The 1956 Newport Jazz Festival’s schedule was adjusted slightly compared to the prior two outings. While still a three-day event with a focus on nighttime performances, it was moved up a day to begin on Thursday and end on Saturday while also having an earlier start time. Much of the festival took place under torrential […]
By 9:18 PM on the evening of July 17, 1954, Eddie Condon’s tribute to Dixieland finally began its delayed performance. Next was vocalist Lee Wiley, a jam session, and then a series of musicians who in hindsight left an indelible mark of music: the Modern Jazz Quartet with Horace Silver filling in for John Lewis, […]
In September of 1950, twenty-four-year-old George Wein used his college savings to open a nightclub, Storyville, at Boston’s Copley Square Hotel. The venue boldly planned to present jazz in a new light. Taking its name from the legendary New Orleans district of debauchery, brothels, and flophouses from whence the music came, the budding entrepreneur planned […]
The term “mentor” comes from a character in Homer’s Odyssey, an epic written in the 8th Century BCE. However, the concept of mentorship dates back to an even earlier era. Some historians suggest that the concept may be as old as humanity itself. Though hardly novel, there can be significant benefits to both parties. From […]
Humanity has a longstanding fascination with incorporating the latest technological developments into music. This interest is perhaps most evident in the history of sampling. In the 1940s, Pierre Schaeffer started producing sonic collages by splicing and manipulating sound recordings. His works formed the base of an experimental form known as musique concrète, an avant-garde progenitor […]
In 2015, Christian Scott Atunde Adjuah created the Stretch Music imprint with Ropeadope Records to support jazz rooted genre blind music that encompasses a wide range of other musical forms and cultures. While its releases have aptly fulfilled this goal, thus far they have been confined solely to the trumpeter’s own boundary-defying works. Before even […]
When many think of Texas, the first musicians that may come to mind are Bob Wills, Stevie Ray Vaughn, or Willie Nelson. However, these legendary figures are, in some ways, each mere reflective points. Historical emergence from the melding of countless Native, Latin, African, and European cultures has produced a rich yet underreported musical heritage. […]
It can be incredibly difficult to be creative at the culinary arts. Insufficient attention to detail or excessive or inordinate amounts of particular ingredients potentially create a bland or inedible product. Masterful creation requires a background on how to best use materials and a desire to mix them in the best way possible. When done […]
Tonic, minor third, fourth, minor fifth, fifth, minor seventh. While this describes the blues scale, such a summation misses the point entirely. The blues is about more than a series of set modes or even emotions. Although often identified with sorrow, the form has always extended far beyond. In light of its historical basis, it […]
In ancient Greek mythological lore, Hephaestus, the god of technology, created a giant bronze automaton named Talos who was powered by ichor, the blood of the gods. It was Talos’ job to protect the island of Crete from invaders by throwing boulders at incoming ships and crushing anyone who washed ashore. He was programmed to […]
