03/04
UMS Youth Education
Regina Carter
and Quartet
TEACHER RESOURCE GUIDE
About UMS
UMS celebrates its 125th Season! One of the oldest
performing arts presenters in the country, UMS serves
diverse audiences through multi-disciplinary performing arts programs in three distinct but interrelated
areas: presentation, creation, and education.
With a program steeped in music, dance, and theater, UMS hosts approximately 80 performances and
150 free educational activities each season. UMS
also commissions new work, sponsors artist residencies, and organizes collaborative projects with local,
national, and international partners.
While proudly affiliated with the University of Michigan and housed on the Ann Arbor campus, UMS is
a separate not-for-profit organization that supports
itself from ticket sales, grants, contributions, and
endowment income.
UMS Education and Audience
Development Department
UMS’s Education and Audience Development Department seeks to deepen the relationship between audiences and art, as well as to increase the impact that
the performing arts can have on schools and community. The program seeks to create and present the
highest quality arts education experience to a broad
spectrum of community constituencies, proceeding in
the spirit of partnership and collaboration.
The Department coordinates dozens of events with
over 100 partners that reach more than 50,000
people annually. It oversees a dynamic, comprehensive program encompassing workshops, in-school
visits, master classes, lectures, youth and family programming, teacher professional development workshops, and “meet the artist” opportunities, cultivating
new audiences while engaging existing ones.
We would like to give special thanks
to the sponsors and supporters of the
UMS Youth Education Program:
Ford Motor Company Fund
Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs
University of Michigan
Association of Performing Arts Presenters
Arts Partners Program
Borders Group
Charles Reinhart Company, Realtors
Community Foundation for Southeastern Michigan
Doris Duke Charitable Foundation
DTE Energy Foundation
Ford Foundation
Forest Health Services/Mary and Randall Pittman
Maxine and Stuart Frankel Foundation
Gelman Educational Foundation
Heartland Arts Fund
JazzNet
KeyBank
MASCO Corporation
THE MOSAIC FOUNDATION (of R. and P. Heydon
National Dance Project of the
New England Foundation for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
Office of the Provost, University of Michigan
Pfizer Global Research and Development,
Ann Arbor Laboratories
The Power Foundation
ProQuest
TCF Bank
TIAA-CREF
UMS Advisory Committee
Wallace-Reader’s Digest Funds
Whitney Fund
Details about educational events for the 03/04 season
are announced a few months prior to each event.
To receive information about educational events
by email, sign up for the UMS E-Mail Club at
www.ums.org.
For advance notice of Youth Education events,
join the UMS Teachers email list by emailng
[email protected].
This Teacher Resource Guide is a product of the University Musical Society’s Youth
Education Program. All photos are courtesy of the artists unless otherwise noted.
03/04
UMS Youth Education
Regina Carter and
Quartet
TEACHER RESOURCE GUIDE
Youth Performance
Tues, Jan 20, 2004
11 am - 12 am
Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor
Table of Contents
Overview
Short on Time?
We’ve starred the most
important pages.
Only Have
15 Minutes?
*
*
Appreciating the
Performance pg. 35
Coming to the Show
The Performance at a Glance
Motor City Moments
Regina Carter
10
Regina Carter: A Biography
Jazz Elements
14
16
20
21
Try these:
Word Search pg. 34
6
7
8
Jazz: City Influence
Jazz: Style Influence
Traditional Instruments of Jazz
The Elements of Jazz
The Cannon
24
Paganini and “The Canonne”
Lesson Plans
*
*
*
26
27
29
30
32
33
34
35
36
38
39
Lesson Plan Overview
Meeting Michigan Standards
Using Multimedia
Jazz Vocabulary
Jazz Vocabulary Word-O
Melody, Harmony, Rhythm
Syncopation
Appreciating the Performance
Jazz Wordsearch
Create Your Own UMS
Additional Lesson Plans
Jazz Poetry
42
44
45
Music as Muse
How to Read a Poem
Responding to Jazz Poetry: Figurative Language
Resources
*
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48
49
50
51
52
UMS Permission Slip
Selected Bibliography
Internet Resources
Recommended Materials
Community Resources
ArtServe Michigan photo
OVERVIEW
Regina Carter
Coming to the Show
We want you to enjoy your time in the theater, so here are some tips to make your Youth
Performance experience successful and fun! Please review this page prior to attending the
performance.
Where do we get off the bus? You will park your car or bus in the place marked on your
teacher’s map. Only Ann Arbor Public Schools students and students with disabilities will be
dropped off in front of the theater or designated spot.
Who will meet us when we arrive? UMS Education staff and greeters will be outside
to meet you. They might have special directions for you, so be listening and follow their
directions. They will take you to the theater door, where ushers will meet your group. The
greeters know that your group is coming, so there’s no need for you to have tickets.
Who shows us where we sit? The ushers will walk your group to its seats. Please take
the first seat available. (When everybody’s seated, your teacher will decide if you can rearrange yourselves.) If you need to make a trip to the restroom before the show starts, ask
your teacher.
How will I know that the show is starting? You will know that the show is starting
because you will see the lights in the auditorium get dim, and a member of the UMS Education staff will come out on stage to say hello. He or she will introduce the performance.
What if I get lost? Please ask an usher or a UMS staff member for help. You will recognize
these adults because they have name tag stickers or a name tag hanging around their neck.
What do I do during the show?
Everyone is expected to be a good audience member. This keeps the show fun for everyone.
Good audience members...
• Are good listeners
• Keep their hands and feet to themselves
• Do not talk or whisper during the performance
• Laugh at the parts that are funny
• Do not eat gum, candy, food or drink in the theater
• Stay in their seats during the performance
• Do not disturb their neighbors or other schools in attendance
How do I show that I liked what I saw and heard? As a general rule, the audience
shows appreciation during a performance by clapping. This clapping, called applause, is
how you show how much you liked the show. Applause says, “Thank you! You’re great!”
In a musical performance, the musicians and dancers are often greeted with applause when
they first appear. It is traditional to applaud at the end of each musical selection, and sometimes after impressive solos. Sometimes at music performances, the audience is encouraged
to stand and clap along with the music in rhythm. At the end of the show, the performers
will bow and be rewarded with your applause. If you really enjoy the show, give the performers a standing ovation by standing up and clapping during the bows.
What do I do after the show ends? Please stay in your seats after the performance ends,
even if there are just a few of you in your group. Someone from UMS will come onstage
and announce the names of all the schools. When you hear your school’s name called,
follow your teachers out of the auditorium, out of the theater and back to your buses.
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How can I let the performers know what I thought? We want to know what you
thought of your experience at a UMS Youth Performance. After the performance, we hope
that you will be able to discuss what you saw with your class. What did your friends enjoy?
What didn’t they like? What did they learn from the show? Tell us about your experiences
in a letter, review, or drawing. We can share your feedback with artists and funders who
make these productions possible. Please send your opinions, letters or artwork to: UMS
Youth Education Program, 881 N. University Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1011.
The Performance at a Glance
Who is Regina Carter?
Regina Carter is a Grammy nominee, and is among the world’s elite jazz violinists. A native Detroiter, Regina began studying music at the age of four. Her
repertoire of classical piano and violin gave way to the improvisational jazz she
is famous for today. In December 2002, Regina became the first African American, and the first jazz artist, to play Nicolò Paganini’s (see pg. 23) legendary
violin. Her music spans many styles ranging from funk and Motown to classical
and Cuban.
What is Jazz?
Jazz is a form of American music. It is a mingling of the musical expressions of
all the people who came to the United States, by choice or by force – people
from Africa, Europe, Latin America – as well as the people who were already
living in the U.S. Jazz is particularly American because it was created on U.S.
soil (specifically New Orleans), from which all its cultural roots come. A key element to jazz is improvisation, or musical “thinking on the spot.” When improvising, jazz musicians create new music either completely out of their imagination or based on existing music. Musicians either improvise as a group or
through solos, where one musician plays alone while the others accompany.
What is a Quartet?
A quartet is any musical ensemble consisting of four musicians. (The prefix
quart means “four,” just as there are four quarters in a dollar.) Regina Carter
will perform with a Quartet at the Youth Performance. Even though the quartet is named for Carter, it doesn’t mean she is the “lead” or only soloist. In
this quartet, as in most others, musicians take turns playing solos. The other
members of the Quartet are Mayra Casales on percussion, Alvester Garnett on
drums, Chris Lightcap on the bass, and pianist Werner “Vana” Gierig.
What is a Standard?
“I have such
a passion
for jazz,
it’s not
even funny!”
-Regina Carter
at the ArtServe
Michigan Jazz
Inservice, 2003
Standards are songs that are commonly heard in musicians’ repertoire. Many
standards date back to the 1930s - 1950s, though any song, as long as musicians keep playing and reinterpreting it, can become a standard. Standards are
most often heard in jazz or cabaret music. Many songs in Regina Carter’s repertoire are standards, such as Billie Holiday’s “Don’t Explain” and Gershwin’s “Oh,
Lady Be Good”.
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MOMENTS
MOTOR
CITY
My father, Dan Carter, was the first of fourteen
brothers and sisters to migrate to Detroit from the
South to work at the Ford Motor Company. Here
he met and married my mother Grace Williamson, a
schoolteacher and Detroit native.
For many years, Detroit was a place where folks
from all over the world came to find work in the
automotive and music industries. Growing up in
Detroit afforded me the opportunity to be exposed
to and enlightened by people and music from
diverse cultures. With the closing of many plants
and the departure of Motown Records, Detroit’s
cultural boom may not be as evident today. The
city’s vibrant musical heritage is thriving, however,
passed on by teachers like Marcus Belgrave and
Barry Harris, and carried all over the world by
countless musicians who were nurtured there.
The music on [Motor City Moments] is my story,
growing up in Detroit, taking tap and ballet classes,
violin and piano lessons, making mud pies, and
drinking Vernor’s Ginger Ale.
- Regina Carter in the liner notes to her new CD, Motor City Moments
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REGINA CARTER
Regina Carter: A Biography
Regina Carter was born in Detroit in the 1960’s to a Ford employee and a
kindergarten teacher. She seemed to have a penchant for music at a very
early age, and began studying piano at the ripe old age of two. Regina’s
parents did not share her love of music, but felt it was essential for children
to be well-rounded and disciplined in the arts. So, at the age of four, she
was enrolled in a violin class that featured the Suzuki method, and soon
developed a keen ear for classical music. (Suzuki is a Japanese method that
teaches children to play the way children learn a language, basically by ear.
Children, especially under the age of 12, have a great gift for this because
the brain is still developing at this age. If children can play a tune back immediately, then they’re more apt to remember the melody.)
