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- Genre: Academic theses
Description
This project aims to produce repertoire that will help bridge the gap between classical music and jazz, particularly focusing on some of the obstacles that female classical saxophonists face when playing jazz. By commissioning six new works for saxophone and piano written by female jazz composers, this project facilitates an entry-level experience with improvised materials that will help break down this barrier for interested saxophonists. The compositions are From A to Z: Two Women’s Journeys by Ayn Inserto, Sunlit Dream by Annie Booth, Taking Flight by Katelyn Vincent, Des-Dunes by Sam Spear, Jogo by Yoko Suzuki, and Impromptu by Aida De Moya. For each work, this project provides recordings, performance guides, improvisation guides, biographical contents, and program notes. I hope to encourage young female saxophonists to explore their interests in jazz without fear or reservation through performance of these pieces.
ContributorsZelenak, Kristen (Author) / Creviston, Christopher (Thesis advisor) / Kocour, Michael (Committee member) / Saucier, Catherine (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
The Stan Kenton Clinics changed music education in American public schools by providing inspiring jazz learning experiences to countless students and music teachers. Stan Kenton was a well-known mid-twentieth century jazz big band leader who devoted his time, money, and fame in support of these educational clinics. The clinics began in 1959 under the auspices of the National Stage Band Camps and continued until Kenton's death in 1979. The present study comprises a first-of-its-kind history of the clinics, focusing primarily on the first five years of their existence. This history is subsequently used as a case for contemplating future changes to music education.
ContributorsBotts, Nathan (Author) / Tobias, Evan (Thesis advisor) / Stauffer, Sandra (Thesis advisor) / Sullivan, Jill (Committee member) / Jacob, Richard (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
William “Count” Basie (1904-1984) is one of the most beloved and imitated figures in American music. His name has long been ubiquitous among jazz scholars, critics, and practitioners. Basie’s sparse, minimalistic piano idiolect is immediately recognizable, and the 4/4 swing aesthetic of his Kansas City-born jazz orchestra is a cornerstone of the big band idiom. “Stories and Significations” critically examines prevailing narratives about Basie’s biography and musical output, many of which have not been substantively reconsidered since the 1980s. Through an interdisciplinary synthesis of methods ranging from Afrodiasporic modes of musical analysis, archival research, critical historiography, and African American literary theory, this project serves to enrich Basie’s legacy while also critiquing the mythology surrounding it. By signifying on the traditional “Life and Music” paradigm of jazz biography, in “Stories and Significations” I use preexisting scholarly and critical discourses as points of departure for critique while also offering scholars and practitioners new ways to write, talk, and think about Basie. In doing so, I bring Basie, the stories of his life, and the Significations in his music into the rich scholarly discourse of the New Jazz Studies that has added such valuable depth and detail to the legacies of numerous other figures in jazz history such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Miles Davis.
ContributorsDavis, Jayson Owen (Author) / Wells, Christi J (Thesis advisor) / Kocour, Michael (Committee member) / Saucier, Catherine (Committee member) / Schmelz, Peter (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
Emmerich Kálmán (1882-1953) was a leading composer during the Silver Age of Viennese operetta. His final work, Arizona Lady (1954), premiered posthumously, on Bavarian Radio, January 1, 1954. The stage premiere followed on February 14, 1954, at the Stadttheater in Bern, Switzerland. It is his only operetta that is set entirely in the United States, in Tucson, Arizona. Arizona Opera commissioned and produced a new adaptation of Arizona Lady, which was performed in October 2015, in both Tucson, Arizona, and Phoenix, Arizona. The libretto was heavily revised, as well as translated, primarily into English with some sections in Spanish and German.
