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open access

The Charanga in New York, 1987-88: Musical Style, Performance Context, and Tradition

Description: This study describes the state of the charanga, a Latin popular music ensemble, in New York in 1987–1988. After sketching the historical background of the ensemble, I will present and analyze data derived from primary fieldwork with Orquesta Broadway and secondary work with La Orquesta Típica Novel and Charanga América in the domains of musical style, performance context, and tradition.
Date: 2020
Creator: Murphy, John P. (John Patrick)
Partner: UNT College of Music
open access

Regional Identity, Cultural Politics, and the Circulation of Musical Ideas: Alternative Popular Music in Northeast Brazil

Description: This paper explains how alternative music communicates a contemporary regional identity in Northeast Brazil, is affected by cultural politics, and circulates within the musical market, in order to show how the perceived demands of globalization, such as the need to consume the products of the global entertainment industry, intersect with the dynamics of a regional music community. It was presented at the 46th Annual Meeting of the Society for Ethnomusicology held in Detroit, Michigan on October… more
Date: October 2001
Creator: Murphy, John P. (John Patrick)
Partner: UNT College of Music
captions transcript

Oral History Interview with John Murphy, April 6 and 13, 2021

Description: Video recording of interview with John Murphy, UNT professor of jazz studies. Murphy discusses his youth in Baltimore, Maryland, during the 1960s and 1970s including his music education at Baltimore County Public Schools, and the musical influence of the Left Bank Jazz Society; His experience as a UNT student in the jazz studies and music theory programs (1981-1986); playing saxophone in the One O’clock Lab Band and at venues around Denton; His research as an ethnomusicologist studying Cuban an… more
Date: {2021-04-06,2021-04-13}
Duration: 2 hours 56 minutes 07 seconds
Creator: Noel, Heather & Murphy, John P. (John Patrick)
Partner: UNT Oral History Program
open access

In-between Music: The Musical Creation of Cholo Identity in Cochabamba, Bolivia

Description: Music and identity are inextricably linked. While a particular social or ethnic group's music may reflect characteristics of that group, it also functions in creating the identity of the group. In Andean Bolivia, the choloethnic group has very subjective and constantly changing boundaries. Cholo-ness is made possible through mediated cultural performances of all types, in which members actively choose elements from both criollo and Indian cultures. Music is one particularly effective way in whi… more
Date: August 2007
Creator: Jones, Eric
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Competing Discourses: The Interplay of Musical Style and Patronage in Recife’s New Popular Music Scene

Description: Paper on the factors that affected of alternative popular music in Recife, Brazil. The contrasts between the discourses of bands, producers, and patrons reflect larger tensions in the Recife alternative music scene, which in turn point towards ruptures in the relationship between mainstream and alternative cultural production in Brazil.
Date: July 6, 2001
Creator: Murphy, John P. (John Patrick)
Partner: UNT College of Music
open access

Um Nordeste Alternativo: A nova cena do Recife

Description: This paper focuses on music trends in Recife, Brazil in 2000-01. It explores how alternative music communicates a contemporary regional identity in Northeast Brazil, is affected by cultural politics, and circulates within the musical market, in order to show how the perceived demands of globalization, such as the need to consume the products of the global entertainment industry, intersect with the dynamics of a regional music community. It was presented at the first Associação Brasileira de Etn… more
Date: November 2002
Creator: Murphy, John P. (John Patrick)
Partner: UNT College of Music
open access

Mangue Beat and Popular Culture

Description: This essay explores the author's perspective of Mangue Beat and popular culture. The discussion of popular culture focuses on the musical aspects of popular culture, especially those he experienced during his time living in Recife, Brazil from 1990-91. It includes a translation into Brazilian Portuguese by André Curiati de Paula Bueno.
Date: 2003
Creator: Murphy, John P. (John Patrick) & Bueno, André Curiati de Paula
Partner: UNT College of Music
open access

"Restless Soul"

Description: Restless Soul is composed of observational and expository style to depict a culture of youth, strength, and passion. The film captures an improvising musician and composer named Garrett Wingfield, who expresses spontaneous sound reflected in his mind, body and spirit. By working with his music friends, he releases his creative energies through his compositions and his different types of saxophones. The documentary allows its audience to experience the youth culture in a postmodern world.
Date: August 2018
Creator: Choi, Bokyung
Partner: UNT Libraries
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
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

An Examination of Laude: Four Character Sketches for Solo Trumpet in B-flat or C by Stanley Friedman, together with Three Recitals of Selected Works by Joseph Haydn, George Fredrick Handel, Eric Ewazen, and Others

Description: Stanley Friedman is a composer of many works, primarily for brass instruments, that have become part of the standard repertoire. Solus, for Trumpet Unaccompanied, for example, appears on many audition and competition lists, as do others of his works. On the other hand, Laude: Four Character Sketches for Solo Trumpet, commissioned by the International Trumpet Guild in 1980, is unfortunately not widely known among trumpet performers and educators. The intent of this study is to demonstrate, throu… more
Date: August 2007
Creator: Lambert, Adam
Partner: UNT Libraries
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)
Partner: UNT Libraries
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
Partner: UNT Libraries
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)
Partner: UNT Libraries
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
Partner: UNT Libraries
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
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

An Analysis and Performance Guide of Selected Works for Saxophone by Cuban Composers Jorge Luis Sosa and Andrés Alén-Rodriguez

Description: A large portion of the standard repertoire for saxophone and piano has already been recorded and performed many times and has received significant scholarly study. For a performer, remaining relevant requires learning and performing new compositions. Jorge Sosa and Andrés Alén are both accomplished composers, yet outside of the Latin-American community they remain virtually unknown to most saxophonists. This project serves as an introduction to both composers. Combined, Sosa and Alén have nine … more
Date: August 2019
Creator: Friel, Stephan
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Miles Davis: The Road to Modal Jazz

Description: The fact that Davis changed his mind radically several times throughout his life appeals to the curiosity. This thesis considers what could be one of the most important and definitive changes: the change from hard bop to modal jazz. This shift, although gradual, is best represented by and culminates in Kind of Blue, the first Davis album based on modal style, marking a clear break from hard bop. This thesis explores the motivations and reasons behind the change, and attempt to explain why it ca… more
Date: May 2007
Creator: Camacho Bernal, Leonardo
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Collaborative Crossover: Identifying Classical Vocal Collaborative Piano Practices in Jazz Vocal Accompanying

Description: Classical vocal collaborative piano and jazz vocal accompaniment are well-established fields with long-standing performance traditions. Classical collaborative performance practices have been researched and codified, but jazz accompanying practices largely remain in the domain of aural tradition. Both classical and jazz accompaniment share associated practices, such as rubato, transposition, and attention to lyric diction and inflection, but there is little previous investigation into the idea … more
Date: August 2015
Creator: Morgenroth, David Jonathan
Partner: UNT Libraries
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
Partner: UNT Libraries

Extemporizing Reawakened: Saxophonist Branford Marsalis's Approach to the Cadenza for Concertino da Camera for Alto Saxophone and Eleven Instruments by Jacques Ibert

Description: Whether provided by a composer, written out by a performer or completely improvised, the cadenza became a vehicle for performers' creativity, lyricism and technical prowess in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The debate about whether to notate or improvise cadenzas, a question as old as the cadenza itself, continues today. Saxophonists have not been involved in this debate, since the instrument is a product of the mid-nineteenth century and was in its infancy just as the practice of imp… more
Access: Restricted to the UNT Community Members at a UNT Libraries Location.
Date: December 2006
Creator: James, Matthew T.
Partner: UNT Libraries
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