Music has the ability to make somebody feel a wide range of emotions just by the lyrics, the artist, or the genre. One major example of this is jazz. The forceful rhythms, energizing beats, and rousing styles of jazz have been known to reveal a large impact on people. The vast ways of performing jazz enable it to entertain people widely. Most commonly in correlation with African-Americans, jazz hit its peak during the twentieth century. With segregation being a major affliction during that time, many African-Americans turned to this type of music with open hearts. In fact, a numerous amount of cities began making a name for themselves due to this spirited style of music and its mass effect during the mid-1900s. Kansas City, Missouri is just …show more content…
“Recognizing their contribution is essential to understanding fully the significance and impact of Kansas City jazz” (Pearson 197). Whether they were born in Kansas City, or they travelled to perform there, the influence they brought affected Kansas City greatly. Using their lyrics to speak their minds to the community made a large impact. Some of the greatest jazz musicians in Kansas City during this time would even perform for white audiences. This was a striking opportunity to use that to their advantage. “Musicians took their fame and music to promote racial equality” (Gross 1). Two of the many great jazz musicians during this time were Louis Armstrong and Charlie Parker. Louis Armstrong lived a life of jazz and made a career of it from the 1920s to the 1960s. “...by performing for mainly white audiences, Louis Armstrong had a subtle way of dealing with racial issues” (Gross 1). Louis Armstrong became a face for the whole jazz community fighting against segregation. One song he sang in Kansas City was titled, “What Did I Do To Be So Black and Blue?” And included lyrics saying, “My only sin, is my skin, what did I do, to be so black and blue?” (Gross 1). Performing these deep lyrics to a white audience forced them to hear what they are going through. Another important jazz figure during this time was Charlie Parker. Charlie Parker was born in Kansas City which made him connect with the black community there much more profoundly. “Charlie Parker was, after Louis Armstrong, the second genius of jazz, profoundly influencing all the musicians who followed him” (Pearson 197). Charlie Parker was inspired by events in his life and put forth that inspiration into his music. Parker once said, “Music is your own experience, your own thoughts, your own wisdom. If you don’t live it, it won’t come out of
Louis Armstrong had a tremendous impact on history of American Jazz. As a trumpeter, singer, and soloist, he had acquired a reputation in his lifetime as “the greatest trumpet player who had ever lived.” His numerous accomplishments, even in an America where African-Americans rarely found success, propelled him to be one of the most notable Jazz musicians. Armstrong’s story began in 1912, in his hometown of New Orleans. He fired his stepfather’s gun in the air on New Year’s eve, and was immediately arrested and taken to Colored Waif's Home for Boys.
Jazz music was and continues to be a form of entertainment, a lifestyle, and a distraction from the everyday hardships that are forced upon them. Works Cited Collier, James Lincoln. Jazz: An American Saga. New York: Henry Holt, 1997.
"What he does is real, and true, and honest, and simple, and even noble. Every time this man puts his trumpet to his lips, even if only to practice three notes, he does it with his whole soul. " This quote by composer, Leonard Bernstein, perfectly grasps what Louis Armstrong aspired for every time he unhinged the case of his instrument. This recognition is what countless other black artists, musicians, poets and writers desired during the outbreak of literary and artistic African American culture in the first half of the 1900’s, known as the Harlem Renaissance.
The radio itself contributed to the culture and education of America, because now sports were stimulated and politicians had a new audience to speak to as larger crows finally heard their promises and pleas. A large significance to the culture of America during the 20’s came from African Americans. The new music genre of Jazz, which rooted from African Americans in New Orleans during the migrating of blacks, became popular among flappers and the rebelling society. Handy, “Jelly Roll” Morton and Joseph “Joe” King Oliver are commonly associated with the birth of jazz. The surge of Jazz came from the new racial pride within African Africans, blossoming from black communities in the North.
We all know that the power of the Black community in America came from deep in their soul. Their strength and will to fight segregation , and their love can be felt in the civil rights movement. Their ability to express their minds in a non- violent way connects to the soul music that James Brown created. James Brown’s music was a mixture of R&B and gospel. Which in a way connects to what Dr. Martin Luther King was trying to do during the civil rights movement.
