Alex's A-Pop Blog

The end is nigh! This quarter has rearranged the way I go about writing. I’ve never had a creative non-fiction essay style assignment, and I must say this has been a challenge. I’m certainly glad that we’re about done, but… Continue Reading →

I don’t have much more research to show at this point. I’m pretty happy with the music I’ve been able to listen to, and the circle back to my own life. At this point with my essay about Asian American… Continue Reading →

As we all know this week we had peer reviews for our final papers. So far my friends have been positive with the direction I’m heading. I think I still have some listening to do in terms of having examples… Continue Reading →

One of the biggest issues in my essay as of right now is how clinical my writing has been, focusing more on defining jazz and not allowing myself to sprinkle in my own experience. My plan is to take out… Continue Reading →

In my quest for an Asian American perspective of jazz music, I happened upon an NPR interview that was conducted by Thai-American Patrick Jarrenwattananon, as he interview Japanese American bassist Tatsu Aoki. Throughout the interview Aoki is asked about his… Continue Reading →

  Glenn Horiuchi was an Asian American jazz pianist and composer. His album Manzanar voices was released in 1989. I chose this particular chart as a highlight because it was has a familiar sound to some of the jazz I… Continue Reading →

Asian American jazz is a subcategory of jazz that combines a more traditional jazz sound with Asian influence, and occasionally Asian instruments. There is an entire festival dedicated to Asian American Jazz in San Francisco that came to be in… Continue Reading →

There’s something about growing up in a family of musicians. Playing an instrument was never an option, it was an expectation. There was a key point in my childhood when I waked into my kitchen and my mom sat me… Continue Reading →