“She can play
it hot, and
she can play it
cool, but she’ll
never play it
safe.”
-Charlie Rose,
CBS NEws
With each successive birthday, Regina’s violin teacher would add an
additional half hour of practice time to her daily routine. By the time she
reached adolescence, Regina practiced up to eight hours per day! He
dedication and passion for the violin held its rewards. By the age of twelve,
Regina was already making a name for herself, playing with the Detroit Symphony-easily the youngest person to join its rosters.
Regina attended Cass Tech High School in Detroit, where she recently
received a Distinguished Alumni Award. But, it was not until Carter was
16, however, when a friend took her to see legendary violinist Stephane
Grappelli, that the Detroit native realized that there was such a thing as jazz
played on violin.
“Seeing him live was kind of what really did the trick for me,” said Carter
about that fateful concert. “Seeing how much fun he was having -- the
passion and freedom in the music -- I wanted to have that same experience
whenever I played.”
She began listening to jazz artists such as Jean luc Ponty and Lucky Thompson, which further inspired her to think outside of the classic parameters of
violin. Carter’s years in conservatory, where she continued to study classical
music, were frustrating, as jazz remained elusive. “It seemed like this big
secret, how you learned this music, and no one was willing to tell,” she said.
It wasn’t until she enrolled in Oakland University and joined the college big
band that a teacher sat her down in the saxophone section, gave her a list
of songs to listen to, and told her to start transcribing solos, that the keys to
jazz composition and improvisation were unlocked for her. As a college
student, Carter took on a double major in classical music and African American music at both the prestigious New England Conservatory and Oakland
University in Rochester, Michigan, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts
degree in Performance.
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Carter’s early musical experiences in her hometown of Detroit, as well as her
membership in the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the pop funk group
Brainstorm, provided the experience she needed to record with artists ranging from pop icons Aretha Franklin and Patti LaBelle to some of the new divas in the R&B arena, including Mary J. Blige and Lauryn Hill. Her influences
range from R&B to East Indian to classical music.
Carter has constantly found herself challenged to carve out a unique niche
as a female jazz violinist in a world that still is not accustomed to female
instrumentalists, to say nothing of musicians playing her chosen instrument. But Carter takes solace in her uniqueness. “I think everyone has their
cross to bear no matter what they are,” said Carter. “So instead of focusing
on any of that try and look at what you have and try and use that to your
advantage.” It’s a formula that has apparently worked well for Carter, who in
less than a decade has established herself as a leading young player on her
instrument, and a top jazz improviser on any instrument, period. ”I think a
lot of people look at the violin and they get a little nervous,” Carter notes.
“They have a stereotype of what the violin is - very high, kind of shrill-sounding with long notes, and a lot of vibrato. It doesn’t have to be that at all,
it can be a very fiery persuasive instrument and that’s how I like to use it. I
don’t think of the music trying to fit the violin,” she continues, “or how to
make the violin work in this music. For me, it just does. I’m not playing it as
a violin. Instead of being so melodic, which I can be, I tend to use the instrument in more of a rhythmic way, using vamp rhythms or a lot of syncopated
rhythms, approaching it more like a horn player does. So, I don’t feel that I
have a lot of limitations - I feel like I can do anything.”
“My goal is
to continue
to write
and play music
that’s true to
me,
and if I
remember that
Regina Carter chose a road
less traveled, and it is a
decision that has made her
into one of the hottest jazz
artists today.
always,
She has been named
“World’s Greatest Jazz
Violinist” by Downbeat
Magazine for four years in a
row!
away from me.”
no one can
take that
-Regina Carter
Regina Carter recently
received the Governor’s Arts
Award through ArtServe
Michigan.
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Regina Carter continued...
For more
information on
Paganini and The
Cannon, see page
24 of this
study guide.
December of 2001 marked a new evolution in American Jazz history.
Regina Carter became the first female jazz musician to play Paganini’s
Guarneri violin. This event was quite controversial to the Italian classical fans and leading up to the concert there were some dissenters to the
performance. Some felt that the violin should only be performed in a
western European classical setting while others felt that it was “about
time” that it should be used in some other settings. Considering that
jazz is, in a sense, America’s classical music it would be ground breaking
to have Regina perform on the instrument. That evening in Genoa, Italy,
Regina performed to a sellout crowd, and received an encore and two
standing ovations. As an added heartfelt bonus dear to her own cause,
the concert was a benefit for victims and families of September 11.
The Guarneri violin is about 260 years old, and is kept under lock and
key in the city of Genoa. It once belonged to the famous virtuoso Paganini, who bequeathed it to the city of Genoa upon his death. The violin
is referred to as “Il Cannone” or “The Cannon” because it produces a
loud, booming sound. Since Paganini’s death, the violin is only played
once a year by the winners of the famous Paganini Competition. For
any violinist, it is one of the biggest honors you can receive.
The Paganini Commission, a government agency charged with the physical upkeep of the instrument, and the Paganini Institute, which is in
charge of its legacy, helped make the decision whether or not Regina
Carter should be allowed to play the world-famous violin. In his day,
Paganini astounded audiences with his fiery musical technique and wild
improvisations. Regina had to endure a rigorous examination of her
musical skills, and training. They even contacted her childhood classical music teacher! After much research on Regina Carter, the officials
agreed to let her play. To the judges, Regina Carter had earned the right
to play because of her own daring compositional and improvisational
gifts...then the fun began! The violin was escorted by armed guards
into the room where Regina was waiting, and the instrument’s caretaker
checked the humidity of the room and pulled the shades
before the case was opened. Regina said she was very
nervous to even touch it at first, and previously had
nightmares about tripping and falling with the violin in
her hands. The violin itself was bigger and wider than
the one she was used to, but the real difference came
with the warm, rich sound.
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Regina Carter has made history by playing the violin, and
has even added to its folklore. She released an album a
year later in 2002 entitled “Paganini: After a Dream” which showcases
her talent as both a jazz and classically trained musician. With her talent,
respect for the instrument, and stoic confidence, Regina Carter has won
over even the toughest critics. With the beauty of classical jazz standards
as a framework, Regina Carter weaves in and out with her jazzy improvisations, scattering beauty along the way and sounding as if she has played
“The Cannon” since childhood.
JAZZ ELEMENTS
“Acoustic Alchemy”from J. Michael Howard Studios, copyright 2001,
www.artofcool.com
Jazz: City Influence
Background
Jazz is a form of American music. It is a mingling of the musical
expressions of all the people who came to the United States, by choice
or by force – people from Africa, Europe, Latin America – as well as the
people who were already living in the U.S. Jazz is particularly American
because it was created on U.S. soil (specifically New Orleans), from which
all its cultural roots come.
“In jazz, it’s
like learning
a foreign
language...
not only
learning the
words but
learning the
accents.”
-Regina Carter
By the early 20th century, the U.S. already had its own special blend of
musical traditions. Hymns, work songs, field hollers, chants, classical
music, Negro spirituals, gospel songs, the blues, and ragtime were some
of the types of music that Americans created for religious, work, and social
purposes. Jazz incorporated all of these styles.
Jazz quickly spread and established itself as a part of American culture in
the 1910s and 1920s. In fact, the 1920s are often referred to as the “Jazz
Age.” It was during this time that new channels by which jazz could be
heard spread rapidly: the phonograph, the radio and the talking motion
picture made it possible for millions to hear jazz.
It was also at this time that a great number of Black Americans migrated
north in search of better jobs and a way of life. Jazz went with them
everywhere, but it was centered in four cities: New Orleans, Chicago,
Kansas City, and New York. Over time the form also developed sub
genres: swing, bebop, Latin, cool jazz, free jazz, and funk and fusion.
New Orleans
New Orleans has the distinction of being the birthplace of jazz; it was
there that the transition from the blues to jazz took place. In a city made
up of Blacks, Whites, Creoles, and other peoples with their own musical
traditions, and with military brass bands present at every social, political
or sporting event, it is no wonder that jazz was influenced by so many
musical traditions.
Called “jazz” at first, this music clearly had a unique sound. The
polyphonic structure of New Orleans jazz consisted of three separate
and distinct melodic instruments - the cornet, clarinet, and trombone
- played together with great artistry. The cornet usually led the way,
playing the basic melodic line and emphasizing the strong beats. The
trombone supported the cornet, accenting the rhythm with huffs and
puffs and filling out the bottom of the design with low smears and
growls. The clarinet took the part of the supporting voice and provided
rich embellishment. When these instruments improvised together
(called “collective improvisation”), they sounded something like a church
congregation singing a spiritual: the cornet was the song leader, and the
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trombone and clarinet wove their separate melodic lines into the basic text.
The drums, bass, guitar, or banjo kept the rhythm and harmony going.
Since many New Orleans musicians didn’t read music, they played from
memory and improvised, which gave new rhythms and flourishes to written
marches, society songs, and ragtime pieces. They naturally turned to the
blues and older traditions of folk singing to create their new music.
Chicago
When Blacks migrated to northern cities in the 1920s, they brought blues,
stomps, and catchy dance tunes with them. Several key musicians like King
Oliver, Jelly Roll Morton, and Louis Armstrong moved from New Orleans
to Chicago where an audience for jazz developed. Since Chicago was the
biggest railroad center in the world, its industries drew Black workers from
throughout the South, and the city soon became the center of jazz activity.
Kansas City
During the 1920s in Kansas City and the Southwest, a new style of jazz was
also forming and flourishing whose roots were in orchestral ragtime and
rural blues. Here an emphasis was placed on the use of saxophones, the
walking bass line, and the hi-hat cymbal, which added the characteristic
rhythmic swing. Perhaps most importantly, the players memorized relatively
simple melodies to give the soloists freedom to concentrate on rhythmic
drive. Bennie Moten, William “Count” Basie, and other band leaders
advanced this style of jazz which became known as “Kansas City 4/4
Swing.” This sound is distinctive due to its rhythm and shout style vocals
- four solid beats to the bar stomped by a rugged rhythm section and
accompanied by a singer, shouting the blues away.
First...we just
need to learn
how to play
these
instruments!”
-Regina Carter
New York
When jazz musicians began to congregate in Harlem in the 1920s, it was
home to a host of great ragtime pianists who had developed a style called
stride. The school of stride piano, founded by James P. Johnson, features
the left hand pounding out powerful single bass notes alternating with midrange chords. This way of playing freed jazz rhythmically by allowing the
left hand to jump in wide arcs up and down the bass end of the piano.
