The End is Near

The time has come: the final blog. This entire blog has been for an English class, and now a few questions must be answered...

1- What kind of mind are you?

Personally I think that I fit under the respectful mind and the synthesizing mind. The respectful mind describes one who "welcomes differences between opinions and seeks to work effectively with them" and I think I have displayed this trait in my various posts concerning different views of jazz and in the comments I have made on other blogs. The Synthesizing mind portrays a person that "takes information from various sources and evaluates objectively and then puts it together in order to make sense" which I think describes how my post function. I took many different ideas such as art and dance and dress and connected them to an overall picture of jazz.

2- List three exemplified traits

I have: Experimented with new ideas though my exploration in topics I previously knew little about, such as jazz dance or art. Additionally I have Exhibit curiosity through my encouragement of having readers comment their favorite music ans, thoughts, etc. I think simply by looking at many different aspects of jazz also implies curiosity. And finally, I feel I exhibit Reading with awareness of self and others when I post blogs with a positive and open mind; none of my post condemn other types of music or opinion.

3-What have you realized or learned that surprised you most after developing your blog?

Honestly, I think one of the most surprising things I learned through this project was the amount of self-pride created among my peers. The amount of blogs that reeked of self-importance was appalling. I believe I succeeded in focusing on the topic rather than making my post a monologue of my egotistical thoughts. I also learned more about how the jazz of the past has influenced modern jazz and many aspects of life.

Coming to a Town Near You

When comparing modern jazz and the jazz of the past, nothing much has changed concerning actual dance hall dances. It seems today, that most jazz and swing dances today simply try to capture the fun and lively atmosphere of the past dance halls. Indiana has its own home to an enchanting dance hall: the Fountain Square Theater. This building is home to an awesome block with plenty of activities celebrating the Jazz Era of the Past; however, the Friday Night Swing Dancing is the true jewel of the area. These Friday nights include lessons to dance and a live band for hours. Just watching is exciting, with the era-dressed dancers and the talented couples twirling on the floor. For those of us who love the jazz and swing era, it is the perfect way to travel to a time of real music and simplistic joy.

Information of this lovely event can be found here: http://www.fountainsquareindy.com/theatre/index.asp

I would personally encourage anyone to partake in these unique and fun evening.

Worth More Than a Thousand Words

Another element of the jazz aura is artwork. Music and and dance capture the heart and soul of jazz, and this artwork preserves that feeling. These artist transform paints and colors into the innermost images of the mind. This art is a...art. A true talent to say the least.

One of the artist I have found and enjoy is RJ Hohimer who describes his works as similar to Van Gogh and Gauguin. Personally, I think he uses simple images to enhance emotions portrayed in the image.


This painting of Hohimer reflects what I think of when I think of jazz: Fellowship, finding joy in the simple things of life, and obviously music. I love how the aura of the painting allows one to almost hear the music of the captured instruments.

This chalk drawing represents the more abstract elements of jazz artwork. And finally, this really neat photograph is a neat image of jazz.

Enjoy! If you know any other cool works, feel free to let me know.

Just Dance

Jazz influences much more than just lyrics, rhythms, and instruments. This lovely music influences one of the most entertaining spectacles of life: dance. After doing some research, I learned that...

"Prior to the 1950s, jazz dance referred to dance styles that originated from African American vernacular dance. In the 1950s, a new genre of jazz dance—modern jazz dance—emerged, with roots in Caribbean traditional dance. Every individual style of jazz dance has roots traceable to one of these two distinct origins."

After digging further, I have learned the differences of these dance types. Jazz dance started off as what is now known as tap dancing because it was simply tap dancing to jazz music. However, jazz dance then began to create its unique flavor as dances such as the the Cakewalk, Black Bottom, Charleston, Jitterbug, Boogie Woogie, swing and the related Lindy Hop. A video of the Charlston and how to dance it is shown below...


Then after the 1950s, the essence of Caribbean dance, transforming into the smooth style that it is noted for today. This style, known as "modern jazz" is a major component of musical theater. It is influenced by many other styles such as ballet, lyrical, and contemporary. An example of this is shown in the video below...



Personally, I enjoy the elements of modern jazz more. However, I love the unique characteristics of the dances from the past. I think it would be neat to return to the dances of the mid 1900s, simply because it was a way to connect to others and to learn do with others without taking classes. It would be really neat if our school dances had as many massive coordinated dances as there are in the past. And our chance to do so is now: Roncalli High School has a swing dance club that is bring swing back!

Too Good for Words

Up until this point, I haven't even touched the plethora jazz instrumentalists. Vocalists somehow always seem to receive more praise and fame; however, jazz music would be no where without the instrumentalists. Sure, the singers really make lyrics and emotions come alive, but their performances simply can't capture jazz like instrument players can. I believe that the ability to make various brass and wood contraptions somehow come together to blend is talented. Even more so, I think that the ability to make this blend create an aura of jazz is astounding. Hearing such music, such art, always makes me want to close my eyes and become part of the music. Unlike vocal jazz, listening to instrumental jazz allows one to create any story and FEEL the emotion and passion of the song.
Unfortunately, to the best of my knowledge, instrumental jazz is simply not an influential characteristic of today's jazz (although if any one knows of some really good artist, I would love to hear them!). Instead, to really experience instrumental jazz, one has to return to the jazz era of the past and tune into musicians of the time. It's important to look beyond the most well-known performers such as Benny Goodman, Louis Armstrong, and Duke Ellington but they are a good start. If you are looking to listen to jazz musicians, I would also suggest look for entire bands in addition to soloist in order to get the whole feeling.
In general, I would suggest exploring jazz instrumentalist due to there wide influence on jazz.

I'm with the Band

Some of the jazz musicians today have not lost the big band flavor that infused some of the jazz of the mid 1900s. These cool hits not only contain soul-capturing vocals but also pack a punch with a passionate and loud band. These groups of musicians are certainly not part of the background, if anything, they are the leading act with a vocalist to add some pizazz.

Some examples of this can be seen in Bing Crosby's "Now you Has Jazz Jazz Jazz" which you can listen to here
.


There are many different instruments in these bands, each with unique and capturing characteristics. To learn about one of my favorite instruments and one of my favorite people, visit Christian Power's awe-inspiring blog about saxophones via the following address: http://sax-it-to-me.blogspot.com/

Theme Song?

One of the largest connections of jazz music is the context of the lyrics. Now almost all types of music discuss relationships in their lyrics; however, I feel that jazz music often pictures and describes only a few types of relationships: the finding of love, the simple and real courtship/love, songs of longing for the return of love and the depressing break-up. Some of my favorite examples of these catergories are: "When I Fall in Love" (Lettermen), "Little Room" (Norah Jones), "Write to Me from Naples" (Dean Martin), and "Between the Lines" (Sara Bareilles).

Almost all jazz songs are centered on a mellow aura containing the most important aspects of life: love. It's very easy to relate to jazz and to feel the passion through the artist. No matter the time or type of jazz almost all of the songs are focused on this key element.