Throughout several years, numerous genres of music have been created and evolved, such as contemporary, country, pop, and more. One genre, in particular, has greatly influenced the world and still remains popular today. This renowned genre is jazz. Although jazz originated in the late 19th and early 20th century, the genre has continued to develop and influence other aspects of music. With its beginnings in African American communities, jazz features several distinguishing components and defining qualities. Along with jazz’s many influences and unique features, the genre also includes a variety of leading musicians.
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
The origins of jazz music and dance are found in the rhythms and movements brought to America by African slaves. The style of African dance is earthy; low, knees bent, pulsating body movements emphasized by body isolations and hand-clapping. As slaves forced into America, starting during the 1600’s, Africans from many cultures were cut off from their families, languages and
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
in which the only races involved in the creation or playing of jazz are black and white,
There are many art forms that exist in the world but none that has left a lasting impact on the world like Jazz. Originating in the south, Jazz music was an art form that truly united many cultures all over the world. The category was born in New Orleans, Louisiana during the early 1900’s and best personified what the Black experience in America was like in an art form. Jazz music is musical conversation: a partly planned and partly spontaneous musical dialogue among the musicians who are performing it . The art form did more in visualizing the American dream than any other like it. The music made by jazz musicians is performed and enjoyed all over the world and has intertwined itself into nearly every cultural groups. Jazz was so influential that it had its own era called the Jazz age. The jazz age was the period in time beginning right after World War I and ended before the stock market crash of 1929. The age was one of flashy style and prosperity after a time of war. It also showcased what was seen as risqué behavior considered during the time like flappers, prostitution and liquor consumption. But one of the most notable changes during the time was the adoption of Jazz into cultures outside of the black community. It was turned into a pastime of sorts. The music was adapted to fit into ragtime dance and even ballroom dances where the upper echelon met and had a good time. Jazz music exploded onto the scene in a way
Jazz had started, when musicians came to New Orleans to play, most of the people that came to play were former slaves of African descent. The African American people had traced their ancestry back to West Africa, and with this knowledge they began to make a new kind of genre of music called jazz, based on ancient African tribal music, that people in Africa had been
Jazz offers a twist to the idea of classical music because it openly acknowledges its roots as Africa, not Europe as most other classical art forms do. This created a lot of political uproar as jazz gained popularity in the early 1900’s. Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and John Coltrane are three important figures in early jazz development. DeVeaux makes the important statement that if jazz is to be “impressed on future generations the story [of jazz] must be told, and it must be told well” (DeVeaux,
Jazz might just be the most unique genre of music in the world. Pairing true artistry and creativity with immense technicality and skill creates music that is simply incomparable. Originating from the African-American communities of New Orleans in the 1910’s, jazz was a fresh new creation heavily predominated by African-Americans. Early forms featured brass-bands playing a ragtime and swing style of music, with improvisation, and unique and syncopated rhythm and blues. Within music, syncopated means offbeat rhythm. While not popular at first, this early form of jazz started becoming well-liked and by the 1920’s many artists were
Jazz is not only an artform, but also a story of a race. Jazz was created to help deal with the oppression many African Americans faced throughout the 1800-1900 time era and to explain their story. Dr. Ruth Mark Katz describes jazz as containing the “holocaustic aberration” of slavery in other words meaning jazz is a “symbolic record
The social development of Jazz from the early 1900’s to present time proves what everyday racism and commercialization do to a beautiful and uprising tradition. Most would say Jazz music is just another genre that has a “swing” to it, although that may be true there is something spectacular that makes it more than just another type of music. “Jazz is a type of music of black American origin characterized by improvisation, syncopation, and usually a regular or forceful rhythm, emerging at the beginning of the 20th century” (dictionary.com). Jazz music is a part of African American culture and over time traditionalized through generations which have passed down from generations. The growth of Jazz starts all the back from the Africa where there were a lot of similar configurations. The huge introduction to Jazz was during the slave era where slaves would sing “Field Hollers” while in the fields. They would create and work to that rhythm for a more positive atmosphere.
Jazz is a genre of music that was first developed by African American within their communities around the late 19th to early 20th century in the United States. Since then, Jazz has gained a lot of respect and grown into a classic. The genre is now well known in music history and has experienced a mass musical development throughout the decades. Jazz was established and evolved alongside such musical categories as blues and popular music, but what changed the way of music in America was none other than Jazz. From the 1920’s through the late 1950’s, Jazz was formed from the local hearts and souls of the African American community. In the mid-1930s, as the Great Depression stubbornly refused to lift, Jazz became America’s popular music, its impact was so strong, and it could be called revolutionary. The music held stories and experiences that were important to the communities and reflective of their struggles.
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.
During the 1950’s and 60’s at the height of the civil rights movements jazz would place itself in the middle of tension between black and whites. This music had the ability to inspire writers
With the vestiges of French and Spanish colonial roots, the resilience of African influences after the slavery era and the influx of immigrants from Europe jazz was born. All of these cultures were intertwined to produce a new sound that was distinctly