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West Side Story Bossa Nova
''West Side Story Bossa Nova'' is an album by saxophonist Bill Barron featuring bossa nova versions of tunes from the Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim musical ''West Side Story'' which was recorded in 1963 and first released on the Dauntlesss label. accessed February 6, 2017 Reception In his review on , Ken Dryden states "The tenor saxophonist's orchestra is actually only a septet, but it's a potent group who puts out a big sound ... Barron's arrangements are brief (all under four minutes each), but very enjoyable, with snappy takes of "Cool" and "America" as well as a brief "Maria," featuring Thomas and Barron swapping solos, and wrapping with an unusuall ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bill Barron (musician)
William Barron, Jr. (March 27, 1927 – September 21, 1989) was an American jazz tenor and soprano saxophonist. Barron was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He first appeared on a Cecil Taylor recording in 1959, and he later recorded extensively with Philly Joe Jones and co-led a post-bop quartet with Ted Curson. His younger brother, pianist Kenny Barron, appeared on all of the sessions that the elder Barron led. Other musicians he recorded with included Charles Mingus and Ollie Shearer. Barron also directed a jazz workshop at the Children's Museum in Brooklyn, taught at City College of New York, and became the chairman of the music department at Wesleyan University. He recorded for Savoy, recording that label's last jazz record in 1972, and Muse. The Bill Barron Collection is housed at the Institute of Jazz Studies of the Rutgers University libraries. Barron died in Middletown, Connecticut. Discography As leader * ''The Tenor Stylings of Bill Barron'' (Savoy, 1961) * ''Mod ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maria (West Side Story Song)
"Maria" is a song from the 1957 Broadway musical ''West Side Story'', sung by the lead character Tony. The music was written by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The song was published in 1956. "Maria" is sung by the male lead Tony when he learns the name of the girl he's fallen in love with is "Maria". The name "Maria" is spoken or sung in the song 29 times. Originally written in B major by Bernstein – but later lowered a half step to Bb major for the Original Broadway production – which then modulates to D major respectively. In the 1961 and 2021 films however, the song was in the key of A major modulating to D-flat major. The song is widely known for its use of the melodic interval of a tritone in the main theme. The song is an example of the use of Lydian mode, which is the same as the major scale but with a raised 4th, giving the tritone characteristic of this piece. Cover versions * Peter Alexander * Alfie Boe * Andrea Boc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strings against frets with the fingers of the opposite hand. A plectrum or individual finger picks may also be used to strike the strings. The sound of the guitar is projected either acoustically, by means of a resonant chamber on the instrument, or amplified by an electronic pickup and an amplifier. The guitar is classified as a chordophone – meaning the sound is produced by a vibrating string stretched between two fixed points. Historically, a guitar was constructed from wood with its strings made of catgut. Steel guitar strings were introduced near the end of the nineteenth century in the United States; nylon strings came in the 1940s. The guitar's ancestors include the gittern, the vihuela, the four- course Renaissance guitar, and the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kenny Burrell
Kenneth Earl Burrell (born July 31, 1931) is an American jazz guitarist known for his work on numerous top jazz labels: Prestige, Blue Note, Verve, CTI, Muse, and Concord. His collaborations with Jimmy Smith were notable, and produced the 1965 ''Billboard'' Top Twenty hit Verve album '' Organ Grinder Swing''. He has cited jazz guitarists Charlie Christian, Oscar Moore, and Django Reinhardt as influences, along with blues guitarists T-Bone Walker and Muddy Waters.Cohassey, John. "Kenny Burrell: Guitarist, Educator." ''Contemporary Musicians. Profiles of the People in Music.'' Ed. Julia M. Rubiner. Vol. 11. Detroit, MI: Gale Research, 1994. 29–31. PrintNash, Sunny. "Kenny Burrell Biography." ''PRLog,'' May 13, 2009. Burrell is a professor and Director of Jazz Studies at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. Early life Burrell was born in Detroit. Both his parents played instruments,Sallis, James. "Middle Ground: Herb Ellis, Howard Roberts, Jim Hall, Kenny Burrell, Joe Pass, Ta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steve Kuhn
Steve Kuhn (born March 24, 1938) is an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, bandleader, and educator. Biography Kuhn was born in New York City, New York, to Carl and Stella Kuhn (née Kaufman), and was raised in Newton, Massachusetts. His parents were Hungarian-Jewish immigrants. At the age of five, he began studying piano under Boston piano teacher Margaret Chaloff, mother of jazz baritone saxophonist Serge Chaloff, who taught him the "Russian style" of piano playing. At an early age he began improvising classical music. As a teenager, he appeared in jazz clubs in the Boston area with Chet Baker, Coleman Hawkins, Vic Dickenson, and Serge Chaloff. After graduating from Harvard, he attended the Lenox School of Music where he was associated with Ornette Coleman, Don Cherry, and Gary McFarland. The school's faculty included Bill Evans, George Russell, Gunther Schuller, and the members of the Modern Jazz Quartet. This allowed Kuhn to play, study, and create with some of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboard, which is a row of keys (small levers) that the performer presses down or strikes with the fingers and thumbs of both hands to cause the hammers to strike the strings. It was invented in Italy by Bartolomeo Cristofori around the year 1700. Description The word "piano" is a shortened form of ''pianoforte'', the Italian term for the early 1700s versions of the instrument, which in turn derives from ''clavicembalo col piano e forte'' (key cimbalom with quiet and loud)Pollens (1995, 238) and ''fortepiano''. The Italian musical terms ''piano'' and ''forte'' indicate "soft" and "loud" respectively, in this context referring to the variations in volume (i.e., loudness) produced in response to a pianist's touch or pressure on the keys: the grea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kenny Barron
