Jazz Essay -- essays research papers

Early Jazz The earliest easily available jazz recordings are from the 1920's and early 1930's. Trumpet player and vocalist Louis Armstrong ("Pops", "Satchmo") was by far the most important figure of this period. He played with groups called the Hot Five and the Hot Seven; any recordings you can find of these groups are recommended. The style of these groups, and many others of the period, is often referred to as New Orleans jazz or Dixieland. It is characterized by collective improvisation, in which all performers simultaneously play improvised melodic lines within the harmonic structure of the tune. Louis, as a singer, is credited with the invention of scat, in which the vocalist makes up nonsense syllables to sing improvised lines. Other notable performers of New Orleans or Dixieland jazz include clarinetist Johnny Dodds, soprano saxophone player Sidney Bechet, trumpeter King Oliver, and trombonist Kid Ory. Other styles popular during this period were various forms of piano jazz, including ragtime, Harlem stride, and boogie-woogie. These styles are actually quite distinct, but all three are characterized by rhythmic, percussive left hand lines and fast, full right hand lines. Scott Joplin and Jelly Roll Morton were early ragtime pioneers. Fats Waller, Willie "The Lion" Smith and James P. Johnson popularized the stride left hand pattern (bass note, chord, bass note, chord); Albert Ammons and Meade Lux Lewis developed this into the faster moving left hand patterns of boogie-woogie. Earl "Fatha" Hines was a pianist who was especially known for his right hand, in which he did not often play full chords or arpeggios, playing instead "horn-like" melodic lines. This has become commonplace since then. Art Tatum is considered by many to be the greatest jazz pianist ever; he was certainly one of the most technically gifted, and his harmonic insights paved the way for many who came after him. He is sometimes considered a precursor of bebop. Big Band Jazz and Swing Although the big bands are normally associated with a slightly later era, there were several large bands playing during the 1920's and early 1930's, including that of Fletcher Henderson. Bix Beiderbecke was a cornet soloist who played with several bands and was considered a legend in his time. The mid 1930's brought on the swing era and the emergence of ... ...c piano, Ron Carter and Dave Holland on bass, John McLaughlin on guitar, and Tony Williams and Jack DeJohnette on drums. Tony Williams formed a rock oriented band called Lifetime with John McLaughlin, who also formed his own high energy group, the Mahavishnu Orchestra. Through the 1970's Miles continued to explore new directions in the use of electronics and the incorporation of funk and rock elements into his music, leading to albums such as Pangea and Agharta. Other groups combined jazz and rock in a more popularly oriented manner, from the crossover Top 40 of Spyro Gyra and Chuck Mangione to the somewhat more esoteric guitarist Pat Metheny. Other popular fusion bands include Weather Report, featuring Wayne Shorter, Joe Zawinul, and bass players Jaco Pastorius and Miroslav Vitous; Return To Forever, featuring Chick Corea and bassist Stanley Clarke; The Crusaders, featuring saxophonist Wilton Felder and keyboardist Joe Sample; the Yellowjackets, featuring keyboardist Russell Ferrante; and the Jeff Lorber Fusion, which originally featured Kenny G on saxophone. In recent years, several fusion bands have achieved much commercial success, including those of Pat Metheny and Kenny G.

Male and Female Roles

Male and female roles have changed dramatically since the beginning of the 21st century. Men were known as the bread-winners. Their responsibility was to go to work and bring home money to take care of their family. While women stayed at home and took care of all the cooking and cleaning. The female role also consisted of bearing and taking care of all the children. Things have changed women can also get good jobs and bring home as much money as men and sometimes even more money than men. In a major step forward, women demanded and were granted the right to vote in the United States in 1920s. Women should not have to stay at home and take care of the children, cook, and clean. Taking care of children alone should be considered a full time job, before adding cooking and cleaning. In the 1960s the invention of the birth control pill came about that let women control when they had kids. Contraceptives made planning a family around a career easier for women; careers no longer had to take a backseat to family. The great depression was hard on many families. Many men suffered losses of income and unemployment. Women embraced this abrupt status change and rose to the challenge of finding work to support their family. Then the equal opportunities movement came about meaning that employers could not discriminate against women in hiring and promotion, and providing further protection for women in the workplace, even though men still make more money than women. Along with being the primary breadwinners a male’s role may consist of a few manly chores such as taking out trash, fixing cars, and cutting grass but, some males have taken on the female role. According to the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, less than one percent of dads were stay-at-home fathers in 2006. Men account for only 19 percent of single parents who live with their children. However, that still means there were 159,000 stay-at-home fathers as of 2006, according to the U. S. Census Bureau. There is a thriving community of stay-at-home fathers who are quite proud of their role in the family and support their â€Å"bread-winning† wives fully. Most women, who work full time with families, still have the primary responsibility of taking care of the children and home. Women want to get out and have a life, not just stay at home and do chores. Women also want to take care of their children. Mothers want to be the one that see their baby’s first crawl or first word. Mothers want to get that child up in the morning, dress her and see her off to her first day of school. Mothers tend to be more nurturing than fathers. For example when a child fall off her bike for the first time a mother will probably run to that child and put a bandage on. Whereas a father will most likely try to brush it off and get the child to try again. I totally agree that males should be the primary bread- winners. Then if a woman wants to work part time or go back to school she can. Sometimes taking care of the children and chores can be split in half between male and female, so no one feel that one is doing more work than the other. If a woman wants to get out the house sometime and have a life maybe she could join a social club, have a few girlfriends, or volunteer with different community organizations. I do not think a woman should have to be the primary bread- winner, the primary caregiver to the children, and still do most of the cooking and cleaning. Some women have to be the primary breed winners. If a woman is left alone to take care of her children she have no choice but to become the primary bread-winner, the primary care giver, and do most of the cooking and cleaning because maybe she will not have any help. Even though a female is left alone all the work of taking care of children and a home still goes on. In 2005, nearly 4 in 10 babies in the U. S. were born outside of marriage according to the centers for disease control. References * Women's Roles Vs. Male's Roles in the 21st Century | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/info_8630273_womens-males-roles-21st-century.html#ixzz2RIpkA17n

