Contemporary International Jazz

Global Citizens Writing Assignment Jazz Music is an original American art form that incorporates music from many different cultures. It has become an international music, that can be heard in most countries around the world, performed by musicians from those countries as well as American musicians. This assignment is a research and writing assignment that asks you to write about a contemporary International Jazz musician/group (a musician or group that comes from a country other than the USA) OR an International jazz “scene”, such as a famous International jazz festival like the Umbria Jazz Festival in Italy, or the jazz scene in Paris, London, Cape Town or Tokyo – writing about the history of Jazz in those places – important venues: jazz clubs, concert houses, jazz societies, and important musicians from the “scene”. There are many interesting topics that fall under this umbrella.You can explore an area of the world you have connections to, or want to know more about, or take the opportunity to learn more about an international artist you already know. There are many international jazz “scenes” to research, and important international jazz musicians can be found in almost every country or region. Many international jazz musicians combine music from their own country or region with existing jazz musical ideas to create a new jazz sound. Other international jazz musicians are dedicated to playing very traditional styles of jazz. Many came to the US to study jazz music and apprentice with American jazz masters. Some will have established residencies in the US and others will have established their careers outside the US, often in their home countries or regions. It is important that the topic you choose has enough information about the international aspects of the musician/group or jazz scene to support a research paper. The assignment is about a “contemporary” artist or scene – meaning that the artists or scene is currently active, with the paper including recent activity – recordings, concerts, etc.. Historical background is important, but the focus of the paper is about an artist/jazz scene going on right now. For instance, if you write about the jazz scene in Paris, you need to mention the history of Jazz in Paris (this is very important to this topic) and then write about the scene today, where the musicians are playing Jazz in Paris, who they are and how Jazz is integrated into modern Parisian society. http://guides.lib.usf.edu/SurveyJazz (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.) Requirements: Write a 1000-1500 word paper (this is the body of the paper, not including the discography and references, etc..) Research your topic well. It is important that you find lots of good information to base your paper on. Find and listen to musical examples of the artist(s)/group(s) you are writing about. If you are writing about a jazz “scene”, find and listen to some of the important artists from that scene. Find reviews of their music, and include your own description of what you hear in the music. If you are writing about an artist/group, Include a general description of the artist/group, what they are known for and other relevant projects/recordings they have produced. Include a selected discography as part of your reference citations. A discography is a list of important recordings by the artist or group. (You can find examples of discographies online.) You need to include the artist/group name, title of the recording, record label (company), year it was released, and important personnel on the recording. Include information about the recordings you write about: Date released Record label Musicians on the recording How readers can find this music (purchase, listen, etc) You will be graded on: The inclusion of all of the issues listed above in your paper. Evidence of research into the artist/group or jazz scene and the music associated with your topic. References to your other research should be included. How well written and readable the paper is. This is an IMPORTANT part of the Draft-Final paper process, to create a Final Paper that is well written and interesting to the reader. Basic format: Opening Paragraph (Thesis) – describes the content of the paper and the points to be made. Inside Paragraphs – discuss each topic presented in the Opening Paragraph (Thesis) Conclusion Discography – a selective listing of the Artist/Group’s important recordings that relate to the paper. Look up “discography” so you know what it is! Research References – citations need to be in MLA or APA format