Fletcher Henderson and Don Redman also introduced a new style of
jazz orchestration. They led a nine-piece band and treated the sections
of this relatively large ensemble as individual instruments of a smaller
group. Henderson used brass and reed sections as separate voices, pitting
them against each other in call-and-response form. He left room for
improvisation in solo passages against the arranged background.
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Jazz: Style Influence
The “Swing” Era
In the ‘30s and ‘40s, swing became the popular new catch phrase, giving
jazz a new look and a new name. Swing music differed from earlier
jazz styles because the size of the band had grown from around five
musicians to over twelve. The big band consisted of three sections: reed
instruments, brass instruments, and rhythm instruments. The brass and
reed sections used call-and-response patterns, answering each other with
riffs -- repeated phrases that they threw back and forth. All of it was
tinged with a blues tonality.
“It don’t mean
a thing if it
ain’t got that
swing!”
-Duke Ellington
Swing became commercialized as the music was spread by the many
dance bands, the popularity of live radio broadcasts, and the expansion of
the recording industry. One of the most prolific and important composers
in the Swing Era and throughout the 20th century was Edward Kennedy
“Duke” Ellington.
Bebop
The next major break in jazz styles occurred in New York in the mid-1940s
among a group of musicians meeting in after-hours jam sessions. These
players felt they had outgrown swing and big band arrangements and
were frustrated by the lack of opportunity to experiment and “stretch
out.” They began changing the music. Harmonies became more
complex, tempos were accelerated, melodies were often difficult to
hum or whistle, chords and scales sounded strange on first hearing, and
rhythms were juggled in complicated patterns.
This new style of jazz was called bebop, or bop. Its pioneers were
trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and saxophonist Charlie Parker. Thelonious
Monk, a composer and pianist, was also very influential due to his
unique sense of rhythm, time and chord structures. Although bop was
largely improvised, a bop number customarily began and ended with a
written-down or memorized chorus played in unison. Between these
two choruses, each member of the group took a solo turn. These solos
are what distinguished the musicians and their sense of jazz music; they
required a musicality that went beyond the training and technique of the
average jazz musician.
Latin
Latin Jazz also boomed during the 1940s. Latin music has influenced
jazz since its earliest days: the Creole music of New Orleans used a rumba
rhythm, and Jelly Roll Morton used what he called a “Spanish Tinge” in
his music. However, Latin music made an indelible mark on jazz orchestras
and small bop groups of the 1940s. In the early 1940s, the band leader
Machito formed a group called the Afro-Cubans, and in the late 1940s,
Dizzy Gillespie established his own Afro-Cuban jazz orchestra. Chico
O’Farrill, Mario Bauzá, Ray Baretto,and other Latin jazz masters leave a rich
legacy as well.
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The Blues
The blues can be found in all periods and styles of jazz. It’s the foundation of
the music. The blues is defined as many things -- a type of music, a harmonic
language, an attitude towards playing, a collection of sounds -- but mostly
the blues are a feeling. It is happy, sad, and everything in between, but its’
intention is always to make you feel better, not worse; to cheer you up, not
bring you down.
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The blues were born out of the religious, work, and social music of Southern
black people during the late 1800s. It is the foundation for many kinds
of music: R & B, rock ‘n’ roll, and jazz. It’s fair to call the 20th century in
American music the “Blues Period.”
In its most common form, the blues consist of a 12, 8, or 4 bar pattern. The
first line is played and then repeated, and the third line is a rhyming line. It
usually follows the harmonic progression of the I, IV, and V chords, although
there are a number of variations. The blues can be sung (some of the best
blues feature very poetic lyrics), played by a solo instrument, or played by an
ensemble.
One important aspect of the blues is the pattern of call-and-response.
Rooted in traditional African music, call-and-response manifested in the U.S.
in the form of Negro work and church songs. In these styles, the leader of
the work gang or church congregation sang the call, while the remaining
members responded. In a blues tune, call-and-response becomes the
dialogue between instruments or between instrumentalists and vocalists.
A second important device used in the blues is the musical break. A break
is a disruption of the established rhythm or tune. During the break a soloist
may provide a musical statement known as a fill. The fill serves the purpose
of bringing the band to a new chorus or part of the song.
Third, band members may imitate vocal lines and/or intonations with their
instruments. Vocal sliding and slurring are turned into the bent and blue
notes typical of blues guitar and wind and brass instruments, while the
trumpet and trombone mimic vocal timbre and rasp, many times by the use
of mutes.
Most importantly, the blues is an art form and as such is both a reflection
and a propeller of life. In playing the blues, musicians convey both what is
seen and heard around them as well as what they feel. Within this creative
process, the artist is reaching beyond the moment, challenging himself, his
fellow band members, and his listeners to move with him, into the next bar
of music, the next solo, or the next song, but always into something new.
This is the real lifeline of the blues and jazz traditions that allows them to
constantly change and evolve.
By the turn of the century, New Orleans musicians began to blend the blues
with the other kinds of music they heard all around them -- ragtime, military
marches, dances from the Caribbean, and more -- while keeping their soulful
feeling. The result was jazz.
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Jazz: Style Influence continued...
Cool Jazz
Cool jazz came into popularity in the early 1950s. This lyrical style was
sometimes called West Coast jazz due to the high number of musicians
involved who were employed in the Hollywood studio industry. Pianists
Lennie Trestano, Bill Evans, and Dave Brubeck; saxophonists Paul Desmond,
Lee Konitz, and Stan Getz; trumpeter Chet Baker, and the Modern Jazz
Quartet participated in the “cool” style. Miles Davis’s recordings in this
style, such as “Sketches of Spain,” “Porgy and Bess,” and “Birth of the
Cool,” have had a lasting impact on the jazz tradition. (Herbie Hancock
played in the Miles Davis Quintet for several years.) One of the hallmarks
of cool jazz is its emphasis on melodies. It tends to be less bombastic and
lower energy than earlier bebop or big band, instead leaning towards a
more casual, laid-back style.
“There is an
art to listening
that you have
to learn and
understand...”
-Regina Carter
Free Jazz
Right behind cool jazz came the free jazz tradition of the 1960s and 1970s.
Free jazz artists, including saxophonist Ornette Coleman, who led the free
jazz movement, looked for new inspirations and new ways to present their
music. Musicians such as trumpeter John Coltrane became fascinated
by Indian music, particularly the work of sitarist Ravi Shankar. Interest in
Eastern and other exotic music in general grew rapidly, and a wide variety
of ethnic influences were portrayed in the broadening jazz tradition. Along
with the fascination for Eastern music came a curiosity in Eastern religions.
Many jazz artists looked to music as a way to express religious feelings of
all different faiths.
Jazz also became a forum for expressing political or social viewpoints.
Bassist Charles Mingus incorporated many politically active messages into
his lyrics and song titles. His music also drew heavily from African music
roots, involving mimicking human voice, vocal shouts, and the traditional
call-and-response. He also had his musicians perform by memory because
he wanted them to liberate themselves from the page, internalize the
music, and play from the heart.
Composer-pianists Sun Ra (born Berman Blount) and Cecil Taylor made
important steps in free jazz by incorporating other art forms into their
performances. Both recognized the way dance could enhance an aesthetic
experience, and they occasionally included dancers and costumes in their
performances.
Funk, Fusion, and Electronic Jazz
Herbie Hancock is one of jazz’s leading innovators in funk, fusion, and
electronic jazz. Funk rhythms, often featuring a rhythm vamp by twanging
electric guitars, were explored both by jazz artists (including Herbie
Hancock’s visionary album Headhunters, featuring “Chameleon,” featured
on the enclosed CD) and mainstream pop artists and were affiliated with
“urban” sounds.
18 | www.ums.org/education
Fusion jazz occurred when jazz artists, including Hancock, took jazz as they
knew it and incorporated new elements, anything from Brazilian rhythms
to electronic – that is, music created by computers or machines instead
of naturally resonating instruments. Electronic jazz has, at its heart, the
invention of the synthesizer, which began as an electronic piano but later
flourished to include sampling of sounds from daily life and manipulation
of sound production to resemble other instruments. Acoustic instruments
– such as guitars, can have their sound fed through sound boards that
can manipulate and electronically alter the final product as heard by the
audience.
Jazz Today
Jazz continues to thrive and now surfaces across the spectrum from pop to
hip-hop to fusion to straight-ahead jazz ensembles. It continues to evolve
through jazz musicians’ exploration of the music’s roots and past masters
and their own rethinking and reinterpreting of jazz styles.
The Smithsonian
National
Museum of
American
History has
declared
April
as Jazz
Appreciation
Month!
Quoted from What is Jazz? Jazz Education Guide, Jazz at Lincoln Center
Recommended Listening
Swing Era:
Count Basie - The Complete Decca Recordings
Duke Ellington - Reminiscing In Tempo
Benny Goodman - Carnegie Hall Concert
Billie Holiday - The Quintessential Billie Holiday Vol. 4 (1937)
Bebop:
Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie “Bird” Parker - Groovin’ High
Charlie “Bird” Parker - The Charlie Parker Story
Bud Powell - The Amazing Bud Powell Vol. 1
Thelonious Monk - Genius Of Modern Music Vol. 2
Latin:
Tito Puente - Top Percussion
Sabu Martinez - Jazz Espagnole
Eddie Palmieri/Cal Tjader - El Sonido Nuevo
Blues:
Robert Johnson - The Complete Recordings (Columbia/Legacy)
Sonny Boy Williamson - The Bluebird Recordings 1937-1938 (Bluebird/RCA)
Son House - Delta Blues (Sony)
Cool Jazz:
Miles Davis - Birth Of The Cool
Stan Getz - Focus
Dave Brubeck - Time Out
Free Jazz:
John Coltrane - A Love Supreme
Ornette Coleman - The Shape Of Jazz To Come
Charles Mingus - Mingus Ah Um
Funk, Fusion, and Electronic Jazz:
Miles Davis - Dark Magus
Weather Report - Black Market
Herbie Hancock - Headhunters
John McLaughlin - Extrapolation
19 | www.ums.org/education
20 | www.ums.org/education
Alto
Tenor
Soprano Saxaphone
Saxaphone
Saxaphone
Piano
Piano
Baritone
Saxaphone
DrumSet
set or
Drum
or
Drum kit
Drum Kit
Double
bass
Double
Bass or Sring Bass
(also called bass or string bass)
The Traditional Instruments of Jazz
The Instrumentswith
of Jazz
Lesson 1: Communicate
Movement
The Elements of Jazz
Swing
Swing is the basic rhythmic attitude of jazz and is so important to the music
that if a band can’t swing, then it can’t play jazz well. In the words of the
great Duke Ellington, “It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing.”
