Jazz Music Analysis

It is critiques like this one that are valuable to the jazz community. It is important to evoke emotions through words when talking about jazz. Amiri Baraka’s article “Jazz and the White Critic” introduced his readers

Thesis: Although Jazz music was first introduced over 80 years ago, the genre still influences artists and the new music they make to this day.

Jazz is the world - famous music genre that originated from the African - American communities that existed during the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the town of New Orleans, United States. The genre of jazz has many subgenres which have evolved over time to give us current modern day jazz. The two jazz genres which will be compared and contrasted in this essay will be the two subgenres; Bebop, and Ragtime Jazz, which differ but at the same time have some similarities.

Jazz to me is one of the inherent expressions of Negro Life in America: the eternal tom-tom beating in the Negro soul—the tom-tom of revolt against weariness in a white world, a world of subway trains, and work, work, work; the tom-tom of joy and laughter, and pain swallowed in a smile. Yet the Philadelphia clubwoman… turns up her nose at jazz and all its manifestations—likewise almost anything else distinctly racial…She wants the artist to flatter her, to make the white world believe that all Negroes are as smug as near white in smug as she wants to be. But, to my mind, it is the duty of the younger Negro artist …to change through the hidden force of his art that old whispering “I want to be white,” hidden in the aspirations of his people, to “Why should I want to be white? I am Negro—and beautiful.”

“JAZZ” is a documentary by Ken Burns released 2001 that focuses on the creation and development of jazz, America’s “greatest cultural achievement.” The first episodes entitled, “Gumbo, Beginnings to 1917” and “The Gift (1917-1924), explain the early growth of jazz as it originates in New Orleans and its expands to Chicago and New York during the Jazz Age. In assessing the first two episodes of Ken Burns' 2001 documentary, "JAZZ," this essay will explore the history of jazz, the music's racial implications, and it's impact on society. In doing so, attention will also be given to the structure of the documentary, and the effectiveness of documentary film in retelling the past.

From its inception, Jazz has applied both innovative approaches in different degrees and boundless configuration. And has continually amplified, progress, and modify music through various distinctive episodes of growth. So, an all-encompassing denotation of jazz is likely vain. Additionally, jazz as a music whose prime attribute was “improvisation,” for example, revealed to be too regulated and chiefly false. Meanwhile composition, adaptation, and ensembles have also been imperative constituent of Jazz (for most of its backstory). Furthermore, “syncopation” and “swing,” often viewed as important and distinctive to jazz, are certainly lacking the genuineness of it, whether of the 1920s (or of later decades). However, the prolonged perception that swing could not transpire without syncopation was utterly refuted when trumpeter Louis Armstrong often produced vast swing while playing repeated, and unsyncopated quarter notes (Armstrong, L., Fitzgerald, E., & Middleton, V. (1988). Satchmo. Gong.)

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

Picture this: the year is 1926 and you are walking down the street in downtown Chicago. You pass a crowded club, where you hear the upbeat and speedy rhythms of music pouring out. The sound consumes you, fills you with joy, and persuades you to dance. You walk into the club to find numerous people swinging and tossing themselves around each other, enjoying the fast-paced and boisterous music. This is the appearance of jazz music, and in the early 20th century, jazz music swept the nation. With artists like Jelly Roll Morton, Joe King Oliver, Sidney Bichet , Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, jazz filled the souls of Americans, promoting a free and fun lifestyle. Although these artists had different beginnings,

One of the greatest tragedies in the 20th century can be seen in the debasing of the Jazz genre as a unworthy equal to it's predecessor, European Classical music. This can be seen in various statements about Jazz, such as Boris Gibalin commit, "The "Jazz Mania" has taken on the character of a lingering illness and must be cured by means of forceful intervention."1 This conflict can be traced through out the history of Jazz, as Classical composers have relatively disregarded this new type of music. Before Duke Ellington's Cotton Club performances, Jazz play on the radio was delegated for late night audience only. This sub-culture treatment has led many critics to disregard the Jazz movement as a dance craze, or unsuccessful recreations

In the article, “Birthplace of Jazz,” Naydja Bynum writes that jazz “...is not an invention. It's alive. It grows, it dies, it changes, it stays the same” (Bynum). Many aspects of society in the 1920’s contributed to the life jazz music brought to the world and the impact it continues to have on modern music today. Post-war strains, racial segregation, and the wild, carefree life of the of the era had the greatest influence on the music of the 1920’s.

1. Richard Cook and Brian Morton The penguin Guide to Jazz, 2008, London: Penguin, p1020

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

He acknowledges his readers’ understanding and literacy of Jazz culture by passively referencing names of Jazz “titans”—specifically, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Duke Ellington. To further earn his audience’s trust, he uses relevant information and his position to gain credibility. As a writer and producer for CNN Enterprise, he has a credible position since it can be gathered that such a prestigious organization would not be hiring anyone who is less than qualified. He also implements multiple pertinent sources to further his credibility in this article (i.e. Nicholas Payton’s “Why Jazz Isn’t Cool Anymore” and Scott DeVeaux’s “Jazz”). He has authority as a writer and knowledge as he uses many credible sources from significant people to convey how and why Jazz lost significance as a musical genre.

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.

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.