Jazz History (Coursework Sample)

Name of Student:
Name of Instructor:
Title:
March 17, 2015
In the jazz documentary by Ken Burns, a specific focus was on part 6 chapter 20, entitled "A reason for Living-Duke Ellington.”The documentary highlights the situation in Europe, especially concerning the racial perception in the continent expressed through Swing music. It is interesting to learn that American jazz is very popular in Europe, as we learn from how Duke Ellington was received in most of the cities such as Holland, P   aris in France, and Brussels in Belgium. Fans throng his shows without minding about his color. A highlight of this can be seen from how he is mobbed with gifts during his birthday, in his hotel room. However, the situation is different in Germany, with the Nazi government prohibiting Duke and his band from even setting a foot on their land. They termed jazz as ‘meant for the Hottentots’ and ‘a little backward for the German society’, using a banner that has a portrait of a black saxophone player with the Jewish star of David in reference to Benny Goodman. The Nazi Ministry of Propaganda was at its best trying to emphasize the racial intolerance in Germany.
Response to (1st) Documentary Clip 6
I like how you have explained the story of Dave, especially in relation to the racial perception present at that time in California. However, there seems to be a creation of misunderstanding when you state ‘he was the first black man ever met’, I think you meant ‘he was the first black man they had ever met.
Response to (2nd).Documentary Clip 1.Chapter 20.
Your analysis of the documentary, especially your approach of Duke Ellington’s experiences display a very deep understanding of the whole racial context in Europe during this time. However, you need to really work on the grammar part of your work, since there are some spelling errors and sentence structure mistakes which affect the sentence flow.
Response to (3rd); Chapter 18: These Things Can't Happen
You have displayed a clear mastery of the chapter in this discussion, and you have generally have exhaustively explained it...