The Spread of Jazz and the Effects on Society

All through United States history our country has encountered numerous prosperous time periods where our general public as a whole has changed in a positive way. One particular decade that gainfully effected our nation was the nineteen twenties, which can likewise be alluded to as the Roaring Twenties or Jazz Age. The Jazz Age Positively affected American life and society because people were into this new style of music, jazz. Numerous other innovations during this period also changed the minds of the U.S. individuals, which basically modified the nations norms and ethics. It will become obvious how jazz music impacted life during the economically bloated roaring twenties. This paper will also talk about how music, movies, literature, vehicles, fashion, crime and new ethics brought about the Jazz Age, which basically could be named the most prominent, socially successful decade in United States history.

     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

African American influence in music has been an ever present and controversial subject in American history. Stemming from many different cultures, religions and backgrounds, large portions of American music was introduced by, and credited to African Americans. Although in many cases, this music was used for entertainment by the masses or majority, contrary to popular belief, black music served a greater purpose than just recreation. Dating all the way back to the beginning of slavery in the U.S. during the 17th century, music has been used to make a statement and send a message. As African American music progressed over the years, there were common themes expressed as the genres evolved. It has been an open letter to the world, documenting and protesting the ongoing oppression faced by blacks in the United States, as well as an outlet for frustration. For many African Americans, the music gave them the only voice that couldn’t be silenced by their oppressors.

Many Renaissance writers felt some hesitancy about the use of the black lingo as well as an onus to maintain the separation between high and low art, an issue that continues to be debated. How to confront questions of race commonly had to be more nuanced and subtle as well. Advances in black music were somewhat more efficacious because of the high demand for black talented artistes like Count Basie, Ethel Waters, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and Louis Armstrong. New York nightclubs regularly featured black musicians, whose innovations in jazz embodied America 's first original music form. Black women vocalists also found success as the music industry quickly discovered the commercial advantages of race 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

expanding, sharing it’s enthusiasm throughout the world. The evolution of jazz aroused the curiosity of the nation. As Blacks received their freedom, they were able to

Never has any decade in American history been so carefree and lively. Most of this craziness was due to the music that was so popular. For the first time, Americans encountered a new perspective on African Americans due to the famous musicians of this time, African American dance moves and crazy nightclubs. They had never taken part in anything of this wild party or of African American traditions or styles until now. This would set the stage for future equality of African Americans and Americas buoyant ways.

Thousands of white Americans came to Harlem to experience the night life. The nightclubs in New York appealed to the whites as they were very famous. Jazz music was thriving in the area. It originated in the Unites States among African-American musicians. It was at this time that jazz was at its most famous point. Many people would host rent parties which were very popular at the time. Apartment owners would hold a party and would charge a fee to those who wanted to enter. They used this money in order to pay off their rent (Worth). The influence of jazz also brought musical reviews. Soon white novelists, dramatists and composers started to exploit the musical tendencies and themes of African Americans in their works. Composers used the literary works of African-American poets in their songs. Negros began to merge with Whites into the classical world of musical composition (Wikipedia). Soon, the works of artists were being displayed in nationwide magazines. Their culture began to spread with great velocity.

This judgment began unexpectedly to spread as African American music, especially the blues and jazz, became a worldwide sensation. Black music provided the pulse of the Harlem Renaissance and of the Jazz Age more generally. The rise of the “race records” industry, beginning with OKeh’s recording of Mamie Smith’s

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.

Even though Jazz has evolved throughout its history, it dramatically changed during the 1930’s and 1940’s when many AfricanAmericans migrated from southern rural communities to the urbanized northern cities. Since AfricanAmericans were still discriminated against and oppressed by society, their pain and suffering needed to be channeled through cultural and musical expression. Jazz, like using improvisation, created a unique genre of music that continued the use of traditional styles of AfricanAmerican music. Urbanized

When I started this course on American popular music, I was not sure what to expect. As the course went on, I became surprised by how much I have learned. This class has helped me explore many genres and learn how to analyze songs. My favorite genre that was explored during this course is jazz. While understanding the roots of jazz, towards the end of the course, I observed how I listened to music differently.

It began in New Orleans, and combined all types of dancing, singing and music to create Jazz. This music was new, unfamiliar and exciting at this time. In the 1920’s racism was still a major issue in American culture. Coloured people didn’t have the same rights as whites and were also not treated the same by society. The music of the white and black communities was also very different. The white community mainly got their influences from polkas and the likes while the black African American community got their influences from Africa and Jazz of New Orleans. This type of music began as a blues type of music for the African Americans to express pain. This type of music gave the coloured community a voice and a means of expression. It became one of the only mediums for which the African American society in America could express

The people sitting around us were more interested in the band than anything else. For instance, people were not even talking to each other, but focusing their full attention the band and the music. A lot of them were shaking their head, snapping their fingers, or tapping feet under the table. Some were musicians themselves. For example, one of the guests was also a drummer and Dr. drake invited him on stage to play a song on the drums. I really loved how everyone seemed to know each other and were very friendly to each other. Another guest was a saxophone player, I’m not exactly sure if he knew that he was playing that night or not, but it seemed to me that it was spontaneous. That’s what’s amazing about jazz, it’s all about improvising. So,

The artists that took a part of a fascination for syncopation and for improvisation were possibly brass group (cornet or trumpet for the melody, clarinet for counterpoint, trombone or tuba or percussion for tempo), that rather frequently were marching bands, or single pianists, who quite commonly were jazz pianists. Contrary to blues music, that was particularly done by afro-americans, jazz music was as inter-racial as the fusion of New Orleans. Blacks were not the just one that performed jazz. Jazz bands were established by Italians, Creoles and entire type of European settlers. The "African" origins of the music might or might not have been evident to the professionals, but precisely it did not prevent them from using it. Meanwhile, New York