名人轶事:John Lewis of the Modern Jazz Quartet
英语课
By Cynthia Kirk
Broadcast: October 17, 2004
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
I'm Steve Ember.
VOICE TWO:
And I'm Shirley Griffith with the VOA Special English program PEOPLE IN
AMERICA. Today, we tell about pianist John Lewis. He created one of one of
the most famous jazz groups in America, the Modern Jazz Quartet.
VOICE ONE:
John Lewis was known for his creativity. He was a skilled 1 piano player and
musical director of the Modern Jazz Quartet for almost fifty years. He wrote
and arranged all the music for the small group. Mister 2 Lewis was responsible
for the group's sound and its identity 3.
John Lewis was interested in jazz, blues 4 and bebob, a music with a great deal
of energy. Yet he was also greatly influenced by his training in European
classical music. Classical music is expressive 5 and intense 6, but is also
structured. He thought jazz should be presented the same way.
John Lewis combined classical music with traditional jazz to create songs for
himself and the three other members of his quartet. He believed music should
be simple and clear, yet played in a meaningful way. Here is one of the
Modern Jazz Quartet's big hits, "Django."
(MUSIC)
VOICE TWO:
John Lewis was greatly influenced by the piano style of the famous jazz
bandleader, Count Basie. Like Basie, Lewis believed in making every note of
music count. He depended as much on silence as he did on notes to get his
message across.
John Lewis often used a form of music called fugue. Fugue is a series of
opposing melodies 7 used to create a complex effect. Mister Lewis also combined
written music with music that the group invented as it went along.
This new kind of jazz attracted both lovers 8 of jazz and classical music. It
also appealed to people who did not necessarily 9 like jazz. Here is an example
of fugue in the song "Alexander's Fugue."
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
The Modern Jazz Quartet included John Lewis, Milt Jackson, Percy Heath and
Connie Kay. The group made its first recording 10 in nineteen fifty-two. And
they continued to play together, with a seven year break, until nineteen
ninety-nine.
John Lewis was as concerned about appearances as he was about the music. The
musicians had to dress well for every performance. They played mostly in
concert halls instead of small dance clubs. Lewis believed jazz should
receive the same respect as classical music.
VOICE TWO:
John Lewis was born in La Grange, Illinois, in nineteen twenty. He grew up in
Albuquerque, New Mexico. He started playing the piano when he was seven. As a
teenager, he played professionally in churches around Albuquerque. He soon
was playing in local dance halls.
Lewis studied anthropology 11 and music at the University of New Mexico. In
nineteen forty-two, he joined the Army and served in Europe during World War
Two.
After the war, Lewis moved to New York City and played in Dizzy Gillespie's
big band. He also studied for his master's degree at the Manhattan School of
Music.
Broadcast: October 17, 2004
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
I'm Steve Ember.
VOICE TWO:
And I'm Shirley Griffith with the VOA Special English program PEOPLE IN
AMERICA. Today, we tell about pianist John Lewis. He created one of one of
the most famous jazz groups in America, the Modern Jazz Quartet.
VOICE ONE:
John Lewis was known for his creativity. He was a skilled 1 piano player and
musical director of the Modern Jazz Quartet for almost fifty years. He wrote
and arranged all the music for the small group. Mister 2 Lewis was responsible
for the group's sound and its identity 3.
John Lewis was interested in jazz, blues 4 and bebob, a music with a great deal
of energy. Yet he was also greatly influenced by his training in European
classical music. Classical music is expressive 5 and intense 6, but is also
structured. He thought jazz should be presented the same way.
John Lewis combined classical music with traditional jazz to create songs for
himself and the three other members of his quartet. He believed music should
be simple and clear, yet played in a meaningful way. Here is one of the
Modern Jazz Quartet's big hits, "Django."
(MUSIC)
VOICE TWO:
John Lewis was greatly influenced by the piano style of the famous jazz
bandleader, Count Basie. Like Basie, Lewis believed in making every note of
music count. He depended as much on silence as he did on notes to get his
message across.
John Lewis often used a form of music called fugue. Fugue is a series of
opposing melodies 7 used to create a complex effect. Mister Lewis also combined
written music with music that the group invented as it went along.
