http://www.vagmusic.com/articles/Jazz_Summary.html Jazz was born in the early 1920s. Rooted in western music, it received a great influence of African Americans, their rhythms and culture. However, that was not the only influence. In fact, New Orleans and Louisiana contributed with their diverse cultural heritage (African, European and Latin America) in the development of Jazz music. Some other subcategories enclosed in this genre are Latin jazz, free jazz and jazz fusion (jazz and rock). Jazz is characterized by improvisation, call and response, syncopation, swing and blue notes. en-us http://www.vagmusic.com/articles/Genres_9908.html Fri, 28 Apr 2006 05:04:50 CST http://www.vagmusic.com/articles/Genres_9887.html Fri, 28 Apr 2006 05:03:37 CST
Though his childhood was very difficult, he was meant to become a famous musical celebrity. Gil Evans is the nickname for Ian Ernest Gilmore Green; he was born in Toronto, May 13, 1912. His family was usually moving to different places because his mother and his stepfather worked in mines and campsites. It was not until 1922 that they settled down in California. Gil Evans had the chance to study music at Berkeley. He met the father of one of his friends, who was a devotee of jazz music; this person taught him everything he needed to know about this genre. He even took Evans and his son to Duke Ellington’s concerts at the Orpheum Theater in San Francisco.

In 1935, Gil Evans and his six musicians were hired to play in southern California; they played at the Rendez-Vous Ballroom for more than three years. Alex Holden, a member of MCA proposed Evans and his orchestra to play next to Skinnay Ennis. Since they accepted, Ennis contacted Bob Hope and got a place for them in the comedy show Hope hosted.

During the 1940’s, Evans moved to New York and worked with his orchestra; they participated in an intermission at the Royal Roost with the Count Basie Orchestra. From 1957 to1988, Gil Evans recorded seventeen albums, most of them with his orchestra. Some of his albums are: “Gil Evans and Ten” in the year 1957; “New Bottles, Old Wine” for 1958; “The Individualism of Gil Evans” in 1964 and “Plays the Music of Jimmy Hendrix" in 1975. From his latest production “75th Birthday Concert” was released in 1987.

Gil Evans passed away March 20, 1988, due to a tough pneumonia. http://www.vagmusic.com/articles/Genres_9617.html Fri, 28 Apr 2006 02:57:20 CST http://www.vagmusic.com/articles/Genres_9582.html Fri, 28 Apr 2006 02:35:34 CST
Tony Bennett accomplished a successful career and the climax of it was between the 50’s and 60’s. He was born in Queens, New York on August 3, 1926. Bennett has been a popular jazz singer and he is considered as one of the best vocalists in this genre. Besides music, Tony Bennett has succeeded in the painting ambiance. As a curious fact, his real name is Anthony Dominick Benedetto.

He mostly got influenced by jazz precursors; for example, Jack Teagarden and Louis Armstrong as well as and other singers such as Eddie Cantor, Al Jolson, Bing Crosby and Judy Garland. Bennett attended the High School of Industrial Arts in New York; in this institution he studied painting and music, but unfortunately, and due to the circumstances, he had to drop out of school to support his family when he was just a teenager.

By 1944, Bennett was recruited by the United States Army, to serve in the Infantry during World War II. He had to perform other special services while he was in France and Germany, such as entertaining the soldiers with the band unit. Regarding war, Tony Bennett points out a very sharp reality "Anybody who thinks that war is romantic obviously hasn't gone through one."

He returned to the United States in 1946, and immediately he started to attend the American Theater Wing, where he learned bel canto; this discipline facilitated him to maintain his voice in a good condition during his whole singing profession. He had a particular style while he was singing; it consisted on the imitation and improvisation of voices of other musicians, like Stan Getz.

By 1949 he was invited by Pearl Bailey to participate in Greenwich Village; Bob Hope was invited too. The following year, Tony signed a contract with Columbia Records, where he placed his first thriving single, “Because of You". He gained popularity and in 1951 this song reached the #1 in music charts, selling more that a million copies. His second recording “Blue Velvet” caught the attention of hundreds of young people in many places such as the Paramount Theater in New York.

He got married with Patricia Beech, who was an art student; he met her in one of his performances in Cleveland, in 1952. He continued with his successful career and in 1953, he released a third album, which also became #1; this album was called “Rags to Riches”.

His open personality and his scenic abilities led him to host a TV program called “The Tony Bennett Show.”

In the year 1958, Bennett collaborated with and joined the Count Basie Orchestra; they released two booming albums: “Basie Swings, Bennett Sings” and “In Person! Tony Bennett / Count Basie and his Orchestra.”

As a soloist, in 1962, he won a Grammy Award for Record of the Year and Best Male Solo Vocal Performance with his song “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.” http://www.vagmusic.com/articles/Genres_9520.html Wed, 26 Apr 2006 02:22:48 CST
Her abilities as an actress and singer have transcended the boundaries of time; even young generations know about American popular vocalist Rosemary Clooney. She was born on May 23, 1928 in a location called Maysville, in Kentucky. Her parents were of Irish and German descent. Her childhood was not easy at all; she and her siblings had to move quite often due to her father’s alcoholism. However, Rosemary, her sister Betty, her brother Nick got involved in the entertainment business. Later on Nick’s son (George Clooney) became another member of this family who chose the artistic profession.

Rosemary first recorded a single with the big band of Tony Pastor in May 1946, for Columbia Records Company. She stood with this band until 1949, when she decided to become a soloist. Her record Come On-a My House was a big sensation and this was just the beginning of a bunch of hits she got through the years.

