世界节假日博览 第87期:国际爵士日

 International Jazz Day is usually celebrated¹ each year on May 23. It is one day of the year when people around the world can celebrate this great music form. Jazz started in the USA and is America's only indigenous² art form. Music lovers and musicians around the globe go to concerts, hold celebrations, or simply get together and listen to their favourite jazz artists. International Jazz Day was started in 1991 by jazz musician and bandleader D. Michael Denny. He was on the Board of Directors of the New Jersey³ Jazz Society. His aim was for a global day of appreciation⁴ for jazz. His idea worked. It is now backed by the United Nations Jazz Society. This sponsors jazz workshops and encourages musicians to make a living from their music.

每年的5月23为国际爵士日。全球爵士迷可以尽情庆祝。爵士源于美国，它也是美国唯一一种本土艺术形式。全球的乐迷，音乐家会听演唱会，举办庆祝活动，或仅仅是一起聆听爵士大师的经典曲目。1991年，爵士音乐人，乐队领袖迈克尔·丹尼发起了该节日。他曾是新泽西爵士乐学会理事成员。他的目标就是要创建属于全球爵士乐的节日。他的想法最终成为了现实。如今，该节日获得了联合国爵士乐协会的大力支持。该组织发起爵士乐研讨会，鼓励音乐家以爵士乐为生。

Jazz originated at the beginning of the 20th century in the Southern United States. It is a combination of African and European music styles. It has a strong influence from West African traditional music. One expert said jazz differed from European music because it has "a special relationship to time, defined as 'swing' and a spontaneity and vitality⁵ of musical production in which improvisation⁶ plays a role". It is unclear exactly where the word “jazz” came from. Many believe it was California slang to refer to the new music black musicians were playing in Chicago around 1915. The new music quickly grew into a wide variety of styles and a cultural phenomenon. Today we have genres⁷ that include acid jazz and jazz funk. Jazz even influences hip-hop.

20世纪初，爵士乐诞生于美国南部。爵士乐融合了非洲和欧洲音乐形式。并受到了西非传统音乐的深远影响。某专家认为，爵士乐有别于欧洲音乐，原因在于它与时间产生了特殊关系，在创作上呈现灵活自发，并伴有激情与活力，即兴创作也是爵士乐的一部分。“Jazz”一词的来源还不得而知。许多人认为，“Jazz”是加州俚语，指的是1915年左右芝加哥黑人音乐家的创作形式。爵士迅速演变成多种音乐形式，并成为文化符号。如今，爵士乐形式包括酸爵士，放克爵士。爵士乐甚至还影响了嘻哈音乐。

1.art form 艺术形式

例句：The short story is a difficult art form to master.

短篇小说是一种很难掌握的艺术形式。

2.refer to 提到

例句：He never referred to his sisters in his letters.

他在信里从未提到过他的姊妹。

3.define as 给…下定义

例句：Collins English Dictionary defines a workaholic as 'a person obsessively⁸ addicted⁹ to work'.

《柯林斯英语词典》给“工作狂”一词下的定义是“一个过分沉溺于工作中的人”。

4.a variety of 各种各样的

例句：The department store carries a variety of leather shoes. 

这家百货商店经售各种皮鞋。

1 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

2 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

3 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

4 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

5 vitality   

n.活力，生命力，效力

参考例句：

• He came back from his holiday bursting with vitality and good health.他度假归来之后，身强体壮，充满活力。
• He is an ambitious young man full of enthusiasm and vitality.他是个充满热情与活力的有远大抱负的青年。

6 improvisation   

n.即席演奏(或演唱)；即兴创作

参考例句：

• a free-form jazz improvisation 自由创作的爵士乐即兴演出
• Most of their music was spontaneous improvisation. 他们的大部分音乐作品都是即兴创作的。

7 genres   

（文学、艺术等的）类型，体裁，风格( genre的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Novel and short story are different genres. 长篇小说和短篇小说是不同的类别。
• But confusions over the two genres have a long history. 但是类型的混淆，古已有之。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译

8 obsessively   

ad.着迷般地，过分地

参考例句：

• Peter was obsessively jealous and his behaviour was driving his wife away. 彼得过分嫉妒的举止令他的妻子想离他而去。
• He's rude to his friends and obsessively jealous. 他对他的朋友很无礼而且嫉妒心重。

9 addicted   

adj.沉溺于....的，对...上瘾的

参考例句：

• He was addicted to heroin at the age of 17.他17岁的时候对海洛因上了瘾。
• She's become addicted to love stories.她迷上了爱情小说。