He remained loyal to his New Orleans background, releasing music that became increasingly out of date. Louis Armstrong and other new innovators had overshadowed Morton’s prominence by the early 1930s. Morton’s work was more formal than early Dixieland jazz, although his arrangements were just sketched out and left room for improvisation. In 1928, Morton relocated to New York, where he recorded songs such as “Kansas City Stomp” and “Tank Town Bump.” He was the leader of Jelly Roll Morton’s Red-Hot Peppers, a seven-piece band, in 1926. He is thought to have been the first jazz artist to write down his arrangements.Īs a teenager, he traveled the country as a performer, vaudeville comic, and gambler. Jelly Roll Morton was a jazz genre pioneer. Jelly Roll Morton was an American pianist and lyricist who influenced the development of modern-day jazz in the 1920s. He received a special Bicentennial Special Award in 1976 for his contributions to American music. He also paved the way for other black musicians and performers to prosper in a racially divided country. His work paved the way for jazz, another uniquely American musical form. Scott Joplin was a significant character in the evolution of ragtime music. The Sting’s rendition of Joplin’s rag “The Entertainer,” performed by Marvin Hamlisch, peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 musical chart. Many jazz ensembles began to incorporate ragtime into their repertoire in the early 1940s. His rags are highly pentatonic, with great blues notes and other noteworthy black folk music qualities. Joplin fused Afro-American folk music and nineteenth-century European romanticism. Ragtime is also seen as a foundation of jazz. In 1902, Joplin released his first prolonged composition, a ballet suite incorporating rhythmic ragtime elements and choreographic directions.įrom 1899 until 1909, Joplin wrote ragtime masterpieces, including “Maple Leaf” and “The Entertainer.” Treemonisha, his opera, was presented on Broadway in 1972 and was incorporated in the film score for The Sting. Scott Joplin was a 20th-century American pianist and composer regarded as the “King of Ragtime.” His intricate bass rhythms, stop-time breakdowns, and harmonic concepts were widely copied. Photograph of composer Scott Joplin, age 35 On his seventieth birthday, President Richard Nixon bestowed the Medal of Freedom upon him. After the 1940s, he shifted his focus to longer pieces, including several suites (musical arrangements) constructed around a central theme, often an aspect of African American society.Įllington mostly remained in the background on most of his early recordings, but from the 1950s, he emerged as a tremendously imaginative piano soloist.ĭuke Ellington, a jazz musician, died of lung cancer on May 24, 1974, in New York City at the age of 67. “Mood Indigo,” “Satin Doll,” “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore,” and “Sophisticated Lady” are among his best-known pieces.Įllington was one of the first jazz composers to break the 78-rpm record’s three-minute time limit. Ellington wrote fantastic combinations of work that included music for dancing, popular songs, large-scale concert works, musical theater, and film compositions. He composed with his instrumentalists’ distinct sounds in mind. Ellington was famous for his unusual “jungle” sound, characterized by growling muted brass and menacing harmonies. He began performing professionally at 17 after being inspired by ragtime performers. His family supported his interest in music, and he began piano lessons at the age of seven. Ellington as a child, grew up in Washington, D.C., in a secure middle-class home.
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