Elements of Jazz: From Cakewalks to Fusion
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Elements of Jazz: From Cakewalks to Fusion
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Narrated by:
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Bill Messenger
About this listen
Jazz is a uniquely American art form, one of America's great contributions to not only musical culture, but world culture, with each generation of musicians applying new levels of creativity that take the music in unexpected directions that defy definition, category, and stagnation.
Now you can learn the basics and history of this intoxicating genre in an eight-lecture series that is as free-flowing and original as the art form itself. You'll follow the evolution of jazz from its beginnings in the music and dancing of the antebellum plantations to its morphing into many shapes as its greatest innovators gave us ragtime, the blues, the swing music of the big band era, boogie-woogie, and big band blues.
You'll follow the rise of modern jazz in all of its many forms, including bebop, cool, modal, free, and fusion jazz. And you'll learn how the course of jazz was changed by key technological innovations, such as the invention of the microphone, which allowed smaller-voiced singers like Bing Crosby or Mel Torme to share a limelight once reserved for the bigger voices of stars like Bessie Smith or Al Jolson.
Beginning the story on those antebellum plantations, Professor Messenger reveals how the "cakewalks" of slave culture gave birth to a dance craze at the end of the 19th century that was ignorant of its own humble roots. And he explores the irony of the minstrel shows, which derived from Southern beliefs of black cultural inferiority yet eventually spawned a musical industry that African-American musicians would dominate for decades to come.
As a bonus, the lectures are also very entertaining, with Professor Messenger frequently turning to his piano to illustrate his musical points, often with the help of guest artists.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
©1995 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)1995 The Great CoursesListeners also enjoyed...
What listeners say about Elements of Jazz: From Cakewalks to Fusion
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ben Alldis
- 03-11-16
Absolutley fantastic!
Hands down one of the best lectures i've heard! Jazz history with examples.A great listen!
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- T Williams
- 04-01-21
A great overview of Jazz fundamentals
A really enjoyable tour through the fundamental building blocks of Jazz and their place in history backed by piano examples and trio recordings.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- J A MARTIN
- 25-01-17
Really enjoyed this.
Lots of interesting nuggets of info. Well thought through and fascinating. A history of jazz with examples. Brilliant and highly recommended. Thanks
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jamie White
- 20-11-23
Brilliant
For me, the mix, the pace, the storytelling (both musical and historical) was just perfect. It clearly isn’t aiming to be exhaustive, but instead illuminates the joy and magic of Jazz’s story and leaves you wanted to dig deeper into every stage.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Susan Harvey
- 25-09-19
Highly recommended
This was a true delight. The ideas have led me onto new paths and to return more knowledgably to old paths. The narration and content was beautifully delivered. I enjoyed every moment.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- petitbilbo
- 28-10-19
Learning about music as it should be: with music!
I'm quite curious about jazz and I've listened to another book previously. The problem was that, being a complete novice in this form of music, I was unable to link what was explained to the actual music. As interesting as it all was, it remained dry and uninformative.
Not here! Bill Messenger plays the music he talk about, with gusto and quite some virtuosity. When needed, he even invited other musicians to play along. Fantastic!
This is by far the "greatest course" I've listened to yet!
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- David Ewing
- 19-08-20
A must listen for anyone interested in music.
What an incredible lecture series. Bill Messenger is fantastic. The mixture of music theory, music history and live music performance makes this Great Course a must-listen. Great length too.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- superaking
- 07-06-23
A great listen
As someone new to Jazz I really enjoyed this course, especially the jam session in the last episode which was a fitting end.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Fatmusketeer
- 30-12-16
Excellent introduction to The history of Jazz
Where does Elements of Jazz: From Cakewalks to Fusion rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
I have listened to a lot of Great Courses. This is one of the best. It is very accessible, entertaining and illustrated with examples played by the lecturer who is a fine jazz pianist.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Elements of Jazz: From Cakewalks to Fusion?
One of Rachmanino's prelaudes was being 'ragged' when the composer (unknown to the pianist) was in the room....but I won't spoil the story.
What about Professor Bill Messenger’s performance did you like?
Bill Messenger is a fine jazz player and loves his subject. This came across very clearly in the course. An inspirational teacher.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Not advisable. I would recommend listening to some of the music talked about after each lecture.
Any additional comments?
The course material is adequate but not as comprehensive as some other courses. And I wish the course was longer!
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- SpiderQueen
- 19-10-23
Nearly great, but terrible on free jazz and fusion
As others have said, this course is too short (it should be around three times the length). Additionally, while both the urge to include the lesson on improvisation and the fact that that lesson includes a lot of music are understandable, the commentary is so condensed as to be of little worth - a problem that is made worse by the decision to include a discussion of Latin jazz in the same lesson.
However, aside from those issues, this is a fantastic, and fantastically enjoyable romp through various styles of jazz, with musical gems glittering in the fine framework of Messenger's enlightening historical reflections...
Right up until free jazz. Then you hit this: "In free jazz, as in free art (although that term isn't yet in use), art is divorced from craft. It is totally spontaneous and there are no rules."
That is untrue (in relation to both music and art). Even Messenger points out that that is not true of Ornette Coleman, whom he singles out as the originator and best performer of free jazz.
Messenger is similarly dismissive of fusion. He castigates its simplicity(!), even though he considers the simplicity of blues to be a positive. Indeed, he appears to believe that it is the presence of the blues that saves the Head Hunters album from fusion.
When one hears Miles Davis' 'On the Corner' or John Coltrane's 'Ascension', it is worth trying to understand what these musicians - who had previously performed on the most popular jazz album ever - were attempting to do.
However, you shouldn't let these failings put you off this otherwise superb course any more than you should let Messenger put you off those forms of jazz.
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