King Ethelbert I of Kent

King Ethelbert I of Kent was also known as: Aethelbert I, Aethelberht I, Ethelberht I, St. Ethelbert Ethelbert was known for: issuing the earliest Anglo-Saxon law code that is still extant. Ethelbert also allowed Augustine of Canterbury to evangelize in his lands, which would begin the Christianization of Anglo-Saxon England. Occupations: KingMilitary Leader Places of Residence and Influence: England Important Dates: Born: c. 550Became King of Kent: 560Died: February 24, 616 About King Ethelbert I of Kent: Ethelbert was the son of King Eormenric of Kent, who was believed to have been descended from Hengist, of Hengist and Horsa fame. When Eormenric died in 560, Ethelbert became king of Kent, even though he was still in his minority. The first notable action made by Ethelbert was an attempt to wrest control of Wessex from Ceawlin, then king of Wessex. His efforts were thwarted when he was badly defeated by Ceawlin and his brother Cutha in 568. Though he was evidently unsuccessful in war, Ethelbert was quite successful in his marriage to Berhta, daughter of the Merovingian King Charibert. Ethelbert had long been a pagan, worshipping the Norse god Odin; yet he made every concession to Berhtas Catholicism. He allowed her to practice her religion wherever and however she wished, and he even gave her the church of St. Martin, which had allegedly survived from the time of Roman occupation, in his capital of Cantwaraburh (which would come to be called Canterbury). Although it is entirely possible that Ethelberts devotion to his bride sprang from sincere regard and even love, the prestige of her family may also have motivated the Kentish king to accommodate her Christian ways. The Catholicism of the Merovingian kings tied them strongly to the papacy, and the power of the family was growing in what is now France. It is likely that Ethelbert allowed pragmatism and wisdom to govern these decisions. Whether he was motivated by the influence of Berhta or the power of her family, Ethelbert readily communicated with missionaries from Rome. In 597, a group of monks led by Augustine of Canterbury landed on the Kentish coast. Ethelbert welcomed them and gave them a place to live; he supported their efforts to convert his people, but never forced conversion on anyone. Tradition has it that he was baptized not long after Augustines arrival in England, and that, inspired by his example, thousands of his subjects converted to Christianity. Ethelbert facilitated the construction of churches, including the church of St. Peter and St. Paul, which was allegedly constructed on the site of a pagan temple. It was here that Augustine, the first Archbishop of Canterbury, would be buried, as were several of his successors. Although there was at one point a move to make London the primary See of England, Ethelbert and Augustine together resisted the attempt, and the See of Canterbury thus became the foremost Catholic Church in England. In 604 Ethelbert promulgated a law code known as the Dooms of Ethelbert; this is not only the first of several Dooms of Anglo-Saxon kings, it is the first known written law code in English. Ethelberts Dooms fixed the legal standing of the Catholic clergy in England as well as setting in place a good number of secular laws and regulations. Ethelbert died on February 24, 616. He was survived by two daughters and a son, Eadbald, who remained a pagan all his life. Under Eadbald, Kent and much of southern England saw a resurgence in paganism. Later sources would name Ethelbert a Braetwalda, but it is not known whether or not he used the title himself during his lifetime. More Ethelbert Resources: Ethelbert in PrintThe links below will take you to a site where you can compare prices at booksellers across the web. More in-depth info about the book may be found by clicking on to the books page at one of the online merchants. by Eric John, Patrick Wormald James Campbell; edited by James Campbell(Oxford history of England)by Frank M. Stentonby Peter Hunter Blair Ethelbert on the Web St. EthelbertBrief bio by Ewan Macpherson at the Catholic EncyclopediaMedieval Sourcebook: The Anglo-Saxon Dooms, 560-975First in the document are Ethelberts Dooms. Primary source taken from Oliver J. Thatcher, ed., The Library of Original Sources (Milwaukee: University Research Extension Co., 1901), Vol. IV: The Early Medieval World, pp. 211-239. Scanned and edited by Jerome S. Arkenberg, and placed online by Paul Halsall at his Medieval Sourcebook. Dark-Age BritainMedieval ChristianityWhos Who Directories: Chronological Index Geographical Index Index by Profession, Achievement, or Role in Society