Through comparison of the original and adaptation, this study examines the artistic decisions regarding which materials, both musical and dramatic, were kept, removed, or added, as well as the rationale behind those decisions. The changes reflect differences between an Arizonan audience in 2015 and the European audience of the early 1950s. These differences include ideas of geographical identity from a native versus a foreign perspective; tolerance for nationalistic or racial stereotypes; cultural norms for gender and multiculturalism; and cultural or political agendas. Comparisons are made using the published piano/vocal score for the original version, the unpublished piano/vocal score for the adaptation, archival performance video of the Arizona Opera performance, and the compact disc recording of the 1954 radio broadcast premiere.
Through comparison of the original and adaptation, this study examines the artistic decisions regarding which materials, both musical and dramatic, were kept, removed, or added, as well as the rationale behind those decisions. The changes reflect differences between an Arizonan audience in 2015 and the European audience of the early 1950s. These differences include ideas of geographical identity from a native versus a foreign perspective; tolerance for nationalistic or racial stereotypes; cultural norms for gender and multiculturalism; and cultural or political agendas. Comparisons are made using the published piano/vocal score for the original version, the unpublished piano/vocal score for the adaptation, archival performance video of the Arizona Opera performance, and the compact disc recording of the 1954 radio broadcast premiere.
ContributorsLeyva, Elizabeth (Author) / Holbrook, Amy K (Thesis advisor) / Dreyfoos, Dale (Committee member) / Elgar Kopta, Anne (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
This project uses fourteen transcriptions of Pete Fountain’s solos as examples to
demonstrate traditional jazz clarinet techniques and language in terms of motives,
patterns, and a variety of articulations. This project also includes guidelines on how to
practice jazz improvisation as well as how to apply Fountain’s techniques and jazz
language to one’s own improvisation. Though there are countless musicians who have
made remarkable contributions to the development of the jazz language, Pete Fountain’s
unique style is particularly worthy of study due to his massive media presence, effortless
playing techniques, unique tone quality, and showmanship throughout his career.
demonstrate traditional jazz clarinet techniques and language in terms of motives,
patterns, and a variety of articulations. This project also includes guidelines on how to
practice jazz improvisation as well as how to apply Fountain’s techniques and jazz
language to one’s own improvisation. Though there are countless musicians who have
made remarkable contributions to the development of the jazz language, Pete Fountain’s
unique style is particularly worthy of study due to his massive media presence, effortless
playing techniques, unique tone quality, and showmanship throughout his career.
ContributorsWu, Shengwen (Author) / Spring, Robert (Thesis advisor) / Gardner, Joshua (Thesis advisor) / Carpenter, Ellon (Committee member) / Kocour, Michael (Committee member) / DeMaris, Brian (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
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
Description
This dissertation describes the public sphere that coalesced in the Soviet jazz scene during Josef Stalin’s reign. Scholars debate the extent to which Soviet citizens, especially under Stalin, were coerced into cooperating with the regime through terror; willingly cooperated with the regime out of self-interest; or re-aligned their speech, behavior, and thoughts to conform to Bolshevik ideology and discourse. In all cases, citizens were generally unable to openly express their own opinions on what Soviet society should look like. In this dissertation, I attempt to bridge this gap by analyzing the diverse reactions to jazz music in Josef Stalin’s Soviet Union. I argue that audience engagement with jazz and discussions about the genre in the Soviet press and elsewhere were attempts to grapple with bigger questions of public concern about leisure, morality, ethnicity, cosmopolitanism and patriotism in a socialist society. This jazz public sphere was suppressed in the late 1940s and early 1950s because of Cold War paranoia and fears of foreign influences in Soviet life. In its place, a counterpublic sphere formed, in which jazz enthusiasts expressed views on socialism that were more open and contradictory to official norms. This counterpublic sphere foreshadowed aspects of post-Stalinist Soviet culture. To support my arguments, I employ archival documents such as fan mail and censorship records, periodicals, memoirs, and Stalin-era jazz recordings to determine the themes present in jazz music, how audiences reacted to them, and how these popular reactions overlapped with those of journalists, musicologists, bureaucrats, and composers. This project expands our understanding of when and where public spheres can form, challenges top-down interpretations of Soviet cultural policy, and illuminates the Soviet Union and Russia’s ambivalent relationship with the West and its culture.
