time and has featured different pickups (from P90’s to Humbuckers). As the prestige rhythm guitar it has been played by a variety of greats including Wes Montgomery.

3 Gibson ES-175

With it’s stylish Florentine single cutaway – the ES175 represented a departure for Gibson from their usual design – Debuting in 1949 – the 175 has been associated with a variety of Jazz greats from Herb Ellis to Pat Metheny.

4 Gretsch Country Gentleman/Nashville

While Gretsch are not considered jazz guitars per se – both the Country Gent and the Nashville are able to produce both versatile and authentic jazz tones. Both guitars offer a range of controls for adapting the tone of the guitar and can produce some versatile jazzy results – whilst the FiterTron pickups produce something that’s unlike it’s Gibson counterparts.

5 Fender Telecaster

With it’s sweet and mellow neck pickup tone the telecaster offers something a little different that the usual Jazz fare – Traditionally a country guitar the telecaster has been featured with Jazz artists including Ed Bickert and Mike Stern.

By: Adrian Martin