Contents:
That is what violinist Lawrence Saunderling, a twenty-five year veteran of the L.
The idea of always striving and rising above adversity, that kind of thing. Therefore, the music takes you even further. That Negro American vitality, at its very best, is one of the truest beacons of human hope, for it tells us all, repeatedly, that we need not be reduced to the interior condition of savage beasts due to great suffering. Though we might get brutally knocked down, over and over, getting up is the highest identity of the human species.
The 20th was the century of communication. The 21st will be the century of integration. Our rapidly developing global community is the most exciting modern reality. But to the first jazz musicians in New Orleans, Louisiana, some years ago, the global village was already real. The larger question of this moment is how will we translate our differences into a collective creativity? The blues in an approach to harmony, a way of rhythm and a body of vocal textures sung through horns. The blues is call and response, as well as the high shuffle of a cowbell in some thick African drum stretto.
But mostly, it is an attitude towards life, celebrating transcendence through acceptance of what is and proceeding from there in a straight line to the nearest groove. With the blues you got to give some to get some. All Rise is structured in the form of a 12 bar blues. It is separated into three sections of 4 movements. Each section expresses different moments in the progression of experiences that punctuate our lives. It is a personal and communal progression.
The first four movements are concerned with birth and self-discovery; they are joyous. The second four movements are concerned with mistakes, pain, sacrifice and redemption. They are somber and poignant. The last four are concerned with maturity and joy. All Rise contains elements of many things I consider to be related to the blues: Instead of combining many different styles on top of a vamp, I try to hear how they are the same.
In attempting to unite disparate and large forces, everyone has to give up something in order to achieve a greater whole. The choir must do lots of waiting. The fun is in the working together. We are created in joy and we love to create. The main theme is a little riff my great Uncle Alfonse, who was born in , used to sing to me when I was boy. This movement is a march.
Soon everything starts spinning and then the families strings, woodwinds, percussion, etc. The harmonic direction is ambiguous. It could be in F major or C dominant or D minor. The orchestra is in F Dorian while the choir sings blues in E flat and C.
Because every march must have a trio, there is a trio section for flute, bassoon and clarinet. Then the jazz band enters on an A flat dominant 7 chord, implying minor blues in the key of C.
This is based on a little chant my son Simeon sang for about two hours on a train ride. It begins in the key of C sharp major and ends in D flat major with many modulations in between.
It is a form of danzon that utilizes what we call New Orleans clave. It features juxtaposition of the low and high registers and a repeated teasing theme with wa-wa trumpet or trombone. It also has samba and bossa nova rhythms, as well as a type of counterpoint that comes from New Orleans jazz. The form of this movement follows the process of emotional maturation in romantic matters.
The jazz band orchestra enters in the key of A flat with an unusual type of integrated harmonic voicing. This section is sensuous, adult and active. It culminates in a piano solo that features six bar phrases. The last section combines the jazz and symphonic orchestras in a typical jazz-with-strings type format plus a few unusual blues twists. This last rung of the romance is wistful and aged. We discover we can do wonderful things, get the big head and get lost in a labyrinth of our own magnificence.
This movement is the country fiddle with well-rooted bass in the key of A major. It questions whether the American school of fiddle playing, simpler in harmony but stronger in groove, should not have received more attention form American composers. Each section — violins, violas, cellos and bass — is introduced one at a time before the main theme enters. The wild strumming on open strings is full syncopated juxtaposition with the bass utilizing melodic fourths found in some types of African music and the treble using the open string scrapings of the country fiddle.
I used three different modes of exposition in this movement: The drums of war recycle the relationship of a battalion of Brazilian tambourin in call and response with a battery of percussion. The cowbell articulates the African six-eight clave. An alternating vamp of five-four and six-four in the key of F minor leads to a new harmonic progression and groove, in the style of John Coltrane. On top of this groove is a string counterpoint led by two saxophones. Two trombones improvising presage the funeral procession in the next movement.
Wess, in his inimitable style, ends this movement with a soulful cry. This movement begins with the New Orleans funeral that is always initiated by the solo trombone. Vic provides the proper Crescent City filigree on his clarinet. We then progress to the English Brass Choir, followed by the solo violins — all in mourning, the first signs of healing. The reverend shouts a sermon in the tradition of the Afro-American church. The tuba preaches, the French horns are the choir, the jazz trumpet is a sister in the back of the church, and the jazz trombone of Ron Westry is the elder deacon and chief co-signer.
After the sermon the choir sings of the arrogant and self-aggrandized viewpoints that always lead to gross inhumanity in the name of God and in the name of Jesus. This movement progresses from C minor to F major to D minor to A minor. To A something or another. After some introductory passages, the pastoral main theme is stated by bass, then cello, then viola. Each statement is answered by bass, clarinet and alto saxophone of the jazz band.
With each reiteration the theme becomes more syncopated under the influence of a washboard-inflected groove. The washboard is the folk element of the blues that cannot be corrupted. It represents the strength to resist over-refinement and willful descent into ever more elite forms of intellectual masturbation that often replace basic human engagement. A washboard puts you right in the laundry room where souls are cleansed and replenished. Beyond what is expected. Beyond all judgment — to what you know.
This is sung to a backbeat which represents under-refined forms of human engagement that preclude the type of thought, sophistication and feeling that enriches civilization. We look beyond that static groove to the fluid motion of swing. This movement progresses through the keys of A flat major, F major, G major and D dominant.
Suicune I have heard is not easy to find. Cynthia gave a brief singular nod. Besides I know Professor Rowan has a Piplup left that he's saving for you on your father's request. Maybe one day if you get good enough, you can go from being a gym leader to a member of the Elite Four.
Your father is waiting outside to take us to Sandgem Town. Will you give me a minute to get ready? She smiled and walked back across the pine wood floor gleaming in the morning sun. Her long honey blonde hair flowed behind her as she opened my door and walked out. I was left sitting on my ocean bedspread. After Cynthia's moving words, I found a new motivation to begin my pokemon journey. I swiftly got up and crossed over to my closet.
I opened the freshly painted white shutter doors and I grabbed my favorite dress, shoes, and my bag that had been already packed last night. I changed clothes and went to examine myself in the mirror. I had on favorite flowy maroon dress with my tan lace up boots. My long dirty blonde hair fell loosely over my shoulder and down to my waist. I compiled it into a messy bun with some layers framing my face. My green eyes stared back at me, well this is it. It all begins now. I grabbed my blue backpack that had white flowers drawn on it by Cynthia when we were ten.
It was hard to believe it was two years ago. I ran out of my room and two doors down, I descended down the stairs. The stairs led straight into the kitchen where my dad and Cynthia were eating ice cream. I am super excited! I knew this is what he wanted to hear but in reality, I was still nervous. She had always taken a special shine to my dad's research. So did I but she lived and breathed factual information. I haven't seen her in four months, with her being Professor Juniper's assistant in the Unova region.
I nodded in agreement and followed my best friend and father out the door to where new experiences are sure to follow. Just In All Stories: