Music could be one of the greatest inventions that happened in our history. It is a form of art and a form of cultural activity which is created out of various elements such as pitch, rhythm, dynamics, and even the audible qualities of texture and timbre. There are many types of music that were created that may have started in the early days. One of which is the Jazz music. This type of music represents a perfect combination of music components and elements in order to create an audible sound that many people have been enjoying since the early 19th century. The African American communities were the ones who originated this type of music, from which it was developed through traditional, popular, and independent music style. Thus, Jazz music has been in existence for hundreds of years, making it a wide range form of music that is quite challenging to define. Although this type of music has been given this kind of description, still, many people enjoy Jazz music in all of its forms and qualities.
The purpose of this study is to present different an analysis about the recent Jazz show entitled “An Evening of Jazz with the Stamps Quintet & the Frost Sextet”. There were different Jazz compositions that were played, to which each of them provided different feeling to its audience, specifically, my personal feeling about that said show. Additionally, some backgrounds about every Jazz composition will be presented in order to further appreciate such compositions based on their historical backgrounds.
The Stamps Jazz Quintet
The first set was played by The Stamp Jazz Quintet. This group of Jazz musicians is composed of five outstanding members who have gone through challenging process of audition (Frost School of Music, n.p.). These individuals were provided with generous scholarships as well as exceptional performance opportunities through university of Miami and Stamps Family Charitable Foundation. This group performed four different Jazz compositions, which were created and performed by the group.
The first composition played by the group was Played Twice, followed by Dance Cadaverous, Guernica, and Blues Connotation. On the other hand, the other group, which is the Frost Jazz Sextet primarily, played Wait A Minute and the n followed by De-Separated, Magic Number, Kyle’s Creation, It Never Leaves Me, and A Turkish Wonderer.
The show was so relaxing that it provided different types of Jazz music. Every composition has its own characteristic, to which it influence the mood of the audience. At first, I thought that the show would be uninteresting, as I could not help, but to compare these compositions with today’s popular music. However, when the first band started to play, there was something that changed my expectation, which made me more interesting with the type of sounds that I was hearing. It was somewhat a sudden change of feeling. I cannot help, but to run my imagination as I was listening to the first piece, which was Played Twice by Thelonious Monk. The sound of this composition provided a feeling relaxation, but kind of an uplifting beat coming from the combination of trumpet and piano music.
Historically, this music has a rich background in the world of Jazz music. There were many history books pertaining to jazz that presented Thelonious Monk was as an exceptional jazz artist (Cuniffe, n.p.). However, it was stated that he himself did not influence other jazz musicians like he was never influenced by others. In fact he has his own saying that one must play his own way. In that sense, it denotes that he has his own way of presenting his jazz music compositions.
When the Stamps Jazz Quintet played this first composition, I never thought of such rich history about its creator until I have earned the interest with his music. In the middle of watching this show, I realized how beautiful this music was. In fact I enjoyed it and was literally stumping my feet while it was playing. The group was a good at playing this piece. It was obvious that this five-member group has rich background and knowledge of music, specifically the jazz genre.
The second piece was the Dance Cadaverous by Wayne Shorter. Listening to this music was more relaxing than the first one. There was a good combination of piano, trumpets, and drums that made it one of my favorite among the list of compositions played in the show. The music is mellower. It has a smoother sound, which provides a feeling of moderation. I can see this music as one of the things that can make people feel ease after a long-day at work. It was simple, but perfect.
I can say that Dance Cadaverous is one of the compositions that Wayne Shorter a successful musician. It was highlighted when the sounds shifted from previous music to another. The beats and the overall music provided a feeling of satisfaction with life in general. Behind this composition is Wayne Shorter who may have been one of the most inspiring creators of the jazz music world. He plays his saxophone like no other can.
Historically, Shorter is one of the few musicians and composers that can play both the tenor and soprano saxophone. When the Dance Cadaverous was played in the show, it shows how such composition may have been created. It could be due to Shorter’s rich musical history. Wayne Shorter, a Newark-born musician was challenged by the world of music at an early age of fifteen. His musical ideas evolved when he suck into the Lester Young’s concert (biography.com). This event enabled Shorter to hear different innovative jazz artists, such as Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. During this time, Shorter really wanted to play clarinet, from which he started playing at the age of sixteen. However, due to his interest to music he also earned an interest to play a tenor saxophone.
