Music Comparison - The Spirit of Great Oak

Music Comparison of Indian Jazz
and Marcus Miller
Steven Harding
Period 6
Demographics
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Population of 1.21 Billion and increasing17.5% of the worlds population.
Land Mass of 1.269 million sq. miles
Languages-Hindi and English. However
speak many languages based on religious
belief.
Religions-Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism,
and Sikhism.
Indian Culture
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Celebrate Holidays such as their
Independence Day, Republic Day, and
Ghandi Jayanti.
Festivals celebrated by various
religions- Hindu celebrate Buddha
Purnima which is “The Birth of
Enlightenment”.
Celebrations are mostly due
to Religion or Independence.
Indian Instruments/Songs
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Sitar- String instrument with 17-20
strings and are used to create melodies
(lead and second). Also use drone
notes to create a bass representation.
Tabla- Drums used for Rhythm and
Tempo. Use mathematics to create time
signatures.
India’s song writing has a lot to do with
their religion and Independence. They
may write their songs strictly as prayer
or worship.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXXBfL5lRqE
American Jazz influence in India
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African-American Jazz artists first came to
India to escape racial discrimination.
Teddy Weatherford, Roy Butler, and Ken
Mac.
Leon Abbey brought the first 8 piece band
to Bombay.
Taj Mahal Hotel Ballroom was the most
popular place to play.
Indo Jazz
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Created with American jazz influence
and tradition Indian influence
combinations.
John Coltrane, John Mayer, John
McLaughlin were three of the first
popular artists to have Indian
influence.
Helped Create “Free Jazz”.
Tradition Jazz set up with Sitar,
Tabla, and Violins.
Continued
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Indo Jazz Musicians used many new scales
such as Pentatonic and the Hejaz scale.
Music of this time started to include semitones as well as quarter tones.
Could even go to intervals smaller than a
semi-tone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xefRT_Bl9XQ
Marcus Miller
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Born on June 14th, 1959 in Brooklyn,
New York.
Multi Instrumentalist, Primarily Bass
guitar and Bass Clarinet.
Has Played on Records by Roberta
Flack, Luther Vandross, David
Sanborn.
Played and produced the Miles Davis
“Tutu”.
Marcus’s Influences
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Marcus was influenced by
traditional jazz artists such as
Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and
Charlie Parker. However was
heavily influenced by R&B
musicians such as Jaco Pastorius,
Return to Forever, and Larry
Graham.
Marcus Miller’s story
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Started out in New York running
from session to session and
became known for his bass playing
skills and his use of the double
thump slapping technique.
In 1983 he had written and
produced his own solo R&B record,
however it was not a major
success.
Continued
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After two decades of session work and a
few R&B albums in he decided he wanted
to create solo instrumental jazz and funk.
Marcus is one of many bass players who
took to Indian influence in his playing.
Indian Influence
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Marcus uses many Indian style licks and
grooves in his songs.
The most noted song is “Blast” where he
uses his thumb technique to get a Sitar
drone sound. However has actual sitars in
his song.
He gives an Eastern style melody while
using his R&B and Jazz background.
Marcus Miller Blast
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oI_aNllzYSk
Direct Comparison
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Similarities- Drones, and Scale usage as
well as Quarter tones. Primarily
instrumental, giving each instrument a
time to shine. Each instrument has a
specific role and purpose. Both influences
can be found in either genre.
Direct Comparison
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Differences- Marcus has more of western
approach, he uses more structured time
signatures such as 4/4 or 3/4 and gives his
songs elements of new age funk and
American Jazz. Songs are written for
entertainment and fun.
Indian Jazz keeps within the realm
traditional styles but ventures out into
American Jazz. However time signatures
change more often and dramatically in
Indian Jazz. Time signatures can get crazy
depending on the region and song. Songs
are mostly written as prayer or worship.
Primary
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Marcus Miller’s use of drones and scale
patterns is his most direct link into Indian
style music. However being a jazz
musician has many attributes into
traditional jazz styles of rhythm and the
way he structures his songs.
Secondary
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Marcus and Indo jazz are also both similar
in the ways of free flowing styles. There
are times where both of there music calls
for structure but they both share a
common theme of improvisation. They
both keep the listener guessing where the
music is going to go.
Cited
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https://www.google.com/search?q=1930s+jazz&biw=1366&bih=599&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa
=X&ei=xchuVPHBNuSDiwK35IHYBg&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAw#tbm=isch&q=marcus+miller+blast&fa
crc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=0A_tnkVAQs87HM%253A%3BeoYKLAVd7kaasM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%
252Fs3.amazonaws.com%252Fhalleonardpagepreviews%252FHL_DDS_0000000000445362.png%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.guitarin
structor.com%252Fproduct%252Fviewproduct.do%253Fitemid%253D1000081807%3B522%3B69
6
http://censusindia.gov.in
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo_jazz
www.marcusmiller.com
www.npr.org/2010/08/24/.../facing-the-east-indo-jazz-fusion
https://www.google.com/search?q=larry+graham&biw=1366&bih=599&source=lnms&tbm=isch&
sa=X&ei=J9BuVK73CNDViAKpw4CwBQ&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAg#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=zf0xIg37
eCCIBM%253A%3BxOHq2oCKORWWpM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Frevivemusic.com%252Fwp-content%252Fuploads%252Flarrygraham.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Frevivemusic.com%252F2013%252F08%252F14%252Fhappy-birthday-larrygraham%252F%3B640%3B425
Me and Marcus Miller, November 2014