IMPROVISATION IN CLASSICAL AND JAZZ MUSIC

An Analysis Of Improvisation In Classical And Jazz Music

ABSTRACT

Jazz improvisation takes place at several levels, being able to say that all members of a group (or combo ) are improvising in one form or another almost the entire duration of the interpretation. We say almost, not all the time, because, at the structural level, the standard is present at the beginning and end of each piece, which is called head or melody of the song. This head is not improvised. This is the pre-made element that serves as structural framework for the improvisations. In fact, rather than the melody, is the harmonization of the head, which changes file called, which becomes increasingly important as structural member and organizer, as these harmonic changes will not only serve to provide color harmony to the melody in the head, but are repeated again and again cyclically along the entire piece. Each full turn of the changes file to their place of origin is called a chorus. The Jazz had little success during its initial years. With John Stockton and Karl Malone (both have been inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame) as cornerstone players, the team had an impressive record during much of the late 1980s and 1990s. During the 1996-97 season, the team reached the NBA finals for the first time and Karl Malone was recognized as the league's MVP. The team returned to the NBA finals during the 1997-98 season, but like the previous year, lost to the Chicago Bulls, who were led by Michael Jordan.

Table of Contents

Introduction4

Improvisation In Classical Music6

Medieval period9

Baroque period12

Renaissance period15

Classical period16

Improvisation In Jazz Music17

Dixieland18

Swing era19

Bebop era20

Third Stream27

Conclusion29

An Analysis Of Improvisation In Classical And Jazz Music

Introduction

To many, “the Jazz” might seem like an odd name for a team situated in Utah. However, the franchise, which was founded in 1974, was initially based in New Orleans, Louisiana, and known as the New Orleans Jazz. The team name resulted from a contest, which was held for the expansion franchise, and recognized that the city of New Orleans is renowned for jazz music. Moreover, the team name conveys “collective improvisation,” which can be seen as an important quality when playing basketball.

In 1979, after playing only five seasons in New Orleans, the franchise was relocated to Utah and the team name was retained. The team's logo, however, has undergone several modifications in an effort to make the branding more locally relevant. During the team's initial years in both New Orleans and Utah, the logo depicted the word Jazz with the J resembling a musical note and a basketball at the note's base. In 1996, the logo was notably modified with a renewed Jazz script and a new color scheme. Snow-capped mountain peaks, meant to resemble the Wasatch Range, were depicted above the Jazz script, whereas the bottom portion of a basketball was seen underneath. However, their divisional foe, the Denver Nuggets, also depict a snow-capped mountain peak in their logo, thus the Jazz logo was revised for the 2010-11 season to further differentiate their brand. The Jazz logo now resembles their original one and thereby speaks to the ...