In 1936, Armstrong became the first African American to be featured in a Hollywood movie and to write an autobiography. Also, in 1937 he was the first African American to be on a sponsored radio broadcast. Moreover, he performed at hotels that didn't allow African Americans to stay, and he had contracts that no other African American had in the 1930s (Source A). Armstrong brought together scat singing, blues, and his trumpet and cornet to make a modern jazz. In his lifetime, Armstrong made thousands or records and inspired many to follow their dreams.
Jazz music has spread around the world. It has drawn on national and regional musical cultures. Jazz has been the most important social factor that black musicians were able to record the blues, gospel and more. These musicians lived through inequality and many discovered their freedom in jazz. It became African Americans freedom because jazz
In addition, the radio was created and had a significant impact on entertainment culture as it brought news, music, and entertainment into homes across the country. Jazz music became a common genre in the early 20th century in the United States. Jazz music was born out of the cultural exchange between different communities in the United States. African American musicians played a major role in the development of jazz music by improvising
Jazz is most often thought to have been started in the 1920s as this explosive movement, but that is in fact not the case. Starting in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century many African American musicians have started to explore their taste in improvising, and where better to do that than New Orleans (Anderson). Before the 1920s these jazz musicians have already been going around sharing the unique sound, but up until then, jazz had remained majorly in New Orleans. Interestingly during this period, a common jazz band would consist of a cornet, a clarinet, a trombone, and a rhythm section when at this period of time the clarinet is not commonly associated with being a jazz instrument, it moved into being the saxophone rather. A big
Since its early roots in New Orleans, Jazz has been essential part of American culture through its role in showcasing and contributing to America’s complex history. Throughout the years, Jazz artists have used improvisation and individuality, which are essential traits of the music, to keep the music celebrated and popular around the world. However, only few artists have used Jazz music to support social movements and used to influence people’s lives. Unlike others, I believe John Coltrane, was one of the greatest saxophonist, who portrayed his individuality through his belief in spiritual power of music and using his improvisation to change music style while influencing social issues. Coltrane was a deeply spiritual man who believed music was a vehicle for the
Swing has also helped people come together not only to listen, but also to play. It was during the time of the civil rights movement that swing was created and popularized. While the African Americans had their freedom, they were still largely unaccepted and segregated. Even though swing did not fix the segregation part of the world, it did bring blacks and whites together in interesting ways. Swing was first introduced by black musicians.
Louis Armstrong had a variety of impacts on not only the jazz scene but social and cultural evolution of jazz at the time. He not only revolutionized the genre with his innovative trumpet playing and distinct vocal style but also had a profound impact on the ethnomusical social and political responses to jazz. Exploring Armstrong's influence on the perception and acceptance of jazz within these contexts. He essentially was a cultural ambassador as he contributed to breaking racial barriers and his ability to bring people together through the love of his music and his ability to evoke such strong emotional and intellectual responses through his music.
When the topic of jazz comes to mind , many famous musicians are thought of including Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald ,Charlie Parker, and Miles Davis. Among these talented artists is a New Orleans native singer and extraordinary trumpet player named Louis Armstrong. Armstrong otherwise known as “Pops” or “Satchmo” is arguably one of the most influential, important, and greatest music figures of all time. From his expansive career to his captivating stage presence, Louis Armstrong carries the title of modernizing jazz and is responsible for impacting not only jazz but Frank Sinatra’s singing , popularizing scat singing, and inspiring Miles Davis through his trumpet. Born into a poor family in a rough neighborhood known as the Battlefield
Not to mention, jazz music had been struggle against society. The 1960s and 1970s’s black power movement influenced on jazz musicians and Hancock was not an exception. That’s why sociological factors influenced on Hancock’s styles, sounds and messages in songs or albums. In Musical Borrowing, Dialogism, and American Culture, 1960-1975 (2006), Berry suggests that “Watermelon Man” (1973) from Hancock’s album Head Hunters (1973) shows evidence of mixing African-American culture with traditional African music (Berry,2006, p.168-169).
Throughout the history of this country, the music of African-Americans has had a strong influence upon our society as well as our culture. This music started by carrying the slaves from Africa and is still with us today. The youth of today have retained certain elements within the music to form other unique styles of music. Jazz and hip-hop are two of the most widespread and popular forms of black music ever created. They were both strictly created by black musicians.