Jazz Influence On American Culture

America experienced a sudden disregard of Victorian values following World War I, causing the generation of the 1920s to dramatically contrast the previous. This severe degree of change produced three major manifestations of the contradictions in the twenties. There were massive conflicts to the Jazz Age, technological advancements, and Black Migration. The contradictions of the 1920s reflect America’s conflicted state between advancement and convention, as the cultural and technological developments of the era coincide with the inability of individuals to stray from traditional norms and racist attitudes.

During the 1920s, life seemed like a utopia. Everything was perfect, and people did not think this time of prosperity would end. This time is also known as the “Jazz Age”, tokened by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This title describes the rebellious and calm nature of the public. These traits are shown in political, social, and cultural life, during this time.

Rough Beginnings It was 1915 and the music scene was just getting hot. New Orleans was busting at the seam with young cats prowling the streets, lurking in seedy after-hours clubs looking to get a wild jam session in before the night was through. An insanely talented and equally arrogant ragtime pianist by the name of Jelly Roll Morton began to play with a different kind of flavor that drove audiences crazy, and with that the invention of Jazz was born. The heavy syncopated beats making your pulse jump, the bluesy lilt of a melody lapping lazily at your senses; this was the time to be alive.

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.

Beginning in the early twentieth century, jazz spread quickly amongst clubs and bars across the poorer urban areas such as cities like New Orleans. Due to jazz artist’s unique musical swing, jazz quickly became recognized all around the world. Throughout history, many jazz artists have made their unique sound known. Three artists, in particular, that enlightened others by their outstanding talent include Louis Armstrong, Thelonious Monk, and Billie Holiday. Each of these artists have their own method of performing jazz in an inimitable manner which no one can deny.

In 1915, a woman who would shape the meaning of jazz was born. Her name was Billie Holiday. Her life was marked by tumult and poverty; however, through the many hardships she faced, she remained strong and determined. Today, she is regarded as one of the best jazz vocalists of all time. Her renowned voice was distinct due to her abundant use different tones and with her ever changing range.

From receiving heavy criticism due to a variety of factors to being the most popular musical genre for Canadians during the Great Depression, jazz music has been responsible for uplifting people’s spirits, shaping cities and changing the face of music. Prohibition and racial tensions in the United States attracted talent, whether immigrants were seeking employment in film or pursuing a career in jazz. The Golden Age of Radio also contributed to jazz’s success, leading jazz to be the most popular genre of the 1930s. It is often forgotten that Canada is home to some of the greatest jazz musicians of all time, like Oscar Peterson. Jazz is not only an American concept, contrary to popular

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

One only hopes to be born into an era like the 1920s. Until, the Stock Market Crash of 1929, Prohibition, and until coming into contact with the KKK. There were many exhilarating parts of the 1920s that everyone knows about, such as, the Harlem Renaissance, Women’s Rights and inventions that made everyday life so much easier. From 1920 to 1929, life was the “bees-knees”. This was a period of many new things for many people.

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.

Jazz had been evolving for almost a decade before it was recorded. A white New Orleans band called the Original Dixieland Jazz Band beat all the superior Southland black bands to it

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.

In this paper, I plan to examine the influences that Miles Davis had on jazz. Starting with the bebop era, when his career first began, to his final collaboration released following his death. While in school Davis had learned how to play the trumpet, and following graduation he attended Julliard in New York. However, he dropped out of Julliard in 1945 in order join one of bebop’s pioneers, Charlie Parker. It was

For African Americans, jazz music, has always had a political undercurrent. Slave songs spoke of the “Israelites” enslaved by the Egyptians, such as in Go Down Moses, symbolising their own yearning for freedom. However, it took time for the assertion of the political message to develop in a more discernible way. Jazz’s status as a form of entertainment had effectively subdued the message for many years, because of the ostracisation of those involved and because of the early popularity of the white swing bands. The majority of jazz musicians were not political activists, rarely explicitly political in their work, however, they often expressed their political ideals, sometimes more subtley other times more overtly through their music.

Different artists started experimenting and trying out electrical instruments for the very first time. Jazz-Rock is quite different from earlier Jazz in a number of ways: • Jazz’s rhythm is renowned by its “swing”, while on the other hand Jazz-fusion is more based on eighth or sixteenth note rhythms. • Jazz mostly uses acoustic instruments such as piano, double bass, horns but jazz-rock mostly uses electronic instruments such as electric guitar, bass guitar, electric piano etc. •