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Jazz music evolution
History and influence of jazz
History and influence of jazz
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Three Cities and Their Jazz
Jazz is an American genre that developed from ragtime and blues in the early twentieth century in urban areas of the U.S. This genre is characterized by strong, prominent meter, improvisation, distinctive tone colors, and performance techniques. The development of Jazz made a postive, lasting impact after World War One ended. It became a way of bringing young people together. Jazz became the basis for most social dance music and provided one of the first opportunities for public integration. Subcultures like the gangs of New York and Chicago encouraged the subjugation of the black artists to the white man’s economic and social power, often resulting in gang leaders having complete control over
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During prohibition, many musicians fount places with a good crowd where they could dance which was illegal at the time. Many speakeasies were owned by Al Capone’s Gang which was in Chicago, and the Italian Mafia in New York. Jazz style in New Orleans can sometimes differs from style in Chicago due to Chicago’s greater emphasis on individual solos, a less relaxed feeling, and a smaller reliance on elements of 19th-century black ethnic music. When comparing the two forms, it may seem difficult because New Orleans was recorded before the time both the black and the white New Orleans bands had already been in Chicago long enough to influence each other. These styles employed simple accompanying rhythms and improvised counterlines among the melody instruments such as trumpet, clarinet, saxophone, trombone, and occasionally …show more content…
Women’s sufferage was at it’s peak with the ratification of the United States Nineteenth Amendment. Women recived more independence after the end of the First World War and took a greater part in the work force. In the 1920s, there were many famous women Jazz artists such as Lovie Austin, a piano player and band leader, Lil Hardin Armstrong, a pianist who was originally a member of King Oliver’s band, and Bessie Smith, an African-American blues singer who inspired women like Billie Holiday and Janis Joplin. Although women were also making a difference in the Jazz industry, it wasn’t until the 1930s when they were recongnized as successful artists in the music world.
Jazz became popular during the 1920s and was developed from Blues and Ragtime. The 1920s was nicknamed The Roaring Twenties or the Jazz age because it was a time where many traditonal moral standards were not followed and people indulged in new danicng and dressing styles. Jazz is still important to us today but according to Nielsen‘s 2014 Year-End Report, jazz is continuing to fall out of favor with American listeners and has tied with classical music as the least-consumed music in the U.S., after children’s
The popularity of jazz grew in the twenties, and its center changed from New Orleans to Chicago. From there it spread to Kansas City and New York. The end of WWI ushered in the Jazz Age in New York, and it came to be associated with the parties and wild behavior of the 1920’s (Verve). Music from this era is also sometimes called “The Chicago Style,” and includes artists such as Bix Beiderbecke on trumpet and Pee Wee Russel, Mezz Mezzrow, and Benny Goodman on clarinet.
By the end of World War I, Black Americans were facing their lowest point in history since slavery. Most of the blacks migrated to the northern states such as New York and Chicago. It was in New York where the “Harlem Renaissance” was born. This movement with jazz was used to rid of the restraints held against African Americans. One of the main reasons that jazz was so popular was that it allowed the performer to create the rhythm. With This in Mind performers realized that there could no...
Did you know that the 1920s has many different names for it such as the Ballyhoo Years, the Roaring Twenties, and the Jazz Age? In the twenties people were listening to the swinging music known as jazz that made the 1920s appear to have a happy, wonderful aura, but not everything was what it seemed to be. Around this time new things were occurring and changes were being made for the better of Americans, but a few of these new occurrences had their downfalls which led to a depressing period as time went on. In spite of this, in the twenties there was jazz music that made the decade brighter during the harder times, for example; Prohibition, the stock market crash, and the beginning the Great Depression.
Also known as the Jazz Age and the Roaring Twenties, the American people felt that they deserved to have some fun in order to forget the emotional toll and social scars left from the war. The Jazz Age was appropriately named due to the illegal activities and good times, which included music, parties, and flapper girls. Jazz was a new style of music that originated out of the New Orleans area, where one of the greatest jazz musicians of all time – Louis Armstrong – began his career. The energy of jazz was a very new and almost uncomfortable style for the very traditional, rigid family of the 1920s. Young people in particular seemed to enjoy this new music the most, as it made them feel carefree. The energy of jazz was symbolic of the era’s trans...
The word “jazz” is significant to America, and it has many meanings. Jazz could simply be defined as a genre or style of music that originated in America, but it can also be described as a movement which “bounced into the world somewhere about the year 1911.”. This is important because jazz is constantly changing, evolving, adapting, and improvising. By analyzing the creators, critics, and consumers of jazz in the context of cultural, political, and economic issues, I will illustrate the movement from the 1930’s swing era to the birth of bebop and modern jazz. As the 1930’s began, the effects of the Great Depression still ravaged the United States, which in turn caused a dramatic change in the music industry.
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.
