Jazz And Jazz Culture

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

Jazz takes its beginnings in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. After large amounts of immigration in the 19th century, New Orleans was one of the most

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

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

African and American Music: Two Distinctive Journeys of Pleasure African music has been one of the most interesting topics in the music world. Unlike any other culture, music in Africa is a way of life. Throughout its rich and evolving history, music has always played a crucial role in the African culture. Consequently, music in the African society allows outsiders to gain an insight into the different aspects of their culture and the norms of the society. American music is rich in history and tradition, but it takes a different path compared to the African one.

The genre of jazz is one of rich history and also one that is eternally changing. With its roots in African culture and its evolution mainly in the United States, it is quite obvious that the musicians involved in the growth of this music experienced great racial barriers. From its origins in the plantations of the South during times of slavery to its current state as a popular form of music, jazz has been an important tool in the battle against black prejudice. Due to its exposure to white audiences and musicians throughout its history, its use as a weapon against Jim Crow, and its relation to the black power movement of the 1960s, jazz has helped combat racism against blacks in the United States.

Adriana Trevino MUFHL 315 October 2, 2014 Jazz Roots: The Creation of Jazz Louis Armstrong said “Jazz is only what ya are” (Deveaux, Giddins 106). During the nineteenth century, African American people faced many obstacles and coped through activities such as singing, and musical skills. Especially in New Orleans, a port city where people were either black (or colored creole a mixed African and Spanish or African and French descent) or white. Jazz is a mixture of many diverse components, and genres like polyrhythmic African American folk music. Over the years jazz has been played by every color of people, every gender and age but still remains an African American based genre.

In order to begin understanding the culture surrounding the Jazz Era, we must first discuss where jazz began. Jazz had its beginnings in the cultural melting pot of New Orleans. New Orleans was where jazz evolved because it was

Jazz music was born from the creative hands of black people who experienced oppression and slavery in America in the late 18th century. Expression of a resistance against the racist and oppressive political system was manifested in the way of black Americans to play their music. History has recorded that slavery and racial discrimination in America gave birth precisely to the music of resistance, such as the Spiritual, gospel and blues. This phenomenon could be interpreted as a cultural resistance of black people to Westernization, in terms of religion, culture, politics, and how to make music.

225). With the link between African-American culture and jazz’s roots, the musical themes relate to the cultural/societal aspect of projecting the artistic side in the context of one’s status in society. Appelrouth (2011) states that jazz takes on class and status as both an outgrowth and promoter of the new social order that is in place, based on consumption and personal indulgence (p. 236). Before the 1930s, jazz became a race issue in the 1920s after being dubbed ‘Negro music.’ Big jazz orchestras “produced an image of the music that suppressed its connection to African American culture” (Appelrouth, 2011, p. 237). From there, jazz’s cultural/societal values evolved with the onset of the

While jazz might be an African-American music, it is still often viewed as being uniquely

Nowadays, the United States has the largest music market in the world. Inheriting from the European tradition music from the European immigrants, American music has been deeply influenced by African-American music in both rhythmic and lyrical styles. African-American music includes a diverse range of music genres, such as blues, hip hop, jazz which are developed by African Americans. although these forms of African-American music may different a lot in music style, rhythm and so on, however, in some extent, they could all be classified as inheriting from one main type of music of the African cultural heritage which the slaves brought from Africa. In this way, what is the origin of the African-American music, how and why African music was used by those Africans that were sold to America will be discussed concerning the racism, educational indoctrination, identity and so on. At the same time, the development of the African-American spiritual music, and how, why they were developed from the African music will be discussed in detail.

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 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

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.