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Description
Witching Hours is the debut studio album of Chicago-born, Phoenix-residing trumpet player John Michael Sherman. It is a consummation of his work in the Arizona State University jazz studies program both as a performer and composer. Featured on the album are several other musicians who John Michael played alongside throughout his tenure at ASU, including Chaz Martineau on tenor saxophone, Evan Rees on piano, Reid Riddiough on guitar, Vince Thiefain on bass, Matt McClintock on drums, and Dan Meadows on baritone saxophone. The album features seven pieces, all original compositions or arrangements. The first track, "Workin' My Nerves", is a blues shuffle in the key of F. This is followed by "Scarborough Fair", an arrangement of the classic English folk tune in a rock style. The title track, "Witching Hours", is an cadaverous linear composition in 7/4 which is followed by "Goliath", a pseudo-tone poem about the biblical giant. "I Should Have Known" is a pensive ballad featuring an a capella intro and cadenza, followed by the most recent composition, a minor blues-esque piece entitled "Who Said That?" The final track, "Don't Change A Thing", is an upbeat samba which was written in John Michael's first year of college. These pieces demonstrate an understanding of the jazz tradition and exhibit influences from such musicians as Clifford Brown, Freddie Hubbard, Wayne Shorter, and Snarky Puppy. The album was recorded at Tempest Recording in Tempe and produced by Clarke Rigsby. Clarke is a veteran recording engineer and is the first choice of many of Phoenix's finest jazz musicians, including thesis director and head of the ASU jazz department Michael Kocour. The pieces were composed and recorded under the guidance of Mike Kocour and Jeff Libman. Witching Hours represents a culmination of John Michael's course in the Arizona State University jazz department and his endeavors as a trumpet player and composer.
ContributorsSherman, John Michael (Author) / Kocour, Michael (Thesis director) / Libman, Jeffrey (Committee member) / School of Music (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
ContributorsZaleski, Kimberly (Contributor) / Kazarian, Trevor (Performer) / Ryan, Russell (Performer) / IN2ATIVE (Performer) / ASU Library. Music Library (Publisher)
Created2018-09-28
Description
The 2016 presidential election between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump was watched by a total of 71 million people all across the country. Coverage on the country’s three main cable news networks (Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC) drew in 31.4 million of those viewers. While all those networks were covering the same race, the same states, and the same candidates, they didn’t all do it the same way, and they didn’t all do it at the same time.
On the night of any presidential election, cable news networks have access to much of the same data, including exit polls, votes by precinct and votes by county. Still, the order and the time that they make their state-by-state projections often differs. At any given moment during election night, the total electoral votes for a candidate can be different from one network to another.
The question this thesis set out to answer was: why is there difference between when cable news networks call each state, and subsequently the entire election in the race for president? To answer this question, research was broken into three different parts: cable news biases, the methodology behind how the cable news networks produce election night coverage, and finally, an analysis of the actual 2016 election night coverage of Fox News, CNN and MSNBC.
To visualize the analysis of the 2016 election coverage, all of the data collected was put into GIFs that showed minute by minute how the three cable networks called the election, from start to end. The GIFs included a map of the country, and a running total of electoral votes for each candidate.
On the night of any presidential election, cable news networks have access to much of the same data, including exit polls, votes by precinct and votes by county. Still, the order and the time that they make their state-by-state projections often differs. At any given moment during election night, the total electoral votes for a candidate can be different from one network to another.
The question this thesis set out to answer was: why is there difference between when cable news networks call each state, and subsequently the entire election in the race for president? To answer this question, research was broken into three different parts: cable news biases, the methodology behind how the cable news networks produce election night coverage, and finally, an analysis of the actual 2016 election night coverage of Fox News, CNN and MSNBC.
To visualize the analysis of the 2016 election coverage, all of the data collected was put into GIFs that showed minute by minute how the three cable networks called the election, from start to end. The GIFs included a map of the country, and a running total of electoral votes for each candidate.
ContributorsKoufidakis, Anastasia (Author) / Alvarez, Melanie (Thesis director) / Todd, Lori (Committee member) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism & Mass Comm (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
The Nash, a jazz venue in Phoenix, Arizona, is an example of a decades-long process of the formalization of jazz—being codified as an art music relying on academic and philanthropic support. Formalization developed as jazz began to be taken seriously as art music worth of critical evaluation from critics, academics, and the hallowed establishments of American high art. Jazz became increasingly dependent on an infrastructure of institutional support, and a neoclassical ideology sought to define what styles of jazz were ‘real’ and worthy of preservation. In Phoenix, the origins of The Nash were laid in 1977 when Jazz in Arizona was formed, a non-profit organization that aimed to support jazz through information dissemination, music scholarships, festival organizing, and attending jazz events throughout Arizona. The Nash was conceived as a way to more fully engage young people in the community. Herb Ely, a prominent Phoenix attorney and philanthropist, pitched the idea to Joel Goldenthal, then Executive Director of Jazz in Arizona. The venue was built under the auspices of Jazz in Arizona, and operates as the organization’s headquarters. In keeping with the broader trend of formalization, The Nash presents jazz as a performance of artistic expression. Continued philanthropic support allows The Nash a degree of independence from economic concerns. The Nash is also committed to providing support for jazz education, by partnering with local educational institutions and presenting educational programming. The focus on providing opportunities for young musicians, as well as its location in the hip neighborhood of Roosevelt Row have contributed to The Nash becoming relatively popular among young people. However, the formalized approach to jazz espoused by The Nash has created some conflicts within the Phoenix jazz community, as some professional musicians feel that The Nash is underpaying musicians for their labor. The American Federation of Musicians Local 586 argues that musicians are workers, and The Nash ought to be paying union scale.
ContributorsBelliston, Lincoln Tyler (Author) / Davis, T. J. (Thesis director) / Hutchinson, Mary (Committee member) / Bridgewater, Devon (Committee member) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
The percussion jazz ensemble is a long-established yet rare component of 21st century percussion studios in the United States. While many American collegiate programs have percussion ensembles that perform jazz-based pieces, none are identified as a “percussion jazz ensemble.” This may be for a variety of reasons. Professors may not have considered adding a percussion jazz ensemble to their program because of its scarcity in American universities. Including such a class would be challenging if the instructors did not feel comfortable or familiar enough with jazz idioms and vernacular. Additionally, very few compositions or arrangements are available for this group. While there are several method books on jazz vibraphone, there are no pedagogical resources designed specifically for the percussion jazz ensemble. The purpose of this document is to provide historical context, curricula, resource materials, and arrangements necessary for establishing a percussion jazz ensemble at the collegiate level. The end result will be to demonstrate the importance of an ensemble such as this for aspiring percussionists and motivate institutions focused on Western classical music to incorporate jazz elements into their percussion program. Research conducted for this project was limited to academic universities, pedagogical approaches, and ensembles found only in the United States and will not include a survey of those outside this country.
ContributorsMoreau, Danielle (Author) / Smith, Jeffrey (Thesis advisor) / Feisst, Sabine (Committee member) / Swoboda, Deanna (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
ContributorsDelaney, Erin (Performer) / Novak, Gail (Pianist) (Performer) / ASU Library. Music Library (Publisher)
Created2018-03-18