The Forgotten Greats Of Jazz

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Term Paper Title	The Forgotten Greats Of Jazz
# of Words	2111
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	8.44

The Forgotten Greats of Jazz

The elements of music, as described in Jazz Styles, include beat, tempo, meter, and rhythm (Gridley 358-71).  Since all are present in Western music, they must all be present in jazz and the different forms of jazz.  This paper will explore some of the different forms the elements of music take on.
But the paper will go a step further.  In most textbooks, certain people are overlooked for one reason or another.  Textbook authors do not usually focus on popular music, even if it fits entirely into the scheme of the subject material.  Jazz musicians such as Jeff Beck, Carlos Santana, and Keith Emerson are some of the biggest names in modern jazz-fusion, Latin-rock, and progressive jazz, respectively.  For some reason, however, their names can never be found anywhere in the textbooks.
It is preposterous that these great jazz musicians must be ignored and forgotten in the encyclopedias of musical history.  This paper will nominate them into the world of academic greats and celebrate their musical heritages, which are carried on today.
Of the elements of music, beat, the constant pulse that any rhythm carries, is the simplest.  Tempo is the acceleration or deceleration of that continuous pulse (Gridley 358).  Tempo differs from song to song, and even within styles of music no commonality is expected.  One jazz tune, like John Coltrane’s “Giant Steps” may be played ultra-fast (Giant Steps 1, 8), while another may be played in a more moderate tempo, like “Blue Train” (Blue Train 1), and yet another may be a slow-paced, jazzy ballad like “Naima” (Giant Steps 6, 9).  Even if the tempo differs in these three Coltrane creations, that does not make any one of them something other than jazz.  They are all jazz.
Meter refers to the time signature of a piece.  Most music is “in four”, i.e., at any tempo, one would be able to count measures of “ONE two three four ONE two three four” (Gridley 359).  The source neglects to mention the optional secondary accent on beat three: “ONE two THREE four ONE two THREE four.”  This is a symmetrical rhythm, which Americans seem to enjoy because it is easy to count.
Although four is the meter in many jazz songs, nearly as common is the three.  This gives sort of a waltz feel, but no doubt songs like “My Favorite Things” (My Favorite Things 1) or “Greensleeves” (Truth 6) have jazzy aspects to them.  Because of this blend, the term “jazz-waltz” is applied to jazz tunes with a meter of three.  One would cou...

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