Louisiana is home to not just the famous Mardi Gras, large exports of seafood great and small, or the infamous French Quarter. It is also a place of diversified culture, that has mixed for hundreds of years since the first colony was settled there. This mixture and plethora of cultures has influenced everyday life and is reflected in the music that was created and is popular in the state of Louisiana. Louisiana is considered to be the birthplace of Jazz, and it is a popular place for other music genres that have flourished and developed in the heart of New Orleans, such as Zydeco, Cajun, and Rhythm & Blues. Due to the fostered growth of these musical genres, many famous artists are also raised in Louisiana that have performed said genre. Louisiana …show more content…
In the beginning, the Acadians expressed their sorrows and struggles that came with the troubles of the eviction from their homes and that of daily life. These songs were sung as ballads and were popular as early as in the 1700’s. Back then, before the introduction of instruments, Cajun music was classified by singing and tapping along to the beat of the music. However, after the death of a musician, instruments were brought along to the colonies. Then, Cajun music evolved along with the surrounding cultures of the Spanish, Native Americans, Irish, and even German, mixing with the new sounds and adding instruments such as the fiddle and accordion, which became the most iconic instruments for the playing of Cajun music, along with the song being sung in the French language. According to the article, Introduction to Cajun, Louisiana Creole & Zydeco music by Jim Hobbs, “Jigs, reels, and contra dances became part of their repertoire.” These dance moves were added due to the blended influence of said ethnic groups. Alan Lomax, a man well known for his workings with folk music described Cajun music like this; “solo unaccompanied ballads, lyric songs with complex texts, unaccompanied air playing on fiddles and wind instruments, unison group performances of ceremonial songs, and dance orchestras where string and wind duos play tunes in unison or in an accompanying relationship.”on his thoughts of the sound of Cajun music. …show more content…
The Creoles, as stated earlier, is a group that identifies themselves as the settlers that inhabited Louisiana before it became a colony for the United States. Therefore, this included many ethnic groups that contributed to its music. This music being zydeco. Zydeco music was originally just called “La La music” but the term was coined by Clifton Chenier in the late 1950’s as he started to call his music “Zydeco.” “The word zydeco is usually explained as a contraction of the song title Les haricots sont pas sale or The snap beans are not salty. The elision of les to haricots creates the z sound.” This fascinating phrase led to the term that is now used by many today. “La La music” or zydeco music was first played by African American slaves. It was said that they would first play on their off day, Sunday, in Congo Square where they would sing native and traditional songs along with playing instruments like drums. Though, the true sound of zydeco music was created when two artists, one of them being the acclaimed “King of Zydeco” Clifton Chenier, combined the sounds of Creole dance with rhythm and blues. Zydeco “La La music”, as it was known at the time, music was first recorded by Amédé Ardoin in 1929, which is only a year after the first Cajun song was recorded, which is not a surprise as the two genres are related closely to each other. Zydeco, nowadays, is said to be a reminder of the culture from over fifty years
The culture of Louisiana is not one general set of customs and beliefs shared by all those who live in the area. Louisiana is a state in which many different elements are mixed together to create what can be described as Southern Louisianan culture. The two most predominant elements which make up the culture within the southern region of the state are the cultures of the Creoles and the Cajuns, which have many different influences within them. A complex blend of many different elements including religion, language, music, and food, create the unique culture of the Cajuns and the Creoles in the region of Southern Louisiana.
The first appearance of jazz was at the turn of the century in New Orleans and is called “Dixieland Jazz,” or “Classic Jazz.” It developed out of music for street parades in the black community. It also had deeper roots in a style of music called “Blues,” which was used to express the daily experiences of the community (History). Other influences include the combination of West African folk music with the popular classical music of Europe, developing into syncopated rhythms and chord variations on classical pieces (Passion).
New Orleans was, and is still, known for their diverse atmosphere due to African, Caribbean, and European influences. The city’s richness in culture and history is what attracts tourists, from all over the country, to New Orleans. There is not only diversity when comparing New Orleans to other cities but also diversity between the different areas of New Orleans as well. Some of these locations include the French Quarter, City Park, and the Aquarium of Americas. The French Quarter consists of the city’s best restaurants which features cuisines from all over the world, a European style marketplace, many museums and theaters to display art pieces of different cultures, and...
New Orleans was founded May 7, 1718 by the French Mississippi Company, under the direction of Jean- Baptist Le Moyne. It was ruled for 40 years by the Spanish and bought by the United States in 1803. By the 1900s New Orleans was the birthplace of jazz music in dance halls and clubs. In 1940s young musicians such as Charlie Parker steeped in the sounds of jazz music. Also during the 1940s jazz musicians were looking for new directions to explore.
