Jimmie Blanton: Essay Sample

Article’s Comparison and Evaluating

There is a well-known proverb - so many men, so many minds. This famous saying works for everything – starting with actions to particular personalities. In such case, Jimmie Blanton, a famous jazz musician and a bassist, is not exclusion. There are many articles, dedicated to Jimmie Blanton, but here, the discussion will go about two particular articles about this famous musician - one scholarly peer-reviewed article and one journalistic article. So, the first one is “Of Icons and Iconography: Seeing Jimmie Blanton” by Matthias Heyman and the second one is “Remembering Jimmy Blanton” by Scott Pollard.
Before starting an actual comparison, it is important to mention that both articles are showing this musician in a good light. Moreover, both authors, as Matthias Heyman, so Scott Pollard, seem to be praising Jimmie Blanton for his achievements and innovations, not only in the jazz music, but also in the World Music, as a whole. For example, Matthias Heyman calls Jimmie ““revolutionary” bass player” (Heyman, Matthias. "Of Icons and Iconography: Seeing Jimmie Blanton."). Quite same definition of the musician’s personality gives and Scott Pollard, claiming that Blanton:
“Truly turned the musical world onto the possibilities of using the bass as a melodic instrument, both bowed and plucked” (Pollard, Scott. "Remembering Jimmy Blanton." All About Jazz. 31 July 2007).
Starting with the peer-reviewed article, it is clearly noticeable that the main objective of Matthias Heyman was not only to tell the biography of this particular musician. He is also trying to give his own point of view on Jimmie’s musical path, basing on other articles, dedicated to Blanton and his musical career. On the other hand, Scott Pollard’s objective was to make a tribute, a gesture of an honor to Jimmie, by recalling his biography, musical career facts, etc. In this case, Scott Pollard was more trying to renovate the memory of Blanton in the World Music History (Pollard, Scott. "Remembering Jimmy Blanton." All About Jazz. 31 July 2007).
According to the above said, it is also noticeable that the “Of Icons and Iconography: Seeing Jimmie Blanton” by Matthias Heyman was written in a more official tone, as it refers to different scholarly researches and its intended audience consists of those, who gained PhD’s in the particular area, or at least at somebody, who has a deep knowledge, basically, in music. He uses lots of citations form the outside sources to prove his point of view. Talking about the “Remembering Jimmy Blanton” by Scott Pollard – here the main tone of the article is more unofficial, as its intended audience consists of everyone, who is interested in music, particularly, in jazz. That is why, the author uses simple for understanding terms while bringing Jimmie’s life story to the reader (Pollard, Scott. "Remembering Jimmy Blanton." All About Jazz. 31 July 2007).
As a conclusion, it is important to mention that though these two articles are having one main theme and are dedicated to the one particular musician, they still have some basic differences. “Of Icons and Iconography: Seeing Jimmie Blanton” by Matthias Heyman – is a peer-viewed article, in which its author is referencing to different scholar sources to show Jimmie Blanton as one of the most famous bassist. Matthias Heyman gives strong proofs of his position, based on works of other researchers. This article is mostly an assembled review with a

Reference list:

Heyman, Matthias. "Of Icons and Iconography: Seeing Jimmie Blanton." Journal of Jazz Studies 10.2: 119-56. The Journal of Jazz Studies. Web. 9 Apr. 2015. <http://jjs.libraries.rutgers.edu.>;
Pollard, Scott. "Remembering Jimmy Blanton." All About Jazz. 31 July 2007. Web. 9 Apr. 2015. <http://www.allaboutjazz.com/remembering-jimmy-blanton-jimmy-blanton-by-scott-pollard.php?&pg=1>.