Swing depends on how well coordinated or “in sync” the players are and
the style and energy with which they play. It propels the rhythm forward in
a dynamic, finger snapping way. However, rhythm alone does not produce
swing. It also involves timbre, attack, vibrato, and intonation, which all
combine to produce swing. Additionally, swing is the name of a jazz style
that evolved in the 1930s, characterized by large ensembles playing complex
arrangements to which people danced.
Improvisation
Improvisation is the spontaneous creation of music as it is performed.
When a musician improvises, he or she in invents music at the moment of
performance, building on the existing theme of the music. Jazz generally
consists of a combination of predetermined and improvised elements,
though the proportions of one to the other may differ. Sometimes
improvisation is described in terms of its role within a band. Generally,
the ensemble plays a chorus or succession of choruses during which an
individual player improvises on the harmonies of the theme. In collective
improvisation, however, the members of a group participate in simultaneous
improvisations of equal or comparable importance. This builds a relationship
between the members of the ensemble, helping them to “talk” to and
challenge each other. It also allows a musician to be creative and show his
or her personality. Through experimenting and developing personal styles
of improvisation, musicians are able to challenge and redefine conventional
standards of virtuosity.
Jazz was the
music that
spoke to me...
I enjoy the
freedom...
The freedom to
play it my way.”
-Regina Carter
Melody
Jazz melodies are primarily rooted in the blues tradition. The blues scale is
derived form the pentatonic (a five note) scale. Compared to the European
scale (collections of seven notes know as diatonic scale in which each note
has a specific relationship to the others to create a major or minor scale), the
blues scale uses blue notes. Blue notes are flatted notes, generally a half
step away from the obvious major scale note. Blue notes and bent notes,
which the musician creates by varying the pitch, give jazz and blues melodies
their unique color.
Harmony
Harmony is created by playing certain notes within a chord that compliment
the melody. Harmonic progressions in jazz move in a parallel motion with
the melody. Structurally, the 7th chord is the fundamental harmonic unit.
21 | www.ums.org/education
The Elements of Jazz continued...
Texture
Visit UMS Online
www.ums.org
The importance of texture in jazz reflects a central principle of the jazz tradition:
the style of playing can be just as important as the notes that are played. As
a musical concept, texture can mean a number of things. It can refer to the
instrumentation or voicing of harmonies or to the timbre -- the tone color
produced by instruments. The latter is the most distinguishing texture in jazz.
In European music, timbre generally stresses an even tone, a clear and “pure”
pitch. In the blues tradition, instruments can use this sound but may choose
to compromise the steadiness of timbre in favor of other effects such as the
imitation of the human voice. This accounts for the scoops, bends, growls,
and wails heard in many jazz and blues melodies. Each jazz musician has his
or her own timbral effects, and listeners can recognize various players by their
individual sounds.
Rhythm
The way musicians accent a beat and its subdivisions creates the rhythmic
nuances that give jazz its character. In some musical styles, the beat is
subdivided into two equal parts. But in jazz, the beat is divided in a lilting
fashion that implies three, rather than two subunits. Much of the vitality in
jazz lies in the irregularity of its rhythm and the deliberate displacement of
the expected accents know as syncopation. Fundamental to jazz rhythms,
syncopation involves the shifting of accents from stronger beats to weaker
ones.
Instruments
A jazz band can consist of any combination of musicians. One person can
play jazz and play it beautifully. Most often, however, a jazz band consists of a
rhythm section and one or more horns. The band can be small, such as a trio,
or large, like a big band with as many as 18 people.
Big bands are made up of three sections: woodwind, brass, and rhythm.
Woodwind sections usually have several saxophones, a clarinet, and sometimes
a flute; brass sections have trumpets, trombones, and sometimes a tuba.
The rhythm section almost always has a piano, double bass, and drums and
sometimes includes guitar, banjo, vibraphone, or other percussion instruments.
Sometimes a vocalist accompanies a band, filling the same role (or adding to
it) as the brass or woodwind sections. Today, almost any type of instrument
can be used in jazz ensemble, from electric or synthesized sounds to world
instruments. A jazz big band is considered the American orchestra. (See page
30 for photos of the instruments.)
Source: What is Jazz? Jazz Education Guide. New York: Jazz at Lincoln Center, 2000.
22 | www.ums.org/education
The Cannon
Paganini and “The Cannone”
Nicolò Paganini was born in Genoa October 27th to Antonio Paganini and
Teresa Bocciardo. His father began teaching him the mandolin and guitar; and
later he take up the violin, first under Giovanni Cervetto, then under Giacomo
Costa, choirmaster of Genoa cathedral, and the opera composer Francesco
Gnecco.
The Romantic period was at its height when Paganini, acclaimed throughout
Italy, made his debut in the theatres of Europe. He was already seriously ill
and should have given up touring years before, but Metternich heard him
perform in Rome and urged him to come and play in Vienna. His illness had
made him thinner than ever. Paganini himself tells us that he was so unusually
skinny that “the other children called me ‘spasuia’” (“broomstick” in Genoese dialect). His physical appearance and constitution became more marked
with age; it was the first thing that his audience, noticed about him and subsequently described in their letters and diaries. But all this was forgotten as
soon as he placed his bow on the strings of his violin.
Regina Carter
playing
“The Cannone”
Paganini’s violin was created in Cremona in 1743, the work of the violinmaker Giuseppe Bartolomeo Guarneri who, with his brother Pietro, was the
last craftsman in the family dynasty which upheld the city’s musical traditions
for three generations. The instrument bears an original label, marked with the
date 1742. Recent studies by violin-makers date the violin one year later, that
is, just before Guarneri died in Cremona in1744.
Today the Cannon, or “Cannone” in Italian, is played only by a select number
of musicians. It was bequeathed to the city of Genoa, Italy upon Paganini’s
death. All principal parts of the “Cannone” have survived absolutely intact
to the present-day, and this fact confirms its uniqueness. Since 1851, the
violin, together with other Paganini memorabilia, has been kept in the seat of
the City Hall of Genoa. A panel of experts take care of its custody and conservation. Many famous violinists have performed with the violin in Italy and
abroad but, it remains a privilege destined to the winner of the International
Violin Competition “Premio Paganini” (Paginini Competition) to play the antiquated and precious instrument.
Please note:
Regina Carter will not be
playing the “Cannone”
at the UMS Youth
Performance.
24 | www.ums.org/education
Portrait of Nicolò Paganini by P.
Palagi, 1818.
Lesson Plans
Students at Go Like the Wind! Montessori School during a UMS classroom visit, November 2001.
Lesson Plan Overview
Introduction
Want More Lesson
Plans?
Visit the Kennedy
Center’s ArtsEdge
website, the nation’s
most comprehensive
source of arts-based
lesson plans.
The following lessons and activities offer suggestions intended to be used in
preparation for the Youth Performance. Teachers may pick and choose from
the cross-disciplinary activities and can coordinate with other subject area
teachers. The lesson plans are meant as aids or guideline. You may wish
to use several activities, a single plan, or pursue a single activity in greater
depth, depending on your subject area, the skill level or maturity of your
students, and your intended learner outcomes.
www.artsedge.
kennedy-center.org
Learner Outcomes
The lesson plans that follow are based upon the following observable
outcomes:
• Each student will develop a feeling of self-worth, pride in work, respect,
appreciation and understanding of other people and cultures, and a desire
for learning now and in the future in a multicultural, gender-fair, and
ability-sensitive environment.
• Each student will develop appropriately to that individual’s potential, skill
in reading, writing, mathematics, speaking, listening, problem solving, and
examining and utilizing information using multicultural, gender-fair and
ability-sensitive materials.
• Each student will become literate through the acquisition and use of
knowledge appropriate to that individual’s potential, through a
comprehensive, coordinated curriculum, including computer literacy in a
multicultural, gender-fair, and ability-sensitive environment.
26 | www.ums.org/education
Meeting Michigan Standards
Arts Education
Standard 1: Performing All students will apply skills and knowledge to perform in the arts.
Standard 2: Creating All students will apply skills and knowledge to create in the arts.
Standard 3: Analyzing in Context All students will analyze, describe, and evaluate works of art.
Standard 4: Arts in Context All students will understand, analyze, and describe the arts in their
historical, social, and cultural contexts.
Standard 5: Connecting to other Arts, other Disciplines, and Life All students will recognize,
analyze, and describe connections among the arts; between the arts and other disciplines;
between the arts and everyday life.
English Language Arts
Standard 3: Meaning and Communication All students will focus on meaning and communication
as they listen, speak, view, read, and write in personal, social, occupational, and civic
contexts.
Standard 5: Literature All students will read and analyze a wide variety of classic and contemporary
literature and other texts to seek information, ideas, enjoyment, and understanding of their
individuality, our common heritage and common humanity, and the rich diversity of our society.
Standard 6: Voice All students will learn to communicate information accurately and effectively and
demonstrate their expressive abilities by creating oral, written, and visual texts that enlighten
and engage an audience.
Standard 7: Skills and Processes All students will demonstrate, analyze, and reflect upon the skills
and processes used to communicate through listening, speaking, viewing, reading, and
writing.
Standard 12: Critical Standards All students will develop and apply personal, shared, and academic
criteria for the enjoyment, appreciation, and evaluation of their own and others’ oral, written,
and visual texts.
UMS can help you
meet Michigan’s
Curricular
Standards!
The activities in this
study guide,
combined with the
live performance, are
aligned with Michigan
Standards and
Benchmarks.
For a complete list of
Standards and
Benchmarks, visit the
Michigan Department
of Education online:
www.michigan.gov/
mde
Social Studies
Standard I-2: Comprehending the Past All students will understand narratives about major eras of
American and world history by identifying the people involved, describing the setting, and
sequencing the events.
Standard I-3: Analyzing and Interpreting the Past All students will reconstruct the past by
comparing interpretations written by others form a variety of perspectives and creating
narratives from evidence.
Standard II-1: People, Places, and Cultures All students will describe, compare, and explain the
locations and characteristics of places, cultures, and settlements.
Standard III-3: Democracy in Action All students will describe the political and legal processes
created to make decisions, seek consensus, and resolve conflicts in a free society.
Standard VII-1: Responsible Personal Conduct All students will consider the effects of an
individual’s actions on other people, how one acts in accordance with the rule of law, and
how one acts in a virtuous and ethically responsible way as a member of society.
Math
Standard I-1: Patterns Students recognize similarities and generalize patterns, use patterns to create
models and make predictions, describe the nature of patterns and relationships, and
construct representations of mathematical relationships.
