Ethno 50B Essay #1

Jazz emerged towards the beginning of the 20th century, but didn 't just spring up out of nowhere. Instead, it was a creation that developed from popular music styles of the 19th century that were blended and combined to entertain not only the social dancers, but also, the nation as a whole. The two main music styles that jazz evolved from were ragtime and the blues. Both ragtime and the blues had their beginnings in African-American communities. While both of these music styles strongly contributed to the creation of jazz and have a lot of similarities, they do have their differences. These differences lie within their origins, their instruments, the elements of the music styles and how these elements influenced jazz, and their artists and composers.

The second generations of Jazz musicians were some like Joe “King” Oliver, Kid Ory, and Jelly Roll Morton. These people formed a small band and started to reshape the way the original Jazz music was played. They have made it into a different style with more complications and twists and turns. And so it became known as “Hot Jazz”. King Oliver found a young artist by the name of Louis Armstrong. He soon grew to become the greatest Jazz musician anyone has known. He is still a big star in the world today. By the 20th Century, African-American musical styles became the dominant force.

Jazz has always been a part of the American tradition. Some may say they like Jazz for its rhythmic twist and turns. Others may love the soothing melodies from an improved Trumpet solo. All in all, Jazz has been an American staple and has molded today’s popular music, into what it is today. It’s very different from classical music, which is written out and strict. Jazz is much more. It’s made up of spontaneity and improvisation, which makes up an idea on the spot. There are many wide varieties in Jazz. There is Bebop Jazz, Avante Garde Jazz, Acid Jazz, Free Funk Jazz, Soul Jazz, Swing Jazz, and many, many more! These forms of Jazz can be seen and heard in some of your favorite music of Today. It’s been widely used by the world. There is an important reason as to why this genre contributes to the growing of music. We first take a look into the root of all Jazz. In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, the country of Africa was the first known country to use rhythm primarily for the element of musical expression, and ensembles composed entirely of percussion instruments created extended polyrhythmic works. These polyrhythms, which means the “layering of multiple rhythms.”, were record in Western music. African music did not use paper, or sheet music. Instead, they relied on Aural rituals, learned by ear and also used” spontaneity, which is later said to be known as improvisation”. In Africa, most of the music that was expressed was for religious

Louis was born in New Orleans where he grew up and learned to play the trumpet. He also learned to sing. Because of his long improvised solos, he inspired jazz so that long solos became an important part of jazz pieces and performances. (Cayton, 462) Armstrong was the king of jazz trumpet players. The new style that he created gave a voice-like quality to his horn. (Hakim, 58) Although Jazz was very popular itself, a majority of the fans and listeners were younger people. Flappers were commonly known during this time. They danced to the jazz music with a whole new style.

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

Miles Dewey Davis III was a phenomenal jazz trumpeter from the late 1940’s who composed several timeless jazz classics and would soon become immortalized within the genre. While attending the Institute of Musical Art, Davis skipped several classes only to participate in jam sessions with his mates, Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker, who too will become popular musicians. Davis and Parker often collaborated during the late 1940s, exploring with the capabilities of what one can improvise with harmonies and rhythms. Alongside musical innovation, Miles formed unique jazz groups which had included instruments that typically aren’t present within the genre, like the tuba and the french horn. Miles had become a heroin addict within the 1950s, and

Over time, change has been something that has always occurred in our society. Music is one of the things that has changed drastically over the decades. From its instruments, the use of technology, the purpose and the reason of the music. One of the things that makes music so different is the instruments and technology. In the 1920’s, jazz was popular.

Genre: Nonfiction. The gripping story of how a young, poor, African-American boy, physically abused by his father and bullied at school, finds a creative outlet for his anger through music when his teacher gives him a trumpet. The rise to fame, and the creation of bebop music by jazz legend Dizzy Gillespie is told with a narrative containing rhyme, rhythm, and alliteration. The narration imitates the sounds of jazz and scat that Dizzy created. A note from the author included at the end of the narrative brings further insight into Dizzy’s life as a teacher of bebob and role model for musicians.

The opposite of cool jazz was hard bop, which was played in the Eastern cities.

Cool Jazz has a slow tempo. Since it is a softer type of music it 's tone is soft and melodic. The beats per measure is very low. The performers of cool jazz try to keep the dynamics low and soft so that it kept its tempo and tune. Even though it originated from bebop it is much longer. The soft tones causes cool jazz to be played in clubs such as an intimate club.

Stan Kenton's Modern Music Orchestra was also a major influence on “cool jazz”, which revealed the racial diversity of jazz in white groups that expanded on African-American influences. Jazz artists, such as Chet Baker and Gerry Mulligan, that complimented the master works of Mile Davis and the Modern Jazz Quartet in this multi-racial and multicultural development of “cool jazz” as a trend in American music. The and of the 1950s defined the end of “cool jazz” as a dominant movement in jazz, but it defines the origins and development of a relaxed and nonchalant style of playing that made a huge impact on jazz

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.

I used to always go over to my grandparent’s house and watch my grandfather go crazy over this “Jazz” music. He explained to me that it wasn’t Jazz unless it swung like the greats. I listened to a song “Sing Sing Sing” the other day from one of my Jazz collections that my grandpa gave to me and realized that their was so much energy and pizzazz in this music. He explained to me that it was all put together by a guy named Benny, and I understood why.

Cool jazz is a term for modern style that sound more subdued than the bebop of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie.

Even in the last decade of his life, Armstrong continued to entertain people just as he had the previous four decades of his life. He often performed with a number of different musical groups, and is said to have “revolutionized” the jazz world with his introduction of the extended trumpet solo. He grew as a person and developed jazz into what it is now, “Louis Armstrong had a very long and successful career. He influenced the direction of jazz music and was the first ever “super star” of jazz music.” Louis Armstrong was one of the most influential jazz musicians in the 1920’s and is an essential factor of the thriving music industry today.