Grace Kelly Quintet: A Performance and Demonstration

Performance Guide

Cuesheet

Grace Kelly Quintet A Performance and Demonstration Meet young jazz saxophonist, singer, and composer Grace Kelly, who Los Angeles Times music critic Don Heckman described as “a startlingly gifted young jazz talent…with a glow that is just beginning.”

Jazz is a form of music through which an artist’s individual style clearly emerges and Grace Kelly’s work is a good example. Get to know her unique sound as she along with members of her quintet perform well-known jazz standards and original works of music. You’ll also have the opportunity to learn the art of active listening, as well as pick up pointers on how to interpret jazz music.

What You Should Know n

Photo by Jimmy Katz

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Considerd a music prodigy, Grace Kelly began playing piano at age six, and took up the clarinet and saxophone at age nine. By 12, she’d recorded her first CD. Today, at only 19, Kelly has recorded seven CDs and performed in more than 500 concerts all around the world. Over the years, she’s also picked up the flute, bass, and drums.

Grace Kelly is joined by band members Jason Palmer (trumpet), Doug Johnson (piano), Evan Gregor (bass), and Jordan Perlson (drums). The group tours together and has played at numerous famous music venues and jazz festivals.

Kelly is a very recent graduate of the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston. Fellow bandmates Gregor and Perlson are also from Berklee, and Johnson is a professor at the college.

Performances for Young Audiences is made possible by

Jazz: An Evolving Art Form Jazz is a truly American musical form—and many people consider it one of America’s best contributions to the world of music. Jazz first emerged about 100 years ago in the American south, most distinctly in New Orleans, Louisiana. This seaport city served as home to people of African, French, English, Caribbean, and other backgrounds. It also became a melting pot for music from many traditions.

African-American musicians fused elements of ragtime, blues, classical, and big brass band sounds to create this distinct new type of music.

After the first jazz recordings were made in 1917, jazz spread across the nation. It also evolved over decades, helped along by influential musicians. Among them, trumpeter Louis Armstrong (1920s) introduced improvised solos; Duke Ellington (1920s) popularized big band jazz; Benny Goodman and Count Basie (1930s and 40s) started people dancing to the upbeat sounds of swing; Charlie Parker (1940s) broke ground with a faster style called bebop; Miles Davis (1950s) influenced jazz first with his softer, complex “cool” style and then in the late 1960s with fusion jazz; and John Coltrane (1960s) helped pioneer jazz using sounds derived from half-steps, called modal jazz.

What You Should Listen For n

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At this performance/demonstration, you will hear a mix of new, original compositions and familiar jazz standards.

These jazz standards represent the collection of musical works created for Broadway shows and musical theater between the 1920s and 60s, and are considered the most popular and important jazz works of all time.

This collection or repertoire is also known as the “Great American Songbook.” From the turn of the last century through today, these classic songs have been performed and recorded countless times by a variety of artists.

Listen for how the standards allow for artistic freedom and interpretation, while retaining core elements such as melody and lyrics.

The Language of Jazz Here are some jazz terms you should know…

Improvisation Creating music or song spontaneously, a technique that requires great musical skill and creativity Soloing When a musician performs alone Tempo The speed of the music Syncopation Stressing a note in an unexpected place, between beats, or on a weak beat Individual Personality When musicians create a unique personal sound while playing their instruments

Listen Up! To learn more about jazz visit www.kennedy-center.org/artsedge and click the tag “jazz”

David M. Rubenstein Chairman Michael M. Kaiser President Darrell M. Ayers Vice President, Education Additional support for Performances for Young Audiences is provided by the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts, Capital One Bank, the Carter and Melissa Cafritz Charitable Trust, The Clark Charitable Foundation, Fight for Children, Inc., Mr. James V. Kimsey, The Kirstein Family Foundation, Inc., The Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation, Inc., Linda and Tobia Mercuro, The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, Park Foundation, Inc., Mrs. Irene Pollin, Dr. Deborah Rose and Dr. Jan A. J. Stolwijk, The Theodore H. Barth Foundation, Inc., the U.S. Department of Education, and the Verizon Foundation.

Major support for the Kennedy Center’s educational programs is provided by David and Alice Rubenstein through the Rubenstein Arts Access Program.

www.kennedy-center.org/artsedge Cuesheets are produced by ARTSEDGE, an education program of the Kennedy Center. ARTSEDGE is a part of Thinkfinity. org, a consortium of free educational Web sites for K-12 teaching and learning.

Learn more about Education at the Kennedy Center at www.kennedy-center.org/education The contents of this Cuesheet do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government. © 2012 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

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