ContributorsBeresford, Benjamin J. (Author) / Von Hagen, Mark (Thesis advisor) / Manchester, Laurie (Committee member) / Schmelz, Peter (Committee member) / Moore, Aaron (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
Beginning around the 1820s, the refinement of the piano mechanism increased the expressiveness of the instrument’s sonority and further attracted the composers’ attention and curiosity about the instrument. Concentration on piano music became a trend for composers between the mid to late nineteenth century. During this period, the massive output of music for piano and extremely developed keyboard techniques resulted in classical composers searching for fresh ideas. Starting in the twentieth century, composers became increasingly interested in music outside the classical world and new interpretations of meter, harmony, and form. As early as the 1910s, composers included tone clusters generated at keyboard and soon afterwards, began “playing” the internal components of the piano including strings. Concurrently, they blended different styles within a piece according to their cultural and educational background. A prime example of this compositional trend is the classically-trained Turkish pianist-composer Fazil Say (b. 1970). His ability as a pianist reflects his strong classical training as well as a stylistic freedom partly derived from jazz. Say’s inspiration is also drawn from his Turkish heritage, as traditional folk elements have helped to shape his compositions. Representing Say’s education, passion, and ethnic background, the three elements of classical, jazz, and folk music have become his primary devices within his solo piano compositions.
This brief investigation of Say’s life to date and his piano works offers an insight into the correlation between the multi-cultural environments in which he has lived and the formation of his styles. Chapter one, the summary of his life and educational background, illustrates the fact that the three facets within his piano compositions are strongly rooted in his exposure to different environments. The second chapter presents a clear overview of the development of Say’s compositional idiom and a deeper look at selected piano compositions: his transcription of J. S. Bach’s Passacaglia in C Minor, BWV 582, Three Ballads, Black Earth, Alla Turca Jazz, and Paganini Jazz. The goal is to provide current and future pianists with insight into the expressive performance of one composer’s extremely successful hybridization of classical, jazz, and Turkish folk music.
This brief investigation of Say’s life to date and his piano works offers an insight into the correlation between the multi-cultural environments in which he has lived and the formation of his styles. Chapter one, the summary of his life and educational background, illustrates the fact that the three facets within his piano compositions are strongly rooted in his exposure to different environments. The second chapter presents a clear overview of the development of Say’s compositional idiom and a deeper look at selected piano compositions: his transcription of J. S. Bach’s Passacaglia in C Minor, BWV 582, Three Ballads, Black Earth, Alla Turca Jazz, and Paganini Jazz. The goal is to provide current and future pianists with insight into the expressive performance of one composer’s extremely successful hybridization of classical, jazz, and Turkish folk music.
ContributorsChen, Yen-Wei (Author) / Meir, Baruch (Thesis advisor) / Norton, Kay (Committee member) / Hamilton, Robert (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
Traditional jazz refers specifically to iterations of New Orleans style jazz since its beginnings in the early 20th century. It has been labelled "Dixieland," "Classic Jazz," "New Orleans jazz," "Trad," or "Our Kind of Music (OKOM)" among other names. As a scholar-performer, I learned this style of music in my undergraduate studies in Provo, Utah and later taught it as a graduate student in Phoenix, Arizona. This research grows out of the challenges I encountered mediating between the academic institution, the non-academic tradition, and student needs. Combining musicological methods such as historiography and artifact analysis with reflexive ethnography and performance pedagogy more typical of other disciplines, I consider how educators might represent traditional jazz in a more culturally responsible way. To begin, I reference historical newspapers and oral histories to show how the labels of “Dixieland” and “traditional jazz” have evolved over time and taken on a variety of associations. Specifically, I note how the word “Dixieland” is problematic for the ways it reinforces nostalgic fantasies of the “old south” and prevents African Americans from participating without the oppressive and offensive stereotypes created by white minstrel entertainers. I then consider how prominent figures have established their authority to speak for traditional jazz by looking at several pedagogical artifacts for the style of traditional jazz drumming. I highlight how each of these artifacts’ authors present the subject and color their audience’s view of traditional jazz. Having analyzed these methods of genre definition, I discuss the tenuous place of traditional jazz within university jazz programs and its potential futures through interviews I conducted with jazz educators. These interviews focus on teaching traditional jazz within the academy and the potential for the jazz ensemble as a site of scholar-performer interdisciplinary collaboration. Finally, following models of reflexive ethnography established by ethnomusicologists leading world music ensembles, I analyze my own experience teaching traditional jazz ensembles. My synthesis of methods from musicology, ethnomusicology, music education, and jazz performance departments serves as an important bridge between these disciplines, and in turn, improves jazz instruction, offers insight into genre definition, and illuminates how institutional structures shape the subject.
