Ravindra Ramadhar

Title Page

YEAR OF EXAMINATION: 2022

NAME OF CENTRE: Tunapuna Secondary School

CENTRE CODE: 160089

NAME OF CANDIDATE: Ravindra Ramadhar

CANDIDATE NUMBER: 1600890000

TERRITORY: Trinidad and Tobago

SUBJECT: ENGLISH LANGUAGE

TEACHER: Ms. Macrina Lara

TOPIC: MUSIC

SUB-TOPIC: JAZZ
Ravindra Ramadhar

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE Page No.

PLAN OF INVESTIGATION…………………………………………………………………….3

ARTIFACT 1………………………………………………………………….………………...4-5

ARTIFACT 2…………………………………………………………………...……………….6-7

ARTIFACT 3……………………………………………………………………………………...8

REFLECTION 1…………………………………………………………….…………………….9

REFLECTION 2…………………………………………………………….……………...……10

REFLECTION 3…………………………………………………………….…………………11

WRITTEN REPORT…………………………………………………………….………………12

ARTEFACT 1 for written report………………………………………………………..……13-14

ARTEFACT 2 for written report……………………………………………………….….…15-17

ARTEFACT 3 for written report………………………………………………………..…..18-19

PLAN OF ORALS………………………………………………………..…….……………….20

BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………..…….………………..21
Ravindra Ramadhar

PLAN OF INVESTIGATION

Our group chose the topic “Music”, because it is enjoyable and has been

loved for centuries, throughout the world. I selected “Jazz music” because it is one

of the oldest and most well-known genres of music that has helped people during

sad times; has heavily influenced African, American culture and other genres

creating scores of sub-genres. My comprehension, vocabulary, spelling and writing

skills will improve. My information will be gathered via internet websites, books,

and journals; a Blog, speech and song will be chosen. Using comprehension and

analytical skills, literary techniques, word type and mood will be selected for

entries.
Ravindra Ramadhar

ARTIFACT 1

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr

On The Importance Of Jazz
On the Importance of Jazz

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Opening Address to the 1964 Berlin Jazz Festival:

God has wrought many things out of oppression. He has endowed his creatures with
the capacity to create—and from this capacity has flowed the sweet songs of sorrow
and joy that have allowed man to cope with his environment and many different
situations.

Jazz speaks for life. The Blues tell the story of life's difficulties, and if you think for a
moment, you will realize that they take the hardest realities of life and put them into
music, only to come out with some new hope or sense of triumph.

This is triumphant music.

Ravindra Ramadhar

Modern jazz has continued in this tradition, singing the songs of a more complicated
urban existence. When life itself offers no order and meaning, the musician creates
an order and meaning from the sounds of the earth which flow through his
instrument.

It is no wonder that so much of the search for identity among American Negroes was
championed by Jazz musicians. Long before the modern essayists and scholars wrote
of racial identity as a problem for a multiracial world, musicians were returning to
their roots to affirm that which was stirring within their souls.

Much of the power of our Freedom Movement in the United States has come from
this music. It has strengthened us with its sweet rhythms when courage began to fail.
It has calmed us with its rich harmonies when spirits were down.

And now, Jazz is exported to the world. For in the particular struggle of the Negro in
America there is something akin to the universal struggle of modern man. Everybody
has the Blues. Everybody longs for meaning. Everybody needs to love and be loved.
Everybody needs to clap hands and be happy. Everybody longs for faith.

In music, especially this broad category called Jazz, there is a stepping stone
towards all of these.
Ravindra Ramadhar

ARTIFACT 2

Contributions of Jazz to Modern Music

by Lanie Garlock
While melody and harmony are all important
parts of any song, Jazz emphasizes something that
is so important to the development of music:
improvisation. In Jazz, each performer takes a
turn experimenting with different notes to create
an overall new sound experience. Every time they
step out on stage, Jazz musicians may perform
songs that no one has ever heard before, and no
one will hear again. Since the beginning of Jazz,
people have been using its improvisation factor to
express how they feel.

In the 20th century, New Orleans became the hub of Jazz music. As a port city, New
Orleans hosted a tremendous amount of people arriving from all over the world. These
people, along with area locals, would come together to listen and perform music as a way
of communicating and assimilating into their new culture. However, its earliest roots
have been linked to Africans enslaved in the United States who had been using this form
of music as a means of passing the time and keeping their culture alive. While working in
the fields, they would sing spirituals to “express not only devotion and faith but [their]
desire for freedom from the white man’s subjugation.” By the time slavery was
abolished, early Jazz music had made its way along the South. When it arrived in New
Orleans, elements from African and European music molded Jazz into what it is today.

