The Great Equalizer Research Paper

The article “Jazz and White Critic” by Amiri Baraka brings light to an element of jazz criticism that he is frustrated by. Baraka finds controversy in the ideas white critics write about regarding jazz music. Baraka states, “Most jazz critics have been white Americans, but most important jazz musicians have not been.” In the 1960’s, when Baraka made this statement, jazz was becoming more popularized and socially accepted. African American jazz musicians took a long, strenuous journey over decades to push their music into the spotlight to become one of the most popular music styles in society internationally. The special element of jazz is its raw emotion. Baraka distinguishes between “White Jazz”, music

The birth of jazz music is often credited to African Americans, though it didn’t take long to expanded to America's white middle class. Jazz, therefore, was characterised by a meshing of African American traditions and ideals with white middle class societies. Big cities like New York and Chicago were

Music changed through the Renaissance as well, picking up a new flavor from the black community. Jazz originated in New Orleans and traveled north to Harlem. Black musicians enjoyed the sounds of jazz and its sorrows. Musicians capitalized on the sound, adding in personal stories of struggle, love, and faith. These musicians took their talents to the night clubs of Harlem; some places became famous like the Cotton Club. White musicians joined black jazz bands, and for the first-time multiracial bands were formed (Carney). One of the most famous musicians to come out of the Renaissance was a trumpet by the name of Louis Armstrong. “Having come from a poor family in New Orleans, Armstrong began to perform with bands in small clubs and play at funerals and parades around town in New Orleans” (Burns). Due to the mixing of races, race relations got better and people came together to appreciate the talents of others, race didn’t matter!

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 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; the tom-tom of joy and laughter, and pain swallowed in a smile. Yet the Philadelphia club woman , turns up her nose at jazz and all its manifetations-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 and as near white in soul as she wants to be. But, to my mind, it is the duty of the younger Negro artist, to change through the 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 he white? I am Negro-and beautiful"

There are many important women who significantly contributed to Jazz and left a legacy of women artists. In the early years of Jazz, it was considered a male professional and women who tried to be part of Jazz faced obstacles. This was from male musicians, critics, record producers, club-owners, concerts and also racism. Despite the obstacles, women forced their way to be part of Jazz and pushed for equality and visibility (“Gender Discrimination, 2014).

Jazz, an American music form, whose roots lay in African expression, made history. Such greats are remembered today from the Jazz age and among them are Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Fletcher Henderson. The talented George Gershwin, Cole Porter and many others brought the influence of jazz to the concert halls and to Broadway. Bessie Smith familiarized Americans with the Blues sound recording.

For instance I know there had to be Kings and Queens of African descent. Also leaders, doctors, psychologist, teachers, scientists, leaders of the world which is why I would to start off trying to answer my main question which is why are we conditioned and only taught about predominately white musicians and make it seem like black musicians were a second choice option or negative choice of study. As Angela Davis points out in Blues Legacies and Black Feminism “Billie Holiday’s songs were subversive in that they offered special privilege insights to black people about the dominant culture…..unlike Bessie Smith and Gertrude Rainy, she did not concentrate on the musical creations of black culture. Rather she body entered the domain of white love as it filtered through the commodified images and market strategies……She revealed to her black audiences what the world of white popular culture was about and invited them to discover how white people acquired a consciousness of love and sexuality that was overdetermined by ideologies of male dominance and heterosexism.(171) This has me invested in it particularly due to the fact that my father is African American and my mom was of European from Germany, and I am able to relate to this subject without being bias. I can’t connect on either side of the fence so to speak and it is easy for me to put myself in the shoes of the very same people I am

One of the greatest jazz singers of this time was Bessie Smith. She was a southerner and her recordings were rare for black performers during her time. Duke Ellington, whose legendary band played at the Cotton Club, personifies jazz. Charlie Parker and Billie Holiday would also record jazz music form the 1930’s until the 1950’s.

Is it the Africans of the city who the music is directly connected to? Or with the popularization of Jazz did the White community want to claim it as thier own like they attempted to do with white jazz musicians?

In 1956 the United States sent “Interracial jazz bands overseas to portray an image of the nation progressing towards racial harmony,” a feat many considered “cold war propaganda,” as black were still being mistreated in America (Carletta, p. 116). Although it was clear to those living in the U.S during the 1950s, we had yet to reach racial harmony, this was still a major step forward in race relations. First, our government became to “appreciate jazz as an instrument of cultural diplomacy,” and decided to keep funding interracial jazz bands overseas (Carletta, p. 126). Secondly, in 1958 two years after Gillespie tour, Congress donated land for a Nation Cultural Center, due to the progress Gillespie and his band mates were making internationally. Gillespie influence through Jazz was slowly making progress in black

     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

Charles Mingus was one of the most influential and groundbreaking jazz musicians and composers of the 1950s and 1960s. The virtuoso bassist gained fame in the 1940s and 1950s working with such jazz greats as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, and many others. His compositions pushed harmonic barriers, combining Western-European classical styles with African-American roots music. While examining his career is valuable from musical standpoint, his career also provides a powerful view of the attitudes of African-American jazz musicians (and Black America as a whole) towards the racial inequalities in America during that time. In addition to being a successful musician, Mingus was a very outspoken social commentator.

It could not be examined when and by whom Jazz music was found. People began hearing jazz music in the early 1900s. It originated from the American in New Orleans city and Jazz founders were mostly black people. At the beginning, only the black played this music, but they did not put down the music. The time was hard and unsuitable for white musicians learn the new music. But after a while, they began to play jazz too. This kind of music was widespread across the country from New Orleans along the Mississippi River to Chicago, and then to Kansas City and New York (Edwards 618-649). In the middle 1920s, there appeared a lot of black and white jazz musicians. They are distinguished players, of which there was a champion and a star, Louis Armstrong. An Louis Armstrong 's career

Even though Jazz music was predominantly of African-American audiences, it grew to all listeners of music regardless of their race. But, if we look at the audience of today, the listeners of Jazz music are white. Jazz was also able to grow during its height because of the fact that music was able to be recorded. This gave everyone the ability to hear this genre of music, even if they were not able to go out and enjoy it live. Also during this time and through the mid-century Jazz was the dance music of Americans. Jazz in fact influenced the younger crowds in how they dressed, their language, as well as a certain attitude. Most of all, Jazz, more than most other music, has been firmly related with the societal, political, and financial impacts of American urban communities and in addition the changing status of American workmanship and music all through the