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The Guaraldi Sound: The Musical Devices that Characterize Vince Guaraldi's Improvisational and Compositional Idiom

Description: Vince Guaraldi (1928-1976) was a jazz pianist who achieved tremendous financial and commercial success in the 1960s with his popular recordings and his work for the Peanuts animated shorts. He cultivated a musical style that drew from several identifiable sources: boogie-woogie, bebop, Brazilian and Afro-Cuban jazz, and rock ‘n' roll. The result was a distinct approach to jazz which, although it may not have been as influential as that of some of his contemporaries, nevertheless constituted a u… more
Date: December 2020
Creator: Huntley, Alec Villars
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Motivic and Voice-Leading Coherence in the Improvisations of Saxophonist Chris Cheek

Description: Saxophonist Chris Cheek has been a reference for his work as a sideman with some of the most established jazz artists in the international jazz scene of the last twenty-five years. Despite his importance, there is lack of detail in the available publications about Cheek. The short length and journalistic character of the publications only produce surface descriptions of Cheek's style. There is a need to further describe the melodic elements present in Chris Cheek's style in order to have a bett… more
Date: December 2017
Creator: Fraile, Alex
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

An Analysis of Dave Holland's Free Improvisation in "Waterfall" and Its Pedagogical Applications for Bassists in Avant-Garde Performance

Description: This research investigates a microcosm of the free jazz/free improvisation environment of the 1970s in "Waterfall," from the album Dave Holland/Sam Rivers Vol. 1. This recording features Dave Holland and Sam Rivers exhibiting highly developed improvisational language and effortless interaction. The purpose of this investigation is to create pedagogical material for bassists who are unfamiliar and/or uncomfortable with performing in an improvisational style that exists separately from the rigid,… more
Date: December 2019
Creator: Heffner, Steven (Bassist)
Partner: UNT Libraries
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