ContributorsWiggins, Zachary Thomas (Author) / Wells, Christi Jay (Thesis advisor) / Norton, Kay (Committee member) / Solís, Ted (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
This multiple-case study addresses the nature of the out-of-school musical engagements of four undergraduate students who were enrolled as jazz studies majors in a large school of music in the U.S. southwest. It concerns what they did musically when they were outside of school, why they did what they did, what experiences they said they learned from, and how their out-of-school engagements related to their in-school curriculum. Research on jazz education, informal learning practices in music, and the in-school and out-of-school experiences of students informed this study. Data were generated through observation, interviews, video blogs (vlogs), and SMS text messages.
Analysis of data revealed that participants engaged with music when outside of school by practicing, teaching, gigging, recording, playing music with others, attending live musical performances, socializing with other musicians, listening, and engaging with non-jazz musical styles (aside from listening). They engaged with music because of: 1) the love of music, 2) the desire for musical excellence, 3) financial considerations, 4) the aspiration to affect others positively with music, and 5) the connection with other musicians. Participants indicated that they learned by practicing, listening to recordings, attending live performances, playing paid engagements, socializing, teaching, and reading. In-school and out-of-school experience and learning had substantial but not complete overlap.
The study implies that a balance between in-school and out-of-school musical experience may help undergraduate jazz studies students to maximize their overall musical learning. It also suggests that at least some jazz studies majors are fluent in a wide variety of music learning practices that make them versatile, flexible, and employable musicians. Further implications are provided for undergraduate jazz students as well as collegiate jazz educators, the music education profession, and schools of music. Additional implications concern future research and the characterization of jazz study in academia.
Analysis of data revealed that participants engaged with music when outside of school by practicing, teaching, gigging, recording, playing music with others, attending live musical performances, socializing with other musicians, listening, and engaging with non-jazz musical styles (aside from listening). They engaged with music because of: 1) the love of music, 2) the desire for musical excellence, 3) financial considerations, 4) the aspiration to affect others positively with music, and 5) the connection with other musicians. Participants indicated that they learned by practicing, listening to recordings, attending live performances, playing paid engagements, socializing, teaching, and reading. In-school and out-of-school experience and learning had substantial but not complete overlap.
The study implies that a balance between in-school and out-of-school musical experience may help undergraduate jazz studies students to maximize their overall musical learning. It also suggests that at least some jazz studies majors are fluent in a wide variety of music learning practices that make them versatile, flexible, and employable musicians. Further implications are provided for undergraduate jazz students as well as collegiate jazz educators, the music education profession, and schools of music. Additional implications concern future research and the characterization of jazz study in academia.
ContributorsLibman, Jeffrey B (Author) / Tobias, Evan (Thesis advisor) / Kocour, Michael (Committee member) / Schmidt, Margaret (Committee member) / Solis, Theodore (Committee member) / Stauffer, Sandra (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014