In my project I composed and arranged original music for a nine piece jazz ensemble consisting of five horn instruments and a rhythm section. My objective was to write diverse music specifically for the group I put together, and also to challenge myself as a bandleader. I had an ambition to write detailed horn arrangements and to take the opportunity to try out many different arranging concepts. Additionally I wanted to explore and reflect on how my piano playing functioned in the ensemble in different situations and contexts. A significant part of the project was learning about the relations between my roles as a composer/arranger, as a pianist and as a band leader. The result was recorded in the KMH studio. When I contacted musicians for my group I wanted the players to be accomplished and professional but also with a strong personality that I liked. The horn instruments I decided on was one trumpet, two trombones and two saxophones, one of which also doubled on clarinet. This instrument combination gave very characteristic results I enjoyed. The musical ideas came from many different places but most of the actual composing and arranging work was done away from the instrument in the notation software Sibelius. Most of the arrangements was written in a more contrapuntal way than a traditional jazz arrangement, which was something I always had in mind. I also explored collective improvisation in several instances to make the music even more multi-layered in an interesting way. I tried to find different roles for the piano in the different pieces to challenge myself as a pianist. Despite this I didn’t put enough thought into what my playing actually was going to be. During the recording I often found myself unsure of how the piano was going to fit in the arrangements. This was mainly due to the rehearsal time being too limited, but also because of my inexperience as a bandleader. The composer/arranger role and the band leader role turned out to take up much more of my focus than the pianist role during the whole process. That being said, I still learned a lot about my own piano playing in general. I also got a memorable recording of my music, and got some experience in leading a large ensemble.

"European Echoes: Jazz Experimentalism in Germany, 1950-1975" is a historical and interpretive study of jazz and improvised music in West and East Germany. "European Echoes" illuminates an important period in German jazz whose beginnings are commonly associated with the notion of Die Emanzipation ("The Emancipation"). Standard narratives of this period have portrayed Die Emanzipation as a process in which mid-1960s European jazz musicians came into their own by severing ties of influence to their African American musical forebears. I complicate this framing by arguing that engagement with black musical methods, concepts, and practices remained significant to the early years of German jazz experimentalism. Through a combination of oral histories, press reception, sound recordings, and archival research, I elucidate how local transpositions and adaptations of black musical methods, concepts, and practices in post-war Germany helped to create a prime site for contesting definitions of cultural, national, and ethnic identities across Europe. Using a case study approach, I focus on the lives and works of five of the foremost German jazz experimentalists: multi-reedist Peter Brötzmann, trumpeter and composer Manfred Schoof, pianist and composer Alexander von Schlippenbach, multi-reedist Ernst-Ludwig Petrowsky, and pianist Ulrich Gumpert. Furthermore, I discuss new music composer Bernd Alois Zimmermann's sustained engagement with African American musical forms in addition to the significance of both Schoof's and Schlippenbach's studies and various collaborations with him. The elucidation of the German jazz experimentalism movement is situated within the larger context of ther Cold War's competing West German capitalist and East German state socialist political systems and shows how music became a form of international politics and cultural diplomacy.

A collection of transcribed trumpet solos from the Duke Ellington Band between 1940 and 1942.

This submission investigates the creative music-making process from its conception as an idea or musical image to its realisation in the form of a CD of the musical performance. The discussion is based on two recitals by the author in association with two different ensembles. The first recital was with the contemporary world music group Tatopani on November 24th 2005 at Sweet Basil in Tokyo, Japan. The second was with the Hiroko Takada Quartet on March 9th 2006 at the Elder Music Unit in the The University of Adelaide. It discusses the processes that led to the two recitals from three perspectives : first from the musical perspective of the group; second, from the author's perspective as an individual performer, with emphasis on the contrast between multi-instrumentalism and focusing on a single instrument ; and, third, from the practical and organizational perspective, with particular emphasis on the recording process itself. Examples from the author's recitals are used to demonstrate the discussion, and CDs of the complete recitals are integral to the submission. / Thesis (M. Mus.) -- University of Adelaide, Elder Conservatorium of Music, 2006.

A comparison and analysis of existing texts whose focus was jazz and contemporary vocal ensemble techniques, in combination with the information gathered from interviews, as well as the author's personal teaching and professional experience as a jazz vocal artist, group singer, and jazz vocal ensemble director, served as the basis for developing strategies for a jazz and contemporary vocal ensemble sound. The major elements found to be the most critical for inclusion in sequence include: commonalities and differences, sound system and vocal production, ballad interpretation, swing interpretation, and contemporary interpretation. It is the author's intention to design an easy-to-follow guideline for the traditional choral director whose desire is to develop a jazz vocal ensemble within the choral program. The strategies presented are intended to introduce basic concepts of vocal production and style that are deemed relevant and idiomatic for the jazz and contemporary vocal ensemble. A compact disc is also included, demonstrating the written examples. A series of interviews were also conducted with Professor Larry Lapin (University of Miami), Dr. Stephen Zegree (Western Michigan University), Kerry Marsh (Sacramento State University), Janis Seigel (Manhattan Transfer), Lauren Kinhan (New York Voices), Michelle Amato (Yanni/Disney/studio singer), and Julia Dollison (Down Beat Jazz Vocal Winner).