Her acting side began in 1954, when she starred in White Christmas, together with Danny Kaye, Vera-Ellen and Bing Crosby. She was acclaimed by her skills by many colleagues, including Crosby. Clooney got married three times: two times to Jose Ferrer and once with Dante de Paolo. Though this period in Hollywood was short, she remained constant in the musical scene. Some of her most recognized singles are: “From This Moment On", “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning” and “Tenderly”.

She always admired jazz and other musical stars, such as Frank Sinatra and Billy Holiday. Actually they influenced her career and she even met them and worked with them. Other special friends were always there during the good times and the bad times. Rosemary suffered from a bipolar disorder, due to drug abuse and nervous breakdowns. She was a heavy smoker too and she was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2001; she died on June 29, 2002; but the world will always remember her expressiveness and the way she timed her voice. http://www.vagmusic.com/articles/Genres_9438.html Wed, 26 Apr 2006 01:03:28 CST
Distinguished, prolific, and dedicated to his family and professional career, Duke Ellington is, undoubtedly, a great prodigy and the master of swing. He was born in Washington D.C. on April 29, 1899. He was raised by his grandparents, who taught him from proper manner to the joy and music’s power to transmit emotions.

Duke started to take piano lessons when he was around seven years old, but he seemed to be more interested in playing baseball than in becoming a musician. Some years later, he attended Armstrong Manual Training School, where he studied commercial art. By 1917, Duke Ellington started to develop a deeper interest for music and his artistic personality flourished. He associated from this time on with the most superior jazz creations.

Once he heard Harvey Brooks, who was a hot pianist, he joined him and learned from his pianist tricks. Then he began to work in different clubs and cafes, until 1917, when he formed his first band: The Duke’s Serenaders. The following year, 1918, he got married to Edna Thompson, and both had a child.

Some of Duke Ellington’s greatest compositions include, Rockin’ in Rhythm, Satin Doll, New Orleans, A Drum is a Women, Take the "A" Train, Happy-Go-Lucky Local, The Mooche, and Crescendo in Blue. Actually his most prolific period started in 1927. In the early 30’s, he first visited Europe. He also traveled to India, Japan, Soviet Union, Latin America and Mexico.

The Swing Duke passed away from cancer on May 24, 1974. http://www.vagmusic.com/articles/Genres_9429.html Wed, 26 Apr 2006 12:32:43 CST He is considered one of the most important musical figures of the swing and jazz landscape. Benjamin David Goodman, better known as Benny Goodman, grew up in Chicago, and was born in May, 1909, to a numerous Jewish family. His parents were immigrants and they were extremely poor. They had to live in the ghetto, were the house had no heat and they often had nothing to eat.

Even though they underwent these tough life conditions, and as most of the musicians, Benny started to take clarinet lessons when he was very young; he was just ten years old. His father encouraged him to play music to earn some money to help the family. He rapidly was considered to play in the local synagogue. The clarinet lessons Goodman took were sponsored by the Hull House; this was a charity organization that helped Benny to expand his musical talent.

He kept on practicing at least three hours per day; it is said that he was a perfectionist. Being a young adult, Goodman left Chicago to live in New York; he actually moved with his family and gave them support during the Depression. Here he found the opportunity to participate of several bands in places like Billie Holiday’s. Two of the people he played with, were Lionel Hampton and Teddy Wilson. His inspiration came from the master of jazz, Louis Armstrong.

His dream of creating his own Big Band became a reality in 1934, when they began to perform at the Palomar Ballroom in Los Angeles. The success of their music was such that he was granted the nickname of The King of Swing. They quickly became nationwide known: thousands of admirers gathered in the different theaters and places they performed.

Unfortunately, a significant star, Mr. Benny Goodman passed away in 1986. http://www.vagmusic.com/articles/Genres_9427.html Tue, 25 Apr 2006 04:30:55 CST Her name was Eunice Kathleen Waymon; however, in the musical scene, she is better known as Nina Simone. This African-American vocalist, pianist, and songwriter was born in North Carolina, on February 21, 1933. She was the sixth of eight children. Fortunately, a sponsor paid for her piano lessons, and this was the way she could start her musical career.

Her style is categorized as jazz even though she never agreed on labels; others portray her work as soul, and blues. She first started to participate from the local church choir, and she showed that she was gifted as a pianist too. One incident that motivated her to involve in the civil rights movement occurred when she made her debut, and her parents had to move from the front seats for the whites to sit down there; due to this situation, Nina decided to fight and join the civil rights movement.

When she was seventeen, she moved to Pennsylvania, where she continued studying at Juilliard School of Music in New York City and, at the same time, teaching piano to other singers. She wanted to become the first African-American concert pianist, but she was rejected in the interview at the Curtis Institute, where she planned to continue learning more about piano.

1961 was the year in which Simone recorded her version of the single "The House of the Rising Sun"; this song was recorded by Bob Dylan some years later. There are other songs of her own repertoire, such as "I Put a Spell on You", "Here Comes the Sun" sang by The Beatles, Four Women and so on. Her live performance was very resourceful; she easily shifted from different sounds: gospel, folk, and blues to jazz. She usually told funny stories about her career when she was onstage.

She had some divergences with her managers and recording companies in the year 1971; as a matter of fact, she declared the reason of these problems was racism. For those reasons, she left the country but returned in 1978; she had lived in other countries in Africa, Europe and the Caribbean. Her status as a singer was negative: she was considered as explosive and complicated to work with. She had some troubles regarding tax evasion too.

Her music is still popular among new generations and it has become part of different soundtracks, for example in movies like Shallow Grave and Before Sunset. Nina Simone passed away on April 21, 2003. http://www.vagmusic.com/articles/Genres_9197.html Tue, 25 Apr 2006 10:18:19 CST http://www.vagmusic.com/articles/Genres_9162.html Mon, 24 Apr 2006 04:57:17 CST