To understand the genesis of Jazz one must also understand the setting of its origin, New Orleans. The city was founded by the French in 1718, then in 1763 the city ceded to Spain and remained under Spanish control until later being returned to the French in 1803, and then was immediately sold to the United States under the Louisiana Purchase. New Orleans was also heavily populated by African slaves making up 30% of the total population of the city at this time; so New Orleans was experiencing a lot of cultural diversity and was being shaped and molded by the many different fashions of people who lived in the city. These different social groups along with their culture also brought with them their deep rooted musical traditions, the fusion and combination of these traditions would give rise to what we know today as modern day Jazz. Jazz is a genre of music that could only have formed in America; it draws from many different cultures and art forms creating a cocktail of traditional European and African music, mixed with a blend of Spanish tinge, with a strong base of blues filtered through the American experience.
Though there were many aspects that made up the 1920s culture, one of the most important was the music. Jazz was the major form of music that was starting to make its way through the seams. This style of music had been around for many years, starting in New Orleans. According the book Popular Culture: 1929-1929, Jane Bingham states that a group of talented African Americans started this type of music, and their inspiration came from songs their ancestors used to play while they were working on cotton plantations (Bingham 8). Jazz was originally played in underground speakeasies and nightclubs. However, it was none other than F. Scott Fitzgerald that jump-started this musical journey through his novel, The Great Gatsby. In the Encyclopedia of Jazz, James Ciment writes that Jazz was the musical anthem for the carefree, modern spirit of these times (Ciment 307). With Jazz being so upbeat, fast paced, and rhythmic, it led to the rebellion of many young men and women. For instance, in the Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald portrays Gatsby’s parties as being jammed packed full of people dancing to jazz music and having the time of ...
Jazz music prospered in the 1940’s and 1950’s. Jazz was created by African Americans to represent pain and suffering and also represented the adversity that racial tension brought. (Scholastic) African American performers like Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie “Bird” Parker came to be recognized for their ability to overcome “race relati...
Women in popular music have created a tremendous history in the wake of feminism. They have made their presence visible by identifying themselves as feminists. Being a woman was hard during that stage. Women were not allowed to do many things due to gender inequality such as the right to vote and to own a property. Therefore, from that moment onwards, women decided to stand up and make some changes. During the early stage of feminism, women developed their skills in popular music to create awareness. They associate popular music with feminism. Although there were racial issues between the black and white during that time, both sides continued to establish in different ways, through different genres of music. Black women focused on ‘black genres’ such as blues, jazz, and gospel, whereas white women performed in musical theatres. Female artists such as Lilian Hardin, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and Nina Simone were among the notable exceptions of female instrumentalists during feminism. In this essay, I will assess feminism focusing on the second-wave.
Jazz culture to be exact, is the topic at hand. Jazz culture expands throughout many genres and is expressed in many ways. The many genres of jazz are Big Band, jazz funk, modern jazz, smooth jazz, Latin jazz, and jazz fusion. Each of these comes with its own unique sound and origin. Latin jazz, for example, employs rhythms from both African and Hispanic backgrounds. The sound is particularly up tempo with divided eight beat patterns. Jazz artists who have portrayed these qualities of jazz to the world are at the very core of its culture. Many people who are in places of power in this society or are held in some form of esteem have had some exposure to the arts, whether it is classical or jazz. This is due to a desire to be culturally diverse which is a quality held in high esteem in regards to a more worldly point-of-view. There are many aspects of Jazz music that could be approached, but there is one point in particular that must be expressed in detail. The influence on the genre ...
Jazz is referred as “America’s classical music,” and is one of North America’s and most celebrated genres. The history of Jazz can be traced back to the early era of the 20th century of the U.S. “A History of Jazz” presents From Ragtime and Blues to Big Band and Bebop, jazz has been a part of a proud African American tradition for over 100 years. A strong rhythmic under-structure, blue notes, solos, “call-and response” patterns, and
As it grew in influence and popularity, Jazz brought many young people together. It was such a social movement it brought mixed young people together to dance “The Charleston, The Cakewalk, The Black Bottom, The Flea Hop.” Since Jazz was such a influential and persuasive musical style. It had its time as a great social leveler and unifier. It brought together African Americans and Americans, in a love of fast, rhythmic music, which was multiplied through the radio and the recording industry. “What a crowd! All classes and colors met face to face, ultra aristocrats, bourgeois, communists, park avenue galore, publishers, broadway celebs, and harlemites giving each other the once over.” Jazz became attractively to popular Jazz Bands, it traveled widely playing all kinds of venues from restaurants, to dance halls, and even nightclubs. One of the many best renowned nightclubs would have to be the Cotton Club its where hollywood, paris and broadway rubbed elbows, people who came from all over the United States wanted to experience what was going on Harlem in the
What was the Jazz Age in America? Also known as the ‘Roaring Twenties’, it was when American ways began to modernize. Before the stock market crashed and the Great Depression started, culture was booming in America. Dance was changing rapidly and new styles of dance were being created. Women began to wear shorter clothes, cut their hair, and some even had jobs, while the Flapper girls gave other young women an outlook of freedom.
Now a days, many believe that jazz is not that important of music genre, but with our history, jazz plays a big role. “Jazz does not belong to one race or culture, but it is a gift that America has given to the world.”, quoted by Ahmad Alaadeen. Jazz in the 1920’s opened the eyes of whites and invited them into African American culture; it evolved Americans to where we are today since it brought a change to the music scene, an acceptance of African Americans, and a change of lifestyles.