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| Empire State Building as seen from Top of the Rock (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Showing posts with label New York City. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New York City. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
Pinterest Images of Bomber Crashing in 1940's
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Sunday, October 19, 2014
High Strung: The 25 All-Time Weirdest Guitarists
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| A prepared guitar (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Once upon a time, the mere act of strapping on an electric guitar and
cranking up an amplifier marked one as an outsider, a rebellious badass
who refused to live by the laws of a "decent" society.
But today's cookie-cutter rockers and forgettable pop janglers make
studying for the priesthood seem like an edgier pursuit than playing
guitar in a band.
Guitar World thought it might be instructive to salute some
genuine rock weirdos — 25 individuals whose unique personalities and/or
playing styles have been dictated not by popular trends, market research
firms or knit-capped A&R guys, but by an all-consuming need to
express themselves to the fullest.
view another Weird Guitarist here...
Friday, October 3, 2014
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Saturday, June 28, 2014
Space Age Star Style
Space Age Star Style
From Katy Perry to Rihanna - stars whose looks are out of...
From Katy Perry to Rihanna - stars whose looks are out of...
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
The Evolution of Jazz Guitar Part 1
The Evolution of Jazz Guitar Part 1
Portrait of Django Reinhardt, Aquarium, New York, N.Y. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)[/caption]
The following series on the evolution of jazz guitar briefly describes each era in the development of this genre, however it omits the names of several important non- guitar musicians and likewise does not go into detail regarding several important contributions they made.
Its main objective is to educate the reader as to the role the guitar played during each stage of the music's history as well as introduce us to its most influential players. Before we begin I would like to point out that the guitar played a minor role in jazz prior to the1930's. It wasn't until after this period in time that the guitar began developing its own sophisticated voice and was first featured in jazz improvisation at par with the piano, brass and woodwind soloists. In lieu of this fact, I have chosen to begin this series with the Swing Era.
English: Quintette du Hot Club de France - Django Reinhardt (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The Swing Era's most prominent contribution to jazz is believed to be by many, the introduction of the "big band" orchestra format. In addition to a combination of brass, woodwinds, and a rhythm section, until the 1930's most dance orchestras also included a string section. The string instruments were dropped from the format and the new orchestras were streamlined for the new daring swing arrangements which featured not only highly orchestrated music influenced by European traditions, but also a soloist who after taking center stage, would improvise over the framework of the entire piece. It was not unusual for other soloists to join in sometimes and engage in collective improvisation, a practice already common when performing Blues and Dixieland.
Throughout the first part of the 20th century, jazz was not considered a respectable form of music among mainstream white audiences due to the fact that it was synonymous with the music of brothels and black culture. However, in 1930 George Gershwin was responsible for completing the assimilation of jazz into white American society by writing I Got Rhythm for a successful Broadway musical. One of the musicians who played in the pit orchestra of that show was a young clarinetist named Benny Goodman who went on to become one of the most influential band leaders of the swing era. Until this point most bandleaders associated with jazz, were black. Not only has Benny Goodman been credited for being one of the first white bandleaders in the world of jazz (along with Glen Miller and the Dorsey brothers) but also for introducing us to Charlie Christian, one of the first electric guitarists in the history of jazz improvisation.
CHARLIE CHRISTIAN Christian was born in Bonham, Texas, on July 29th, 1919, and raised in Oklahoma City. It was here that Christian learned to play guitar as a kid. As a result of his surroundings he was influenced not only by jazz and blues but also by country music. This hybrid amalgam of influences is evident when listening to several of his recordings such as "Seven Come Eleven," with the Benny Goodman Sextet. Christian admitted to wanting to sound like a tenor saxophone and thus his fluent horn-like solos were influenced by saxophonists such as Lester Young. While working in Oklahoma as a young musician, Christian was able to jam with several big name musicians who came through town such as Teddy Wilson and Art Tatum. It was pianist Mary Lou Williams who first gave word to record producer John Hammond about the talented young guitarist.
After auditioning Christian, Hammond arranged a meeting with Benny Goodman. Being the first white bandleader to feature black musicians, in 1939 Goodman hired Charlie Christian to play in his newly formed sextet also featuring Lionel Hampton on vibraphone and Teddy Wilson on piano. Shortly thereafter, Christian's innovative style on guitar was captured in the studio for the first time. Unfortunately, his recording career lasted less than two years, as he died of tuberculosis on March 2, 1942, in New York.
