(a bassist’s point of view)
Bluegrass is an important part of American music. Its story is deeper than just a folk tradition started by Bill Monroe. The instrumentation, its method of transmission, and the people groups affected by it have a rich history. Follow along with me as I thump out a note or two about this wonderful form of expression. Enjoy the listening example from the Carolina Chocolate Drops playing Cornbread and Butterbeans, and thanks for reading!
Read MoreThe journey of dynamics in music doesn’t start or end with this weeks’ blog entries, but part of its fascinating tale ties up in today’s trek towards the vinyl record. The end of the 1800s to the early 1900s was an amazing time for the evolution of artistic expression, and the birth of recorded sound follows quickly in its wake. Enjoy the listening example from the 1890 Coin Operated Polyphon Music Box- "O Come All Ye Faithful", and thanks for reading!
Read MoreThe use of dynamics continue to evolve through the 19th Century. War, invention, and cultural exchange create complexities in the classical European repertoire demanding new ways of translation into the musical idioms. Hector Berlioz makes important marks on the craft of conducting orchestra, and Gustaf Mahler would carry a new torch into the 1900s. Enjoy the listening example of his 1st Symphony and thanks for reading!
Read MoreThe expanded use of dynamics runs in parallel with several other factors in European classical music. The growing international conflicts, the appropriation of neighboring cultures, and the technical expansion of instrumental range not only changed capabilities of performance, but shaped the desire for specific vision in the creators written works. With a larger toolset, composers made greater efforts to achieve authentic reproductions of their artistic vision. The expansion of dynamic range is not a story limited to decibel levels. It transcends into compositional style and form, as well. Enjoy today’s listening example from Hector Berlioz, famous 19th century French composer, and thanks for reading!
Read MoreWhat you say is often not nearly as important as how you say it. Composers in Europe during the 18th century expanded their vocabulary through the advances of the pianoforte in amazing ways. Much of how we understand and interpret their compositions come from the broadening expression in dynamic notation. Read today about how the piano (thanks to its inventor Bartolomeo Cristofori) follows this journey. Enjoy the listening example from György Ligeti written in 1966, and thanks for reading!
Read MoreFrom the time when compositions first made it to the page in early notations known as numes, to the technological advents of todays advances, our method for story telling and cultural transmissions continue to evolve in fascinating ways. The vinyl record is one of the most impactful creations of the modern era, and its use in building our sense of identity has been a critical part of the world in which we now experience sound and song. Enjoy the early premonitions of pop stars of the early music video era, the Buggles in today’s listening example, and thanks for reading!
Read MoreSome of the more famous composers of the late 1700s and early 1800s are not so well known today. George Onslow is one that is close to my heart, mostly because of his happenstance incident with the famous Domenico Dragonetti, double bass virtuoso that lead to the inclusion of the bass in quintets in his later compositions, and the popularization of the double bass in quintet compositions to follow. I honor him in today’s post, and hope that you enjoy the listening example from the St. George Quintet. Thanks for reading!
Read MoreMany important contributions arrive as Joseph Haydn’s career developed to the shores of London. Johann Peter Salomon is a big reason any of it happened, and his influence to attracting Haydn was not his only act of recruitment. Salomon was also a great composer in his own right. Enjoy the listening example of his work today, and thanks for reading!
Read MoreThe transcendence of influence can travel many paths. From teacher to student, from virtuoso to audience, and from passion to practice, the innovations of those that remain in the record are often infused with more than just technical accomplishment. The story today tells of the passage of joy through the hands of several masters, some highly educated, and some self taught. Every field has their list of varied levels of study. This is one from the world of the double bass. Thanks for reading, and enjoy the listening example of Edouard Nanny’s concerto in E minor as played by Thierry Barbé in 2009.
Read MoreThis week we’ve been exploring the old masters and innovators that made much of the classical string family what it is today. For all the reverence for their craftmanship, it is important to recognize that their hard work is why we have such incredible instruments from modern luthiers. The bass has had a long, difficult road due to its size and technological necessities for its dimensions to match its auditory possibilities. Enjoy today’s listening example from the great jazz bassist Harvie S and his Upton bass as they help praise the modern day luthiers from Connecticut. Thanks for reading!
Read MoreThere are many enchanting stories about famous instruments from centuries past. Some of them make their way into our present, and a few of them are even true! Today, I explore some of the history of the Amati’s of Cremona, and a couple of basses that have incredible stories of their own. Enjoy the listening example by the great Gary Karr, and thanks for reading!
