Music reflection paper for discussion board#2. Arts Essay

Every participant will have time to craft a thoughtful initial post of about 300 to 350 words in length.
The video comes from this website, it starts from the beginning and end at 10:21. You can choose either topic one or topic two~
https://www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=hNlm-W3m1qc
Herbie Hancock, “Sly” (Herbie Hancock), San Francisco, CA, Fall, 1973. Herbie Hancock, piano/Fender Rhodes (p/FR); Bennie Maupin, soprano and tenor saxophones, saxello, bass clarinet, alto flute (ss/ts/saxello/bcl/af); Paul Jackson, electric bass, marimbula (eb); Bill Summers, Congas, Shekere, Balafon, Agogo, Cabasa, Hindewho, Tambourine, Log drum, Surdo, Gankogui, Beer Bottle (per); Harvey Mason, Yamaha drums
Topic 1: This piece was released by Herbie Hancock’s fusion band The Head Hunters on their self-entitled album “Head Hunters.” See “Acid Jazz and Jazz-Hip-Hop Fusion” in the on-line Lesson on Jazz Rock Fusion to help you describe “Sly.” How many soloists are there in this piece? Please list them by name and instrument. Now listen closely to Bennie Maupin who solos on the soprano sax at 02:26. Describe his solo style. How does he phrase with the rhythm section? Describe what happens to the feel and tempo just before he solos at 02:03. What happens at 05:20 just before Hancock’s solo? Describe how Hancock’s playing of an electric piano is different from an acoustic piano. How do the other musicians support him? Does their accompaniment have rock elements? Is there a hypnotic pulse during the solos? Does the bass line function as a pedal point? Do the bass and other accompanying instruments give this piece a modal quality? What characteristics of these fusion soloists in “Sly” are different from soloists you have heard in other jazz styles such as hard bop, modal and free? What aspects of these fusion soloists are similar (to hard bop, modal and free)?
Topic 2: There is no introduction in this piece. The melody, or “head,” begins at 00:00 and ends at 02:02. What is the form? Use letters and counter numbers to designate the sections. Hint: the melody is made up of four sections, the third of which is an abbreviated restatement of the first section. Describe how this group arranges the melody. What instrument plays most of the melody? What role do the bass and drums have? Are the musicians playing written parts during the melody? This piece is one of Herbie Hancock’s first compositions in the fusion style of jazz. “Sly” presents examples of the jazz-rock fusion style such as: 1) the use of electrified instruments, 2) straight rock beats instead of swing and the swung 8th note, 3) repetitive funk-style riffs, 4) highly dissonant, multi-layered textures, 5) hypnotic pulse. Listen to the piece and provide counter numbers where all five of these aspects can be heard. Describe in detail how these aspects support both the melody and the two solos by Maupin and Hancock. How does this piece end? What are the similarities between the overall organization of “Sly” and that of earlier bop and hard bop ensembles? What is the most striking difference?