Standard I-2: Variability and Change Students describe the relationships among variables, predict
what will happen to one variable as another variable is changed, analyze natural variation
and sources of variability, and compare patterns of change.analytic and descriptive tool,
identify characteristics and define shapes, identify properties, and describe relationships
among shapes.
27 | www.ums.org/education
Insert
interesting text here
Science
Each UMS lesson
plan is aligned to
specific State of
Michigan
Standards.
Standard I-1: Constructing New Scientific Knowledge All students will ask questions that help
them learn about the world; design and conduct investigations using appropriate
methodology and technology; learn from books and other sources of information; communicate their findings using appropriate technology; and reconstruct previously learned knowledge.
Standard IV-1: Matter and Energy All students will measure and describe the things around us;
explain what the world around us is made of; identify and describe forms of energy; and
explain how electricity and magnetism interact with matter.
Standard IV-3: Motion of Objects All students will describe how things around us move and explain
why things move as they do; demonstrate and explain how we control the motions of
objects; and relate motion to energy and energy conversions.
Standard IV-4: Waves and Vibrations All students will describe sounds and sound waves; explain
shadows, color, and other light phenomena; measure and describe vibrations and waves; and
explain how waves and vibrations transfer energy.
Career and Employability
Standard 1: Applied Academic Skills All students will apply basic communication skills, apply
scientific and social studies concepts, perform mathematical processes, and apply technology
in work-related situations.
Standard 2: Career Planning All students will acquire, organize, interpret, and evaluate information
from career awareness and exploration activities, career assessment, and work-based
experiences to identify and to pursue their career goals.
Standard 3: Developing and Presenting Information All students will demonstrate the ability to
combine ideas or information in new ways, make connections between seemingly unrelated
ideas, and organize and present information in formats such as symbols, pictures, schematics,
charts, and graphs.
Standard 5: Personal Management All students will display personal qualities such as responsibility,
self-management, self-confidence, ethical behavior, and respect for self and others.
Standard 7: Teamwork All students will work cooperatively with people of diverse backgrounds and
abilities, identify with the group’s goals and values, learn to exercise leadership, teach others
new skills, serve clients or customers and contribute to a group process with ideas,
suggestions, and efforts.
Technology
Standard 2: Using Information Technologies All students will use technologies to input, retrieve,
organize, manipulate, evaluate, and communicate information.
Standard 3: Applying Appropriate Technologies All students will apply appropriate technologies
to critical thinking, creative expression, and decision-making skills.
World Languages
Standard 5: Constructing Meaning All students will extract meaning and knowledge from
authentic non-English language texts, media presentations, and oral communication.
Standard 6: Linking Language and Culture All students will connect to a non-English language
and culture through texts, writing, discussions, and projects.
Standard 8: Global Community All students will define and characterize the global community.
Standard 9: Diversity All students will identify diverse languages and cultures throughout the world.
Health
Standard 3: Health Behaviors All students will practice health-enhancing behaviors and reduce
health risks.
28 | www.ums.org/education
Using Multimedia
The videotape accompanying this study guide includes information on the history and performance of jazz. It gives an overview of the various types of musical
instruments included in Ms. Carter’s quartet, as well as a question and answer
session regarding jazz music today.
Regina Carter and Quartet, recorded live at the Kennedy Center for the
Performing Arts in conjunction with the Prince William Network, April, 2002.
Approximate running time: 60 minutes.
The Regina Carter Quartet consists of the
following musicians:
This video
contains
information which
is suitable for all
students attending the Regina
Carter & Quartet
Performance.
Werner “Vana” Gierig, piano
Daryl Hall, bass
Alvester Garnett, drums
Mayra Casales, percussion
The following recordings by Regina Carter are available from Verve
Records:
Freefall (2001)
Motor City Moments (2000)
Something for Grace (1997)
Regina Carter (1995)
Rhythms of the Heart (1999)
Paganini” After a Dream (2003)
29 | www.ums.org/education
Jazz Vocabulary
A solid foundation in the terms and techniques of music is important to
the development of any jazz musician. Study and learn the terms listed
below.
AABA form – A song pattern. Each letter represents a musical pattern. In AABA, the first
pattern is played twice, then the second pattern once, then the first pattern again. This is a
common song pattern in jazz.
Arrangement – The orchestration of a musical work; i.e., choosing which instruments play at
what time and where improvisation can be.
Bebop– A jazz style developed during the late 1930s and early 1940s, characterized by very fast
tempos, complex melodies, and unusual chords. Bebop, which emphasized the inventiveness of
soloists, is usually played in small groups.
Blues – A non-religious folk music that rose among African-Americans during the late 19th
century and features several African influences: a call-and-response pattern, blue notes, and
imitation of the human voice by musical instruments. Classic blues have a twelve-measure, threeline form, with the second line repeating the first.
Blues note – Any note that is bent or smeared, generally a half step away from the obvious
note.
Blues scale – A musical scale based on the pentatonic (five-note) scale.
Call-and-Response – A musical “conversation” when players answer one another; exchanges
between instrumentalists.
Chord – A combination of usually three or more notes sounded/played simultaneously or one
after another.
Cool Jazz – A jazz style that developed during the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s in
reaction to bebop. Cool jazz has a clean sound, complex textures, and a deliberate tone, often
with a slight lagging behind the beat.
Creole – A person born in Louisiana of French, African, and sometimes Spanish ancestry. Black
Creoles were often of lighter skin and sometimes considered themselves to be of a higher social
class than other blacks; before the Civil War, they were more likely to be free citizens than slaves.
Gig – A job, usually a paid one, to play music. Musicians will say they “have a gig,” indicating
they will be performing for an audience.
Harmony – The relation of the notes in a musical piece, or the playing of two or more
notes at the same time. The patterns formed by the notes create the key that the piece is
in and, with rhythm, give it expressiveness and momentum.
Improvisation – Music played without written notation; an “instant composition” that
is central to jazz.
Jam Session – An informal gathering of musicians improvising and playing on their
own time, usually after hours.
Key – The principal scale of a piece, in which many or most of its notes are played.
Melody – A succession of notes that together form a complete musical statement; a
tune.
Meter – The basic succession of beats in a musical piece, the framework against which
the rhythm is played.
Pitch – A note or musical tone.
Riff – A repeated brief musical phrase used as background for a soloist or to add drama
to a musical climax.
Seventh Chord – A four-note chord that includes a triad and a note a seventh above
the tonic. In jazz, the three most common seventh chords are the major seventh (e.g., C
E G B), minor seventh (e.g., C E-flat G B-flat), and dominant seventh (e.g., C E G B-flat).
Soloist – A singer or instrumentalist performing a song or part of a song alone.
Standard Song Form – A 32-bar form first popularized in the twenties and thirties by
the composers of popular songs; along with the blues form, this AABA form (A represents
a 32-bar musical pattern, and B is a different 32-bar musical pattern) is a standard one for
many jazz compositions.
Swing – The commercial dance music associated with the 1930s and early 1940s and
played by the big bands; also, the element in jazz that defines it and separates it from
classical music. A style of playing in which the beats that are normally unaccented in
classical music are given equal importance to the accented beats.
Syncopation – The shifting of a regular musical beat to place emphasis on a normally
unaccented beat.
Tempo – How fast the music is played.
Texture – The instrumentation of a musical passage or the sound and qualities of an
instrument or voice.
Source: What is Jazz? Jazz Education Guide. New York: Jazz at Lincoln Center, 2000.
Jazz Vocabulary: WORD-O
FREE
SPACE
Before the game begins, fill in each box with one of the vocabulary words or phrases below. Your
teacher will call out the definition for one of the words below. If you’ve got the matching word
on your board, cover the space with your chip. When you’ve got a horizontal, vertical, or
diagonal row of five chips, call out WORD-O!
AABA form
blues scale
gig
melody
soloist
arrangement
call & response
harmony
meter
swing
bebop
chord
improvisation
pitch
syncopation
blues
cool jazz
jam session
riff
tempo
blues note
creole
key
seventh chord
texture
Melody, Harmony, and Rhythm
Objective
For students to understand three important elements in music (melody, harmony, and rhythm) and how instruments in jazz fulfill these roles. This lesson
may be better suited to younger students.
Standards
Arts Education 3: Analyzing
Math I-1: Patterns
Materials
Your voice or a musical instrument
Opening Discussion
This lesson was
designed with the
young learner in
mind, but can be
adapted for use
with older
students.
At different times, instruments in jazz perform one of three jobs: being the melody,
providing the harmony, or setting the rhythm. The melody is the tune. The harmony is the notes above and/or below the tune that make the tune sound richer.
The rhythm is the beat.
Activity
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Ask the class to choose a common childhood song. We recommend
simple tunes like “Mary Had a Little Lamb” or “Jingle Bells.”
First, ask the class to sing the song (or the first verse) as a group.
Remind them that this “main tune” is the melody; it’s the part of the
song everyone knows best.
Now, ask students to hold their hands over their heart and to hear their
heartbeat. It has a regular pattern or rhythm. Ask students to tap
their desk at the same time they hear a heartbeat.
Next, ask them to sing the song again, while they tap the rhythm on
their desks. Melody and rhythm are working together.
Ask them to sing and tap again. This time, join the singing by adding a
harmony line that you sing or play.
Now take turns altering one of the elements. What happens if the
melody changes? If the rhythm accelerates or slows down? If the
harmony complements the melody? If it clashes?
Show students the instruments on the following page. Point out
that in most jazz, rhythm is played by the drums. Often, the bass
“keeps time” (keeps the rhythm), too. The piano can be a rhythm
instrument or a melody instrument. (Even though the quartet is named
for Herbie Hancock, he doesn’t always play the melody.) The
saxophone, especially in Hancock arrangements, is often a melody
instrument.
Discussion/Follow-up
When students listen to the samples in the coming lessons, ask them to listen for
which instruments are playing which roles.
33 | www.ums.org/education
Syncopation
Objective
For students to distinguish syncopated beats. This lesson may be better
suited to younger students.
Visit UMS Online
www.ums.org
Standards
Arts Education 2: Creating; 4: Arts in Context
Career and Employability 7: Teamwork
Materials
None
Opening Discussion
Create a definition for syncopation for the class. The Kennedy Center defines syncopation as, “a type of rhythm that is the shifting of accents and stress from what are
normally strong beats to the weak beats. Syncopation often involves playing one
rhythm against another in such a way that listeners want to move, nod heads, clap
or tap hands, or dance.” A simple mnemonic system for remembering this is to say
“Syncopation is putting the em-PHA-sis on a different syl-LAB-le.”
Activity
To illustrate syncopation, try this activity:
1.
