Global Music and Jazz

This assignment is a research and writing assignment that asks you to find a Jazz artist who is combining an International music style with Jazz music to create/explore a new Jazz sound in a specific project (recording or concert) IT IS IMPORTANT YOUR READ AND UNDERSTAND THIS ASSIGNMENT – YOU ARE SEARCHING FOR A JAZZ ARTIST THAT IS CREATING JAZZ MUSIC WITH AN INTERNATIONAL MUSIC INFLUENCE.  The artist can be American OR from another country, but must be creating JAZZ music, not using international music influences to create other styles of music (which is interesting, BUT not in the scope of this class.)  The international music needs to be indigenous music from a specific country or region/culture – Irish folk music, or Calypso music from Trindad/Tobago, or music from the Basque region of Spain, etc..   It can not be a music that is already a mixture of styles (Afrobeat for instance), or a music from an International urban area that has lots of different ethnic groups (like London.)  So, for instance, an artist creating dance club music using Indian musical influences (from India) is NOT someone you can use for this paper.  

As you have discovered in your text readings and other assignments in this course, Jazz music developed in America from the combining of different musical influences, which came about as a result of the numerous International cultures that played a part in the development of the country.  As the music grew, Jazz continued to incorporate musical elements from other styles of music, including world music influences.  Examples include Dizzy Gillespie, who collaborated with Cuban congero Chano Pozo to explore new sounds in Jazz.  In the 1960’s the Brazilian music style of Bossa Nova influenced artists like Stan Getz, and became a popular new sound in Jazz. The combining of International music styles and Jazz in this way is continuing today, creating interesting new Jazz sounds. Many international musical influences can be heard in modern Jazz music.

Assignment:

Research and find an artist or group that is combining an international music with jazz to create a new Jazz sound for a specific project (usually a recording, but could be a concert)  Limit your research to music  created in the 21st Century (since the year 2000.) Pick a culture or country whose music you would be interested in learning about and see if you can find an artist or group who is combining that music with Jazz music to create a new Jazz sound. BE SURE YOU FIND A JAZZ ARTIST OR GROUP THAT IS COMBINING AN INTERNATIONAL MUSIC AND JAZZ, TO CREATE A NEW JAZZ SOUND. There are a number of examples of non-jazz artists using international music in their folk music, rock music, hip hop etc.., so be sure your choice of artist/group is a JAZZ artist. The artist can be an American that is using International music as an influence or it can be an artist who is from another country that is an accomplished Jazz artist who is exploring combining music from his/her culture with Jazz.  Be SURE the artist is a Jazz artist and the specific music project you write about is a combination of Jazz and an International music style.

This assignment is requires you to do collegiate level research to find an appropriate artist who has a specific project/composition(s) that combines Jazz and an International music.

Example:  an online search for “Traditional Japanese music and Jazz” produced a large number of entries, and some were useful in suggesting some artists that are combining the 2 styles of music to create a new Jazz based music.

When conducting online searches, use quotation marks around the important key words in the search…”Japanese Folk Music” and “Jazz” for instance.

The USF Library has created a Course Guide for this class with useful information on how to conduct online searches and what materials are available in the USF Library that could be useful to this assignment. 

http://guides.lib.usf.edu/SurveyJazz (Links to an external site.)

Once you find an artist you are interested in, listen to the musical examples and read about the artist and their concepts for combining Jazz and the International music they specialize in.

Requirements:

1. Write a 1000-1500 word paper ( this is the body of the paper, not including the discography and references, etc..) which describes the artist/group and their music.  (NOTE: word count is the least important part of the grading of this paper. Any paper that covers all of the requirements will be at least 1000 words, this is just a suggestion so that you don’t feel like you have to write a LONG paper.  The content, quality of writing, inclusion of required information and following the writing style guidelines are the most important part of this paper). The paper should be well written, following general rules and formatting for a Research Paper (see suggested format below). Citations should be in MLA or APA format. You can get help and information about writing a Research Paper from the USF Writing Center.
2. Use your research to write a description of the artist/groups concepts and ideas for combining the international music with Jazz. It is important that find descriptions of the concepts and ideas from the artist and/or reputable experts reviewing the project/composition. You need to do significant research to be able to write about the ways the artist or group is combining the international music elements with Jazz elements to create the new music.  Be sure you write about a specific composition or musical project (can be a whole album.)
3. Include your own description of what you hear in the music. Describe the ways the music moves you.
4. Include a general description of the artist/groups, what they are known for and other relevant projects/recordings they have produced. Include a selected discography as part of your reference citations. A discography is a list of important recordings by the artist or group.  (You can find examples of discographies online.) You need to include the artist/group name, title of the recording, record label (company), year it was released, and important personnel on the recording.
5. Include information about the recordings you write about:
   1. Date released
   2. Record label
   3. Musicians on the recording
   4. How readers can find this music (purchase, listen, etc)

You will be graded on:

1. The inclusion of all of the issues listed above in your paper.
2. Evidence of research into the artist and music. References to your other research should be included.
3. Your description of the music.
   1. How the combination of the particular Global music and Jazz presented by the artist/group works – what elements of each style of music are heard?
   2. How the music impacts you as a listener – what moves you:
      1. pick some specific moments in the performance that you can identify, describe and comment on the way the music moves you.
   3. How well written and readable the paper is.
      1. This is an IMPORTANT part of the Draft-Final paper process, to create a Final Paper that is well written and interesting to the reader.

Note: Reference materials  (discography and citation lists) are not part of the word count

Basic format:

Opening Paragraph (Thesis)

     – describes the content of the paper and the points to be made.

Inside Paragraphs

     – discuss each topic presented in the Opening Paragraph (Thesis)

Conclusion

Discography

     – a selective listing of the Artist/Group’s important recordings that relate to the paper.  Look up “discography” so you know what it is!

Research References

     – citations need to be in MLA or APA format 

Use of copied materials:

This assignment uses the Turnitin tool, which assesses the materials in the paper and issues a Similarity Report of any materials that are copied from existing sources.  You need to be sure that any copied materials are properly cited, in quotations, etc..  You have 3 submissions for the Draft and Final paper to assure that you have viewed the Similarity Report and rewritten your paper to make sure there are no copied materials that are not properly cited in your final submissions. The university takes plagiarism very seriously (see syllabus), so be SURE your paper does not include copied materials that are not cited or quoted in your writing. 

Note:  Including LARGE amounts of quoted materials in the body of your paper (to build up word count) will not be viewed favorably in the grading of the paper.  This writing assignment is designed for you to write about music, using your own words and descriptions.  You need to include cited information about the artist/group and recordings, but the body of the paper that includes your descriptions of the music and concepts should be your own words, organized for this paper, not copied descriptions from research sources. That being said, important quotes from the artist/group or reviews that help make your points are encouraged.  How and where you place these quotes in your paper can be very effective in the creation of an interesting and well written paper.