The Fundamental Nature of Jazz - Article Example

?Jiayan Zhou Charles Bergeron MCY 124 2 June Jazz music concert report Jazz is a unique and almost exclusive style of American music that has advanced from traditional African and European vocal as well as instrumental music. Jazz has its foundation in West Africa and has taken most of the musical characteristics from the countries of this region. These characteristics were brought into America by way of slavery and were then combined with the European-style instruments that had been integrated into the American marching band to form the early beginnings of jazz. From what initially begun as a popular form of entertainment, Jazz has evolved into a well accepted and appreciated art form. The fundamental nature of jazz lies in improvisation, defined as the art of making music through the spur-of-the-moment invention of ideas. Jazz relies upon the artist/performer to create music that is neither written nor practiced, but shaped from the heart and soul for that at that particular moment in time. Through this method, Jazz has proven to be the type of music that evokes thought and emotions through a shared experience between the artist/performer and listener/audience. As a function of this, the following analysis will seek to discuss, analyze, and draw inference from a particular jazz concert that was visited by this particular student. I was privileged to have an old friend of mine invite me to a Jazz concert on March 26th at ‘Lucy’s 51’ in Toluca Lake. Toluca Lake is a district that lies 12 miles to the northwest of downtown Los Angeles. The first thing I noticed as I walked in was the electronic and acoustic instruments, as well as the formal attire that the performers adorned. The group consisted of a total of three players and the instruments ranged from an electric guitar, drum and the bass. This was of course somewhat different than I was used to do to the fact that many of the concerts that I’ve been to previously were performed by either a string quartet or a full symphony orchestra. This of course helps to integrate the understanding that the form of music that I was about to experience was necessarily modern and did not rely upon the acoustic power that the instrument in an of itself could generate. These aspects were creatively woven to produce a magnificent concert that incorporated a series of four different songs that were performed beautifully.  John Pisano was on the guitar, Jamie Findlay was acting as the guest guitarist, while John Belzaguy was on the bass, and lastly but not least was Tim Pleasant on the drums. Each of the selection of songs that were played could be classified as jazz even though each piece employed its own specific and unique sound. This further helps to demonstrate the broad range of musical style as well as musicianship that is exhibited within the jazz genre of music. This was somewhat surprising to me due to the fact that jazz has only been able to develop and evolve over a relatively short period of time. As compared to classical music, that is had many centuries to develop different styles and forms a musicianship, Jazz ultimately reached its peak levels of popularity and development within what can be considered a short period of time. The crowd was generally dressed casually and had a wide variety of listeners, ranging from young people to much older ones. What I quickly noticed was that the environment was not as quiet as I had expected it would be. I had done a bit of research into Jazz music prior to the concert and I expected the audience to be dead quiet and listening attentively to the music. This was not the case as part of the crowd was unbearably noisy as compared to other concerts I have been to. This select part of the crowd did not seem to appreciate the truly beautiful music that was being performed. In past concerts I have been in, loud conversations and disruptive noises were not allowed as this was seen to be distracting the performers as well as the audience who were listening attentively. The only time there was noise was when the performance was over and everyone applauded. This further helps to integrate an understanding with this particular listener, that not only the musical selection of these pieces but also the musicianship was of such a high an astounding quality that individuals within the audience merely enjoying it in a different way than traditional music is oftentimes enjoyed. Ultimately, one should not expect to attend a concert of a different musical variety and have the same norms dictate behavior within such a concert as would be evidenced within another genre of music. Within such an understanding, this listener soon gained an appreciation for the fact that the musical style differed completely from the musical styles that I had further integrated with and as a result the means of listening to the peace were also fundamentally altered. Again, regardless of whether one integrates with jazz and fully appreciate its many nuances, it can be said that such a level of professional musicianship must be respected. I was amazed though at how well the musicians performed despite this. It was almost as if they had anticipated it. I believe this goes to prove that these musicians can perform anywhere and still do a stellar job. The whole time I was there, I listened closely to the music, watched the performer go through the motions and I felt like my mind and emotions wandered in between the melodies. I must admit that I enjoy the guitar most since my childhood, so watching and listening to John Pisano playing it was very rewarding. I got wrapped up in his playing and got a thrill watching him strum the guitar. I was hooked from the very first song they played. This song had a constant tempo; it was slow, funky and had an earthy sound to it which made it sound more like the blues. John Pisano seemed to be improvising during his solo on the guitar. The bassist was also magnificent on this particular night and his performance was both strong and melodic. This was evident on the second song, in which he actually picked up his bow and employed the arco technique. Surprisingly, despite the rather noisy crowd, I could hear every note he played perfectly. The drummer also pulled his weight on the song. He mostly used the crash cymbal and the high hat and also played well with good time, dynamics, while taking time to listen to the other players and add his touch to the music. He really did a good job acting as the timekeeper in this song. The second song had a completely different sound to the first and exuded a relaxing romantic ring to it. The enjoyment in this musical evening was so concrete at this particular time. This song