“Happy Birthday” is usally accented like this, with the stress on the strong
beats:
HAP-py BIRTH-day
But if we syncopated these words, we’d choose different syllables to stress,
so we might pronounce it:
hap-PY birth-DAY
As a class, chant “happy birthday” with the usual accents, then change
it by placing unexpected, syncopated accents into the words.
2.
Now clap your hand and move your body to the beat. Are you keeping
a steady rhythm, or are you clapping each time you use a syncopated
beat?
3.
Try this activity with other phrases or with the names of your classmates.
For example, “Herbie Hancock” is usually pronounced “HER-bie HANcock,” but a syncopated pronunciation could be “her-BIE han-COCK.”
4.
Try creating a syncopated version of “Happy Birthday” or other familiar
tunes by choosing unusual syllables to accent.
Discussion/Follow-up
How does changing the accents/syncopation change the mood? the tempo?
Adapted from the Kennedy Center’s Cuesheet “What is Jazz?” created for the Billy Taylor Trio.
34 | www.ums.org/education
Appreciating the Performance
Objective
For students to gain increased appreciation for and understanding of Regina Carter
and Quartet by observing the performance closely.
Standards
Arts Education 3: Arts in Context
Language Arts 3: Meaning and Communication
Social Studies II-1: People, Places, and Cultures
Materials
None (This activity could also be done with the video Regina Carter and Quintet. (Originally produced by the Prince William Network and The Kennedy Center for the
This lesson was
designed
with the
Visit UMS Online
older student in
mind, but can be
www.ums.org
adapted for use
with younger
students.
Performing Arts.)
Opening Discussion
Going to a live performance is different from listening to a CD. The audience gains
visual cues and clues that can enhance the music (or even detract from it). The following questions can help you feel more “tuned into” what is happening onstage.
Activity
Encourage students to look for the following at the Youth Performance.
1. Who appears to be leading the musicians? Anyone? Is it Regina Carter, for whom
the group is named?
2. Does the leader play the melody, harmony, or rhythm? Does the same person lead
each piece?
3. How does the leader use his/her body to show the musicians what he/she wants
to hear?
4. Do the musicians look at and listen for each other? How can you tell?
5. How are the musicians dressed? Tuxedo? T-shirt and jeans? Suits? How does their
clothing affect how you respond to them as people? As musicians?
6. Do the musicians use their bodies (or faces) or just their instruments to express
how they’re feeling?
7. Do any of the musicians play more than one instrument? Who? How are the
sounds of those instruments similar? Different?
8. Is the bass a leading instrument or a following one? Why? What about
Hancock at the piano? Any of the others?
9. What instruments seem to be the most important? The least? How did you determine how important they are? Do the leading and/or melody instruments stay the
same with each song or change?
10. Songs can convey different moods, emotions, stories, or feelings. Do most of the
performed songs communicate similar feelings?
11. Which parts of the songs seem pre-written? Which seem improvised?
Discussion/Follow-up
If you were to meet Regina Carter, what comments would you share with her?
What advice?
35 | www.ums.org/education
Jazz Word Search
r
o
x
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f
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c
q
All of the words from the left column can be found in the puzzle. These words
relate to the Regina Carter and Quartet performance. Look in all directions for the
words!
bebop
Chicago
fusion
pickup
syncopation
blues
chops
head
rhythm
break
cool
improvisation
standard
A style of jazz developed by young players in the early 40’s.
Since the 1920’s, Chicago has been a center of jazz music.
A style of jazz from the 1960’s that incorporates elements of rock.
A phrase that occurs before the beginning of the first bar.
The process of replacing “expected” beats with an off-beat.
A style of music with a 12-bar structure and melancholy sound.
An ability to negotiate chord changes and phrase music well.
The first and last chorus of a tune when the melody is played.
The harmonius flow of musical sounds with a specific pattern.
A traditional passage where a soloist plays unaccompanied.
A type of jazz developed in the 1950’s based on bebeop.
The proces of spontaneously creating fresh, original melodies.
A tune universally accepted and played by many jazz musicians.
Jazz Word Search Solution
Here are the answers to the word search:
bebop
Chicago
fusion
pickup
syncopation
blues
chops
head
rhythm
break
cool
improvisation
standard
r
o
x
k
w
i
u
d
k
h
b
u
n
f
y
d
h
s
c
t
n
j
u
e
e
j
o
u
j
m
s
r
y
s
a
i
h
a
r
t
i
s
m
d
r
p
g
a
t
t
k
d
k
e
t
i
x
o
n
l
o
g
k
d
h
q
o
v
a
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c
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l
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n
e
o
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m
a
s
n
e
v
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t
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x
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b
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a
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p
c
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x
n
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n
y
o
o
s
v
t
z
i
j
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b
f
a
q
a
h
t
e
o
w
u
s
c
k
h
m
m
p
w
m
r
u
r
z
r
x
x
k
o
f
u
d
o
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p
k
s
k
j
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u
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z
l
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x
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m
q
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p
y
j
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b
n
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y
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Create Your Own UMS
Objective
Send memos
from your
students to:
UMS Youth
Education
Burton Memorial
Tower
881 N. University
Avenue
Ann Arbor, MI
48019-1011
or email us at:
umsyouth.umich.edu
For students to learn about the workings of an arts organization, increase
Internet research skills, and become familiar with a wider variety of art forms and
performers.
Standards
Arts Education 2: Creating; 3: Analyzing in Context; 5: Connecting to Life
English Language Arts 2: Meaning/Communication; 4: Language; 6: Voice
Social Studies II-1: People, Places, and Cultures; V-1: Information Processing
Career & Employability 1 - 4; 6
Technology 1 - 4
Materials
Internet Access
Opening Discussion
At arts organizations such as University Musical Society, a great deal of work is
needed to put on a concert series. UMS has eight departments, 30 staff members,
and over 10 interns working together to help concerts go as well as possible!
Each year, the organization must decide what artists it will hire, when they will
perform, and in what venue. It is very important to have a variety of art forms. For
example, UMS offers dance, theater, jazz, orchestral, chamber music, and soloists
throughout the season. It is also important to UMS to choose performers who
will appeal to people from different backgrounds. For the 2002-2003 season,
several shows are centered on Brazilian culture. UMS also tries to include concerts
that showcase African American heritage, Asian art forms, and other cultures. In
order to meet these goals, negotiations between UMS staff and the performers’
representatives sometimes begin years in advance.
Activity
•
After explaining briefly how an arts organization like UMS works,
explain that the students will be designing a concert series of their own.
•
Direct the students to UMS’s website at www.ums.org. Let them
explore and read about the different performances being presented this
season. What shows are most interesting to them? Is there an art
form or style they particularly like?
•
Keeping in mind the concerns arts administrators have when planning a
season, have them select concerts they would put on their own concert
series. Feel free to include performers that may not be appearing at
UMS this season. Why did they select those specific artists? How are
the concerts linked? Is there a theme connecting them all (cultural,
same art form, good variety)? (Consider limiting five shows to start.)
•
Write a memo to Ken Fischer, president of University Musical Society,
Tell him what shows you think should be presented and why you
selected them. Mail the memos to the Youth Education Department,
and we’ll give them to Mr. Fischer ourselves!
Discussion/Follow-up
What did you learn from this experience? How was your list different from
that of others? How did you justify your choices?
38 | www.ums.org/education
Additional Lesson Plan Ideas
Quick and Fun Ideas to use with Regina Carter & Quartet
1. Working Together. Write “Regina Carter and Quartet” on the board. Divide
students into groups and assign a short period of time. Each group must work
together to think of as many words as possible that can be spelled with the letters
in the phrase on the board.
2. Scavenger Hunt. After reviewing some of the writings and activities in this
guide, divide the students into groups. Ask each to come up with a list of at least
three things their peers should watch for at the performance (examples: cymbals,
synchronized melody, pauses between beats, etc.). Collect each group’s list and
compile them into a single piece of paper. See how many you find at the performance!
Pre-Performance Activities
1. Discussion/Writing Prompt. Regina Carter keeps the tradition of jazz violin
alive. What traditions do you have in your own background that you would like to
see continue? Why?
2. Discussion/Writing Prompt. Regina Carter is considered the first AfricanAmerican female jazz violinist to play the Paganini violin. What is something you
could do to open up opportunities to others? Describe other Americans who have
worked to provide equal access for others.
Listen to her Music!
see page 29 of this
study guide for a
discography.
3. Building an Ensemble. Divide students into groups. Ask one to start tapping a
rhythm on his/her pantleg or desktop and ask the others to try to copy it. Ask each
student in the group to take a turn as leader. What strategies do the “following”
students use to keep up with the leader? To stay in tune with each other?
4. Locating a Place. Using an online or printed map, ask students to locate
Detroit. What is the approximate distance between Detoit and your hometown in
miles? Where is Genoa, Italy? How many approximate miles to reach Genoa from
your hometown or school?
Post-Performance Activities
1. Discussion/Writing Prompt. If you could change one thing about the performance, what would it be?
2. Visualizing Favorite Moments - TV style. Imagine that you are a television
reporter who has been sent to see Regina Carter & Quartet. You can show a maximum of two minutes’ worth of the production to your television audience. What
moments would you choose? Why?
39 | www.ums.org/education
Still More Ideas...
Share your
students’ work
with UMS!
We love to see
how you connect
your curriculum
with UMS Youth
Performances.
See the inside
back cover for
UMS’s contact
information.
3. Newspaper Report. Imagine that you are a newspaper reporter who has been
chosen to report on the Youth Performance by Regina Carter Create a
factual report of what you saw. Here are some tips to help you write an effective
news story:
•
Remember to answer the famous “Five W” questions:
who, what, when, where, why, and how.
•
Put the main ideas in the first paragraph.
4. Essay Assignment.* Ask students to create a comparison between the Regina
Carter Performance and a style of music they think of as their own:
Compare and contrast the jazz music of Regina Carter and Quartet to your
own culture’s music, or that of a style of music you are interested in.
When forming your comparisons and contrasts, some components of
musical traditions to keep in mind are:
•
Types of instruments used
•
People involved
•
Arrangement of those involved in the ensemble (Are they standing or
sitting? Close together or far apart? Standing in circles or rows?)
Be creative; please don’t limit your comparisons to those listed above. These
are only meant to be examples to get you started.
40 | www.ums.org/education
The following English Language Arts standards are addressed in this section:
Standard 3: Meaning and Communication All students will focus on meaning and communica
tion as they listen, speak, view, read, and write in personal, social, occupational, and civic
contexts.
Standard 5: Literature All students will read and analyze a wide variety of classic and contemporary
literature and other texts to seek information, ideas, enjoyment, and understanding of their
individuality, our common heritage and common humanity, and the rich diversity of our society.
