Jazz: A Very Brief History Of Classical Music

In the city of New Orleans, from parades to clubs and from weddings to funerals, one element usually remained constant throughout all these events: the music that permeated the air. At most of these occasions, a band often performed as entertainment, providing many opportunities for musicians in the area to work. By the early 20th century, due to various factors such as mix of ethnicities and cultures with syncopated musical styles influenced by African-American traditions, the increase in non-reading musicians improvising melodies, and simply the existence of numerous brass bands, New Orleans had become an entertainment powerhouse that largely gave rise to the type of music called jazz. However, while there were many cultural and environmental influences on the emergence of the new genre, two main musical antecedents are associated with forming the basis of jazz: ragtime and blues.

The Classical period of music has also been called the “Rococo” period. The Classical time period was between the 18th and 19th centuries. Spanning the years of 1750-1820. The transition from the Baroque period to the Classical took the music from polyphonic to homophonic where even though it seems like that would make the music less complex we look at a whole different type of complexity. The music typically contained two different melodies and a contrast in sections. This made the chords in the music much more defined and the tonal part of the music became more defined. The Classical period had a significant influence on several aspects of music. Chamber music had a sonata form. This means it had an exposition, a transition, and a recapitulation. Composition in the Classical time was mainly dominated by eclecticism which made the music more diverse. Concerto was driven at first by the Italians. They started the idea of the solo concerto. Orchestration was mainly developed during this musical time period. This is partly due to some of the most talented musicians that lived during this time. They did a lot of work in making the orchestra mainly string instruments. Some of these being the violin, viola, cello, and the contrabass, just to name a few. All of these things had a great influence in the way the music made the transition from the Baroque period to the Classical period.

     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

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.

Jazz music can be likened to a progressive work of art. Throughout its history, Jazz music theory and techniques are continuously advancing and reforming as musicians pursue their interests by seeking new methods of expression. Jazz evolution is perpetual, and can take the form of incorporation of new techniques, adoption of more intricate harmonies and rhythms, or establishment of more elaborate melodies (Gioia). The early 1940s saw an increase in the number of Jazz modernists. As swing music declined in popularity due to various effects of the Second World War, Jazz branched into two very contrasting musical styles. The first of these new and unique styles of Jazz, called Bebop emerged in the 1940s, and was the product of numerous jam sessions in back rooms and after-hours clubs. The movement that unfolded in the later 1940’s and 50’s, called Cool (sometimes referred to as West Coast Jazz) came as a response to Bebop’s later demise. Even though Bebop and Cool stemmed from the big band music of the swing era, their differences are apparent. From its conception, to its musicians, to its audiences, Bebop and Cool came into the Jazz timeline for different reasons. Nevertheless the two musical movements ultimately left a long-lasting and distinctive influence on Jazz music, which is still manifested in Jazz music today.

In the origin of Jazz the more frequently used instruments were the violin, piano, and the clarinet. The most trendy Jazz types were Ragtime, Bebop, and Contemporary. “Most early jazz was played by small bands, performing for dancing or at social occasions including picnics and funerals, or by solo pianists (“Jazz” n.d para. 11).”

As a result of the spirit of Jazz that was dialectical, liberal and deconstructive, an old style of playing music was negated by the ideas of new music. Then, the ideas led into the new styles of playing music. In this case, the chronology of the development of jazz was divided in three time periods where each period gave birth to a specific style of playing music. The first period was traditional jazz period (1890-1940) that gave birth to Ragtime, New Orleans, Dixieland, New Orleans in Chicago and Kansas City, and Swing.

Jazz is consider one of the most influential types of music an America History. Some of the greatest artist in the world have contribute to the success jazz have had not only on America History but throughout the world. This paper will explain the history of jazz, where it all came from and the effect it has had on the America Culture.

Orchestral jazz is a jazz genre that developed in New York in the 1920s. Early innovators of the genre, such as Fletcher Henderson and Duke Ellington, include some of the most highly regarded musicians, composers, and arrangers in all of jazz history. The fusion of jazz’s rhythmic and instrumental characteristics with the scale and structure of and orchestra, made orchestral jazz distinct from the musical genre that preceded its emergence. Its development contributed both to the popularization of jazz, as well as the critical legitimization of jazz as an art form.

Jazz could be what describes America to a “T” in the 1920s. It was very popular throughout the entire decade of the 1920s. This era was called “The Jazz Age”, which was a term coined by F. Scott Fitzgerald (Campbell 52). It not only affected music, but it also contributed to an entire cultural renaissance in Harlem, brought other cultural groups together in a time of segregation, and the lifestyle of many Americans throughout the 1920s. Jazz would be the mold for everything American in the 1920s and could possibly be one of the best things that ever happened to this country.

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.

In America, the 1920s was an extremely critical time, especially for the African-Americans of the time. The Harlem Renaissance was booming. Citizens were bringing all poetry, art, and music to the next level in the roaring 20s. They call this the “Jazz Age” for a reason. Jazz music started to appear in dance venues and clubs. One such club was the famous Cotton Club. People were either enamored by it, or appalled by it. Jazz was all about movement; it was driven by syncopation and improvisation, and for some it was highly regarded as “the devil’s music. “Music, is a cultural reaction to specific environmental factors.

Jazz music was one of the biggest trends in the 1920s and it wasn’t just a fad. The radio and phonograph had entered American homes in the 20s, this influenced the growth of one of the biggest American musical movements to date, jazz music. Jazz in America got its start in the 1920s, but it has influenced many different types of music genres and subgenres including the ones we listen to currently.

The piano has been a pivotal instrument throughout the development of jazz music. Starting with ragtime, which developed out of classical music, all the way to modern jazz the piano has been a foundational instrument upon which many styles have been built. This is a result of the versatility of the instrument, as it has the ability to play accompaniment, rhythm, and solo improvisation simultaneously. Throughout the course of jazz history many musicians have utilized the piano to develop new and unique styles. These great musicians used influences from all sources to develop these new genres of jazz and are renowned for their ability still today.

The classical music period extends from 1740 to 1810, which includes the music of Haydn, Mozart, and the first period of Beethoven. The classical period of music combined harmony, melody, rhythm, and orchestration more effectively than earlier periods of music. With the natural evolution of music slowly changing with the culture, the baroque era had ended. That era had left a structure, articulation and periodic phrasing of music which would shape classical music.