Historic Jazz Style - Essay Example

Historic Jazz Style Introduction The history of Jazz has been flooded by major controversies and theories. This has made it difficult to comprehend the details and nature of Jazz music. However, it is widely pointed that the Jazz music originated from black Americans and were inform of early folk songs and plantation dance music. Therefore, the characteristics are majorly based on the early history making it a necessity for Jazz funs and artist to understand the history before possessing a complete understanding of the music genre (Raeburn, 2009).

This paper examines the general characteristics of the historic Jazz style, describes the individual characteristics of Charles Mingus, selects a piece that features a notable performance by providing an observation to the piece and lastly gives a conclusion that recaptures the insight into the artistry and significance of the piece and selected performer. The General Characteristics of the Historic Jazz Style The general characteristics of the Jazz music are that it is characterized by swing recital practice.

An example is that it has weighty intonations on its beat. An example of such beats are two and four or also known as backbeat. Secondly, the music is renowned to explore and try new instrumental techniques which are rarely used by other forms of music. An example is the use of trumpet which uses growls, saxophone which uses altissimo register and trombone notorious for using growls, shakes and others. Thirdly, the music is also characterized by the use of modern drum which emerges for New Orleans artist.

Lastly, Saxophone is also placed in front of the line by the popular use of Chicago style. Charles Mingus He was known for his expertise in virtuoso, musician, leader of a band and sporadic pianist. He was a talented musician of jazz music because of his creativity in the field. Many artist or musicians at the time could not stand up to his skills as he developed and used a unique style which incorporated rudiments of gospel, hard bop, free jazz and classical music. Moreover, the musician was known for his medium sized writings of his works.

His band was also highly talented and this could be witnessed in each of the pieces he composed. However, the musician had a temper which he was constantly displayed both off and on the stage. The effect of this was that he was feared by both his band and funs as they did not want to fall victims to his wrath. His performances were also constantly disrupted by a clinical depression, but he sojourned on and refused to allow it affect his music career (Dunkel, 2012). Piece Featuring a Notable Performance and Observations from Listening To the Piece Being a fun of Charles Mingu’s I have watched several of his performances.

In my opinion as an audience of his various pieces, I have never thought of missing any of the performances especially if they are showcased on the television. One example of his notable performances was that of ‘Mingus Ah Um’ which featured the piece better get it in your soul that was released in 1964 and played for six minutes thirty seconds. I have cds of the performance which I always keep repeating time and again. The piece was created from bebop conventions and it was just beautiful to listen and view.

The opening track ‘better get in your soul’ was a gospel song that I practically sang in my house as I listened to the performance. I was impressed with how Mingus was intoning like a preacher who was standing in the pulpit singing praise song. The member band charged with instruments was sporadically straying from the choir creating a rapturous outburst. This created a deep feeling within me that made think I was among the choir singing the piece on the stage (Dunkel, 2012). Conclusion In conclusion, as a musician Mingus was always true to himself and never allowed his moods affect his performances.

Majority of his works had an impact to many as they were intended to match the current situation which audiences found them in like the postwar in America. ‘Better get it in your soul by Charles Mingus’ is an example of a piece that I extremely loved because of the foot-stomping nature which brought a serene atmosphere among the audiences as it emphasized the importance of accepting religion and God to be part of our being. References Raeburn, B. B. (2009). New Orleans style and the writing of American jazz history.

Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. Dunkel, M. (2012). Aesthetics of resistance: Charles Mingus and the civil rights movement. Berlin: Lit.