Back to the show, Wayne Shorter’s composition was played perfectly by this five-member group, Stamps Jazz Quintet. Watching these musicians felt like watching the originally played composition. There was almost no difference aside from the fact that it was on stage and it was played live. That is why; I was amazed by this group and realized that they are no ordinary jazz musicians and there still lots of opportunities await them in the future.
It really shows that history can repeat itself in terms of music when this group played the Dance Cadaverous. Relatively, the historical event that made Shorter famous was re-lived when he released few more albums during the late 1980s. He even had some tours along with award-winning guitarist Carlos Santana. The challenges that Shorter encountered in his life may have contributed to his creation of good compositions.
In 1996, Shorter had a tragic loss when his wife was killed when she was one of the passengers of TWA Flight 800 that exploded few minutes after it went airborne. Listening to the music was like watching a movie as it enabled me to run my imagination in relation to my life experiences. Maybe, that is just how jazz music influences its listeners, regardless who wrote the composition and played such piece. It was flying through times when I was listening to the tune of Dance Cadaverous.
The show An Evening of Jazz was such a wonderful experience. I was able to listen to different types of jazz compositions that each has its own uniqueness. Another composition, which was Guernica, was played that time with Stamps Jazz Quintet. This time the feeling was different when I was listening to this composition.
It was livelier and compared to the previous music that was played. I can say that Guernica is another gift from the jazz music world that I am sure many people can appreciate. If only more and more people can listen to these pieces of compositions, and if they will be more open than just focusing on one specific music genre, I am pretty sure that the jazz music will be appreciated by many in terms of the it holds and the creative way of how each composition is made.
I also like this part of this show because of the uplifting feeling that it provides to its listeners. When I heard Guernica played, I realized how come that the mainstream media does not often feature these kinds of music? How come that many younger ages are not into this kind of music? Is there something that needs to be done in order for this genre to be re-introduced to the people? Then, I realized that despite the emergence of popular modern music, jazz compositions would remain as classic compositions that will continue to provide high-quality of music for everyone. Guernica is a type of music that must be heard by many people as it provides different feelings that other music genres are unable to create. The show also made me realized that jazz has its unique ways of expressing the hidden messages behind every sound it produces.
Blues Connotation by Ornette Coleman is another composition that has a different beat. This time, when I was watching the group playing this music, I felt like I travelled back in time when JFK was still alive. The sound of the saxophone was so lively that when some listens to this music, he or she may feel like the musician is dancing while playing this music.
The background of Blues Connotation tells a good story about Coleman. It is part of this is Our Music released in 1961, which served as the jumping-off point for Coleman (Bailey, n.p.). This piece of composition was immersed in the tradition of Texas Blues. Blues Connotation was a creative composition that represents a bursting with angry brilliance that was expressed through rugged skinned-knuckles.
I can also say that the show was packed with different memories of the jazz artist combined in one epic show. I am glad that I was part of the audience because that night with these groups was a night to remember and I am sure that I will not forget this experience. Each song gave a different meaning of music. In fact, I have realized that music is not just a combination of different sounds coming from different instruments.
I have learned that music is more than just singers who can reach high notes and that music is not just what our ears can hear. Music is a form of art that creates and changes one’s mood. Music can make you travel back in time when it was still in the piece of paper as a rough draft and still yet to be completed by the composer.
The show was full of rich experience that help me developed my appreciation with jazz music, which I was not quite interested into previously. When I heard the Blues Connotation, I was amazed how a piece of metal can create such a beautiful sound that can turn into music.
The Frost Jazz Sextet
Aside from the saxophone, guitar is also another musical instrument produces music. That evening, The Frost Jazz Sextet also performed during the show. The song Wait a Minute was played and I was amazed by Jonah Udall’s way of playing the guitar as part of the composition. It was a calm, but meaningful performance by the group. There was a time that I was just looking how the guitarist’s fingers strum the strings to create this kind of music.
