Jazz Music Research Paper

“Jazz is the folk music of the machine age” (¨Paul Whiteman Quote.”).

Jazz represents the new forms of instrumentation and growth of new manners. “Considering the nature of its origin and the character of its development, its immense and continuous popular appeal, the amount of interest and debate it has aroused, I certainly believe it to be a genuine musical force, a trend, an influence; perhaps a form that is bound ultimately to affect, in one respect or another, the music of the future.” (“Jazz Music”). In the 1920ś, jazz music impacted American culture of ethnicity, the arts, and everyday activities.

In the early 1900’s, Jazz music originated in New Orleans and spread throughout the country over a short period of time. During the great

This brought many musicians and their audiences to major cities such as Chicago, Detroit, and New York. Jazz music stemmed from African American folk traditions, but as the music progressed throughout the cities, it became mainstream for all races.

By the mid decade, jazz musicians improvised jazz of the late teens and early 20’s were more often performing popular tunes. Jazz music and dance emerged, popularly known as the “Jazz Age.” During the 20’s, jazz music expressed the exuberance of the era.

Prominent jazz musicians such as Sidney Bechet, Bessie Smith, and Louis Armstrong have influenced American culture from the 1920’s, 1930’s. Sidney Bechet was an African American jazz musician who originally played the clarinet and became the most innovative clarinetists in jazz. In the early 1920’s, he discovered the soprano saxophone, which was not a common jazz instrument at the time. After mastering the challenging instrument, he gave the soprano saxophone a prominent place in jazz as a solo instrument. His talents have, “left a profound mark on the way the clarinet and the soprano saxophone are

In 1922, Gennett Records, an indie company, began recording jazz groups performing in Chicago. The first musical group, “they recorded was the New Orleans Rhythm Kings, followed in 1923 by King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band with young lion Louis Armstrong on second cornet. That same year Gennett waxed a series of solo piano recordings by Jelly Roll Morton. The following year they recorded The Wolverines, a northern group which had been influenced by both the New Orleans Rhythm Kings and King Oliver’s Jazz Band and featured the up-and-coming cornetist Bix Beiderbecke.”(“Jazz Standards”). Another indie company, Paramount Records, competed with Gennett Records for jazz talents. Jazz musicians that improvised jazz of the late teens and early 20’s were more often performing popular tunes and playing solos. “Although commonly referred to as the “Jazz Age,” in retrospect the era would be more reasonably named the “Dance Age,” as America went crazy for dances.” (“Jazz Standards”). The music they danced to was played by a popular dance orchestra. A pianist, Fletcher Henderson, led the popular dance orchestra and played an influential style of jazz. “Trumpeter Louis Armstrong joined up in 1925, causing a profound change in the group’s sound.”(“Jazz Standards”). New Orleans native, Sidney Bechet, master of the soprano saxophone, caused a change of Duke Ellington’s Orchestra