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Results for "Building a Jazz Library"
Angels on Earth: Best Living Jazz Chanteuses
by Nathan Holaway
Let's begin by saying that jazz has definitely been swarmed by a plethora of female vocalists. Just because they can sing a Cole Porter or a George Gershwin tune, and remember all the words... does that make them great? No. Just because they look terrific, does that mean that they'll be the next Billie Holiday? Absolutely ...
Vocal Jazz: 1969-2001
by Mathew Bahl
The Dark Age followed by the Renaissance. The tumultuous changes of the 1960s radically changed the American musical landscape. Jazz fell off the American cultural radar, nightclubs closed their doors and record companies moved on to rock. With few opportunities to work and little money to be made, jazz became a music played by ...
Frank Sinatra: An Iconic Voice in American Music
by Chris M. Slawecki
In the 1950s and '60s, there erupted into the world's consciousness a series of celebrities so unique and identifiable, from several different public arenas, that they were known by only one name. It was as if those were names were mythical and could not possibly be mistaken for anyone else. Elvis. Martin and Malcolm. Marilyn. John ...
Vocal Jazz: 1917-1950
by Mathew Bahl
There have been as many variations on the definition of vocal jazz as there have been people with opinions. Over the years, the consensus within the jazz community has shifted frequently as critics and fans have wrestled with the often-competing imperatives of improvisation and interpretation. For some people, vocal jazz should be exactly that -voices improvising ...
Vocal Jazz: 1951-1968
by Mathew Bahl
These 17 years play out like the vocal jazz equivalent of the Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire. Much of the core body of work that makes up vocal jazz was recorded during this relatively short time span. These were the years that saw some of the greatest jazz singers working at the peak of ...
Jazz Trumpet, Part 1
by AAJ Staff
Jazz trumpet is practically an art form unto itself, with a richness in terms of its greatest soloists that is hard to match. Some have even argued for it being the “classiest," most sophisticated solo instrument in jazz. Moreover, it seems that in every period of jazz history, dominant voices on trumpet have leapt ...
Bossa Nova
by AAJ Staff
In 1959, an unassuming guitarist/vocalist named João Gilberto from the Brazilian state of Bahia started a quiet revolution with his recordings “Chega de Saudade (No More Blues)" and “Desafinado (Off Key)" on the Odeon label. They featured arrangements by a young native of Rio de Janeiro, Antonio Carlos Jobim. Gilberto's whisper-toned, Afro-Indian-influenced Portuguese vocals complemented his ...
Blue Note's Golden Decade
by John Eyles
Blue Note! For many of us, the words alone are enough to send a tingle down the spine, conjuring up the indefinable magic of a golden age of jazz. What were the elements that made classic Blue Note records so special? The look? The feel? The sound? All of these and more. Alfred Lion's production? Francis ...
Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?
by Nathan Holaway
This article was originally published in September 2005. Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans? The Big Easy. The Crescent City. N'awlins. Some adore it, some despise it. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans continues to be the testimonial travesty of the United States. With certain political ...
Modern Jazz Guitar
by AAJ Staff
Six strings, ten fingers, improvisation, and a sense of adventure: these are the tools required to play modern jazz guitar. While guitar greats like Wes Montgomery and Jim Hall laid the foundation for bop guitar, a whole new crop of musicians came of age starting in the late '60s. Modern jazz guitar, for lack of a ...
