Jazz, Giants, and Journeys

Jazz, Giants, and Journeys PDF

Author: Herman Leonard

Publisher: Scala Arts Publishers Incorporated

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13:

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With a camera as his backstage pass, Herman Leonard has photographed the giants of jazz in their golden age, movie stars on set and on their travels to exotic places, the fashion world of Paris in the 1960s, and the inner sanctums of his beloved New Orle

Spirit Seeker

Spirit Seeker PDF

Author: Gary Golio

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 51

ISBN-13: 0547239947

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Describes the spiritual journey jazz musician John Coltrane took in his life and the way that it is reflected in his music.

The Jazz Image

The Jazz Image PDF

Author: K. Heather Pinson

Publisher: Univ. Press of Mississippi

Published: 2010-12-01

Total Pages: 253

ISBN-13: 1604734957

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Typically, a photograph of a jazz musician has several formal prerequisites: black-and-white film, an urban setting in the mid-twentieth century, and a black man standing, playing, or sitting next to his instrument. That's the jazz archetype that photography created. Author K. Heather Pinson discovers how such a steadfast script developed visually and what this convention meant for the music. Album covers, magazines, books, documentaries, art photographs, posters, and various other visual extensions of popular culture formed the commonly held image of the jazz player. Through assimilation, there emerged a generalized composite of how mainstream jazz looked and sounded. Pinson evaluates representations of jazz musicians from 1945 to 1959, concentrating on the seminal role played by Herman Leonard (b. 1923). Leonard's photographic depictions of African American jazz musicians in New York not only created a visual template of a black musician of the 1950s, but also became the standard configuration of the music's neoclassical sound today. To discover how the image of the musician affected mainstream jazz, Pinson examines readings from critics, musicians, and educators, as well as interviews, musical scores, recordings, transcriptions, liner notes, and oral narratives.

Jazz and American Culture

Jazz and American Culture PDF

Author: Michael Borshuk

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2023-11-30

Total Pages: 433

ISBN-13: 1009420178

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This book offers an entry point for understanding the comprehensive way this uniquely American artistic form has influenced literature, art, film, and other art forms, while also providing a cultural space for political commentary or social critique.

On the Shoulders of Giants

On the Shoulders of Giants PDF

Author: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2007-02-05

Total Pages: 289

ISBN-13: 1416549919

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New York Times bestselling author and living legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar shares how the power of the Harlem Renaissance led him to become the man he is today—basketball superstar, jazz enthusiast, historian, and Black American icon. In On the Shoulders of Giants, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar invites us on an extraordinarily personal journey back to his birthplace of Harlem through one of the greatest political, cultural, literary, and artistic movements in history. He reveals the tremendous impact the Harlem Renaissance had on both American culture and his own life. Travel deep into the soul of the Renaissance—the night clubs, restaurants, basketball games, and fabulous parties that have made footprints in Harlem’s history. Meet the athletes, jazz musicians, comedians, actors, politicians, entrepreneurs, and writers who not only inspired Kareem’s rise to greatness but an entire nation.

I Walked With Giants

I Walked With Giants PDF

Author: Jimmy Heath

Publisher: Temple University Press

Published:

Total Pages: 343

ISBN-13: 1439901996

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Composer of more than 100 jazz pieces, three-time Grammy nominee, and performer on more than 125 albums, Jimmy Heath has earned a place of honor in the history of jazz. Over his long career, Heath knew many jazz giants such as Charlie Parker and played with other innovators including John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and especially Dizzy Gillespie. Heath also won their respect and friendship. In this extraordinary autobiography, the legendary Heath creates a “dialogue” with musicians and family members. As in jazz, where improvisation by one performer prompts another to riff on the same theme, I Walked with Giants juxtaposes Heath’s account of his life and career with recollections from jazz giants about life on the road and making music on the world’s stages. His memories of playing with his equally legendary brothers Percy and Albert (aka “Tootie”) dovetail with their recollections. Heath reminisces about a South Philadelphia home filled with music and a close-knit family that hosted musicians performing in the city’s then thriving jazz scene. Milt Jackson recalls, “I went to their house for dinner...Jimmy’s father put Charlie Parker records on and told everybody that we had to be quiet till dinner because he had Bird on.... When I [went] to Philly, I’d always go to their house.” Today Heath performs, composes, and works as a music educator and arranger. By turns funny, poignant, and extremely candid, Heath’s story captures the rhythms of a life in jazz.