mus262 final presentation: unconventional instruments in jazzzstier/presentations/mus262.pdfalice...
TRANSCRIPT
MUS262 Final Presentation:Unconventional Instruments in Jazz
Zachary Stier
April 29, 2019
Examples we’ve seen so far
(a) Charlie Parker (b) Ornette Coleman (c) Don Cherry
Outline
Today, I will discuss the following instruments not often seen injazz, and yet that have exponents who record on them:
I saxophones, both huge and tiny
I the harp
I bagpipes (!)
Saxophones
I sopranissimo/soprillo (B[)
I sopranino (E[)
I soprano (B[)
I alto (E[)
I tenor (B[)
I baritone (E[)
I contrabass (B[)
I subcontrabass (E[)
Saxophones
(a) soprillo (b) subcontrabass
Harp
I Noted performers include Dorothy Ashby (1932–1986) andAlice Coltrane (1937–2007)
I Both learned the harp at Cass Technical High School, Detroit,MI (one of the few HS harp ensembles in the country)
I Contemporary jazz harpists include Brandee Younger (1983–)and Zeena Parkins (1956–)
(a) Dorothy Ashby (b) Alice Coltrane
Alice Coltrane
I Coltrane’s early style featured gospel and traditional Christianelements
I Later, she studied Bud Powell’s brand of bebop
I Her later style, as with her husband’s, was greatly influencedby Indian thought and music
I She took a Sanskrit name, Turiyasangitananda, and entitledmuch of her music in the language
Dorothy Ashby
I Ashby was influenced by her father, a jazz guitarist, but alsoincluded African and Latin styles
I Her most notable album was Afro-Harping, 1968
I She can also be heard on Stevie Wonder’s “If It’s Magic,”1976
I Her approach to the harp–making it sound like a guitar andpiano at once while being its own instrument, was innovative
Bagpipes
I Rufus Harley (1936–2006) started out on saxophone and flute
I First heard bagpipes on JFK’s funeral broadcast, 1963
I Within six months, became a self-taught professional jazzbagpipe player
I First album: Bagpipe Blues, 1965
I Harley continually toured and recorded throughout the rest ofhis life
I Performed with many artists including Sonny Rollins and TheRoots
Harley with Sonny Rollins
Harley’s debut album cover
Textual sources
I Dorothy Ashby: Red Bull Music Academy,https://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2018/05/
dorothy-ashby-detroit-harp-pioneer
I Alice Coltrane: Red Bull Music Academy,https://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2016/05/
universal-consciousness
I Rufus Harley: Atlas Obscura, https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/meet-rufus-harley
Image sourcesI Charlie Parker: Toronto Star, https:
//www.thestar.com/entertainment/2011/07/08/toronto_
pop_chronicles_the_greatest_jazz_concert_ever.html
I Ornette Coleman: The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jun/11/ornette-coleman
I Don Cherry: Wikipedia,https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Cherry_(trumpeter)
I Soprillo: University of Idaho,https://webpages.uidaho.edu/sax/pictures.html
I Subcontrabass: Wikipedia,https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subcontrabass_saxophone
I Dorothy Ashby: Discogs,https://www.discogs.com/artist/91960-Dorothy-Ashby
I Alice Coltrane: YouTube,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUMuDWDVd20
I Rufus Harley and Sonny Rollins: Atlas Obscura, https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/meet-rufus-harley
I Bagpipe Blues: Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/Bagpipe-Blues-RUFUS-HARLEY/dp/B004WDPXRQ