Early Jazz Essay

Jazz music originated from the Black Americans in the beginning of the 20th century. It is characterised by improvisation, syncopation, and usually a regular or forceful rhythm. Instruments like the harmonica, trumpets and other percussion instruments are associated with jazz. Some jazz sub genres are swing, Dixieland, Blues, Free jazz, Acid/Fusion jazz and Bebop. Chicago and New Orleans are the two types of Jazz that are very popular and an instrumental and historical pathway to the introduction of the creation and entirety of Jazz music.

About a century ago jazz was considered as popular music and was considerably the most influential movement at the time. In 1920, jazz had infected Kansas City and it could be heard on every corner of each street. It began around the early 1900s, when African American musicians congregated in the city of New Orleans. In the town of Storyville, musicians would share and improvise their music. Eventually, some musicians would leave New Orleans to share the “New Orleans music.” By the 1920s, after jazz had entered the vocabulary in 1917, indie music companies began recording jazz

When discussing jazz, the stereotype that comes to mind is red-light district. Although that is prevalent in the jazz era, it is much more than that. Jazz is defined as American interpretive music that evolved from Ragtime. By popular belief, it is also thought to have originated in New Orleans. However, New Orleans is only the source of jazz popularity and famous jazz musicians. It is up to musicians and jazz audiences to interpret their own views on the “birth place” of jazz. With this being said, there are perspectives which prove to be more historically accurate than others. Jelly Roll Morton and Sidney Bechet were and are two famous jazz musicians who hold different insights on the origin of Jazz. On one side, Sidney Bechet thinks jazz

     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

The birth of jazz music is often credited to African Americans, though it didn’t take long to expanded to America's white middle class. Jazz, therefore, was characterised by a meshing of African American traditions and ideals with white middle class societies. Big cities like New York and Chicago were

Some historians will tell you that jazz came north to Chicago on Mississippi riverboats straight out of New Orleans, but the reality is a great deal more complicated. Jazz came to Chicago's railway station. This was caused by a major chapter, both in music and American history. The mass movement of African Americans from South to North was known as "The Great Migration" and it brought many African Americans north for the same reasons. Failing crops, continued discrimination and a great demand for workers. In fact, it was estimated that one million African-Americans came north looking for a better life. Between 1916 and the

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

Initially, the first jazz is said to have been played by funeral bands that wailed music full of soul and sadness as the followed horse drawn hearses down the streets of New Orleans. It was blues music though (Winfield 157). Many historians mark the start of the “Jazz Age” on November 12, 1917- the day the Department of the Navy closed a thirty-eight square-block neighborhood known as storyville in the city of New Orleans. Fearing the health of its sailors, the navy shut the doors of Storyville’s brothels and nightclubs, forcing

Jazz music is a blend of white middle class thoughts and African American traditions. Jazz originated in New Orleans in the beginning of the 1920’s. The Jazz Age was from 1920 through 1929. During the 1920’s, the First World War had just ended in 1918 and the Great Depression was affecting the citizens of the United States. Jazz music and dancing helped people forget about the terrible Great Depression. It gave the citizens a reason to be happy and love life during the 1920’s. The new form of music allowed people to express themselves in new ways. Jazz music was influenced by African American musicians, changed the music industry all over the world, and affected the society.

During the early 1900’s, a new style of music began to take shape in the colorful city of New Orleans. People from all over the world came to exchange stories, conversation, and music. Although it is a very hard genre of music to define, it is said that Jazz is the combination of European and African music that was brought in via the ports. With mostly an African American population, the musicians shared their music in Storyville - a cultural melting pot, and began to spread the “New Orleans Sound”. They contributed to what would soon be known as Jazz in 1917. The spontaneous nature of Jazz’s syncopation and sound makes it a very humanistic style of music and makes every performance original. Every day we improvise, whether it is in conversation or spur of the moment decisions. These truly unique elements caused Jazz to become a symbol of America, and changed music forever.

It documented that New Orleans is the city that gave birth to Jazz. The deeper one dives into this there are more arguments that can claim one or the other city of its jazz origin. New Orleans traditions keep many of the early customs thriving and as a novice it would be hard to challenge this without being open minded to see what each city has own historical references. The city of New Orleans has a wide culture of all races and was a natural setting for the music of West Africa and Europe to converge. Storyville was a part of New Orleans where early jazz developed and continued to thrive until 1917. Depending on the point of view or where ones allegiance falls based on the style of music is preferred others say jazz came directly to Chicago’s 12th Street station from the Illinois Central Railroad with the slaves. Part of the mass movement of African Americans from South to North is what came to be called “The Great Migration” and musicians came north for the same others did the demand for factory jobs and decent money to support the craft. Chicago had major musical talent as well before Storyville closed and sheet music featuring the Pekin Theater dates from 1904. According to the Chicago defender, Erskine Tate played his violin in Chicago in 1910 and Wilbur Sweatman was in Chicago playing clarinet in 1906.

Is it the Africans of the city who the music is directly connected to? Or with the popularization of Jazz did the White community want to claim it as thier own like they attempted to do with white jazz musicians?

Jazz is a music genre that has complex characteristics and history of development and thus many musicians and scholars face troubles in defining what jazz is. In general, jazz is believed to have born in New Orleans. Jazz developed for the pleasure of the social dancers. According to the “Understanding Jazz: What Is Jazz?” of John F. Kennedy center for the Performing Arts, Jazz was created mainly by Afro-Americans, and had elements of European and Afro-American culture. Also, it emphasizes few elements of Jazz, which are swing-feel, syncopation, and improvisation. These different culture and elements of jazz may be explained by how jazz

Of all the arts that took place in the United States, Jazz is well thought out as America's first original art form. Since its beginning in the 20th century, Jazz music is defined by chronicle changes. Almost every decade a new essence enhanced the movement, and by the 1940’s jazz had developed into a mature, complex form of music, with many nuances and avenues for unceasing changes.

Even though Jazz music was predominantly of African-American audiences, it grew to all listeners of music regardless of their race. But, if we look at the audience of today, the listeners of Jazz music are white. Jazz was also able to grow during its height because of the fact that music was able to be recorded. This gave everyone the ability to hear this genre of music, even if they were not able to go out and enjoy it live. Also during this time and through the mid-century Jazz was the dance music of Americans. Jazz in fact influenced the younger crowds in how they dressed, their language, as well as a certain attitude. Most of all, Jazz, more than most other music, has been firmly related with the societal, political, and financial impacts of American urban communities and in addition the changing status of American workmanship and music all through the