I felt a little bit surprised that such composition can be played beautifully with the dominance of guitar sounds. I felt like I wanted to learn how to play such instrument when I saw the outcome of the composer’s effort to create this music. I was overwhelmed with the variety of music that I was hearing during that night. It was an all-in-one performance as the show did not just let us listen to wonderful sounds, but also enabled us to experience what others appreciate. Thus, when Wait a Minute was playing I have realized that I am becoming part of a greater number of audiences who previously do not listen to this kind of music, but learned to appreciate jazz after watching and listening to several compositions.
After this music was played, it was followed by De-Separated led by Alec Aldred. When this song was being performed I felt the smarter person inside me. I felt more inspired and there were no exact words that I can use to express my feeling during that time. I was imagining myself reading a book of a complex discipline, but made it easier for me to understand due to the presence of inspiring music to my ear.
The feeling was so different. It was like I was part of a romantic film when I was listening to this music. I also felt that all of my stress were gone and flew away along with the music that was echoing the vicinity.
I also thought that jazz music was only for those who are “cool” people, who need no time to finish all the chores, but I heard this composition, I knew this music is for all people across different statuses. Such music was so powerful that it stimulated my mind to imagine different things.
The Magic Number was played after the De-Separated. This time, a different mood came in when Lowell Ringel played the bass. I felt that my self-esteem was enhanced from its previous level. I can say that listening to this music enabled my creativity to become wider and better. I am not sure how it happened, but this music made me feel that I am now better and more intelligent person. Maybe, this music was able to boost my confidence to say that much of my traits improved with the help of such inspiring compositions.
Kyle’s Creation is another composition that gave me an inspiring feeling. This time, the drums are in motion and dominated the music. I did not know that drums can be used as a lead instrument, because I thought that drums were just musical instruments made for background or additional music. Kyle Swan changed my wrong belief. Drums were excellent especially when Kyle’s Creation was played. This is also one of my favorite parts of the show as it is a sort of heart pumping composition.
I felt so alive when I was listening to this music. I cannot help but to compare this music to other rock music that emphasizes the drum’s sounds. Thus, I knew that there is a big difference between the two genres. This was one of my favorite because of how the drums were combined with other instruments to create a totally different experience.
The other two musical compositions, which are It Never Leaves Me and A Turkish Wonderer, were also played by the same group, The Frost Jazz Sextet. I like how David Leon played the saxophone. It was of the best performances that I saw. Saxophone has been in the music scene for many years now, but it was then that I realized how good it is when producing sounds. Can feel the vibration of the sounds flawing in the air, which somewhat gave me chills.
I knew that if there are great singers, there can only be handful of individuals who can play the saxophone that well. Combined with background music from other instruments, the composition It Never Leaves Me was one of the highlights of the show that evening. It reminds me of Kenny G when I was watching this performance by Leon.
On the other hand, the music entitled A Turkish Wonderer is another representation of how jazz music can be so amazing. The sounds of piano reminds of the time when I was watching a classical music video when the pianist was so focused with the notes. I can feel the rhythm of the piano music that ran my imagination again.
As such, the show was so amazing, as it gave me different feelings towards the jazz music. Now, I understand why many people appreciate this kind of music. It was more than just listening to what the jazz musicians are playing, but the unique experience that I encountered during that night was one of the things that I can never forget.
I realized that jazz may have been inspiring many people for decades now, whether an artist or just a mere listener, Jazz music is one of a kind form of art that many people must appreciate.
Works Cited
Bailey, Michael. "Ornette Coleman: This is Our Music." All About Jazz. N.p., 25 Aug. 2011. Web. 14 Apr. 2016. <http://www.allaboutjazz.com/ornette-coleman-this-is-our-music-ornette-coleman-by-c-michael-bailey.php>.
Biography.com. "Wayne Shorter." Bio. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2016. <http://www.biography.com/people/wayne-shorter-9482648#back-to-jazz>.
Cuniffe, Thomas. "Piano Tributes." Jazzhistoryonline. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2016. <http://www.jazzhistoryonline.com/Piano_Tributes.html>.
Frost School of Music University of Miami. "Stamps Jazz Quintet | Ensembles | Frost | University of Miami." University of Miami. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2016. <http://www.miami.edu/frost/index.php/frost/frost_ensembles/j-05-stamps_jazz_quintet/>.