Jazz is said by some to be the only true American form of music. What started off as a
totally new style has transformed into many forms of genres in the American culture.
Rock, R&B, Hip-hop, Pop and other genres have been influenced by Jazz. Jazz rhythms
and harmonies have been featured in styles of music that produce a sway rhythm, like
R&B or Latin styled tunes.

Jazz has contributed a great deal to the style of Hip-hop music. Some critics have said
that Hip-hop is just a way to “ruin” or “vulgarize” Jazz, but what those people don’t
understand is that the artists of today are taking the influences of past Jazz musicians and
Ravindra Ramadhar

adding their own new elements to create new music. Hip-hop takes all the elements that
Jazz contains, like infectious rhythms and intense melodies, and develops it into
something new. Just like with Jazz, improve-or freestyling-is a lauded skill in hip-hop
that allows rappers to express their thoughts and feelings on the spot with their music. It’s
not uncommon for “battle rappers” to engage in freestyle battles and ciphers for sport. It
all comes back to improvisation. Whether you’re playing Jazz or rapping your own lyrics,
you are able to communicate your feelings through music, which is an enlightening
experience. As George Gershwin once said, “Life is a lot like jazz. It’s best when you
improvise.”

Music has a way of communicating with people who may have little or nothing in
common. Two people who don’t speak the same language, or have the same culture, or
look the same, can feel emotions and enjoy a song in their own unique way. Jazz is one of
those genres of music that everyone who hears it experiences something, whether or not
they are alike. Jazz has played a big part in America’s culture and history, as a form of
expression and a way of bringing people together. What began as a way to escape reality,
turned into an expression of one’s self. We thank the Black communities of America for
creating jazz; music that can unite people of different races and ethnicities, allowing us to
come together to enjoy. Jazz music and its offspring are evolving every day. While it’s
important to learn from and remember the great musicians of the past, we also need to
look forward and see what the future will hold for “America’s true form of music.”
Ravindra Ramadhar

ARTIFACT 3

I Got It Bad and That Ain’t Good

By Duke Ellington
Though folks with good intentions
Tell me to save my tears
Well I'm so mad about him
I can't live without him

Never treats me sweet and gentle

The way he should
I've got it bad
And that ain't good

My poor heart is so sentimental

Not made of wood
I've got it so bad
And that ain't good

But when the fish are jumpin'

And Friday rolls around
My man an' I, we gin some
We pray some, and sin some

He don't love me like I love him

The way he should
I've got it bad
And that ain't good
Yes I've got it bad
And that ain't good
Ravindra Ramadhar

REFLECTION 1
The speech ‘Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr on The Importance of Jazz’, has shown me

that jazz music is a way to express oneself, by singing about the sorrows and joys of life; it is

triumphant music that enables those who listen to cope with their own struggles. The article

‘Contributions of Jazz to Modern Music’ is about the characteristics of jazz and how it

influenced American modern music and culture. This artefact has shown me how jazz originated

from slaves singing about desiring freedom and how it preserved their culture. The song, ‘I Got

It Bad (and That Ain't Good)’ is about a woman who loves a man, but he doesn’t love her to

the same extent that she does, thus she’s in a one-sided affair and cannot leave him as she is so

deeply in love. I learned that people could become obsessed when dealing with romance.
Ravindra Ramadhar

REFLECTION 2
In the address, ‘Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr on The Importance of Jazz,’ Dr. king uses

alliteration, (‘creatures with the capacity to create’/ ‘sweet songs of sorrow’), to emphasize how

important jazz is, and what it represents. This makes it pleasing to listen to as he captures and

engages the audience. The Blog ‘Contributions of Jazz to Modern Music’ uses comparative

language, to explain how Jazz influenced modern music by pointing out similarities between

them. (‘Just like with Jazz, improve-or freestyling-is a lauded skill in hip-hop’). It compares the

improvisation aspect of both genres to show the influence jazz had on hip hop and the

similarities between them. The song, ‘I Got It Bad (and That Ain't Good)’ uses emotive

words (‘cryin'’, ‘lonely’, ‘sentimental’ and ‘mad’), expressing love and despair of a one-sided

