czwartek, 25 października 2018

Syllabus - The African American Musical Tradition

Here is a laughable excuse of a syllabus.

If you have any questions, then contact me.

And here are some general references:

"All about Blues Music"

"All about Jazz"

FLOYD, S. A.  "Black Music and Writing Black Music History: American Music and Narrative Strategies"

FRAZIER,  M "African Americans Music History"

Library of Congress "African American Performers on Early Sound Recordings, 1892-1916"

PURYEAR, M. "Tell It Like It Is: A History of Rhythm and Blues"

ROBINSON, J. The Evolution of African-American Music




https://www.academia.edu/8888747/The_Rhythm_and_Soul_of_America_The_History_of_African_American_Music


Enjoy!

niedziela, 21 października 2018

Listening List for October 25, 2018


 Here are the lyrics for this week. There are a lot of them so it will be much easier to follow if you have them printed.... and it's too many pages for me to print for you : (

 I haven't checked each and every link, if you find a dead link, then please report it.

Blues Structure

8 bar blues (Key to the Highway)


12 bar blues (random)


16 bar blues (Watermelon man)


A more formal explanation (don't worry if you don't understand)


another one (again, don't worry if you don't understand)



Classic Blues

Crazy blues
Mamie Smith (1920


Send me to the 'lectric chair
Bessie Smith (1927)


Dirty Butter
Minnie Wallace (1929)


Country Blues


Black snake moan
Blind Lemon Jefferson (1926)



Devil got my woman
Skip James (1931)


Cross Road Blues
Robert Johnson (1936)


Shave 'em dry blues
Ma Rainey (1923)



Hokum/Dirty Blues

Tight like that
Clara Smith (1929)


Shave 'em dry
Lucille Bogan (Bessie Jackson) (1935)



Jazz and Blues

Fine and mellow
Billie Holiday (1939)


New blow top blues
Dinah Washington (1951)



Rhythm and Blues

Hound Dog
Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton (1952)


Shake Rattle and Roll
Big Joe Turner (1954)



It Hurts Me Too
Elmore James (1957)



 Blue Eyed Blues (neo British Blues)

Key to the Highway

Derek and the Dominoes [Eric Clapton] (1970)

sobota, 13 października 2018

Listening list for October 18, 2018

Just three songs and the lyrics are not tremendously important for any of them, lots of instrumentals and film clips this week.
See y'all in class!

I'm just going to add one more link for this week.
"When I die, you better second line"
A New Orleans Jazz Funeral (for singer Juanita Brooks)

Lots of interesting things combining African and New World elements





I haven't checked each link, so please leave a comment if you find one that doesn't work.
Any, here is the stuff to get started...

Coon songs
The Whistling Coon
Nigger Loves his Possum
If the Man in the Moon was a Coon
Minstrels and Blackface
General info:
Sand Dance
Comedy
Black and White Minstrel Show
Ragtime
Dueling Pianos (close to a jazz 'cutting session')
Maple Leaf Rag
The Entertainer
(piano version)
the Entertainer 1973 version (from the Sting)
Solace
Bethena
A Real Slow Drag from Treemonisha
(audio)
(performance)
See y'all in class!

piątek, 5 października 2018

Listening list for the African American Musical Tradition - first list (mostly 19th century)

 Here are the lyrics for class October 11, 2018.

I haven't checked each and every link to make sure it still works, if you find a dead link, please leave a comment or send an email to my university email address.

Also feel free to leave comments on your impressions of the music.

This list is longer than usual as we won't be listening to entire songs for the most part.



Work Songs

Hoe Emma Hoe
first version

second version

Prison work songs

Early in the morning

Black Betty

studio version - Leadbelly


British rock version – Ram Jam


Spirituals

Swing Low Sweet Chariot (Fisk Jubilee Singers) -1909

Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen (Paul Robeson)

Deep River (Marion Anderson)

Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child (Odetta)

Oh Freedom (Princely Players)


Coon songs

The Whistling Coon

Nigger Loves his Possum

If the Man in the Moon was a Coon


Minstrels and Blackface

General info:

Sand Dance

Comedy

Black and White Minstrel Show

Cake walk

Historical footage

Stage performance


Ragtime

Dueling Pianos


Maple Leaf Rag

The Entertainer
(piano version)

the Entertainer 1973 version (from the Sting)

Solace

Bethena

A Real Slow Drag from Treemonisha

(audio)

(performance)

See y'all in class!