Famous American Ragtime Research Paper

     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

Intro- Facts- Back in 1928, a jazz song was recorded in Chicago. The hit song, West End Blues, was played by Louis Armstrong and his friends, the Hot Five. The song was written by Joe “King” Oliver, the mentor of Armstrong.

Ferdinand Joseph “Jelly Roll Morton” LaMenthe was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on October 20, 1890. As a child he began to learn how to play the piano at age 10 years old. He was taught by Tony Jackson; compose of songs like “Pretty Boy” and other hits. Tony Jackson is among the few musicians whom Morton admired and respected. Jackson was also known to him as the greatest single-handed entertainers in the world. After his mother’s passing, Morton began playing in gigs in the bordellos of the Storyville district of New Orleans. In New Orleans he became active as a gambler, pool shark, and many more things that made him get kicked out by his grandmother. With him doing all of this gambling she didn’t want his sisters to see that life that he was going down.

Butch Cassidy and his members of the Wild Bunch left a remarkable chapter in the history of old American West. Interestingly, Butch was no mean robber, but someone full of charm. The story of the group was made more interesting with the addition of Butch’s constant partner-in-crime, Sundance Kid.

In total, Basie won nine Grammy Awards, but his biggest one was the one he won in 1958. When he received that Grammy, he became the first African-American male to receive a Grammy. Besides his Grammys, a couple of Basie’s songs were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame such as “April in Paris” and “Everyday I have the blues”. He had recorded over 480 albums. Basie was often recognized for his understated yet captivating style of piano playing and his precise, impeccable musical leadership. Basie set high standards for future jazz artist.

The Cotton Club lost some of its freshness as performers played dazzling, yet emotionless jazz but Ellington brought his own style of music which interested the nation’s

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

A single source of blues music cannot be traced, but Ma Rainey is rightfully credited with introducing it to the world. Hence the reason she was dubbed as “The Mother of the Blues”. During an interview in the 1930s, Ma told musicologist John Work, that she heard what would be called blues, for the first time around 1902. She was in a small town in Missouri working a show at the time, and one morning a local girl came into the tent singing about a man whom had left her. This new style of soulful music drew in Ma Rainey so much she later had the girl teach her the song. Rainey performed the song as an encore in a show soon after, earning a special place in the show, and marking the start of her career (Jas Obrecht Archive).

in Kansas City and became one of the most famous jazz musicians of all time. He led us

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

     Jazz music is a blending of both black and white tradition and heritages. New Orleans was the center of many different ethnicities, such as French, Spanish, American, and African

One person that had a substantial and lasting impact on the music world is W.C Handy also known as “The Father Of Blues”. Without him African American owned record labels wouldn't have prospered at the rate it did to this day. W.C

Charlie Parker was born in Kansas City on August 29, 1920; at this time Kansas City was a center of African-American music. Parker quickly developed talents at the public school he attended, Lincoln High, on the baritone but by the time he was 15, alto saxophone had become Parker’s instrument of choice. From 1935 to 1939 Parker played in the Kansas City music scene, mostly at a place known as the Reno Club. In the year 1954, taken over by drugs and alcohol, Charlie Parker died in a New York apartment.

Nps.gov states that some of the greatest musician in America History has come from the jazz side of the world. Artist such as Louis Armstrong, Billy Holiday and Jelly “Roll” Morton, pave the way for jazz to reach its height as it did in the early 20’s with the upbeat tempo and smooth classical sound. These artist brung a unique sound to jazz that was not there. Louis Armstrong contribute to jazz is so remarkable, he played the trumpet like no other. His sound was so soothing to the ears. When you think about jazz, Louis Armstrong is one of the first names most people relate to jazz. Jelly “Roll” Morton was probably the most influence artist there is. An innovative piano stylist and composer, began his odyssey outside of New Orleans as early as 1907. He continue his work throughout the 1920’s and was mainly consider the reason of the swing era.

In contrast, Blues music originated from southern Mississippi and was first recorded in the 1920s. Blues music is further differentiated from Jazz as it was originally played as a solo using a slide guitar. This is not the case today as it has been modified and adapted by practising artists and utilises complex bands.