Skip to main content

Moondog - Behold

The history of jazz has been one of fusion. Its musicians and composers have continually drawn upon a huge range of different musics to create the rich and diverse tapestry that is world jazz today. Jazz is an evolving tradition of music making. And how often, in the life stories of individual jazz musicians, do we see these same patterns operating at microcosm?

The richness of Turkish music and culture sometimes seems at odds with its turbulent and cruel history. In 1979... the country suffered its third military take over in thirty years... Every kind of music was in Turkey at that point. But it was not appreciated. To understand the culture of the country, with those three military takeovers, Turkey could not go anywhere. Musically, it was very difficult. But things were beginning to happen.

Traditional Turkish music is essentially monophonic, rich in melody and rhythm but with little by way of harmony. The contrast with western music, with its beautiful harmonies but rhythmic weaknesses, could not be more marked. And Turkish musical scales are microtonal, unlike Western equally tempered scales.
Source: Fahir Atakoglu: Istanbul Blues by Duncan Heining


Moondog - Behold
  • Vocals by: Louis Hardin
  • Released in: 1971
  • Genres: Avant Folk, Baroque Music

"Moondog was a blind musician and composer who invented and made his own instruments and who lived on the streets of New York for many years. He became an honorary member of the New York Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall in the late 1940s."

See previous Song of the Day

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Copyrights and Public Domain

Copyrighting and Public Domain Music A song is the combination of melody and words. Each is protected by copyright, the melody as a musical work and the lyrics as a literary work. One or the other could be used separately and still be protected. Image by Markus Spiske Public Domain Music Public domain essentially covers creative works that are no longer protected by intellectual property laws, compositions and musical recordings in which the claim to intellectual property has either expired, been forfeited, or been waived. Most people recognize the term public domain in reference to published works, including sheet music or musical recordings, which once were protected by copyright, but the copyright expired several decades after the artist’s death or a considerable length of time after the work’s creation. Once copyright expires on a work like a recorded song, you can use it for any purpose without paying the publisher, the artist, or another institution. The Two Types of Copyright ...

The Waterboys - Carolan's Weird Welcome

The blues developed during the mid 20th century as technology brought new instruments like the electric guitar, better microphones, and amplifiers to the live music scene. This new form of electric blues started in the Mississippi Delta and Chicago, but soon spread to other parts of the United States. Blues rock and British Blues developed, and soon the blues had spread to most popular genres. Rock was born from the blues, and hard rockin’ blues music is still a staple of club bands around the world. Early British rockers were avid collectors and imitators of early blues records. There’s no denying the blues stylings of modern stars like Adele. Pop star Christina Aguilera loves singing traditional blues songs, most notably her rendition of At Last at Etta James’s funeral. An incredible fusion of traditional African music, African American songs, and folk music, the blues had a worldwide impact that continues to flow through the melodies and harmonies of musical artists today. With its ...

Mildred Bailey - Snowball

Many parents believed that this music was simply noise that had a negative influence on impressionable teens. Either way, it became clear that rock and roll was here to stay, bringing with it important changes... the impact of rock and roll, and... how the birth of this new music influenced and was influenced by technology, teen culture, race, and geography. Students will examine and evaluate conflicting opinions about the music that has appealed to teens over the past fifty years... identify whether they think each quote refers to music in the early days when rock and roll first emerged or in later years when heavy metal and hip hop became popular.   As rock and roll became a national phenomenon, many cities across the country became key to its development and expansion... The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum’s Landmark Series designates certain sites around the United States as historic rock and roll landmarks. These include King Records in Cincinnati, OH, the Surf Ballroom ...