Switched on Pop Jazz 1959

Switches on Pop Jazz 1959 discussed Jazz in 1959. According to the hosts, 1959 was one of the biggest years for Jazz. Some of my favorite albums discussed were:

Ella Fitzgerald's Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Song Book
which they say is " a must-have for every jazz fan: Ella sings the genius of the Gershwins with arrangements by the great Nelson Riddle and his Orchestra. All the Gershwin favorites are here, and Ella sings them very succinctly. This is as good as jazz vocals get, and what better material."

Miles Davis's King of Blue
Miles "decided to record an album using mostly modal formats for the tunes. The outcome is breathtaking... The album is considered to be, by many the jazz album of all time"

It was interesting to talk about the progression of Jazz.  Jazz went for mainstream popular music to "elevator" music. The hosts suggested that this was in part because the artist slowly stopped taking risks in how they sounded becoming more and more uniform and predictable and therefore well boring.

I also like what they said about trying to make it so that I not odd to talk about women in Jazz that it should be normal and their gender should not be something that is important.

Overall the podcast made me appreciate Jazz more as I learned more about Jazz and appreciate what went into it. After listening to it I have started to listen to Jazz more I have found I really like the piece with a lot of horns and trombones.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Week 5: Choo Choo Ch’Boogie”Written by Milt Gabler, Darling and Horton, performed by Louis Jordan’s TympanyFive

Image
Have you ever listen to a song that sounded just so familiar but you couldn't put your finger on it? That is how I was with "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie." The catchy melody and syncopation of notes sounded so familiar, and as I continued to listen to it I realized that is sound just like Backyardagans "P.U.!" (the stinky swamp song). Those who do not know what I am talking about, my deepest condolences go out to you because clearly, you did not have a childhood. It was fascinating to see how this song produced in 1946 influenced a cartoon made in the early 2000s. Beyond influencing amazing children cartoons, Louis Jordan's, performer of "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie, influence many future Rock and Roll performers such as James Brown and Chuck Berry.  He also helped desegregate the music industry as he did many crossover hits set up by white producer Milt Gabler. However, dances or performances he played at were still segregated. Thow he and his band influenced ...
Read more

Week 6 "Charlie Brown" preformed by The Coasters written by Lieber/Stoller,

Charlie Brown is a fun pop song with Rythm and Blue roots. The lyrics focus around a trouble maker in school "the clown Charlie Brown" who keeps asking why "everybody always picking on me." The lyrics are really repetitive and catchy. "Charlie Brown" was written by songwriting team Lieber and Stoller and appeals to the younger generation evident by the lyrics. Lieber and Stoller wrote a lot of songs focusing on the teen demographic for many famous performers in addition to Coasters, for example, they wrote "Dirty Dirty Feelings" for Elvis. The song is written in an AABA formate section A is written in a 12 bar blue. The B section is a fun and entertaining instrument interlude with prevalent saxophone. The whole song has a lot of saxophones, drums, and piano beautifully blended in a fun and upbeat accompaniment. The Coasters also performed it really well with great harmonies, their voices blended really well together. The song was released in 19...
Read more

"How Deep is the Ocean" composed by Irving Berlin

Image
"How Deep is the Ocean" was composed by Irving Berlin in the early 1930s. After he composed the song he did think it would be very successful and discard the song idea before producing along with another jazz standard "Say It Isn't So," According to songbook1.wordpress.com.  After some time he produced the song. It debuted on the radio with the vocals song by Paul Whiteman and is a jazz standard today. Listening to the song it is no wonder it is a jazz staple as the lyrics are charming and the tune is memorable.  The message of the song is that of love and devotion. This message is evident with lyrics such as " how many times in a day do I think of you" and "if I ever lost you how much would I cry?" The version of the song we were given to listen to is of Bing Crosby whose smooth and crooning voice complements the message of love and devotion in the song as his voice makes it more intimate and feels more sincere. As mentioned before the s...
Read more