Jason Mraz Mr AZ Colby Jenson About Mr

Jason Mraz “Mr. A-Z” Colby Jenson

About Mr. A-Z �Born in Mechanicsville, VA on June 23, 1977 �Influenced by many different artists and musical styles �Favorite bands included groups and people such as Bob Dylan, Queen, Ben Harper and more.

The Transition… �Mraz’s interest in musical theatre moved him to New York, where he failed out of the American Musical and Dramatic academy in his pursuit of a musical career after taking up guitar. �He decided to move home to Virginia for a short time, which then influenced his next evolution into stardom with his first album Waiting for My Rocket to Come.

Virginia to California… � 1999 -Mraz moved to San Diego, California �Developed musical style in coffeehouses �Achieved some wanted attention at the Coffee House “Java Joes”, where he began to play weekly. �Focused on musical talents along with comedic banter as well during this short span.

Catches Elektra’s Eye �Three years into his San Diego lifestyle, he grabs the attention of the Elektra record company. �Signed a contract in early 2002 and moved home to Virginia to work on his first album, Waiting for My Rocket to Come. �Merged with talent from John Alagia of Dave Matthews Band to create his music for this album.

Stardom… 2005 Hit single “Remedy” achieves huge success Mraz traveled around the United States to support his newfound career and newly produced album Mr. A -Z A three year hiatus of newly produced songs began while Mraz was working on his next album.

We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things After a long hiatus, he releases a new album. We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things. Album was influenced by his self realizations of self empowerment and self improvement. Marked Mraz’s feelings of actually coming back to earth. Peaked at No. 3 on the U. S. Billboard Hot 200

Colbie Caillat! �After his first peak position single in 2008 titled “Im Yours”, he decided to switch things up. �In 2009, Mraz recorded another hit single “Lucky” which he and Caillat won two awards for best performance and Best Pop Collaboration at the 2010 Grammy Awards.

He’s A Humanitarian �Never takes life for granted. �“What I love about mankind is that yes, we sing and we celebrate and we dance when we’re foolish and we steal things. It’s hard to have a new idea in music, in fashion, the land we walk on. It’s all recycled. I think to say we stole it is a lot more fun. ” –Jason Mraz � Owns an avocado farm in Oceanside, California. � Engaged to Tristan Prettyman but will not marry her until gay marriage is legal.

Eat, Pray, Write Songs �Apart from music, he is also interested in other cultures, religions, and finding inner peace within himself by learning through discoveries within his own lifestyle and travel. �His next album will invoke many styles and feelings based on the education and experience his life brings to him.

Plane �Written as the 8 th song for Mr. A-Z �Written by Jason Mraz and Dennis Morris �Album was nominated for best engineered album �All musical influences can be heard within this song �Helped Lillywhite win producer of the year

You and I Both �Written in 2004 by Jason Mraz in Waiting for My Rocket to Come. �Produced by John Alagia �Reached peak position at number 10 �Dave Matthews and Folk style can be heard throughout this song

Lucky �Written by Jason Mraz, Colbie Caillat, and Timothy Fagan in 2009 to supplement the 2008 album- We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things �Won 2010 Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration �Hit no. 9 on the adult top 40

Plane Listening Guide 1. 2. 3. 4. 0: 00 -Introduction-Form-Piano repeats same melody but there is a contrast shown through monotone airplane announcements played over the radio. Rhythm is slow. Harmony can be heard in differing notes of piano 0: 16 –Verse 1 -Form stays the same and the melody is repeated. “Dream that the veins in my head” begin the lyrics for the song 0: 32 -Verse 1 -No change other than the addition of the word “Cry” and a short pause following 0: 48 -Chorus-Form changes, melody of the introduction repeats and the harmony and pitch changes to major.