Standard 6: Voice All students will learn to communicate information accurately and effectively and
demonstrate their expressive abilities by creating oral, written, and visual texts that enlighten
and engage an audience.
Standard 7: Skills and Processes All students will demonstrate, analyze, and reflect upon the skills
and processes used to communicate through listening, speaking, viewing, reading, and
writing.
Standard 12: Critical Standards All students will develop and apply personal, shared, and academic
criteria for the enjoyment, appreciation, and evaluation of their own and others’ oral, writ
ten, and visual texts.
Jazz Poetry
Artist Winold Reiss’s son donated this pastel drawing by Reiss
of poet Langston Hughes to the National Portrait Gallery in his
father’s memory.
Music as Muse
You can read more
about Langston
Hughes at
www.biography.com
Music and poetry have always been popular forms of artistic expression.
These art forms have many similarities, which became evident in the 1920s.
Since the turn of the century, many poets had been making significant contributions to the evolution of poetic thought. Poets like Ezra Pound, T.S.
Elliot, Carl Sandburg, and E.E. Cummings had written their works with an
increasing lack of formality and conventional style. The innovations taking
place in poetics were juxtaposed with the evolution of jazz music in the
early twentieth century. The simultaneous evolution of poetry and jazz
music was not lost upon musicians and poets of the time. Amid the chaos
of the 1920s, these two art forms merged and formed the genre of jazz
poetry.
Langston Hughes is considered by many to be the founder of the jazz
poetry genre, for none of the jazz-related poets who preceded him merged
the two art forms, as he did. The respect and success that Hughes was
given reflected on jazz music and its legitimacy as an important style of
music. Hughes influenced many major jazz poets, including Sterling Brown,
who published significant works in the 1930s. As a new genre, jazz poetry
reflected the influence of jazz music upon culture in the 1920s. The jazzrelated poets of the 1920s also reflect the all encompassing influence of jazz
music in American society during the 1920s. Their references to the jazz culture prove that it was an integral part of American society.
Here are three excerpts from Langston Hughes’ poems.
MY PEOPLE
The night is beautiful,
So the faces of my people,
The stars are beautiful,
So the eyes of my people,
Beautiful also is the sun,
Beautiful also are the souls
of my people.
Langston Hughes at the beginning of his
career.
42 | www.ums.org/education
DREAM DEFERRED
What Happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore-and then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over-like a syrupy sweet?
Langston Hughes’
first published
volume of verse
appeared in
1926, entitled
“The Weary Blues”
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load
Or does it just explode?
BACKLASH BLUES
Mister rich man, rich man,
Open up your heart and mind.
Mister rich man, rich man,
Open up your heart and mind.
Give the poor man a chance,
Help stop these hard, hard times.
While you’re livin’ in your mansion
You don’t know what hard times means.
While you’re livin’ in your mansion
You don’t know what hard times means.
Poor workin’ man’s wife is starvin’,
Your wife is livin’ like a queen.
from Steven C. Tracy, Langston Hughes and the Blues. Urbana: University of
Illinois Press, 1988. Copyright © 1988 by the Board of Trustees of the University of
Illinois.
43 | www.ums.org/education
How to Read a Poem
The music, rhythm, imagery and form of a good poem creates an
immediate effect in a student’s mind. Here is a set of guidelines
and questions you can encourage your students to consider as
they read the poetry of Langston Hughes.
Visit UMS Online
www.ums.org
1) When you first approach a poem you should read it three or four times,
preferably aloud. This is important because you need to gain a sense of the
music of the poem. The meaning of a poem is developed through a combination of rhythm, imagery, form and sometimes rhyme; therefore, you need
to hear this music of the poem.
2) Once you have read the poem a number of times, you should approach
each stanza separately. This allows you to work with more manageable
pieces of the poem. If the poem does not have clear stanzas, try to work
with sections which are in some way clearly defined. For example: sections
which have a grammatical or thematic sense; sections which are clearly
defined through the rhyme scheme - rhyming couplets, lines which are
linked by rhyme etc.
3) Re-read each section carefully, line by line, and focus upon anything that
strikes you as interesting or unusual. Highlight or underline these things in
your text and write notes in the margin. If the way in which the poem is laid
out in your text does not encourage this, photocopy and enlarge the poem
so that you have space to work around it.
4) Using your dictionary, look up the meanings of key words. Is the poet
using a shade of meaning that is not immediately obvious? What are the
connotations of particular words within their context?
5) Look carefully at the rhyme pattern. Is there anything interesting or
unusual about it? Are there any obvious links between rhymed lines or even
words? Is there any internal rhyme? Are there phrases which rhyme?
Try to decide what effect these rhymes have on the possible meanings of
the poem.
6) Try to determine what images the poet has used. Are they created
through metaphor or simile? What is their effect?
7) Has the poet used any alliteration? What is its effect?
8) What is the tone of the poem?
9) Are any aspects of the poem ironic?
10) Is there any ambiguity in the poem?
44 | www.ums.org/education
Responding to Jazz Poetry:
Figurative Language
Figurative language, which uses familiar words in unfamiliar ways, makes writing and reading more
interesting. The poetry of Langston Hughes includes several examples of figurative language.
A metaphor makes comparisons between two things without using the words like or as.
A metaphor may say that one thing is another.
Find an example of metaphor used in Dream Deferred. What two things are being compared?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Personification means giving human characteristics to an idea or thing.
Find an example of personification used in My People. Describe the human characteristic given to
specific things:
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
What Is The Performance Like?
How do jazz musicians choose what they will play?
Visit UMS Online
www.ums.org
When you sit down to listen to CDs, do you plan what you’ll listen to far in
advance? Of course not - you decide as you go, depending on what mood
you’re in. One day, you might listen to songs about one topic (like love);
another time, you might choose songs written by the same artist. Jazz musicians are like you. They can’t tell us in advance what they’ll feel like playing.
It can depend on the mood they’re in and the mood that they sense from the
audience.
Jazz artists have dozens - sometimes even hundreds - of songs memorized
and don’t decide in advance which ones they’ll play or exactly how they’ll
play them. Jazz Poetry can be very similar in that the poets improvise, or
make up stanzas, to the poems they recite as they go along. Have you ever
heard of or been to a “Poetry Slam” event at a bookstore or theater? The
artists often create the poems on stage as they feel moved to do so. The
audience will either clap cheerfully if they like the poem, or boo loudly if they
think it need improvement. Many poets today start their careers this way,
constantly gleening the opinion of the crowd.
In both cases, jazz music and jazz poetry, the artist has control over the tone,
melody , and rhythm of the song or poem. Many artists love the freedom
this type of creativity provides.
Regina Carter and Quartet will announce their song choices from the stage.
46 | www.ums.org/education
ArtServe Michigan
RESOURCES
Regina Carter
UMS Permission Slip
YOU ASKED FOR
IT!
We’ve heard from
teachers that it’s
helpful to have a
paragraph or two
describing a Youth
Performance in a
letter/permission
slip to send home
to parents.
Please feel free
to use this template, or adapt
the information to
meet the
requirements of
your school or
district.
Dear Parents and Guardians,
We will be taking a field trip to see a University Musical Society (UMS) Youth Performance of
Regina Carter and Quartet on Tuesday, January 20, from 11am-12pm at the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor.
We will travel by ( car / school bus / private bus / walking ), leaving school at approximately ________am and returning at approximately ________ pm.
The UMS Youth Performance Series brings the world’s finest performers in music, dance,
theater, opera, and world cultures to Ann Arbor. This performance features the jazz violinist
Regina Carter and her quartet of musicians performing music from classical to Cuban and
Motown.
We ( need / do not need ) additional chaperones for this event.
Please ( send / do not send ) lunch along with your child on this day. If your child
requires medication to be taken while we are on the trip, please contact us to make
arrangements.
If you would like more information about this Youth Performance, please visit the Education section of www.ums.org/education. Copies of the Regina Carter and Quartet. Teacher
Resource Guide are available for you to download.
Additional Comments from the Teacher:
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call me at ___________________________
or send email to ________________________________________________________________.
Sincerely,
_______________________________________________________________________________
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -Please detach and return by :__________________- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - My child, ___________________________________, has permission to attend the UMS Youth
Performance of Regina Carter and Quartet on Tuesday, January 20, 2004. I understand that
transportation will be by __________________________________________.
Parent/Guardian Signature_______________________________
Relationship to child ___________________________________
Daytime phone number_________________________________
Emergency contact person_______________________________
Emergency contact phone number_______________________
Date_________________
Selected Bibliography
Much of the textual information as well as some of the
graphics included in this guide were derived from the
following sources:
Websites:
”Regina Carter”:http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/01/28/60II/
main538281.shtml. Copyright 2003. CBS Broadcasting, Inc.
”Evening at Pops: Regina Carter”: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pops/background/bios/
carter.html, Copyright 2003, WGBH Corporation.
“NPR: Paganini’s Cannon”:http://discover.npr.org/features/feature.jhtml?wfId=1136
352 Copyright 2002, National Public Radio, Inc.
“Regina Carter Biography”: http://www.fiddlechicks.com/players/carter.html,
Copyrigth 2003, Fiddle Chicks. 2003.
“The Violins in Genoa”: http://www.comune.genova.it/turismo/paganini/eng/
violineng.html, Copyright 2003, Municipality of Genoa.
“Regina Carter”:http://www.berkshireweb.com/rogovoy/interviews/feat010419.html,
Copyright 2001, Seth Rogovoy (Berkshire Eagle Press).
“Modern American Poetry: On The Backlash Blues”: http://www.english.uiuc.edu/
maps/poets/g_l/hughes/backlash.html, Copyright 1998, University of Illinois.
There are
more
study guides
like this
one, on
a variety of
topics,
online!
“Paganini Project”: http://entertainment.msn.com/news/article.aspx?news=12
0670, Copyright 2003, Associated Press.
Just visit...
Books:
www.ums.org
Feinstein, Sasha & Yusef Komunyakaa. The Jazz Poetry Anthology. Indiana University
Press,1991.
Love, Helen B., Global Journeys in Metro Detroit; A Multicultural Guide to the Motor
City, New Detroit, Inc., 1999.
Carr, Ian, Digby Fairweather, & Brian Priestley, Jazz: The Rough Guide; The Essential
Companion to Artists and Albums, Rough Guides., 1995.
Schroeder, Michele, & Lea King, What is Jazz? Jazz Education Guide, Jazz at Lincoln
Center, New York, 2000.