relationship. It shows the writer’s intention of portraying unrequited love and the despair it

causes.
Ravindra Ramadhar

REFLECTION 3
The English SBA has helped improve on many things, it helped me better appreciate art,

music, and the creativity of people. I had an epiphany, that the greatest things come from passion

and not doing something for the sake of others or monetary gain. It enhanced my analytical skills

and with guidance from my teacher; helped me to better summarize my words to be more

comprehensible. Working in a group has made me a more organized person, as I had to keep up

with my group members in meeting deadlines and being punctual. It helped me to better

cooperate with others as we helped each other to understand; it has also helped become more

patient as a result of waiting while others were preparing for meetings. My oral presentation

skills have improved and my confidence in speaking in front of others has been boosted.
Ravindra Ramadhar

WRITTEN REPORT
The name of our SBA group is MUSIC. We chose this topic because it is a universal
language enjoyed by many and unites people around the world. Members and their sub-topics
were Ravindra Ramadhar (Jazz), Jeremy Paul (Calypso), Abhinav Singh (Classical), Jahmai
Sealey-Liverpool (Soca), J’vonte Davis (Rap) and Vishal Deokaran (Rhythm and Blues). We
met fortnightly on Fridays over the course of four months with varying attendance. Finding the
artefacts was a challenging task as we had to do a lot of searching to find appropriate ones for the
SBA. Our group examined fifteen artefacts in detail, for relevancy to the topic, appropriate use of
language, type of artefacts, valid sources, and impact. The three artefacts selected were a speech
‘Dr Martin Luther king on the importance of Jazz’, from Ravindra’s SBA, which dealt with the
importance that jazz had on the racial identity of African - Americans. It also shows that jazz is a
form of self-expression that enables people to cope with everyday struggles. The writer uses
metaphors, (‘They take the hardest realities of life and put them into music’), and alliteration,
(‘creatures with the capacity to create’/ ‘sweet songs of sorrow’), to capture and engage his
audience with his points, ensuring clarity; a Calypso by David Rudder, ‘Calypso Music’ from
Jeremy’s SBA which captures the joy and excitement of Caribbean people, their rhythmic
movements and mood of merriment with calypsonians globalizing their music. It utilizes
repetition, (‘I want to rise, I want to rise’); The ‘Father of Soca’ from Jahmai’s SBA is an
expository piece about Garfield Blackman also known as Lord Shorty, prolific composer, and
innovator, who created Soca by fusing both Indian and African music. It contains developed
vocabulary which highlights his complexity, (‘paradoxical’, ‘hedonism’, ‘Indianization’).
Though tedious, we enjoyed doing this SBA.
Ravindra Ramadhar

ARTIFACT 1 for written report

ARTIFACT 1

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr

On The Importance Of Jazz
On the Importance of Jazz

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Opening Address to the 1964 Berlin Jazz Festival:

God has wrought many things out of oppression. He has endowed his creatures with
the capacity to create—and from this capacity has flowed the sweet songs of sorrow
and joy that have allowed man to cope with his environment and many different
situations.
Ravindra Ramadhar

Jazz speaks for life. The Blues tell the story of life's difficulties, and if you think for a
moment, you will realize that they take the hardest realities of life and put them into
music, only to come out with some new hope or sense of triumph.

This is triumphant music.

Modern jazz has continued in this tradition, singing the songs of a more complicated
urban existence. When life itself offers no order and meaning, the musician creates
an order and meaning from the sounds of the earth which flow through his
instrument.

It is no wonder that so much of the search for identity among American Negroes was
championed by Jazz musicians. Long before the modern essayists and scholars wrote
of racial identity as a problem for a multiracial world, musicians were returning to
their roots to affirm that which was stirring within their souls.

Much of the power of our Freedom Movement in the United States has come from
this music. It has strengthened us with its sweet rhythms when courage began to fail.
It has calmed us with its rich harmonies when spirits were down.

And now, Jazz is exported to the world. For in the particular struggle of the Negro in
America there is something akin to the universal struggle of modern man. Everybody
has the Blues. Everybody longs for meaning. Everybody needs to love and be loved.
Everybody needs to clap hands and be happy. Everybody longs for faith.

