Top Results for Jazz

Footprints is a jazz composition by saxophonist Wayne Shorter, first recorded for his 1966 Blue Note album Adam's Apple. Written in 3/4 time, it uses a repeating minor-key blues progression of twelve bars and has become one of Shorter's most widely performed pieces. A faster, more elaborately arrang...

George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue is an orchestral work from 1924. It uniquely fuses American popular song rhythms and blues influences with traditional classical forms. The piece became instantly iconic, launching Gershwin's career and profoundly impacting the development of jazz-classical music....

The Nat King Cole Trio was an American jazz group led by pianist and singer Nat King Cole, active from the late 1930s and built around piano, guitar, and double bass rather than drums. Its best-known early lineup included guitarist Oscar Moore and bassist Wesley Prince, later replaced by Johnny Mill...

The Bud Powell Trio refers to the small jazz ensembles led by American pianist Bud Powell, especially his bebop recordings from the late 1940s and 1950s. Usually organized around piano, double bass, and drums, these groups presented Powell's rapid single-note lines, compact chord voicings, original...

György Ligeti's Étude No. 5, 'Arc-en-ciel' (Rainbow), is the fifth of his eighteen piano études and appears in the first book of the cycle, completed in 1985. Marked Andante con moto, it is among the more lyrical études in the set, unfolding as a sustained melodic study over gently flowing accompani...

Pixar’s *Soul* investigates the nature of existence through the story of Joe Gardner, a middle school music teacher who unexpectedly enters the “Great Beyond.” The film uses jazz and animation to explore themes of purpose, passion, and appreciating life's simple joys. It is for anyone interested in...

Smokin' at the Half Note is a 1965 jazz album credited to guitarist Wes Montgomery with the Wynton Kelly Trio. Its performances were recorded at New York's Half Note club and feature Montgomery alongside pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Jimmy Cobb. The program combines standa...

Sinatra at the Sands is a 1966 live album by Frank Sinatra, recorded at the Copa Room of the Sands Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Sinatra performs with the Count Basie Orchestra under the direction of Quincy Jones, combining swing standards, ballads, and spoken comedy. The arrangements place Sinatra...

Lee Konitz was an American alto saxophonist and a prominent figure in the cool jazz movement of the 1940s and 1950s. He studied and collaborated with pianist Lennie Tristano, developing an improvisational style characterized by a light tone and complex melodic lines. Konitz is recognized for his per...

Founded in 1987, the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition is organized by the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz, formerly the Thelonious Monk Institute. It is held in Washington, D.C. and rotates focus among different instruments and vocals. The competition has awarded prizes to performers...

“Defiant Jazz” is a pivotal episode within *Severance*’s main series. The innies stage an unauthorized jazz performance, defying protocol and revealing unsettling details about the Overtime Contingency. This sequence highlights the characters' suppressed desires and psychological struggles within th...

"Bluesette" is a jazz standard composed in 1962 by the Belgian musician Toots Thielemans, who famously performed it on the chromatic harmonica. Written as a jazz waltz in 3/4 time, the piece features a memorable, upbeat melody and a cyclical chord progression that has made it popular among both jazz...

Swing Time is a 1936 musical comedy film directed by George Stevens for RKO starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. The story centers on a gambler attempting to finance his marriage through dance, leading him to a romance with a dance instructor in New York City. Jerome Kern’s music accompanies the...

The Esbjorn Svensson Trio, commonly styled e.s.t., was a Swedish jazz group consisting of pianist Esbjorn Svensson, bassist Dan Berglund, and drummer Magnus Ostrom. The trio combined improvised acoustic piano-trio playing with repeated grooves, rock-influenced dynamics, and electronic processing. It...

Cosmogramma is the third studio album by American electronic music producer Flying Lotus, released on Warp Records in 2010. The album integrates electronic beat music with elements of jazz, classical, and synth-pop, utilizing extensive live instrumentation alongside digital production. It includes c...

