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The Blues And The Abstract Truth
''The Blues and the Abstract Truth'' is an album by American composer and jazz saxophonist Oliver Nelson recorded in February 1961 for the Impulse! label. It remains Nelson's most acclaimed album and features a lineup of notable musicians: Freddie Hubbard, Eric Dolphy (his second-to-last appearance on a Nelson album following a series of collaborations recorded for Prestige), Bill Evans (his only appearance with Nelson), Paul Chambers and Roy Haynes. Baritone saxophonist George Barrow does not take solos but remains a key feature in the subtle voicings of Nelson's arrangements.Oliver E. Nelson: Liner notes from Impulse! A-5, March 1961. The album is often noted for its unique ensemble arrangements and is frequently identified as a progenitor of Nelson's move towards arranging later in his career. Music Among the pieces on the album, " Stolen Moments" is the best known and has become a jazz standard: a 16-bar piece with solos in a conventional 12-bar minor blues structure in C m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oliver Nelson
Oliver Edward Nelson (June 4, 1932 – October 28, 1975) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, arranger, composer, and bandleader. His 1961 Impulse! album '' The Blues and the Abstract Truth'' (1961) is regarded as one of the most significant recordings of its era. The centerpiece of the album is the definitive version of Nelson's composition, " Stolen Moments". Other important recordings from the early 1960s are '' More Blues and the Abstract Truth'' and ''Sound Pieces'', both also on Impulse!. Biography Early life and career Oliver Nelson was born into a musical family in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. His brother was a saxophonist who played with Cootie Williams in the 1940s, and his sister sang and played piano. Nelson began learning to play the piano when he was six and started on the saxophone at eleven. Beginning in 1947 he played in "territory" bands in and around Saint Louis before joining the Louis Jordan band where he stayed from 1950 to 1951, playing alto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major form of musical expression in traditional and popular music. Jazz is characterized by swing and blue notes, complex chords, call and response vocals, polyrhythms and improvisation. Jazz has roots in European harmony and African rhythmic rituals. As jazz spread around the world, it drew on national, regional, and local musical cultures, which gave rise to different styles. New Orleans jazz began in the early 1910s, combining earlier brass band marches, French quadrilles, biguine, ragtime and blues with collective polyphonic improvisation. But jazz did not begin as a single musical tradition in New Orleans or elsewhere. In the 1930s, arranged dance-oriented swing big bands, Kansas City jazz (a hard-swinging, bluesy, improvisationa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later a conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as "the Dean of American Composers". The open, slowly changing harmonies in much of his music are typical of what many people consider to be the sound of American music, evoking the vast American landscape and pioneer spirit. He is best known for the works he wrote in the 1930s and 1940s in a deliberately accessible style often referred to as "populist" and which the composer labeled his "vernacular" style. Works in this vein include the ballets ''Appalachian Spring'', ''Billy the Kid'' and ''Rodeo'', his ''Fanfare for the Common Man'' and Third Symphony. In addition to his ballets and orchestral works, he produced music in many other genres, including chamber music, vocal works, opera and film scores. After some initial studies with composer Rubin Goldmark, Copland ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
C Minor
C minor is a minor scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature consists of three flats. Its relative major is E major and its parallel major is C major. The C natural minor scale is: : Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of the scale are written in with accidentals as necessary. The C harmonic minor and melodic minor scales are: : : Notable compositions * Charles-Valentin Alkan ** Prelude Op. 31, No. 16 (Assez lentement) ** Symphony for Solo Piano, 1st movement: Allegro ** Trois grandes études, Op. 76, No. 3 "Mouvement semblable et perpetuel" (Rondo-Toccata) for the hands reunited * Johannes Sebastian Bach **Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582 **Lute Suite in C minor, BWV 997 ** Cello Suite No. 5, BWV 1011 **The Musical Offering, BWV 1079 ** Partita No. 2, BWV 826 *Ludwig van Beethoven (See Beethoven and C minor) ** Piano Sonata No. 5 ** Piano Sonata No. 8 (''Pathétique'') ** Piano Concer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Twelve-bar Blues
The 12-bar blues (or blues changes) is one of the most prominent chord progressions in popular music. The blues progression has a distinctive form in lyrics, phrase, chord structure, and duration. In its basic form, it is predominantly based on the I, IV, and V chords of a key. Mastery of the blues and rhythm changes are "critical elements for building a jazz repertoire". Background The blues originated from a combination of work songs, spirituals, and early southern country music. The music was passed down through oral tradition. It was first written down by W. C. Handy, an African American composer and band leader. Its popularity led to the creation of "race records" and the popularity of blues singers like Bessie Smith and Ma Rainy. The style of music heard on race records was later called "rhythm and blues" (R & B). As the music became more popular, more people wanted to perform it. General patterns that existed in the blues were formalized, one of these being the 12-bar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jazz Standard
Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive list of jazz standards, and the list of songs deemed to be standards changes over time. Songs included in major fake book publications (sheet music collections of popular tunes) and jazz reference works offer a rough guide to which songs are considered standards. Not all jazz standards were written by jazz composers. Many are originally Tin Pan Alley popular songs, Broadway show tunes or songs from Hollywood musicals – the Great American Songbook. In Europe, jazz standards and "fake books" may even include some traditional folk songs (such as in Scandinavia) or pieces of ethnic music (such as gypsy melodies) that have been played with a jazz feel by well known jazz players. A commonly played song can only be considered a jazz standard ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stolen Moments (Oliver Nelson Song)