In music, especially this broad category called Jazz, there is a stepping stone
towards all of these.
Ravindra Ramadhar

ARTIFACT 2 for written report

Calypso Music (1987) Lyrics
By David Rudder
Calypso Music Lyrics by David Rudder
Classic Calypso Lyrics 1987 (2nd Place Calypso Monarch 1987
David Rudder placing 2nd, de-throned by Black Stalin Bun Dem. An epic battle with Stalin coming out at the
top.
Rudder humbly accepting defeat and walked out with Stalin holding his hand!

Can you hear a distant drum

Bouncing on the laughter of a melody ( yea, yea)
And does the rhythm tell you , come,come,come
Does your spirit do a dance to this symphony
Does it tell you that your heart is afire
Does it tell you that your pain is a liar
Does it wash away all your unlovely
And are you ready for a brand new discovery

Calypso, calypso (oh oh oh)

Calypso Music (yea yea)
Calypso, calypso (oh oh oh)
Calypso Music (yea yea)
Singing wo yea yea yea
wo yea yea yea, wo yea calypso
Singing wo yea yea yea
wo yea yea yea, wo yea calypso
Ah say I'm the seed of the Growling Tiger now
I got to sing calypso
Wo yea yea yea
wo yea yea yea, wo yea calypso

It is a living vibration
Rooted deep within my Caribbean belly
Lyrics to make a politician grin
Or turn a woman's body into jelly
It is a sweet soca music calypso
You could ah never refuse it calypso
It make you shake like a Shango now calypso
Why it is you shaking you dont know
That's calypso.
Ravindra Ramadhar

Calypso, calypso
Calypso Music (yea yea)
Calypso, calypso
Calypso Music
Singing wo yea yea yea
wo yea yea yea, wo yea calypso
Singing wo yea yea yea
wo yea yea yea, wo yea calypso
Ah say I'm de seed of the Growling Tiger now
I got to sing calypso
Wo yea yea yea
wo yea yea yea, wo yea calypso

I can still hear de Lion roar

Through Greenwich village
While Executor kills them dead at the Rainbow Blue
Lord Invader conquers Berlin but their hearts this time,
And Lord Kitchener make Ole London feel so new
Beginner and Terror Too
Fitzroy Coleman fingers dancing on the fret
And when you think that he through
He aint start nothing yet

Carnigie hall graced by the presence of Sparrow

And when Slinger done with they tail
Hear them signing Sparrow, dont go
Sparrow dont go

Calypso Music (yea yea)

Calypso, calypso
Calypso Music
Singing wo yea yea yea
wo yea yea yea, wo yea calypso
Singing wo yea yea yea
wo yea yea yea, wo yea calypso
Ah say I'm de seed of the Tiger now
I got to sing calypso
Wo yea yea yea
wo yea yea yea, wo yea calypso

I want to rise, I want to rise

From the time the first bamboo come
Ravindra Ramadhar

And we drag it down from the St. Anns hill

From the day the first chantwell lead the band
The real jamming start that day
And we jamming still
Creating rhythm dat could be deadly like Headley
Only this time
The spirit and de melody that sending they soul to the boundary
From the bongo drum to de roll of de tassa
Ever since Europe come and She make massa bassa
We jamming it!

Calypso Music (yea yea)

Calypso, calypso
Calypso Music
Singing wo yea yea yea
wo yea yea yea, wo yea calypso
Singing wo yea yea yea
wo yea yea yea, wo yea calypso
Singing wo yea yea yea
wo yea yea yea, wo yea calypso
Singing wo yea yea yea
wo yea yea yea, wo yea calypso

We gonna sing it in London

we gonna sing it in America
We gonna sing it in Africa
We gonna sing it in Europe
We gonna sing the calypso (repeat)
Ravindra Ramadhar

ARTIFACT 3 for written report

History of Soca Music, a Child of Calypso

Soca Music

What is Soca?

Soca is a modern form of calypso with an up-tempo beat. There is a popular misconception that
Soca is a fusion of American soul music and traditional calypso. Hence the name "soca," soul/calypso.
Though this sounds plausible, it is simply not true. Soca music originated as a fusion of calypso with
Indian rhythms, thus combining the musical traditions to the two major ethnic groups of Trinidad and
Tobago.