Read MoreThe plague shaped many aspects of history, not to mention the lives of musicians and the makers of musical instruments. One of the great centers of craftsmen owes much of its success to the devastation of the plague on its neighboring competitor. Brescia, Italy was long heralded as a mecca for great instruments. The plague would wipe out much of its populace, and spare a few important individuals in the neighboring Cremona. Going forward, Cremona would take its place as the leader in fine instruments. Read about this and the great Gasparo del Salo in todays article, and thanks for reading!
Read MoreNostalgia is the new cure for the masses in popular culture. The rise and fall of grunge music has an interesting tie to how we respond to the failings of our expectations for the new millennia. From the disbanding of Soundgarden to the disaster of Woodstock 99’, the fall of grunge would teach us a valuable lesson that perhaps one day we will look back on and realize. Read about it today and enjoy the listening example from Smashing Pumpkins’ “Cherub Rock”. Thanks for reading!
Read MoreOne of the key influencers of grunge was the riot grrrl third-wave feminist movement of Olympia, Washington. This important group of women helped provide a platform for artist like L7, the Breeders, and Babes in Toyland, (among many more) . The manipulations of mainstream media would play a role in splintering the riot girl movement by the late 90s, much the way grunge fell out of favor during the same period, but in its emergence, we find a critical point of the rise in female presence in pop culture. Enjoy the listening example of “Cannonball” by the Breeders, and thanks for reading!
Read MorePunk rock and heavy metal were interesting bedfellows in the story of grunge. The socioeconomic and political conditions that built their rise were important starting points for the eventual rise of this Seattle based music genre. Read today about their relevance in how grunge was born, and enjoy Nora Jones in the listening example of Chris Cornell and Sound Garden’s moving rendition of “Black Hole Sun”. Thanks for reading!
Read MoreThe era of punk rock led to many splinters of musical expression. One of the more fascinating genres to evolve from its core was grunge. This sparsely researched and largely underappreciated category of cultural significance is at the core of much of our listening habits today, and helped spur an important arm of the post-modern feminist movements in pop culture. Today I open the discussion of cynicisms, ironies, and downfalls related to this category. Enjoy today’s listening example from Tori Amos and her cover of “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, a song that would set the tone of a decade and mark the identity of a generation.
Read MoreThis week, I have focused our journey through music history on the topic of American identity, the cultural margins of the color line, and passing through the veil of racial divide that the ‘sorrow songs’ so boldly cross. Our path has intertwined with appropriations of black musical expression from their bonds, to the battles for emancipation championed by abolitionist movements in the North. The jazz of New Orleans, the gospel of the south, and the Motown of Detroit are all part of narrative. Today we reach the life of Barry Gordy Jr. His lineage embraces the coding of the American story, and his contributions to equality are a perfect reflection of the heroes in this chapter. Enjoy the listening example of Marv Johnson’s ‘Come To Me’. Co-written by Gordy, and thanks for reading!
Read MoreThis week’s story has continued along the water ways of the ‘sorrow song’, defined by WEB DuBois as the singing that chronicles the suffering of Africans in the United States during slavery. This important music is a charter vessel of American identity and its carriers include a multitude of characters. Today, a take a glimpse at Sam Cooke and his role as a transducer of our nations history through music. Enjoy the listening example of “Change is Gonna Come”. Thanks for reading!
Read MoreThe color line is part of the American narrative. Its tragedy, triumph, and perceptions are deeply woven into all points in the story , and what lies beyond its veil is embroidered in our songs. Music has the fortune of embracing meaning without being reduced to the confines of language. Through the ‘sorrow songs’, descriptions of suffering endured by black Americans would come the transmission of meaning. This meaning would help define America’s musical identity. Follow this evolution in today’s writing, and enjoy the listening example of one of America’s great collaborators, Mezz Mezzrow as he plays with Sidney Blanchet in “Tommy’s Blues”
Read MoreToday I’ll explore the work of Jon Cruz, Sociologist and UCSB professor, and his discussions in his book, “Culture on the Margins” (1999). Subjects like appropriation, the abolitionist movements, and interpretations of black American music create an important road to popular genres like Motown, blues, rock, and gospel. The content that much of this composition exposes is subsumed by commodity, and our journey to elevate the plight of the messenger, not just purchase the message, continues. Enjoy the music example from Marian Anderson, and thanks for reading!
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