On October 25, 1932, Percy Grainger invited Duke Ellington and his orchestra to perform “Creole Love Call” as part of a music lecture at New York University. It was the first time any university had invited a jazz musician to perform in an academic context. I will argue that the meeting of Grainger and Ellington …
Continue reading “Duke Ellington, Percy Grainger, and the status of jazz in the music academy”
Writing assignment for Ethnomusicology: History and Theory with David Samuels Deborah Kapchan, editor (2017) Theorizing Sound Writing. Middletown: Wesleyan University Press. My doctoral advisor Alex Ruthmann, when evaluating some piece of technology used for music education or creation, asks: what does the technology conceal or reveal? Writing is what Foucault called a “technology of the self,” …
Here’s Monk playing four Duke Ellington tunes, followed by his own “Crepuscule with Nellie” and a blues.
The Ed Sullivan Fellows program is an initiative by the NYU MusEDLab connecting up-and-coming hip-hop musicians to mentors, studio time, and creative and technical guidance. Our session this past Saturday got off to an intense start, talking about the role of young musicians of color in a world of the police brutality and Black Lives Matter. The Fellows are …
There has been a dramatic shift in American popular music’s grooves over the past sixty or so years. To understand it, you need to know what swing is. Here is a piece of music played without swing: Here is that same piece of music played with swing:
The NYU Music Experience Design Lab is putting together a new online music theory resource, and I’m writing a lot of the materials. We want to keep everything grounded in real-life musical practice. To that end, we’ve been gathering musical simples: phrases, riffs, and earworms that beginners can learn easily. My criteria for a good …
A while ago I wrote a post explaining how jazz works. In response, someone asked me to name my favorite hundred jazz tracks. So here’s my list. It’s totally subjective and necessarily incomplete, but I can guarantee that any of these tunes will make your life better. Hear them on Spotify.
Improvisation Charlie Christian – “Waiting For Benny” [iframe_loader width=”480″ height=”360″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/PHnBiT1Jp_4″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen]
For my tastes, you can’t beat the Ellington Nutcracker. [iframe_loader width=”480″ height=”360″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/ONknTGUckKc” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen] Ellington’s Peer Gynt suite is also pretty wonderful. [iframe_loader width=”480″ height=”360″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/1mne1rQ0rcw” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen] This one has inspired some remixing from me. [iframe_loader width=”100%” height=”166″ scrolling=”no” frameborder=”no” src=”http://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F12726693&auto_play=false&show_artwork=true&color=ff7700″]
The bassline is neglected by most non-musicians. But if you want to write or produce music, you quickly find out how important it is. The bassline is the foundation of the whole musical structure, both rhythmically and harmonically. The best basslines interlock with the drums and other rhythm instruments to propel the groove, without you …