"Stolen Moments" is a jazz standard composed by Oliver Nelson. It is a 16-bar piece though the solos are on a conventional minor blues structure. The recording of the song on Nelson's 1961 album, '' The Blues and the Abstract Truth'', led to it being more generally covered. The tune was given lyrics when Mark Murphy recorded his version in 1978. History The piece first appeared as "The Stolen Moment" on the 1960 album '' Trane Whistle'' by Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, which was largely written and co-arranged by Oliver Nelson. It was not marked out as anything special, in fact the cover notes only mention that the trumpet solo is by Bobby Bryant and that Eric Dolphy's bass clarinet can be heard briefly on the closing. However, in the liner notes to ''Eric Dolphy: The Complete Prestige Recordings'', Bill Kirchner states that this incorrectly credits Dolphy with playing what is actually the baritone saxophone of George Barrow, with Dolphy's contribution to the piece being the secon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arrangement
In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestration in that the latter process is limited to the assignment of notes to instruments for performance by an orchestra, concert band, or other musical ensemble. Arranging "involves adding compositional techniques, such as new thematic material for introductions, transitions, or modulations, and endings. Arranging is the art of giving an existing melody musical variety".(Corozine 2002, p. 3) In jazz, a memorized (unwritten) arrangement of a new or pre-existing composition is known as a ''head arrangement''. Classical music Arrangement and transcriptions of classical and serious music go back to the early history of this genre. Eighteenth century J.S. Bach frequently made arrangements of his own and other composers' piec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Barrow (musician)
George Barrow (25 September 1921 – 20 March 2013) was an American jazz saxophonist who played both tenor and baritone saxes. Self-taught on the saxophone, flute and clarinet, by the mid-1950s, he was playing in different line-ups led by Charles Mingus, including the Quintet (with Eddie Bert, Mal Waldron and Max Roach) before going on to join line-ups led by Ernie Wilkins, including the Ernie Wilkins-Kenny Clarke Septet and the Ernie Wilkins Orchestra, as well as with Oliver Nelson, notably on the classic album '' The Blues and the Abstract Truth''. Discography As leader *''The Amram-Barrow Quartet'' – with David Amram As sideman With Kenny Clarke and Ernie Wilkins *'' Kenny Clarke & Ernie Wilkins'' (Savoy, 1955) With Charles Mingus *''The Moods of Mingus'' (Savoy, 1955) *''Mingus at the Bohemia'' (Debut, 1955) *'' The Charles Mingus Quintet & Max Roach'' (Debut, 1955) With Teddy Charles *''The Teddy Charles Tentet'' (Atlantic, 1956) *''Word from Bird'' (Atlantic, 1957) With ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roy Haynes
Roy Owen Haynes (born March 13, 1925) is an American jazz drummer. He is among the most recorded drummers in jazz. In a career lasting over 80 years, he has played swing, bebop, jazz fusion, avant-garde jazz and is considered a pioneer of jazz drumming. "Snap Crackle" was a nickname given to him in the 1950s. He has led bands such as the Hip Ensemble. His albums ''Fountain of Youth'' and ''Whereas'' were nominated for a Grammy Award. He was inducted into the ''Modern Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 1999. His son Graham Haynes is a cornetist; another son Craig Holiday Haynes and grandson Marcus Gilmore are both drummers. Career Haynes was born in the Roxbury section of Boston, Massachusetts, United States to parents from the Barbados. His younger brother, Michael E. Haynes, would become an important leader in the black community of Massachusetts, working with Martin Luther King Jr. during the civil rights movement, representing Roxbury in the Massachusetts House of Representatives ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Chambers
Paul Laurence Dunbar Chambers Jr. (April 22, 1935 – January 4, 1969) was an American jazz double bassist. A fixture of rhythm sections during the 1950s and 1960s, he has become one of the most widely-known jazz bassists of the hard bop era. He was also known for his bowed solos. Chambers recorded about a dozen albums as a leader or co-leader, and over 100 more as a sideman, especially as the anchor of trumpeter Miles Davis's " first great quintet" (1955–63) and with pianist Wynton Kelly (1963–68). Biography Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on April 22, 1935, to Paul Lawrence Chambers and Margaret Echos. He was brought up in Detroit, Michigan following the death of his mother. He began playing music with several of his schoolmates on the baritone horn. Later he took up the tuba. "I got along pretty well, but it's quite a job to carry it around in those long parades, and I didn't like the instrument that much". Bass playing Chambers switched to the double bass around 194 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bill Evans
William John Evans (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was an American jazz pianist and composer who worked primarily as the leader of his trio. His use of impressionist harmony, interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, block chords, and trademark rhythmically independent, "singing" melodic lines continues to influence jazz pianists today. Born in Plainfield, New Jersey, United States, he was classically trained at Southeastern Louisiana University and the Mannes School of Music, in New York City, where he majored in composition and received the Artist Diploma. In 1955, he moved to New York City, where he worked with bandleader and theorist George Russell. In 1958, Evans joined Miles Davis's sextet, which in 1959, then immersed in modal jazz, recorded '' Kind of Blue'', the best-selling jazz album ever. In late 1959, Evans left the Miles Davis band and began his career as a leader, with bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian, a group now regarded as a se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
