The Mystery of Jazz and its Powerful Impact on the Community

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,

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

During the time of the bustling 1920’s a new movement in American culture was booming. As the great migration was rapidly growing, new ways of expressing emotions were blossoming into a revolutionary movement. This movement of the “New Negro,” also known as the “Harlem Renaissance” was quickly coming into the light of society, exploding in the Harlem neighborhoods of New York City as artistic ideas took turns that nobody could ever imagine. Among these new creations of artistic creativity the most prominent was the clear transformation that music went through during this time. Boundaries were beginning to break in society as well as in music as rules were being broken and new forms of music were simmering, thus, Jazz was born.

Jazz as we know it has existed for over a century, with its roots stemming from the low-tech history of the slave fields, and European classical music. Throughout the 20th century, however, new advancements in technology would change music forever, and Jazz is no exception. As technology advanced, so too did complex compositions of the artists, and even our definition of music as a whole.

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.)

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

A living jazz legend once exclaimed “jazz has borrowed from other genres of music and also has lent itself to other genres of music.” Herbie Hancock makes it clear that jazz has been an evolving form of art. And just as simple as the notion that music can change the world, music changes in itself. Jazz once evolved into something we call swing. Back in the roaring twenties people got up and danced to this kind of music. However, these simple and playful melodies that everyone were accustomed to transformed into intricate music with a different basis. When jazz was over everyone’s head and people stopped dancing, we call this period bop. Inevitably, new ideas emerged and jazz musicians decided to take a

Similar to the religious and folk music discussed in the previous chapters, jazz was born from musical diversity ‒ it came from multiple sources. As diverse as its musical background was, the audience was even more distinct; this genre of music requires a high degree of musicianship, appreciation of what jazz is, and recognition of its power to communicate feelings (Willoughby). Many artists and bands have risen over the years, and they have often transcended the sub-genres of jazz music. After researching various artists and listening to their music, it was difficult to choose just one favorite artist. However, if I had to choose one, I would choose Miles Davis. His music, in addition to his contributions to jazz, makes him one of the, if

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 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.

Knowledge of jazz has fallen far behind its development. Most people do not know the facts on jazz, only some generalities and stereotypes. Often being called America’s only original art form, jazz began as an ethnic music, but there is much more to jazz than music. It is difficult to think of jazz without thinking of African-American

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

We agree in advance on the laws and customs we abide by, and by having reached agreement, we are free to do whatever we wish within these constraints. It’s the same with jazz. The musicians agree on the key, the harmonic changes, the tempo and the duration of the piece. Within these guidelines, they are free to play what they want. And when people in other countries hear that quality in the music, it stimulates a need for the same freedom in their lives. To be interested in jazz, then, is to be interested in all things American.”

     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

Throughout the history of jazz, we learn that jazz is not just simply music, it’s a life style and for some it’s life itself. During the days of depression, segregation and hardship, jazz becomes a symbol of freedom, a medicine or a remedy that healed the souls of the affected. Despite everything that was happening in the world, once people stepped foot in ballrooms and clubs such as the savoy, the cotton club or Minton’s, all their worries and suffering in the outside world would suddenly vanish and all that’s left is pure happiness as if nothing was happening. It's not comparable to any kind of music, because it's something that people fought for and fought to keep throughout the years. It transformed people and got them through the toughest