FREDDIE GREEN In his autobiography, talent scout and producer John Hammond describes how he first discovered Freddy Green playing at a mob owned joint in New York City called "The Black Cat". He states that what most impressed him was how Green with his "unusually long fingers, a steady stroke, unobtrusively held the whole rhythm section together." It was 1937 and bandleader Count Basie was debuting with his orchestra in town when Hammond took him to the Black Cat to hear Green. Shortly after this meeting,
Basie hired Green who went on to record with his big band for the first time on March 26, 1937 and thereafter remained a member for almost half a decade. This gave birth, along with Basie on piano, Jo Jones on drums, and Walter Page on bass, to the legendary "All American Rhythm Section". When asked why he dwelled on the high register of the keyboard during his solos, Count Basie's reply was..."After all, I do have the world's best rhythm section." Born in Charleston, South Carolina on the 31st of March 1911, Freddy Green pioneered the way a guitar should function both rhythmically and harmonically within the big band.
During one of his interviews he stated that "you should never hear the guitar by itself. It should be part of the drums so it sounds like the drummer is playing chords-like the snare is in A or the hi-hat in D minor." Green who used to hold the guitar almost flat on his lap, favored an unamplified guitar and rarely soloed. He was a minimalist when selecting his chord voicings which often consisted of the 3 most essential notes that comprise each chord (root, 3rd and 7th). The unsounded strings were muted by his left hand. This technique resulted in a percussive effect that not only locked in tightly with the drums but also helped avoid any interference with the rich collective harmony being played by the overall band. Freddie Green passed away on March 1, 1987 at the age of seventy-five. DJANGO REINHARDT AND GYPSY SWING (pronounced zahn-go) During the 1930's in Europe another important movement known as "Gypsy Swing "surfaced among jazz aficionados. It was inspired by Belgium born guitarist, Jean "Django" Reinhardt.
Also known as "manouche jazz", its orchestration consisted of guitar (usually 2), violin, accordion, clarinet and upright bass. The percussive nature of the drums was replaced by a rhythm guitar technique known as "la pompe". Another peculiar characteristic of this style is the use of mainly 2 and 3 finger chord structures instead of standard barre chords on guitar. This is to emulate the unique style Django Reinhardt developed in order to play chords as a result of a hand injury. At the age of 18, Reinhard's caravan caught on fire and two of his left hands fingers were badly burned. Although he was able to relearn how to execute his single string solos at blazing tempos with only 2 fingers, his remaining digits were reserved for a limited physical role in the formation of chords.
As a result Django's chords consisted of only the essential notes. What a coincidence that around this same period in time, thousands of miles away, guitarist Freddie Green developed a very similar harmonic concept except for different reasons! In 1934, Reinhardt and Parisian violinist Stéphane Grappelli formed the "Quintette du Hot Club de France".
The guitars used by Django and the Hot Club of France, the Selmer Maccaferri, are the first commercially available guitars with a cutaway. This was the first time a steel reinforced neck was employed. Many luthiers consider them to be among the finest guitars ever made. Django Reinhardt died on May 16, 1953 in Fountainbleu, France of a brain hemorrhage. Contemporary Gypsy jazz is kept alive today thanks to many guitarists such as Bireli Lagrene, Boulou and Elios Ferre, Babik Reinhardt, Angelo DeBarre, Jimmy Rosenberg, and John Jorgensen among others.
For discographies and videos of the profiled jazz guitarists please visit http://www.miamijazzguitar.comRichie Zellon (guitarist, composer, arranger and educator) has held teaching positions as professor of jazz guitar at Florida International University (Miami) and the University of South Florida (Tampa). He has offered clinics on jazz and Latin American music at various prestigious schools such as the New England Conservatory, Berklee College of Music, Jacksonville University and the University of South Florida. An ongoing columnist for Jazz Improv magazine, Zellon is currently director of Miami Jazz Guitar.
For more info please visit http://www.miamijazzguitar.com
Sunday, May 11, 2014
Punk Rock and Hardcore Punk Rock
Punk Rock and Hardcore Punk Rock
The Sex Pistols' "Anarchy in the U.K." poster—a ripped and safety-pinned Union Flag. Savage (1992), p. 253. Jamie Reid's work had a major influence on punk style and contemporary graphic design in general. Pardo (2004), p. 245. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)[/caption] Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock. Punk bands created fast, hard-edged music, typically with short songs, stripped-down instrumentation, and often political, anti-establishment lyrics.
Punk embraces a DIY ethic; many bands self-produced recordings and distributed them through informal channels. The term "punk" was first used in relation to rock music by some American critics in the early 1970s, to describe garage bands and their devotees. By late 1976, bands such as the Ramones in New York City and the Sex Pistols and The Clash in London were recognized as the vanguard of a new musical movement. The following year saw punk rock spreading around the world, and it became a major cultural phenomenon in the United Kingdom. For the most part, punk took root in local scenes that tended to reject association with the mainstream. An associated punk subculture emerged, expressing youthful rebellion and characterized by distinctive styles of clothing and adornment and a variety of anti-authoritarian ideologies.