Kenny Barron (born June 9, 1943) is an American jazz pianist, who has appeared on hundreds of recordings as leader and sideman and is considered one of the most influential mainstream jazz pianists since the bebop era. Biography Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Kenny Barron is the younger brother of tenor saxophonist Bill Barron (1927–1989). One of his first gigs was as pianist with the Dizzy Gillespie quartet. Barron was briefly a member of the Jazztet around 1962, but did not record with them. He graduated in 1978 with a BA in arts from Empire State College (Metropolitan Center, New York City). He co-led the groups Sphere and the Classical Jazz Quartet. Between 1987 and 1991, Barron recorded several albums with Stan Getz, most notably ''Voyage'', ''Bossas & Ballads – The Lost Sessions'', '' Serenity'', ''Anniversary'' and ''People Time'', a two-CD set. He has been nominated nine times for Grammy Awards and for the American Jazz Hall of Fame. He was elected a Fello ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trumpet
The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard B or C trumpet. Trumpet-like instruments have historically been used as signaling devices in battle or hunting, with examples dating back to at least 1500 BC. They began to be used as musical instruments only in the late 14th or early 15th century. Trumpets are used in art music styles, for instance in orchestras, concert bands, and jazz ensembles, as well as in popular music. They are played by blowing air through nearly-closed lips (called the player's embouchure), producing a "buzzing" sound that starts a standing wave vibration in the air column inside the instrument. Since the late 15th century, trumpets have primarily been constructed of brass tubing, usually bent twice into a rounded rectangular shape. There are many distinc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Willie Thomas (trumpeter)
Willie Thomas (born February 13, 1931) was an American jazz trumpeter, author and educator. Biography Willie Thomas was raised in Orlando, Florida and started playing the trumpet around the age of 10. In the 1950s, Willie was a member of the Third Army Band, where he met and played with pianist Wynton Kelly, which became his first real break into the New York jazz scene.Willie Thomas (interview) '' Portrait of the Artist as an Old Man - Part 2''. Retrieved 11 August 2015. In his 45 years as a jazz trumpeter, Thomas has performed or recorded with many jazz greats including the [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tenor Saxophone
The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while the alto is pitched in the key of E), and written as a transposing instrument in the treble clef, sounding an octave and a major second lower than the written pitch. Modern tenor saxophones which have a high F key have a range from A2 to E5 (concert) and are therefore pitched one octave below the soprano saxophone. People who play the tenor saxophone are known as "tenor saxophonists", "tenor sax players", or "saxophonists". The tenor saxophone uses a larger mouthpiece, reed and ligature than the alto and soprano saxophones. Visually, it is easily distinguished by the curve in its neck, or its crook, near the mouthpiece. The alto saxophone lacks this and its neck goes straight to the mouthpiece. The tenor saxophone is most recognized for it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Somewhere (song)
"Somewhere", sometimes referred to as "Somewhere (There's a Place for Us)" or simply "There's a Place for Us", is a song from the 1957 Broadway musical ''West Side Story'' that was made into films in 1961 and 2021. The music is composed by Leonard Bernstein with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. In West Side Story Stage musical In the stage musical, the song appears in the second act of the show during the Somewhere Ballet. It is performed by an off-stage soprano singer and is later reprised by the entire company. In the original Broadway production, "Somewhere" was sung by Reri Grist who played the role of Consuelo. At the end of the show, when Tony is shot, Maria sings the first few lines of the song as he dies in her arms. In late 1957, this recording was released on the album ''West Side Story (Original Broadway Cast)''. 1961 film In the 1961 film, the song occurs at a pivotal point, after the rumble in which Tony (Richard Beymer) has stabbed Maria's brother, Bernardo (Ge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jet Song
''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid-1950s in the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, then a multiracial, blue-collar neighborhood. The musical explores the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds. The Sharks, who are immigrants from Puerto Rico, and the Jets, who are white, vie for dominance of the neighborhood, and the police try to keep order. The young protagonist, Tony, a former member of the Jets and best friend of the gang's leader, Riff, falls in love with Maria, the sister of Bernardo, the leader of the Sharks. The dark theme, sophisticated music, extended dance scenes, tragic love story, and focus on social problems marked a turning point in musical theatre. The original 1957 Broadway production ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
