‘Everybody Loves the Sunshine’: Kamala Harris’s music purchase included a classic Roy Ayers album.
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Politicians like to talk about their musical taste to identify with voters – but Kamala Harris’s love for jazz is authentic.
Billie Holiday records her penultimate album, ‘Lady in Satin,’ in New York in 1957.
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Christian and Jewish themes influenced the world of art around one of jazz’s greatest singers.
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Neuroscientist John Kounios tells The Conversation Weekly podcast about what his new research with jazz musicians revealed about the brain mechanisms of creative flow.
George Gershwin composed Rhapsody in Blue in three weeks.
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With his highly original melodic gift, Gershwin blended jazz and classical elements to create the iconic and enduring Rhapsody in Blue.
Creative flow involves relaxing one’s focus or conscious control, new study finds.
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Neuroscientists analyzed the brain waves of 32 jazz guitarists as they improvised to chords and rhythms. Their findings suggest 2 key principles support innovative thinking.
It took George Gershwin just 10 days to pen the American classic.
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The work remains a crowd favorite. But more and more scholars are starting to see ‘Rhapsody’ as a whitewashed version of Harlem’s vibrant Black music scene.
Sylvia Mdunyelwa in Langa township in 2023.
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Not just a great jazz singer, Sylvia Mdunyelwa was also an activist, educator, broadcaster and actress.
Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga in 2015.
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The jazz singer saw renewed success late in life on the back of collaborations with an eclectic array of artists.
These multicolored notes reflect the diversity of music across the world.
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The predominantly white European field of music education in the US is changing radically these days as schools confront anti-Black histories.
Astrud Gilberto backstage at New York City’s Birdland Jazz Club in 1964.
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During the only major performance she gave in her home country, Gilberto was booed.
The classically trained jazz pianist fled dictatorship in Ethiopia.
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Her exquisite piano compositions drew fans to the Jerusalem monastery where she lived after fleeing Ethiopia.
Is it ever too late?
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We are all told to follow our calling. Here’s what happens if you pursue a more ‘sensible’ career instead.
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On October 24 1972, the world heard the infectious grooves and seamless vocal delivery of the song Superstition for the very first time.
Ella Fitzgerald performs in 1967.
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Few educators realise one decision in 1975 about notating standards cemented a practice excluding women.
Detail from the album cover of Group Theory: Black Music featuring a photograph by Andrew Tshabangu.
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Group Theory: Black Music is the name of the new album from the composer, drummer and scholar. On it jazz meets political theory.
Nduduzo Makhathini’s new offering is called In the Spirit of Ntu.
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The jazz star says he wants his piano to speak in his isiZulu language, and that his music is born from spiritual concerns.
Robotic orchestra conductor ‘Yumi’ performs on stage with the Orchestra Filarmonica di Lucca in Italy in 2017.
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Machines have been getting better at mimicking improvisation. But can this distinctly human process serve as a bulwark against the mechanization of life and art?
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Davis’s ability to innovate and incorporate other genres into his jazz has left a lasting impact on music.
Charlie Watts – a humble drummer behind a humble kit.
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Charlie Watts was the Rolling Stones’ drummer for almost six decades. A scholar of music – and a Stones fan – describes what he brought to the band.
Danish percussionist Marilyn Mazur has worked in many of the world’s best jazz bands and been described as “deserving wider recognition”.
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The heavily male community of jazz musicians and audiences have created barriers to success for women in the genre.