Herbie Hancock's "Watermelon Man" - this piece is based on a sixteen bar blues form in Jazz. I find it interesting that Herbie Hancock switches back and forth from Piano to Keyboards for creative effect. The distorting of pitches that you can see him do on the electronic keyboards can also be found in Asian music. He is clearly a pro at improvisation! Other versions of this piece have been produced by many different musicians, increasing its popularity.
You got to love Fantasia (Disney, of course!) and you got to love Gershwin. His Rhapsody in Blue is one of my favorite pieces of all time. A great combination of classical music and Jazz, most of the main themes in this work rely on the blues scale. (A lot of lowered sevenths with a mixture of major and minor thirds). This is only part 1 of the piece.
"Ain't no grave can hold my body down" is an example of a Spiritual of the African-American tradition. We sang this piece in Converse Chorale last year and it was one of the most enjoyable pieces I have ever sung with the Chorale. We had to work hard to understand the difference in style compared to classical singing and I remember Dr. Jones asked us to emphasize the "blue notes" (flattened thirds or sevenths) that were in the piece. The influence of blues is seen in a lot of African-American gospel music.
The blues form can also be seen in Rock n' Roll. Here, it is more about the chord progressions that are used rather than the flattened thirds and sevenths. Rock it, Jerry Lee Lewis!
The video of Herbie Hancock is amazing! I remember playing with the various sounds on keyboards in jazz band, but having no idea how people actually use them in music. It's so interesting to see how he does!
ReplyDeleteI have not seen the new Fantasia movie, but the "Rhapsody in Blue" video makes me want to see it now. I can really hear the blues scale in that piece, and I think the animation definitely compliments the music well.
I have always loved "Rhapsody in Blue," though I have never seen Disney's interpretation. I'm guessing this is from Fantasia 2000, which I have not watched. To this day I am almost astounded at the amount of standard classical literature I was introduced to as a kid without even realizing it. That makes me wish Disney would go back to the old days!
ReplyDeleteI appreciate how you mentioned the need to understand the differences in performance practice for the Chorale piece. So often we tend to aim for a performance that is aesthetically pleasing to our Western Art ears, but we must strive to take into account the purpose and origins of the music.
Thanks for several great videos that feed my love of jazz, blues, and the like. :)
I thoroughly enjoyed all three of the videos. It was amazing to see how Herbie Hancock is able to make the music sound so good. I'm sure it takes a lot of practice to get the timing just right when dealing with switching keyboards and pushing all of the right buttons.
ReplyDeleteIt has been a long time since I have seen Fantasia 2000 and seeing the Rhapsody in Blue clip has made me want to watch it very soon. It is amazing how the minor third and seventh really makes a difference.
The Jerry Lee Lewis video was a great demonstration of how similar Blues and Rock and Roll are. Thank you for pointing this out!
I don't know much about Herbie, but I know that he is a legend and a phenomenal musician, and that vid demonstrates exactly why. The only time I ever watched Fantasia was when I was VERY young and had no idea what was going on and was very annoyed that the characters were not talking. "Whole Lotta Shakin' " is one of the greatest rock and roll songs ever penned. Even Italy loves it, eh? Jerry has lead a very interesting life, too.
ReplyDeleteLots of cool blues, Natasha. Now go write some! Now!!
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