Word Jazz

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Word Jazz
Word Jazz.jpg
Studio album by Ken Nordine with the Fred Katz Group
Released 1957
Recorded July 1957
Chicago, IL
Genre Jazz
Length39:50
Label Dot DLP 3075
Producer Tom Mack
Ken Nordine chronology
Word Jazz
(1957)		 Son of Word Jazz
(1957) Son of Word Jazz1957

Word Jazz is the debut album by voice-over and recording artist Ken Nordine with the Fred Katz Group which was released on the Dot label in 1957. [1]

Voice-over

Voiceover is a production technique where a voice—that is not part of the narrative (non-diegetic)—is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentations. The voiceover is read from a script and may be spoken by someone who appears elsewhere in the production or by a specialist voice talent. Synchronous dialogue, where the voiceover is narrating the action that is taking place at the same time, remains the most common technique in voiceovers. Asynchronous, however, is also used in cinema. It is usually prerecorded and placed over the top of a film or video and commonly used in documentaries or news reports to explain information. Voiceovers are used in video games and on-hold messages, as well as for announcements and information at events and tourist destinations. It may also be read live for events such as award presentations.

Ken Nordine was an American voice-over and recording artist, best known for his series of word jazz albums. His deep, resonant voice has also been featured in many commercial advertisements and movie trailers. One critic wrote that "you may not know Ken Nordine by name or face, but you'll almost certainly recognize his voice."

Frederick Katz was an American cellist and composer. He was among the earliest jazz musicians to establish the cello as a viable improvising solo instrument. Katz has been described in CODA magazine as "the first real jazz cellist." Cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm, who recorded a 2002 tribute album to the older musician, praises Katz for introducing his instrument to jazz: "[Katz] managed to find a way to make it swing."

Contents

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [2]

The Allmusic site rated the album ​4 1⁄2 stars stating "the combination sounds not unlike a radio announcer performing beat poetry in places...mostly because that's exactly what it is. That would be selling this album short, though, because Nordine proves himself more than capable of providing both the smooth vocal tones as well as the truly twisted creative sense necessary to pull this off... Word Jazz is still an innovative album and definitely worthy of the sequels that followed." [2]

Track listing

All compositions by Ken Nordine and Fred Katz

  1. "What Time Is It?" – 3:48
  2. "My Baby" – 2:36
  3. "Sound Museum" – 7:09
  4. "The Vidiot" – 5:30
  5. "Roger" – 5:05
  6. "Hunger Is From" – 3:47
  7. "Looks Like It's Going to Rain" – 3:27
  8. "Flibberty Jib" – 4:42

Personnel

Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration encompasses a set of techniques through which the creator of the story presents their story, including:

Cello musical instrument

The cello ( CHEL-oh; plural cellos or celli) or violoncello ( VY-ə-lən-CHEL-oh; Italian pronunciation: [vjolonˈtʃɛllo]) is a string instrument. It is played by bowing or plucking its four strings, which are usually tuned in perfect fifths an octave lower than the viola: from low to high, C2, G2, D3 and A3. It is the bass member of the violin family, which also includes the violin, viola and the double bass, which doubles the bass line an octave lower than the cello in much of the orchestral repertoire. After the double bass, it is the second-largest and second lowest (in pitch) bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra. The cello is used as a solo instrument, as well as in chamber music ensembles (e.g., string quartet), string orchestras, as a member of the string section of symphony orchestras, most modern Chinese orchestras, and some types of rock bands.

Paul Horn was an American jazz flautist and saxophonist, and an early pioneer of new-age music.

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References

  1. ↑ Edwards, D. and Callahan, M. Dot Album Discography Part 2: LPs 3000-3250/25000-25250 accessed August 14, 2015
  2. 1 2 Carruthers, Sean. Word Jazz – Review at AllMusic . Retrieved August 14, 2015.
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