brought an almost sad and down to earth feeling to the crowd. Watching Pisano playing it took me to a wonderful place in my mind and spirit. I was completely enveloped in his inventiveness; even in this noisy room, the subtleties were so tangible, changing and shifting all the while supported by bassist and drummer. At the beginning it had a deliberately slow and soft beat, which steadily got faster at the end. As a result of the research that was performed prior to going to the concert, it was the belief of this listener that the changing tempo and means of performance by which this individual piece was performed helps to show evidence of the fact that bluegrass music had had an effect upon the way in which many of these jazz pieces ultimately came into being, evolved, and are currently played. Due to fact that both of these forms of music ultimately evolved around the same time period, it is only logical for the listener to assume that they had something of a symbiotic relationship and influence one another in ways that cannot be fully understood by the uneducated ear. The third song had a slightly similar tune to the first although it also had a unique feel. The difference was that the bassist used pizzicato technique instead of the previous arco technique he had employed in the second song. This song had a steady and constant tempo. The fourth song and my personal favorite from the selections differed a great deal from the rest because of its unique sound. It employed a very remarkable drum solo, which gave the impression of being improvised. It had an up-tempo sound and a sort of swing sensation to it. Though it may seem a bit cliche to draw references to the means by which rock ‘n roll music developed as a result of both jazz and bluegrass, the comparison must nonetheless be made. With respect to the force these which is only recently been relayed to the reader, the influence upon rock ‘n roll that jazz must have had was fully realized. This was due to the fact that the drumbeat had an unmistakable correlation to the common drumbeats that are often heard in contemporary and popular rock ‘n roll music. Although there is only a certain amount of range and drum rhythms that can be performed on percussion instruments, it is well within reason to assume that rock ‘n roll, developed later than jazz music, necessarily borrowed a great deal of ideas musical patterns and influences from this particular genre. In much the same way the jazz music borrowed from previous forms of music in order to combine a litany of different cultural and ethnic dynamics, all forms of music can ultimately be seen, on one level or another, as borrowing from its predecessors. The very first feature of the music I got familiar with was the volume, or the dynamics. This ranged from forte to mezzo as it alternated between the climax part and the calmer parts. During the whole concert, the volume or dynamics mostly remained in this range. To note was that here were also several occasions of crescendo and decrescendo and this was instrumental in building up tension or slowing the piece down, respectively in that order. The pitch of the music was the next aspect of music I got familiar with. Rationally speaking, I would approximate that the greater part of the musical pieces were on the high side of the pitch, and consequently also high on the frequency scale. It is imperative to mention that the range of pitches was moderate, even though mostly higher notes were made use of. As a means of keeping the music constantly engaging, the range of volume as well as the contrast between climax in the calm parts, the musicians were able to engage with the audience in a way that would not of been realized if I more muted or constant tone were realized. As compared to other forms of music that this listener is familiar with, the continual shifts in both range and volume level of the music represented something of a new aspect to jazz that had previously never before been realized. As time went by, I realized that I was enjoying the music so much that I had not noticed the noisy crowd that bothered me initially. The music had won me over so much so that it did not matter. All my concentration was on the players; every song they played and every musical instrument they employed, moved in unison, totally together — forward, like a train jam-packed with elegance.     As with many tastes in life the appreciation for jazz music is something that cannot be realized by exposure to merely one or two pieces. Due to this fact, this particular listener is happy to have had the opportunity to attend such a concert and experience firsthand the full range and musicianship that was represented. So oftentimes with music, the individual is led to believe that they do not like an entire genre based merely on a single song. Although I did not have any negative approaches to jazz music prior to attending, I did not have a particularly positive view of this genre due to the fact that I saw it as undeveloped and ultimately not requiring a great deal of musicianship. This was of course a biased approach that came from a complete misunderstanding of what the genre offered to the listener as well as a misunderstanding with regards to the overall difficulty in level of complexity that the musicians demonstrated within this particular performance. It was ironic that this crowd did not seem to know or appreciate John Pisano, yet what he has accomplished in Jazz is truly remarkable. John Pisano has accompanied in concert or recording some of music's biggest sought after names, including Natalie Cole, Burt Bacharach, Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Herb Alpert, Joe Pass, Michael Franks, Chico Hamilton Diana Krall, Peggy Lee, Julie London, Barbra Streisand, Billy Bean and many other artistes. Although this was disheartening, the fact of the matter is is that many of the audience members may have easily been in the same position that this listener was upon attending their first jazz concert. Conversely, due to the means by which jazz is ultimately appreciated; not merely sitting and quietly listening to the style of music, it may at been misunderstood of this listener the full range and depth to which these listeners appreciated and enjoyed the pieces in question. Regardless, the performance within our opening experience and greatly helped to increase the level of musical appreciation with respect to jazz of this particular student. Works cited Tanner, Paul and Maurice Gerow. _A Study of Jazz_.Dubuque, IA: William C. Brown Publishers, 1984.   Taylor, Billy. The Official Website of Billy Taylor - Jazz Pianist and Educator. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Apr. 2013. Read More