Nous sommes Acadiens. (We are Acadians.) Some outsiders see us as a quaint, virtuous people, spending a great deal of time singing, dancing, praying, and visiting? (Conrad, 1978, p.14). Others see us as independent and unsophisticated. We see ourselves as fun-loving, carefree, happy, proud people who have a great love for our culture. The Acadians were French settlers of eastern Canada who were exiled from their land in the 1750?s. The Acadians are known to have settled in the southern bayou lands of Louisiana around that time. The Acadiana people acquired their nickname, ?Cajuns,? from those people who could not pronounce Acadians correctly. Due to the opinion that Cajuns were ?different?, they lived close together and became isolated from others in Louisiana. They have since developed their own distinct characteristics which make them unique and unlike no others in the bayou state. Family, music, housing, food, marriages, and ?traiteurs? were all a part of the simple but challenging lifestyle of the Cajuns.
Southern hospitality is the best in the world. People that live in the South are very nice and are always willing to help another person in any way they can. If someone is from out of town and needs directions to a certain place southerners will make sure he or she knows how to get there before he or she leaves them. Southerners are very polite. Every time we pass someone on the rode, we are going to wave at him or her. Towns in the South have fewer people and everyone knows everyone. The people in the South are nicer than anywhere else in the United States.
Louisiana is filled with a great number of diversified and varied people all ranging from French, Spanish, English, German, and Acadian to West Indians, Africans, Irish, and Italian, and they were all a part of the original settlers that established the state (“About Louisiana”). They are also the ones who inspired the “Cajun Country” that Louisiana is today by bringing their culture, traditions, and heritage with them. The original French pronunciation of the w...
There were immigrants who were coming to the city and brought their own traditional instruments and music with them. In the early 1900s; brass bands generally would play for funerals, march in parades, or perform at places such as community events. Most of the performers at this point in time were white with the exception of a select few of ethnic minorities such as the Irish, Germans, Coarations, etc. It was due to these very limited options for black musicians to perform at that lead them to performing in the streets so to speak. Here the musicians experimented with different sounds and techniques of the brass bands that gradually came to the point where they began to improvise songs. This technique was a result of one of the perks of not being constrained to only the European form of music. Then the infamous Storyville came along in desperate need of performers. There were hardly any rules and the levels of expression appeared to be unbounded. As Dixieland grew in immense popularity it brought legends of jazz to the forefront of the movement as their image of one of the best musicians in jazz began. The most notable of the performers are “King” Oliver, Buddy Bolden, and the legend trumpeter Louis
New Orleans is the acknowledged birthplace of popular jazz. Despite being in the south, it had a liberal attitude towards pleasure and self indulgence. Being a major navy port, many sailors would need some relaxation when they came in from sea. They liked to go to dance halls, listen to music, and dance with women. Some sailors weren't as conservative and went to one of the hundreds or bars and brothels in a district of New Orleans, nicknamed Storyville. The city was also very racially tolerant. African American musicians were given jobs because they were good. Times are always changing. When World War I began, alert, healthy, and focused sailors were needed. Storyville was closed down.
Why was New Orleans the hotspot for Jazz? It was located on a seaport. Being on a seaport is beneficial because it provides tourists and is also where goods go through. Also, it provided the party-like atmosphere and still does so today. People in the 1920’s didn’t have the technological advances such as iPhones and television so the performance took place in a social setting such as local bars and red light district establishments. The music evolution of jazz provided not only the music itself but a reason to get up and dance. According to Gridley, “The evolution of new dances and the overall popularity of dancing were big factors” (40). This was a big factor in jazz because it provided a brass band feel.Brass bands influence from Europeans brought a model for jazz music such as the trumpet, trombone, tuba, saxophone, and clarinet. These factors wouldn’t have been possible without culture and also individuals.
The roots of jazz music are quite complex and intertwined. New Orleans is considered by most to be the birthplace
It's famous for it's beignets, a square-shaped donut minus the hole, dusted w/ powdered sugar, great w/ coffee. The culture of New Orleans is at its best during Mardi Gras. However, so are hotels, so if you're planning on making the trip and staying in downtown New Orleans, make reservations a few months in advance. Despite the French Quarters old historic appeal, there are many excellent hotels to stay at.
Although New Orleans is known as the birthplace of jazz, it was taken to the next level during the Harlem Renaissance by artists such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Bessie Smith. Being born and raised in New Orleans music, particularly jazz, is part of my heritage, my culture. In New Orleans, jazz is sort of a way to express what can’t be put into words. Growing up I remember attending jazz funerals with my grandmother. Jazz funerals, performed by brass bands, are a way of celebrating or remembering the deceased through music to release their spirits; the music starts slow and gradually becomes upbeat forming a style of jazz mostly performed at second
Emerging in the late eighteenth through early twentieth century, the earliest point of origin of what is now modern jazz can be traced back to New Orleans, Louisiana.
New Orleans has always been a big music town, for there has always been brass bands that played in the streets for parades, or for families to give comfort during a funeral.... ... middle of paper ... ... (The Influence of Jazz & Blues on Modern Music.”).