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What was Louis Armstrong's middle name?

• Daniel
• Marshall
• Clancy
• Lawrence

Louis Daniel Armstrong, born August 4, 1901, was an American trumpeter whose career spanned five decades. He is one of the most influential figures in jazz music. Armstrong had a unique tone and a talent for melodic improvisation. His contribution to jazz music transformed it from collectively improvised folk music to a serious art form. Join us as we tell you more about this music legend.

Source: National Today

Which of these musicians is most known for his free jazz works?

• Bud Powell
• Ornette Coleman
• Dave Brubeck
• Sun Ra

As early as the 1940s, jazz musicians, most notably pianist Lennie Tristano and composer Bob Graettinger, created a handful of works using free jazz elements. Effectively, free jazz began with the small groups led in 1958–59 by alto saxophonist Ornette Coleman, from whose album Free Jazz (1960) the idiom received its name.

Source: Britannica

In what US city was Billie Holiday born?

• Los Angeles
• New York
• Houston
• Philadelphia

Billie Holiday, born April 7, 1915, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. was the daughter of Clarence Holiday, a professional musician who for a time played guitar with the Fletcher Henderson band. She and her mother used her maternal grandfather’s surname, Fagan, for a time; then in 1920 her mother married a man surnamed Gough, and both she and Eleanora adopted his name. It is probable that in neither case did her mother have Eleanora’s name legally changed. The singer later adopted her natural father’s last name and took the name Billie from a favorite movie actress, Billie Dove. She had had no formal musical training, but, with an instinctive sense of musical structure and with a wealth of experience gathered at the root level of jazz and blues, she developed a singing style that was deeply moving and individual.

Source: Britannica

Gypsy jazz is a genre of jazz that originated in what country?

• France
• United States
• Spain
• Romania

Gypsy jazz, or jazz Manouche, as it is sometimes called, is a style that originated in Paris, France, in the 1930s. It is typically played by a small-group jazz ensemble and shares some characteristics and influences with other styles of jazz, like swing and bebop, but retains its distinctive sound, repertoire, instrumentation, and subculture.

Source: Jazz Fuel

What jazz style was championed by Charlie Parker?

• Bebop
• Soft
• Acid
• Cool

Charles Parker Jr., nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader, and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form of jazz characterized by fast tempos, virtuosic technique, and advanced harmonies. He was an extremely brilliant virtuoso and introduced revolutionary rhythmic and harmonic ideas into jazz, including rapid passing chords, new variants of altered chords, and chord substitutions. Primarily a player of the alto saxophone, Parker's tone ranged from clean and penetrating to sweet and somber.

Source: Wikipedia

In what year did Chet Baker die?

• 1967
• 1975
• 1988
• 1991

Early on May 13, 1988, Baker was found dead on the street below his room in Hotel Prins Hendrik, Amsterdam, with serious wounds to his head, apparently having fallen from the second-story window. Heroin and cocaine were found in his room and his body. No evidence of a struggle was found, and the death was ruled an accident. According to another account, he inadvertently locked himself out of his room and fell while attempting to cross from the balcony of the vacant room adjacent to his own. A plaque was placed outside the hotel in his memory. Baker is buried at the Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood, California, next to his father.

Source: Wikipedia

Which jazz star released "A Love Supreme" in 1965?

• Thelonious Monk
• Charlie Parker
• Miles Davis
• John Coltrane

"A Love Supreme" is an album by American jazz saxophonist John Coltrane. He recorded it in one session on December 9, 1964, at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, leading a quartet featuring pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison, and drummer Elvin Jones. "A Love Supreme" was released by Impulse! Records in January 1965. One of Coltrane's bestselling albums, it is widely considered his masterpiece.

Source: Wikipedia

"The Black Saint and The Sinner Lady" is an album by whom?

• Max Roach
• Wynton Marsalis
• Charles Mingus
• Charlie Haden

The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady is a studio album by American jazz double bassist, composer, and bandleader Charles Mingus. It was recorded on January 20, 1963, and released in July of that year by Impulse! Records. The album comprises a single continuous composition—partially written as a ballet—divided into four tracks and six movements. It is widely regarded as one of the greatest jazz records of all time.

Source: Wikipedia

What was the title of the album released by Miles Davis in 1970?

• Water Babies
• Miles in the Sky
• Bitches Brew
• Sketches of Spain

"Bitches Brew" is a studio album by American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader Miles Davis. It was recorded from August 19 to 21, 1969, at Columbia's Studio B in New York City and released on March 30, 1970, by Columbia Records. It marked his continuing experimentation with electric instruments that he had featured on his previous record, the critically acclaimed In a Silent Way (1969). With these instruments, such as the electric piano and guitar, Davis departed from traditional jazz rhythms in favor of loose, rock-influenced arrangements based on improvisation. The final tracks were edited and pieced together by producer Teo Macero.

Source: Wikipedia

With which instrument can the clarinet be commonly mistaken?

• Zicus
• Bassoon
• Oboe
• Trumpet

The clarinet could easily be mistaken for an oboe, except for the mouthpiece, which uses a single reed. Clarinets come in a number of different sizes, and the standard B-flat clarinet is just over 2 feet long. Some musical works require the clarinetist to play several types of clarinet in the same piece. The 2 to 4 clarinets in the orchestra play both melodies and harmonies, and they have a dark rich sound in their lower notes, while the upper part of the clarinet's range is bright and resonant. You play the clarinet as you do an oboe, by holding it upright, blowing through the reed, and using your hands to change the pitches by opening and closing the keys with your fingers.

Source: Oregon Symphony