Introduction
The history of jazz has produced many artists each of them making a personal contribution to the development of the genre. This is better explained by the variety of jazz dance and music films, albums, and even concerts. This paper looks at the contributions made by Tijuana Moods, the Hot Five and the Hot Seven, and Sunday at the Village Vanguard. The core areas in this study shall include; the presentation, the ensemble, the musical instruments, and the memories of the events. This paper is a reaction after viewing the recordings and as explained in History and Tradition of Jazz by Larson Thomas.
Tijuana Moods
Tijuana Moods is a jazz album that was recorded by Charles Mingus in 1957 but officially released in 1962 five years later. The album consisted of works like dizzy moods, Ysabel’s Table dance, Tijuana Gift shop, Los mariachis, and flamingo. Decades after the original recording, the album has been reproduced in 2010 composing two discs each with over ten songs. After watching the recordings I could not help but applaud the coordination of both the instruments and the voices (Larson, 89).
in Tijuana Woods Charles Mingus collaborated with musicians who were renown at the time. One of them was Clarence Shaw. An array of instruments including castanets, drums, trumpets, trombone, and percussion are included in the original recording. The presentation I concluded must have been a result of lengthy practice sessions.
In the album, the vocals are Ysabel Morel, Lonie Elder, and Charles Mingus. The coordination of these voices is done by Lonie elder. The album was rated five out of five stars especially due to its high competition to the mainstream rock music which was predominant in the 1960s. The re-issue of the album on CD has made it memories reach many generations down the line. The works have been used by many learners in research on jazz music (Larson, 91).
The Hot Five and the Hot Seven
On its part, the Hot Five and the Hot Seven has been rated among the best jazz productions of all time. The work was the first that had Louis Armstrong was a bandleader. Recorded towards the end of 1925, the album carried songs like My Heart, and Cornet Chop Suey. The band members that were involved in the recording also served in other bands at the time. These were; Johnny Dodds, Kid Ory, and Lil Hardin Armstrong. The latter was the band leader’s (Armstrong’s) wife. This fine-tuned band played clarinet and piano in their recording. Armstrong is best remembered for giving freedom to the band members to organize themselves once he had selected the kind pieces of music that he wanted to be recorded. The major setback of this workpiece is the absence of other musical instruments that could add value to the recordings (Larson, 110).
Sunday at the Village Vanguard
The other works that have made a significant contribution to the history of Jazz are and Sunday at the Village Vanguard. The title is not fictitious as the album was recorded on a Sunday in June 1961 at the Vanguard Village which is located in New York City. The recording is best remembered as the last live recording of what was popularly referred to as the Evan’s Trio. These were Bill Evans, Scott Lafaro, and Paul Motian who played Piano, Bass, and Drums respectively. Dave Jones served as the recording engineer of the band while the producer was Orrin Keepnews. The recordings this Sunday were divided into five sessions.
Ten days after the live recording, Lafaro passed in a road accident. The music pieces in this album were specifically chosen as the best of Lafaro on the bass. The rest of the day’s recordings involved him as the solo. On more than one occasion, the album has been rated as the best live recording. Thus, even though the album bears the name of Bill Evans, the works are more directly associated with Lafaro. In my opinion, Lafaro should have been given more preeminence though posthumously. This choice was done by the producer and Bill Evans (Larson, 115).
The pieces of music in this album included Gloria’s step which is still popular decades after the recording. Also remembered of the music pieces is All Of You. However, there were other recordings of the day that were not included in this album. Two subsequent releases – Waltz for Debby and more From the Vanguard- included these pieces. A consolidated release was done in 2005 and was titled The Complete Village Vanguard Recordings, 1961 (Larson, 150). These other releases had works that were composed by other band members but recorded live on the same day and venue.
Conclusion
The above works have been so instrumental in the development of jazz music and dance to date. Though the works cited in this paper did not include dances in their original recordings, the succeeding releases have included dances. These are manly recordings in the twenty-first century. The artists mentioned above set a pace for a generation of artists who could only better an already good performing industry.
Work cited
Larson, Thomas. History and Tradition of jazz. Dubuque: Kendall/Hunt Publication Co. (2002).