Jazz was born in New Orleans about 100 years ago (early 20th century), but its roots can be found in the musical traditions of both Africa and Europe. Jazz is a form of improvisational art that rewards individual expression and demands self-collaboration. It is a rich tradition that reflects all Americans. It originated in one of the most cosmopolitan and musical places in America. New Orleans was the perfect city for all of these elements to come together, as it was a port city, a meeting place for people of different ethnic groups, and a city with nightlife where musicians had the opportunity to play together, learn from each other, and blend all of these elements. Each ethnic group in New Orleans contributed to the very active musical environment
Since New York was a diverse state, all types of people started to become interested in jazz music. This was the first time that the African Americans were considered to be valuable members of the American society. Jazz music eventually led the creation of jazz poetry. These poems were very important because they proved that jazz music appealed to the American society on a spiritual, intellectual and philosophical
“Even before Jazz, for most New Orleanians, music was not a luxury as it often is elsewhere - it was a necessity” (“A New Orleans Jazz History, 1895 - 1927”). Without music, New Orleans’ culture would not be the same as it is today. Jazz was not only an immense part of culture in New Orleans, but in the rest of the United States as well. Eventually, Jazz even diffused across the oceans, where different cultures gave their own twist to Jazz. A large factor to many individual cultures, Jazz widely influenced the youth on what they are and what they could be. Jazz exhibited the morals of the young generation, and therefore was a significant influence in the 1920s, not only in the United States, but in Europe as well.
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
Actor Paul Robeson electrified audiences with his memorable stage performances. No aspect of the Harlem Renaissance shaped America and the entire world as much as jazz. Jazz flouted many musical conventions with its syncopated rhythms and improvised instrumental solos. Thousands of city dwellers flocked night after night to see the same performers. Improvisation meant that no two performances would ever be the same.
People would come together to hear this music and dance their hearts away. Swing music was important in the aspect of bringing people together based on race and also for people to just “hang
• Scott Joplin bought jazz into homes all over the country, and the Ragtime craze was on. It really caught on in New Orleans allowing Jazz to flourish due to its less rigid social backgrounds. New Orleans became the first true jazz centre. • This encouraged the popularity and growth of jazz music. • Jazz went from only playing in New Orleans to becoming a staple of the America airwaves, dance halls and homes” • The 1930’s brought a new style of jazz “big band swing”.
Along with this, Jazz music is a type of music which was originated by interaction between black and Creole musicians and is characterized by improvisation and syncopation, emerging in the beginning of 19th century. Drum set, cornet or trumpet, trombone, clarinet were major instruments played with jazz songs. The Blueberry hill and Cross
Jazz, in nature contains many characteristics of black people because its origin was from an African music. When we talk about jazz as a black music, the black here refer to African-American. African music is characterized by collective performance as a musical element. Several people played together and danced and enjoyed music. That's why rhythm play was more important than melody in Jazz eventually in Hancock’s music.
Popular Jazz musicians included King Oliver, Louis Armstrong, Kid Ory, and Duke Ellington. No one had quite heard anything like it before in America. Dances were made to accompany the music - mostly to "take advantage" of the upbeat tempo's. Before Jazz became popular in America, it was considered "the devil's music" by some of the public. Some people, like Ernest Newman, "debunked Jazz" in a 1927 magazine article.
“The Harlem Renaissance and the Blues” Birthed in the Mississippi Delta, the blues would have un-denying roots from the South. However, long before any form of blues genre came about, slave music expressed the sorrows of the African American experience. At the turn of the 20th century black communities in the south continued the tradition of musical expression by performing in small shacks all around the Delta. It was in these juke joints, that famous artist such as Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters first performed. With the cotton industry taking a turn for the worst many African Americans were living very undesirable.
The history, popularity and influence of jazz on human culture make it the seminal American art form. The origins of jazz music are central to its identity and its importance in the American story. Firstly, ragtime
Jazz has shaped the world we know today. Jazz would have never been as popular without the help of the famous musicians: Jelly Roll Morton, Joe King Oliver, Sidney Bechet, Louis Armstrong, and Duke Ellington. These people helped spread the new genre through radio, railroads, and the records that they played. Where did this all start? The jazz age began in New Orleans where a certain King was born.
It embraced the revival of the talents and abilities that the African American population of America had to offer. Some of the greatest blues and jazz musicians/entertainers from this period performed at the Cotton Club. They include Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Ethel Waters, Lena Horne, and Bill Robinson, who contributed greatly to the club’s success. Duke Ellington, and his group the Washingtonians in specific, found their big break from offers to perform at the Cotton Club. The Cotton Club broadcasted their performances regularly, so they soon had national recognition jolting their career further.
Jazz music was seen as a symbol of “modern” cultures of the cities. Many young adults used Jazz music to express their rebellion to their elders’. Jazz also benefited African Americans because it was a symbol of rebellion towards the set of standards in society, allowing them to move forward in status and culture. Furthermore, poets like Langston Hughes made a huge effect in American history with their works.