This new kind of jazz attracted both lovers 8 of jazz and classical music. It
also appealed to people who did not necessarily 9 like jazz. Here is an example
of fugue in the song "Alexander's Fugue."
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
The Modern Jazz Quartet included John Lewis, Milt Jackson, Percy Heath and
Connie Kay. The group made its first recording 10 in nineteen fifty-two. And
they continued to play together, with a seven year break, until nineteen
ninety-nine.
John Lewis was as concerned about appearances as he was about the music. The
musicians had to dress well for every performance. They played mostly in
concert halls instead of small dance clubs. Lewis believed jazz should
receive the same respect as classical music.
VOICE TWO:
John Lewis was born in La Grange, Illinois, in nineteen twenty. He grew up in
Albuquerque, New Mexico. He started playing the piano when he was seven. As a
teenager, he played professionally in churches around Albuquerque. He soon
was playing in local dance halls.
Lewis studied anthropology 11 and music at the University of New Mexico. In
nineteen forty-two, he joined the Army and served in Europe during World War
Two.
After the war, Lewis moved to New York City and played in Dizzy Gillespie's
big band. He also studied for his master's degree at the Manhattan School of
Music.
adj.(in)熟练的,有技能的;需要技能的
- Unskilled workers usually earn less money than skilled workers.无技能的工人通常比有技能的工人挣钱少。
- She was skilled enough in French to translate a novel.她法语娴熟,足以翻译小说。
n.(略作Mr.全称很少用于书面)先生
- Mister Smith is my good friend.史密斯先生是我的好朋友。
- He styled himself " Mister Clean ".他自称是“清廉先生”。
n.身份,本体,特征;同一(性),一致
- He never revealed his identity.他从未暴露过自己的身份。
- He showed his identity card and went in.他把工作证亮了一下就进去了。
n.抑郁,沮丧;布鲁斯音乐
- She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
- He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。
adj.表现的,表达…的,富于表情的
- Black English can be more expressive than standard English.黑人所使用的英语可能比正式英语更有表现力。
- He had a mobile,expressive,animated face.他有一张多变的,富于表情的,生动活泼的脸。
adj.认真的,专注的;强烈的;紧张的;热情的
- Susan was an intense young lady.苏珊是一个热情的年轻姑娘。
- The quarrel caused her intense unhappiness.争吵令她极其不快。
曲调( melody的名词复数 ); 旋律; 乐曲的音符编排; 美妙的音乐
- The two melodies are played in counterpoint. 用对位法来演奏这两首曲调。
- And now for your further delectation, we present a selection of popular melodies. 为使你们更加愉快,我们奉献给你们一组精选的流行歌曲。
爱好者( lover的名词复数 ); 情人; 情夫; 情侣
- They were off-screen lovers. 他们是真实生活中的情侣。
- Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet 罗密欧和朱丽叶这一对莎士比亚笔下命运多舛的恋人
adv.必要地,必需地;必定地,必然地
- More work does not necessarily call for more men.增加工作量不一定就要增添人员。
- A voter must necessarily be no younger than eighteen.选民必须在18岁以上。
n.录音,记录
- How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间?
- I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。
n.人类学
- I believe he has started reading up anthropology.我相信他已开始深入研究人类学。
- Social anthropology is centrally concerned with the diversity of culture.社会人类学主要关于文化多样性。
n.韵律;节奏
- He has an ear for the rhythm of Irish speech.他对爱尔兰语的节奏很敏感。
- His poem has a pleasing rhythm.他的诗有和谐的韵律。
n.男低音(歌手);低音乐器;低音大提琴
- He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
- The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。
vt.批评(criticize的过去式)v.评论,批评( criticize的过去式和过去分词 )
- The decision was criticized by environmental groups. 这个决定受到了环保团体的批评。
- The movie has been criticized for apparently legitimizing violence. 这部电影因明显地美化暴力而受到了指责。
n.喇叭,喇叭声;v.吹喇叭,吹嘘
- He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴,我吹喇叭。
- The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。
adj.历史上著名的,具有历史意义的
- This is a historic occasion.这是具有重大历史意义的时刻。
- We are living in a great historic era.我们正处在一个伟大的历史时代。