By the beginning of the 1980s, faster, more aggressive styles such as hardcore and Oi! had become the predominant mode of punk rock. Musicians identifying with or inspired by punk also pursued a broad range of other variations, giving rise to post-punk and the alternative rock movement. By the start of the 21st century, pop punk had been adopted by the mainstream, as bands such as Green Day and The Offspring brought the genre widespread popularity.
Black Flag performing in 1984. Left to right: Greg Ginn, Henry Rollins, and Kira Roessler. Drummer Bill Stevenson is not visible behind Rollins. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)[/caption] Hardcore Punk (originally referred to simply as hardcore) is a punk rock music genre that originated in the late 1970s. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than regular punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain.
The Vancouver-based band D.O.A. may have helped to popularize the term with the title of their 1981 album, Hardcore '81. Hardcore has spawned the straight edge movement and its associated sub-movements, hardline and youth crew. Hardcore was heavily involved with the rise of the independent record labels in the 1980s, and with the DIY ethics in underground music scenes. It has influenced a number of music genres which have experienced mainstream success, such as alternative rock, metalcore, grunge, nu metal, thrash metal, emo and post-hardcore. Hardcore sprouted underground scenes across the United States in the early 1980s particularly in Washington, D.C., California, New York/New Jersey, and Boston—as well as in Canada and the United Kingdom.
While traditional hardcore has never experienced mainstream commercial success, some of its early pioneers have garnered appreciation over time. Black Flag's album Damaged was included in Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2003, and the Dead Kennedys have seen one of their albums reach gold status over a period of 25 years. Although the music started in English-speaking western countries, scenes have also existed in Brazil, Japan, Europe and The Middle East.
Monday, March 31, 2014
Electronic Music Making Programs
Electronic Music Making Programs
If you've ever asked yourself if it were even possible that you could ever make music on your pc the answer to that question is a resounding "without a doubt". Low-cost electronic music making programs can be found from numerous businesses, with some having top quality plug ins built in their own easy to use software programs.
Unique Electronic music Gadget – MAKES MUSIC WITH LASERS! Use with Virtual DJ Software Los Angeles CA by elocsports
Before this needed a huge amount of time to know the program, nevertheless the current applications have simplified the learning curve which usually permits you to start creating beautiful songs within almost no time. Owning a high end electronic music making programs might make you all the envy of most of your pals, however, you would almost certainly need to mortgage the house to pay for it. Several electronic music making program developers possess reasonable lite-versions of their larger products for the beginning electronic songs composers.
Whenever deciding which electronic music making program to obtain, there is no need to run out and get a brand new computer system since most of these lite versions are usually compact enough to run on your older PC or Mac. Even though no other equipment is essential to compose your own music, you should consider how you can enhance the experience by purchasing add-ons. The amount of money it can save you by not buying a brand-new computer is better spent on a musical instrument digital interface (MIDI) controller, drum pads and keyboards.
Album cover of Tunguska Chillout Grooves vol. 1 by Tunguska Electronic Music Society (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Developing high quality electronic music isn't just in relation to recording your composed music. Once you have captured your music by means of voice, synthetic music, the many different kinds of virtual instruments or through the musical instrument digital interface controller, it's time to modify and arrange.
An affordable top quality electronic music making program will assist you to easily cut, paste, and edit your composed music. When the process of modifying is completed you can start to arrange your composed music. Many programs enable the consumer to accomplish this by means of a number of means, boosting your current results. A good song arrangement could mean the audible difference between just scrambled noise and the hit. For the masses of people that have very little if any music writing knowledge, several electronic music making programs offer you pre-recorded loops, or simple strings of music for use in the composing of music.
That isn't very difficult to take a few of these prerecorded loops, connect them together to make the finish musical track with in minutes. Simply by learning to grasp loop based music, whether the pre-recorded loops provided by the program or the ones you have composed on your own, you may then proceed to studying how you can layer the different loops and sounds together to build your own musical composition. If you are already a master musician or perhaps looking to discover ways to create your your favourite music several reasonable electronic music making programs are available to direct you towards becoming the musical producing guru which lies with in you. Choosing the proper new music composer application will help you spend more time generating and much less time attempting to figure out how the electronic music making program functions.
Interested in making your own music from home? Learn more about the hottest music making programs on the market for all types of music. Including what top hip-hop and rap producers in NYC use to make music and beats. Get your own music making programs now.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Brett_Douglas
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