Ever since a fateful encounter with jazz music, Dai Miyamoto has dreamed of becoming the world's best jazz saxophonist. After only three years of playing the instrument, he makes the bold decision to move to Tokyo in order to break into the music scene. When he meets pianist Yukinori Sawabe at a sma...

Kendrick Lamar’s *To Pimp a Butterfly* (2015) is a complex album exploring Black identity, systemic racism, and personal struggle through innovative musical arrangements. The work fuses hip-hop with jazz, funk, and spoken word, creating a powerful lyrical experience. It's notable for its sophisticat...

Roy DeCarava (1919-2007) was an American photographer renowned for his intimate portrayals of Harlem life and jazz musicians. His evocative black-and-white street photography captured a specific cultural moment in mid-20th century New York City. He gained significant recognition through the 1952 Gug...

Brad Mehldau is a leading figure in modern jazz piano, known for his sophisticated harmonic language, lyrical improvisations, and insightful interpretations of both jazz standards and classical works. His solo albums and trio recordings demonstrate a remarkable depth of musicality and a profound und...

Quincy Jones (born 1933) is a legendary record producer, composer, arranger, and musician. His career spans decades, shaping the sound of countless iconic artists including Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra, and Ella Fitzgerald. Joness meticulous attention to detail, innovative arrangements, and abili...

Nina Simone was a highly influential American musician known for her distinctive piano playing and powerful vocals. She blended jazz traditions with soul, classical influences, and deeply personal expression. Her work often addressed themes of racial injustice and social commentary, making her a sig...

Hellfire is the third studio album by the English experimental rock band black midi, released in 2022. The record consists of nine tracks and draws from post-punk, jazz, and progressive rock, with compositions characterized by abrupt tempo shifts and theatrical narration. It was produced by Marta Sa...

Langston Hughes’ *Montage of a Dream Deferred* offers a powerful portrait of Harlem life in 1951. The collection utilizes innovative rhythms inspired by jazz music to explore themes of racial identity, social injustice, and the deferred dreams of African Americans. It is particularly relevant for re...

Henry Threadgill is an American composer, saxophonist, flutist, and bandleader associated with experimental jazz and Chicago's Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians. He co-founded the trio Air and later led ensembles including the Sextett, Very Very Circus, and Zooid, often writing f...

The Erroll Garner Trio was a jazz piano trio centered on American pianist and composer Erroll Garner, usually pairing piano with double bass and drums. Garner's playing combined a strong, guitar-like left-hand pulse with behind-the-beat right-hand phrasing, orchestral chords, and elaborate introduct...

The McCoy Tyner Trio refers to the piano-led small groups formed by American jazz pianist and composer McCoy Tyner across several periods of his career. After serving in John Coltrane's classic quartet from 1960 to 1965, Tyner developed trio performances characterized by forceful left-hand voicings,...

Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Flatwounds are renowned electric guitar strings favored by jazz musicians. Their flatwound construction provides a remarkably smooth playing experience while delivering a warm, mellow tone often described as the gold standard for this genre. These strings offer exceptional sust...

Bill Evans’ “Waltz for Debby” is a piano piece from 1956 featuring Evans alongside Joe Morello and Paul Motian. The waltz, originally written as a gift for his niece Debby, showcases Evans' lyrical improvisation and harmonic sophistication. It became a widely recorded standard within jazz, frequentl...

Don Byas was an American tenor saxophonist born in Muskogee, Oklahoma, who established himself in the 1940s swing-era bands of Lionel Hampton, Count Basie, and others while also participating in the emerging bebop jam session culture on New York's 52nd Street. He moved to Europe in 1946, first with...

Roscoe Mitchell is an American composer, improviser, and multi-instrumentalist associated with experimental jazz and contemporary music. He was an early member of Chicago's Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians and a founder of the group that became the Art Ensemble of Chicago. Known...