Student Projects


1			Miles Davis' late 1960s electric experiments spawned a generation of jazz-rock fusion groups; the most important of these in the early 1970s were Weather Report, Return to Forever, Herbie Hancock's Headhunters, and the Mahavishnu Orchestra. Choose one (or more) of these groups and explore the ways in which this music grew out of such Miles Davis recordings as Bitches Brew, In a Silent Way, and Live-Evil. How is the music of each group similar to or different from Davis' approach? What new elements have been added?




2			Explore some third stream compositions on an anthology such as Columbia records' Birth of the Third Stream (Legacy CK 64929). For each piece, make a list of the musical elements that seem more jazz-oriented as well as those that seem to fall within the classical sphere. Which composers are more successful in integrating the two approaches? Why?




3			Read some reviews (online or in print) of Ken Burns' video documentary Jazz (and watch the video series if you can). Using these reviews, try to get a sense of how the jazz community responded to Burns' film. How do Stanley Crouch and Wynton Marsalis figure into the discussion?