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Connecting "Ray Brown's Bass Method" (1963) to "We Get Requests" (1964): A Comparative Analysis

Description: This research serves two main purposes: to create an analyzed edition of Ray Brown's bass lines from the Oscar Peterson Trio's 1964 recording We Get Requests, and to better understand Brown's lines through the lens of Ray Brown's Bass Method. This comparative analysis identifies significant events in the recorded music that closely relate to or resemble exercises from the book. By analyzing the music from the lens of Ray Brown's Bass Method, performers, students, and educators will gain a stron… more
Date: July 2023
Creator: Hitt, Eric
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

The Emergence of All-State Vocal Jazz Ensembles in the United States from 1978 to 2022

Description: Since the creation of the first all-state vocal jazz ensemble in 1978, similar ensembles have been established in roughly half of the United States. This paper contains historical summaries of the creation of all-state vocal jazz ensembles in nineteen of those states, primarily as recounted via interviews with those ensembles' founders. Each semi-structured interview was conducted over video conference or phone and lasted approximately one hour; resulting interview data was analyzed using quali… more
Date: August 2022
Creator: Thomas, Tyler
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

The Guaraldi Sound: The Musical Devices that Characterize Vince Guaraldi's Improvisational and Compositional Idiom

Description: Vince Guaraldi (1928-1976) was a jazz pianist who achieved tremendous financial and commercial success in the 1960s with his popular recordings and his work for the Peanuts animated shorts. He cultivated a musical style that drew from several identifiable sources: boogie-woogie, bebop, Brazilian and Afro-Cuban jazz, and rock ‘n' roll. The result was a distinct approach to jazz which, although it may not have been as influential as that of some of his contemporaries, nevertheless constituted a u… more
Date: December 2020
Creator: Huntley, Alec Villars
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

Beyond Fourths and Pentatonics: A Critical Analysis of Selected Recordings of McCoy Tyner from 1962 to 1963

Description: In this paper, I explore the early musical language of McCoy Tyner. Today, Tyner is recognized mostly for his use of quartal harmony and pentatonic scales despite having made recordings in his early career that reflect a more mainstream approach. In an effort to expand how Tyner is represented, I argue that Tyner's early style was characterized by a graceful balance of tradition and innovation, a masterful blend of bebop syntax with pentatonic melodies and quartal harmonies. The recordings that… more
Date: May 2020
Creator: Satterthwaite, Gregory
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

The Adaptation of Saxophone-Like Phrasing into the Improvisatory and Compositional Vocabulary of Jazz Guitar: A Comparative Analysis of Phrasing, Articulation, and Melodic Design in the Styles of Jimmy Raney, Jim Hall, and John Scofield

Description: This study investigates how different guitarists introduced saxophone-like phrasing into the improvisatory and compositional vocabulary of jazz guitar through their collaborations with saxophonists. This research presents a comparative analysis of phrasing, articulation, and melodic design in solo improvisations. The mixed approach to this study includes analysis of motives, voice leading, articulation, length of phrases, melodic contour, and the execution of bebop vocabulary on the guitar. The… more
Date: May 2020
Creator: Pinilla, Daniel, 1987-
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

An Analysis of Dave Holland's Free Improvisation in "Waterfall" and Its Pedagogical Applications for Bassists in Avant-Garde Performance

Description: This research investigates a microcosm of the free jazz/free improvisation environment of the 1970s in "Waterfall," from the album Dave Holland/Sam Rivers Vol. 1. This recording features Dave Holland and Sam Rivers exhibiting highly developed improvisational language and effortless interaction. The purpose of this investigation is to create pedagogical material for bassists who are unfamiliar and/or uncomfortable with performing in an improvisational style that exists separately from the rigid,… more
Date: December 2019
Creator: Heffner, Steven (Bassist)
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

The Evolution of the Ride Cymbal Pattern from 1917 to 1941: An Historical and Critical Analysis

Description: The purpose of this study is to provide a historiographical and musical analysis examining the jazz ride cymbal pattern, from its inception on woodblock, small accessory cymbals, hand cymbal mechanisms and brushes through what becomes known as the modern-day ride cymbal pattern. This research examines a wide array of drummers and bandleaders, with the objective of identifying the earliest recordings of this important addition to jazz drumming, and popular music history while analyzing the ride … more
Date: May 2019
Creator: Clark, Colleen (Musician)
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

Motivic and Voice-Leading Coherence in the Improvisations of Saxophonist Chris Cheek

Description: Saxophonist Chris Cheek has been a reference for his work as a sideman with some of the most established jazz artists in the international jazz scene of the last twenty-five years. Despite his importance, there is lack of detail in the available publications about Cheek. The short length and journalistic character of the publications only produce surface descriptions of Cheek's style. There is a need to further describe the melodic elements present in Chris Cheek's style in order to have a bett… more
Date: December 2017
Creator: Fraile, Alex
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

Tone Parallels in Music for Film: The Compositional Works of Terence Blanchard in the Diegetic Universe and a New Work for Studio Orchestra by Brian Horton

Description: This research investigates the culturally programmatic symbolism of jazz music in film. I explore this concept through critical analysis of composer Terence Blanchard's original score for Malcolm X directed by Spike Lee (1992). I view Blanchard's music as representing a non-diegetic tone parallel that musically narrates several authentic characteristics of African-American life, culture, and the human condition as depicted in Lee's film. Blanchard's score embodies a broad spectrum of musical in… more
Date: August 2017
Creator: Horton, Brian (Saxophonist)
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

The Evolution of Ella Fitzgerald's Syllabic Choices in Scat Singing: A Critical Analysis of Her Decca Recordings, 1943-52

Description: This study examines the evolution of Ella Fitzgerald's scat syllable vocabulary during a key developmental period in her career when she was recording for Decca Records. Between 1943 and 1952, Fitzgerald established the syllabic vocabulary that would serve as a defining characteristic of her improvisational style for the rest of her career. Fitzgerald is commonly praised as the greatest vocal improviser in jazz history, but while much has been written about Fitzgerald's melodic and harmonic app… more
Date: May 2017
Creator: Binek, Justin
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

Programmatic Geographical Depictions in Large-Scale Jazz Ensemble Works: Major Works by Gil Evans and Chuck Owen and a New Work by Aaron Hedenstrom

Description: This dissertation explores the creative process in large-scale jazz ensemble works that are programmatic in depicting geographical locations. This is achieved through analyses of Gil Evans's Sketches of Spain, Chuck Owen's River Runs: A Concerto for Jazz Guitar, Saxophone, & Orchestra, and Aaron Hedenstrom's Sketches of Minnesota. Each work is examined using five analytical categories: orchestration, large-scale form, harmonic/melodic development, programmatic framework, and use of featured sol… more
Date: May 2016
Creator: Hedenstrom, Aaron
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

A Model of Collaborative Creativity: The Arrangements of Nelson Riddle for Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald

Description: This dissertation explores the themes of collaboration and creativity in the relationship between arranger Nelson Riddle and vocalists Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald. It examines the balance between structure and freedom as well as the specific musical results that emerge from collaboration between an arranger and vocalists who are considered among the greatest in their fields. An examination of their interactions, musical scores, and performances, reveals that the constraints that are prese… more
Date: May 2016
Creator: Evens, Gabe
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

Woody Shaw: Development of Style in Three Versions of "The Moontrane”

Description: Woody Shaw is one of the most influential jazz trumpet players of the past fifty years. Despite his importance, very few models exist that contextualize Shaw's improvisatory approach inside modern jazz pedagogy. Writers such as Rex Richardson, Eric O'Donnell, and Gavin Franklin have identified key elements of Shaw's style, and have begun a critical examination of Shaw's music. While extensive, these approaches do not take into consideration the impact free jazz had on Shaw's technique, nor do t… more
Date: May 2016
Creator: Karns, Keith
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

The Controversial Identity of Flamenco Jazz: A New Historical and Analytical Approach

Description: There are certain recordings by important artists such as Lionel Hampton, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Pedro Iturralde, Chick Corea, and Paco de Lucía, among others, that have been associated with the label flamenco jazz. This label is entering jazz discourse, and it needs to be better understood in order to clarify its history, its identity, and its impact on recent developments in flamenco that are labeled nuevo flamenco. There is a lack of agreement in the existent literature on flamenco jazz… more
Date: May 2016
Creator: Pamies, Sergio, 1983-
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
open access

The Evolution of the Improvisational Vocabulary of Marc Johnson

Description: This study examines the evolution of the improvisational vocabulary utilized by bassist Marc Johnson over the course of his career. Through interviews and musical analysis the study contextualizes Johnson’s musical influences, considers how they shaped his development, and examines his role in the legacy of the stylistic lineage established by Scott LaFaro with the Bill Evans Trio. A survey of literature concerning Johnson, Scott LaFaro and Eddie Gomez is included, as well as a discussion of th… more
Date: May 2016
Creator: Helsley, Jack
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
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