The Father of Soca

Born October 6, 1941 in Lengua, Trinidad, Garfield Blackman would become the creator of
soca. Blackman began singing calypso at the tender age of seven. Performing under the name Lord
Shorty, he rose to fame in 1963 with his recording of Clock and Dagger. The name Lord Shorty is a
paradoxical reference to his imposing height of 6-ft 4-in. Talk that calypso was dying, and reggae was the
new thing, prompted Lord Shorty to experiment with the calypso rhythm for nearly a decade. He
combined Indian rhythm instruments (particularly the dholak, tabla and dhantal) with traditional calypso
music. The result was a new energetic musical hybrid called soca. In 1973, Lord Shorty introduced soca
to the world with his hit song Ïndrani. The release of his 1974 album Endless Vibrations prompted dozens
of musicians to adopt the new soca style. Lord Shoty initially referred to his musical hybrid as "solka",
representing the true "soul of calypso." The "Indianization" of calypso brought together the musical
traditions of Trinidad and Tobago's two major ethnic groups, the descendants of African slaves and of
indentured laborers from India. The name was later changed to "soca" by a music journalist. Endless
Vibrations, the first soca album, contained the popular Om Shanti, a song that sparked controversy
because of its use of a Hindu chant in the chorus line. Lord Shorty was no stranger to controversy in the
ensuing years performing songs such as The PM Sex Probe, which poked fun at the Prime Minister. He
was equally adept at performing songs dealing with social and political issues as in his hit Money Eh No
Problem. By the turn of the 1980s, "the father of soca" had become disenchanted with music he had
created, saying that soca was being used to "celebrate the female bottom, rather than uplift the spirits of
the people." Lord Kitchener's classic hit Sugar Bum Bum is a prime example of what he meant. Around
1981, Lord Shorty converted to Rastafarianism, changed his name to Ras Shorty I, and moved into the
Piparo forest in southern Trinidad, 50 miles from Port of Spain. There the prolific musician, composer
and innovator continued to explore new musical frontiers while devoting himself to writing songs about
spiritual matters and the dangers of hedonism. He formed the group Love Circle with his wife Claudette
and several of their children. (He is said to have fathered anywhere from 14 to 20 children.) In the late
1980's he introduced a new style of music, jamoo, (Jah Music) which combined elements of reggae and
gospel. In 1997, he released the anti-drug song Watch Out My Children which went to the number one
spot in the Caribbean. The song became an international hit and has been translated into ten languages.
On July 12, 2000 at the age of 58 Ras Shorty I died after a battle with multiple myeloma, a cancer of the
bone marrow. His greatest legacy is the soca rhythm he created, bringing calypso into the modern era.
Ravindra Ramadhar

The infectious soca rhythm has made calypso assessable to the young and the young at heart everywhere.
The Evolution of Soca Innovative Montserrat singer Arrow did much to popularize soca internationally
with his 1983 number one soca classic Hot Hot Hot. Arrow has also recorded a string of CDs including
Knock Dem Dead (1988), O'La Soca (1989) and Soca Dance Party (1990) which have become timeless
examples of the best of the genre. Some of the most popular soca recordings include Sugar Bum Bum -
Lord Kitchener (1978), Soca Baptist - Super Blue (1980), Meh Lover - Lord Nelson (1983), Hot, Hot,
Hot - Arrow (1983), Tiny Winey - Byron Lee & The Dragonaires (1985), Nani Wine - Crazy (1989),
Teaser - Becket (1990), Dollar Wine - Collin Lucas (1991), and Jump - Rupee (2000). Soca has continued
to grow and evolve giving rise to offshoots such as ragga soca and the increasingly popular chutney soca.
Today soca is the definitive indigenous musical form associated with the Eastern Caribbean. Thanks,
Lord Shorty.
Ravindra Ramadhar

PLAN OF ORALS

Topic: MUSIC

Subtopic: JAZZ

Genre: Rhymed Poetry

Source: Original Piece

Language: Standard English with use of passive voice

Reason for selecting genre: I am good at rhyming words and poetry is the best way I

can creatively express my thoughts effectively as I am

very passionate about music and art

Ravindra Ramadhar

BIBLIOGRAPHY

https://www.wclk.com/dr-martin-luther-king-jr-importance-jazz

https://copyrightalliance.org/contributions-of-jazz-to-modern-music/

https://www.lyrics.com/lyric/1575310/Duke+Ellington/I+Got+It+Bad+%28And+That+Ain
%27t+Good%29

https://islandlyrics.com/lyrics-david_rudder-calypso_music_1987.htm

https://www.toothillschool.co.uk/data/files/dept/music/y8_soca_history.pdf