49 | www.ums.org/education
Internet Resources
Arts Resources
Visit UMS Online
www.ums.org
The official website of UMS. Visit the Education section (www.ums.org/education)
for study guides, information about community and family events, and more information about the UMS Youth Education Program.
www.ums.org
www.artsedge.kennedy-center.org
The nation’s most comprehensive website for arts education, including lesson
plans, arts education news, grant information, etc.
Regina Carter and Quintet
http://www.vervemusicgroup.com/artist
A brief description of Regina Carter and her accomplishments from her recording
label, Verve Records.
http://www.exploredance.com/reginacarter
A website covering Regina’s Birdland Debut, written by her manager, Michelle
Taylor from NIA Entertainmant. Provides email addresses to managers as well as
useful web links.
Jazz
www.jazzatlincolncenter.org
A site which highlights the people and history of Jazz. Jazz at Lincoln Center is a
forerunner in jazz education in the United States.
www.iage.org
This site contains a lot of information about jazz, as presented by the International
Association of Jazz Educators.
www.si.edu/ajazzh
Highlights key dates in the history of jazz, presented by the Smithsonian Institution’s American Jazz Heritage.
Paganini and the Guarneri Violin
http://www.comune.genova.it/turismo/paganini/welcome
Provides an overview of the Paganini violin, the creator of the reknowned instrument, and useful links. This site is maintained by the City of Genoa Tourism
Council.
Although UMS previewed each website, we recommend that teachers check all websites
before introducing them to students, as content may have changed since this guide was
published.
50 | www.ums.org/education
Recommended Reading Materials
Resources for your classroom
This page lists several recommended books to help reinforce jazz education
through literature. These books are available through www.amazon.com.
There are
many more
PRIMARY & ELEMENTARY GRADES
•
Hip Cat by Jonathan London, Woodleigh Hubbard (Illustrator)
•
Mysterious Thelonius by Chris Raschka
•
The Jazz Fly by Matthew Gollub, Karen Hanke (Illustrator)
•
Ella Fitzgerald: A Young Vocal Virtuoso by Andrea Davis Pinkney
•
Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and his Orchestra by Andrea Davis Pinkney
•
The Sound That Jazz Makes by Carole Boston Weatherford
•
John Coltrane’s Giant Steps by Chris Raschka and John Coltrane
•
Charlie Parker Played Bebop by Chris Raschka
•
DJ and the Jazz Fest by Denise walker McConduit
•
The Jazzy Alphabet by Sherry Shahan
•
Who Bop? by Johnathon London
•
Bring on That Beat by Rachel Isadora
books available
about Jazz!
Just visit
www.amazon.com
UPPER MIDDLE & SECONDARY GRADES
•
Jazz Makers: Vanguards of Sound by Alyn Shipton
•
American Jazz Musicians (A Collective Biography) by Stanley Mour
•
Jazz and Its History (Masters of Music) by Giuseppe Vigna
•
The Golden Age of Jazz by William Gottleib
•
Louis Armstrong- A Self Portrait by Richard Meryman
•
The Art of Jazz by Martin Williams
•
The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz by Berry Kernfeld
•
Sweet Sing Blues on the Road by Wynton Marsalis and Frank Stewart
•
The Music of Black Americans by Eileen Southern
•
The Duke Ellington Reader by Mark Tucker
51 | www.ums.org/education
Community Resources
University Musical Society
These groups and
organizations can
help you to learn
more about jazz
performance styles,
and/or the
performing arts.
University of Michigan
Burton Memorial Tower
881 N. University
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1011
(734) 615-0122
[email protected]
www.ums.org
Jazz at Lincoln Center
33 West 60th Street
New York, NY 10023-7999
www.jazzatlincolncenter.org
(212) 875-5815
International Association of Jazz Educators
P.O Box 724
Manhattan, KS 66505
www.iage.org
(913) 776-8744
Music Educators National Conference
1806 Robert Fulton Drive
Reston, VA 20191
www.menc.org
(703) 860-4000
Detroit Institute of Arts
African Galleries Wing (North wing, main level).
5200 Woodward Avenue
Detroit, MI 48202
www.dia.org
(313) 833-7900
University of Michigan School of Music - Jazz Department
1100 Baits Dr.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2085
(734) 764-0583
contact: Ellen Rowe
Black Folk Arts, Inc.
4266 Fullerton
Detroit, MI 48238
313-834-9115
contact: Kahemba Kitwana
52 | www.ums.org/education
Community Resources continued...
Wayne State University Music Department
4841 Cass Avenue, Suite 1321
Detroit, MI 48202
(313) 577-1795
[email protected]
University of Michigan Center for Afro-American
and African Studies
Visit UMS Online
www.ums.org
4700 Haven
505 S State St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
(734) 764-5513
[email protected]
African American Cultural and Historical
Museum of Ann Arbor
1100 N Main Street, Suite 201-C
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
(734) 663-9348
Rebirth, Inc.
81 Chandler
Detroit, MI
(313) 875-0289
[email protected]
contact: Wendall Harrison
WEMU 89.1 FM
“Jazz, news, and blues” station at EMU.
(734) 487-2229
The Societie of Culturally Concerned
Annually sponsors the Detroit
Heritage Jazz Reunion
(313) 864-2337
People’s Creative Ensemble
11000 W. McNichols, Ste. B-1,
Detroit, MI
(313) 862-2900
contact: Ron Jackson
Southeast Michigan Jazz Association
2385 W. Huron River Drive
Ann Arbor, MI 48103-2241
734-662-8514
[email protected]
53 | www.ums.org/education
Evening Performance
UMS Tickets Online
www.ums.org/tickets
UMS Tickets By Phone
(734) 764-2538
Jazz Divas Summit:
Dianne Reeves, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and Regina Carter
Mon, Jan 19, at 7:30 pm
Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor
Three of the hottest names in jazz hail from Michigan, and now they finally come
together for a special performance on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, during the UMS
Hill Auditorium Re-Opening Weekend. Dianne Reeves returns to her home state,
bringing with her Flint native Dee Dee Bridgewater, whose career in musical theater
has paralleled her career as a jazz singer, and Detroit native Regina Carter, a charismatic player who has single-handedly revived interest in the violin as a jazz instrument.
This Hill Auditorium Re-Opening Weekend Sponsored by Forest Health Services, The Pfizer Corporation,
TIAA-CREF, University of Michigan, University Musical Society, and the Endowments of Catherine S.
Arcure & Herbert E. Sloan, and H. Gardner Ackley.
54 | www.ums.org/education
UMS Youth Education Season
September
18 11 am
October
11 8:30 am
19 1 pm
27 4:30 pm
U Theatre: The Sound of Ocean - Youth Performance, Power Center
Celebrating St. Petersburg (Day 1) - Teacher Workshop, Int’l. Institute
Celebrating St. Petersburg (Day 2) - Teacher Workshop, Michigan League
Introduction to W. African Percussion - Teacher Workshop, WISD
November
8
10 am
Understanding the Arab World and Arab Americans - Tchr. Wkshp, ACCESS
12 10am/12pm Doudou N’Diaye Rose and Les Rosettes - Youth Perf., Michigan Theater
17 4:30 pm Arts Advocacy: You Make the Difference - Teacher Workshop, WISD
December
9
4:30 pm
Music of the Arab World: An Introduction - Teacher Workshop, WISD
January
20 11 am
30 11 am
Regina Carter and Quartet - Youth Performance, Hill Auditorium
Simon Shaheen and Qantara - Youth Performance, Michigan Theater
Want to bring
students to a UMS
performance not
on this list?
Call the UMS
Group Sales
Coordinator at
(734) 763-3100.
February
16 4:30 pm Behind the Scenes: Children of Uganda - Teacher Workshop, MI League
17 10am/12pm Children of Uganda - Youth Performance, Power Center
18 10am/12pm Children of Uganda - Youth Performance, Power Center
March
5
11:30 am Guthrie Theater: Shakespeare’s Othello - Youth Perf., Power Center
22 4:30 pm Preparing for Collaboration: Theater Games that Promote Team-Building
and Foster Creative and Critical Thinking - Teacher Workshop, WISD
25 4:30 pm Moments in Time: Bringing Timelines to Life Through Drama
- Teacher Workshop, WISD
April
16 11 am
Girls Choir of Harlem - Youth Performance, Michigan Theater
Hill Auditorium - 888 N. University, Ann Arbor
International Institute - corner of East & South University, Ann Arbor
Michigan League - 911 N. University, Ann Arbor
Michigan Theater - 603 E. Liberty, Ann Arbor
Power Center - 121 Fletcher, Ann Arbor
WISD (Washtenaw Intermediate School District) - 1819 S. Wagner, Ann Arbor
For more information or a brochure, please call 734.615.0122 or e-mail
[email protected]
55 | www.ums.org/education
Teen Rush Ticket Information
Additional Options for Teens
Teens interested
in half-price
tickest for evening
UMS performances
may download
this ticket at
www.ums.org.
Just present it at
the box office the
night of the show!
In response to the needs of our teen audience members, the Universtiy Musical
Society has implemented the Teen Rush Ticket Coupon program. The coupons
may be downloaded from our website at www.ums.org and can be used to purchase tickets for any evening performance at half the price! See the copy of our
coupon below.
03/04
ums teen rush ticket coupon
experience the world’s best live music, dance and theater in your own backyard
WH AT I S U M S ?
The University Musical
Society (UMS) is a
performing arts presenter
on the University of
Michigan campus that
brings professional
performing artists to the
area to perform. We host
everything from dance
troupes to jazz musicians,
theater companies to
world famous opera
singers all right here in
Southeastern Michigan.
student name
school
email
56 | www.ums.org/education
Check out UMS for
half the price!
Rush Tickets are sold to high school students for 50% off the
published ticket price 90 minutes before every UMS performance. These
tickets are only available if the performance is not sold out. Tickets may
be purchased in person at the performance hall ticket office, but plan to
get there early, because tickets go fast!
Call our box office at 734-764-2538 to check ticket availability.
The fine print...
Bring your student ID and this coupon to the performance hall ticket office the night of the
show. This coupon is good for ONE 50% off ticket, subject to availability. Seating is at the
discretion of the UMS ticket office personnel.
for our full season and more information, visit
www.ums.org
Boys Choir of Harlem, February 2001
Send Us Your Feedback!
UMS wants to know what teachers and students think about this Youth Performance.
We hope you’ll send us your thoughts, drawings, letters, or reviews.
UMS Youth Education Program
Burton Memorial Tower • 881 N. University Ave. • Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1011
(734) 615-0122 phone • (734) 998-7526 fax • [email protected]
Download additional copies of this study guide
throughout the 2003-2004 season!
www.ums.org/education