Plane Listening Guide. . Continued 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 1: 21 -Verse 2 -Form changes and contrasts with the first verse and takes a minor approach. Rhythm speeds up and an addition of strings is added 1: 53 -Chorus continues as before-becomes major once again 2: 25 -Bridge-Leading verse from the chorus “damn…” is used and continues into the bridge nad the climax. Changes in the piano, drums, synthesizer, and mandolin can be heard. 2: 57 -Verse 3 -form repeats with the introduction and verse one, all instruments but the piano are used. 3: 28 -Chorus comes in again yet there is an addition of guitar between 3: 28 and 3: 30

Plane Listening Guide…. Again 3: 58 -Chorus+Add On-Chorus is drawn out, words are spoken and the rhythm changes. Strings take over and the harmony is heard between the violins. 11. 4: 34 -Chorus+Add On-”You’ll get me high” is sung and the music begins to change and become softer. Music begins to taper off at the “mind and…. ” lyric to introduce the coda. 12. 5: 01 -Coda-The form repeats with the end of the add on and the lyrics are strung out. Music becomes loud and all instruments join to help end the song. 13. 5: 13 -End 10.

You and I Both-3: 39 0: 00 -Verse 1 -Form is different from “Plane as it is upbeat between two instruments, the drums and guitar with Mrazs voice. Rhythm is fast and played by the guitar. 2. 0: 29 -Verse 10”another day to sing” is sung and the rhythm can be heard by the drum beat and the song is starting to transition into the chorus 3. 0: 40 -Chorus-Form stays constant with the beginning of the song and is upbeat. Beats remain constant. Melody changes and harmony between the guitar, drums, and the singers voice can be heard 4. 1: 08 -Verse 2 -Form stays upbeat and constant with verse one. Rhythm speeds and harmony can be heard between the guitar and the voice of Mraz and then the voice becomes highlighted at the enunciation of “see I’m all about these words…” 1.

You and I Both Listening Guide…. Continued 5. 6. 7. 8. 1: 27 -Chorus-Form stays constant but there is a contrast heard when Mraz’s pitch goes up from the last chorus. Guitar and singer harmony can be heard and the volume becomes louder as the volume is raised. 1: 54 -Chorus + Add On-The addition of the lyrics “moral story more importantly evolving…” is added 2: 01 -Chorus+Add On-addition of humming replacing the lyrics “moral story…. . ” 2: 30 -Bridge-Form contrasts, rhythm slows and there is more silence heard between the beats. Melody becomes minor and harmony between the singer’s voice and guitar can be heard. Singer’s voice is still highlighted.

You and I Both Listening Guide…. . again 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 2: 45 -Verse 3 -Form contrasts form the bridge and returns to normal, like verse one of the song. Rhythm speeds. Harmony returns to normal. Timbre becomes louder. 2: 52 -Chorus 3: 28 -Coda-The rhythm and beat slows down, volume starts to fade. The lyric “words” is sung and strung out. Chords are strung on the guitar until the end of the song 3: 39 -End

Lucky Listening Guide 1. 2. 3. 4. 0: 00 Introduction-Form repeats as guitar is strummed over and over. Rhythm is constant with the beat created by the guitar. Melody is only one chord being strummed by the guitar. 0: 04 -Verse 1 -The form stays constant melody is created through the addition of the singing voice by Mraz. The song is in Major mode. 0: 18 -Verse 1 -Colbie Caillat sings her verse in verse one to the same background music as Mraz. 0: 34 -Chorus-form changes and both singers sing together, using homophony. Timber is heard between the male and female voices in combination with the piano, guitar, and the drums.

Lucky Listening Guide…. Continued 5. 6. 7. 8. 0: 55 -Bridge-form changes and the song changes to a minor mode. Rhythm and beats stay the same but the volume and pitches change. 1: 18 -Chorus repeats 1: 47 -Verse 3 (Mraz)-Form repeats as it does in verse one. Rhythm is kept by the guitar and the melody is kept by the singers voice instead of being done by the instruments. Timbre is major again. 2: 02 -Verse 3 (Colbie)-Form stays the same as in Mraz’s verse and a piano is used instead of a guitar, which evokes Caillat’s style.

Lucky Listening Guide…. end 2: 17 -Chorus 2: 47 -Coda-the song’s form changes and begins to fade. Rhythm slows and the beats only by the drum and piano can be heard. The melody changes slightly and harmony can be heard in the voices of the artists. 11. 3: 09 -End 9. 10.

References �(1)-http: //music. aol. com/artist/jason- mraz/biography �(2)-www. grammy. com �(3)-http: //jasonmraz. com/index. php#/bio/