Jazz : The Music Of America

Jazz initially began in the south among African American. It wasn’t till the 1920s when it began to become famous. Many of the whites at that time referred to the music as “nigger music”. Jazz was part of the black culture. During the migration era when the blacks began to move up north, jazz was mixed with the white culture. It was in that time when

     The music called Jazz was born sometime around 1895 in New Orleans. It combined elements of Ragtime, marching band music and Blues. What made Jazz such a different perspective of traditional music was its act of improvising. There was a widespread use of improvisation often by more than one player at a time. Songwriters would write the music down on a piece of paper, and then the Jazz musicians would try their best to play the music. Usually in a Jazz piece, musicians would use the song as a starting point to improvise around. Jazz musicians would play a familiar song to the audience, and by the time they were done with the piece they would stir up a totally different feeling away from the

From its inception, Jazz has applied both innovative approaches in different degrees and boundless configuration. And has continually amplified, progress, and modify music through various distinctive episodes of growth. So, an all-encompassing denotation of jazz is likely vain. Additionally, jazz as a music whose prime attribute was “improvisation,” for example, revealed to be too regulated and chiefly false. Meanwhile composition, adaptation, and ensembles have also been imperative constituent of Jazz (for most of its backstory). Furthermore, “syncopation” and “swing,” often viewed as important and distinctive to jazz, are certainly lacking the genuineness of it, whether of the 1920s (or of later decades). However, the prolonged perception that swing could not transpire without syncopation was utterly refuted when trumpeter Louis Armstrong often produced vast swing while playing repeated, and unsyncopated quarter notes (Armstrong, L., Fitzgerald, E., & Middleton, V. (1988). Satchmo. Gong.)

Out of the streets of New Orleans, a new form of music arose. This new type of music was not known as African or European, but simply American. It was jazz. In 1900 jazz first developed, but it wasn’t until the

In the city of New Orleans emerged one of the most influential music genres in the history of the United States of America. At the time, New Orleans was known for being a "blending pot" of people or rather, a location where people from all over the world came together in one place. This city served as a key seaport in the U.S. allowing for goods to be imported and exported. The purpose of this city was not only strategic to the growth of the country, but also allowed for the incredible mixing of cultures, customs, and traditions that led to the creation of one of our nations most cherished genres of music: jazz.

Knowledge of jazz has fallen far behind its development. Most people do not know the facts on jazz, only some generalities and stereotypes. Often being called America’s only original art form, jazz began as an ethnic music, but there is much more to jazz than music. It is difficult to think of jazz without thinking of African-American

On the other hand, Blues were basically from work songs of African Americans slaves at the time. “It is a native American music, the product of the black man in this country, or, to put it more exactly the way I have come to think about it, blues could not exist if the African captives had not become American captives”(pp.17), said Jones and Baraka. In Jazz – A History, Frank Tirro wisely analyzes and explains the relationship between the unique background and

A style of music that was created in the 20th century, Jazz has had a major impact on American culture. Originating from work songs African American slaves used to sing on plantations, the foundations of jazz first began as a three piece music group using instruments like the Fiddle, Banjo and the drum. These instruments formed a style known as Ragtime, which can be recognized as one of the first styles that marked the birth of jazz. Although jazz grew out of a lifestyle shaped by plantation life, over the course of the next hundred years, jazz evolved immensely, as it underwent many changes and branched off into various substyles. In the beginning of the 1900s, New Orleans style of Jazz also known as “Classic Jazz” became tremendously popular to all ethnicities. Performed by black, whites and African American creoles, Classic Jazz took the form of a small-band. These bands would performed at parties and dances with large brass instruments that had been salvaged from the civil war which include the clarinet, banjo, bass, guitar saxophone, cornet, trombone, tuba, drums and occasionally a piano. This dynamic new music combined syncopation of ragtime with modified popular melodies like marches, hymns work song and the blues. However in 1925 everything changed as Jazz introduced a new genre called Hot Jazz. This new style of jazz was characterized by spontaneous collective solos, that stirred up an emotional and “hot” climax. Additionally Hot Jazz was played with drums, banjo

Between 1910 and 1970, a mass number of African Americans moved from the rural southern states of america larger urban cities like Chicago, New York, Philadelphia and Detroit. Historically this is known as ‘The Great Migration’, which proved to be an important factor in the development of African American music, art and culture. When the migrants left their homes the south in search of a better life, they left behind the threat of lynching, discrimination, segregation, denied human rights and lack of employment. They brought a culture constructed out of their own experiences of discrimination in the south, these cultural navigations gave birth to Jazz, America’s first authentic art form. An evolution of negro spirituals and work songs, ‘The

The rapid development of jazz in both the United States and Europe generated a number of diverse musical expressions, including musics that most listeners today would not recognize as “jazz” music. In order to remedy this situation, jazz musicians and critics after 1930 began to codify what “real” jazz encompassed, and more importantly, what “real” jazz did not encompass. This construction of authenticity, often demarcated along racial lines, served to relegate several artists and styles (those outside a “mainstream” to the margins of historiography.

Overtime, perseverance has been tremendously exemplified throughout the African American community. This theme is demonstrated incredibly well while looking at the timeline of jazz, seeing that the musical genre was originally created by black individuals in New Orleans. The ancestries of jazz come from African, European, and Caribbean traditions, although the exact contributions are still a controversy to this day, the blending of the three are crucial elements when looking at the establishment of jazz.

Jazz music as we know it today has evolved since the early twentieth century. Its’ evolution is due to the influence of many different players who have added their own styles, interpretations and techniques. Two masters of Jazz who have been a big influence on the music are cornet and trumpet player, Louis Armstrong, and piano player, band leader and arranger, Duke Ellington. Each came from different socio-economic and geographical backgrounds, but both became masters of their trade, reached worldwide fame and became legends of the music.

The mystery of Jazz and its powerful impact on the music community can be explained largely by the context of it’s creation. Jazz was born in the United States, and because of this, many have referred to Jazz as “America’s music.” Like America, Jazz has a balance between structure and spontaneity. It capitalizes on the fluidity of the musicians, having several different instruments with independent spirits, coming together as one to form a great piece of music. Unlike other styles of music, Jazz has a certain way about it that makes it stand-alone in the world of genres. It improvises, moves, and transforms itself in a moment’s notice based on the musician’s intuition. Just as America harbors democracy, so too does a jazz ensemble, showing both the responsibility to a larger group, yet still allowing room for individual freedom. It all comes down to how well others can respect the overall framework and structure of the jingle.

Jazz is associated with the African American people and this is an influence unequaled in the field of music. The true spirit of jazz arises from a revolt from convention, custom, authority, and boredom, even sorrow, from everything that would confine the soul of man.

Jazz music first originated in African American communities in the late 1900’s and the early 20th century. Jazz spans over a period of hundred years. Jazz encompasses a range of music from ragtime to that of the present day, most of which have been proven difficult to define. the birth of Jazz in multicultural society of America led artist around the world to hail Jazz as one of “America’s original art forms”