The development of solo literature for the bass trombone came relatively late in the history of instruments. Though the development of solo literature for this instrument and the birth and development of jazz occurring at the same time in history may be coincidental, the influence of one on the other is undeniable. Because of the large percentage of solo bass trombone literature that is influenced by jazz due to this coincidence, it is necessary that even a classically trained bass trombonist include jazz as a part of the study curriculum. In order to exemplify the influences of jazz harmony and jazz style on bass trombone literature, it was decided that the pieces chosen would be either from the library of standard bass trombone literature or would be an outstanding example for this topic. Then, the stylistic influences must be proved as being derived from the jazz idiom. The same must be shown true for any jazz harmonies discussed. For this topic, the following pieces were chosen: Eugène Bozza's New Orleans composed in 1962, Alec Wilder's Sonata for Bass Trombone and Piano composed in 1969, and Daniel Schnyder's subZERO: Concerto for Bass Trombone and Orchestra composed in 1999.

Three prominent jazz trumpeters, who cite visual experiences of colors, shapes, contours, or transcription – elements not directly related to the aural information typically described in the improvisational process – were selected and interviewed for this study. Each subject was asked to describe their conscious processes and visual experiences while improvising, with emphasis on personal development, content and musical intent. Additionally, each subject selected a recorded improvised solo to be analyzed and discussed, comparing traditional musical analytical techniques to their corresponding visual experiences. Pedagogical elements related to jazz education and personal practice were also included.

In the beginning of the 21st century, the development of the technology and the transportation makes cultural exchange and musical activities more active. Choral composers also seek new ways to express themselves through their brilliant works. Bob Chilcott is a comtemporary composer and choral conductor from England. His musical works are full of passion and lyric melodies and has become very popular in the past ten years. A Little Jazz Mass was commissioned by Cheryl Dupont, the conductor of the New Orleans Children¡¦s Chorus, and first performed in the 2004 Crescent City Choral Festival. This work is a fusion of Jazz and Classical music. This 12-minutes long mass includes five short sections: Kyrie, Gioria, Sanctus, Benedictus and Agnus Dei. Chilcott blended the Blues and the Swing into a traditional mass frame, and made A Little Jazz Mass different to the traditional mass works. The thesis consists of five chapters. The chapter one is the introduction. Chapter two discusses the background of this work: Chilicot¡¦s life, the development of Missa Brevis and the style of Jazz. Chapter three analyzes A Little Jazz Mass, including the background and the details in this musical work. Chapter four focuses on the interpretation of this work and the rehearsal technique of approaching this piece. Chapter five is the conclusion.

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Evidence of a link between piano and drumming performance practices in western music dates back to at least the mid-nineteenth century. The modern construction of the piano had yet to be fully standardized when percussive techniques were being applied to its keyboard. Since that time, pianists and drummers (especially those involved with the creation of groove-based music) have grown closer and closer, participating in what remains a richly symbiotic relationship. This study examines parallels between piano and drumming performance practices in jazz. In this context, drumming is acknowledged as an important inspiration guiding the expression of rhythm and percussive attack by non-drummers, pianists in particular. Historical connections between pianism and drumming in jazz are addressed through an examination of those legacies that are widely believed to derive from West African drumming, European march and dance traditions, and various aspects of the so-called "Latin tinge" from the Caribbean and South America. Playing techniques are compared in part based on the premise that similarities in musical output flow naturally from congruencies in instrumental architecture. Percussive action unites pianists and drummers, as do shared abilities to create rhythmic layers through the independent functioning of multiple limbs. A discussion of ensemble roles reveals conceptual links, especially with regard to time-keeping, "comping," and mutual approaches to the creation of groove and swing. Transcriptions are employed to illustrate instances of widely adopted drumming-like gestures from the history of jazz with special attention paid to rhythmic counterpoint, complementation, and rudimental sticking patterns used by jazz pianists since the 1960's. Though a statistically small sample, interviews with ten professional jazz pianists support the essential findings of the study. Questions are raised throughout regarding the effectiveness of traditional jazz pedagogy in emphasizing the importance of drumming to non-drummer instrumental praxis.