Controversial Movements In Music

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"The ultimate achievement for any culture is the creation of an art form" (Marsalis, Pg 3). Wynton Marsalis is a strong supporter of traditional jazz whose impression is that music should stay traditional. On the other hand, Herbie Hancock believes the opposite. For music to grow or become anything, the artist must experiment and try new things. Herbie Hancock's theories allow for the movement of jazz music from the traditional to a more progressive new form. He believes what makes history is what music reflects on.

Music has made an impact on all levels in history. The early days of jazz provided many styles which highlighted the talent and innovation of African American music including Ragtime and Dixieland. Ragtime also contributed to the movement of African Americans to march against racism. Dixieland was a form that made a mockery of how Caucasian people danced. Soul, the movement of power to African Americans. All of which reflected what was going on in history during that time. For traditional jazz to be played in the present time would have no meaning to the people playing it. For instance, a young jazz musician playing Charles Mingus' song "Fables of Faubus" (which was about the wrong doings of governor Faubus) would have no meaning to the musician because he/she never lived that era. As for new, recent music, the artist plays what he/she feels in respect to the present. For instance, Herbie Hancock's new album came out about a month ago called "Possibilities". This album was called his "all-star project" (Downbeat; Pg 38) because it featured new artists like John Mayer, Christina Aguilera, and Paul Simon. The album shows the movement of music to what new form of jazz, soul, and pop our recent era has deve...

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... styles of music have made people who they are. Traditional jazz musicians find it a lot harder to find a gig and make a living while new age musicians find they are running the market. With all the new technology we have in music, how can traditional jazz ever compete with the new sounds we can create electronically? The word "traditional" itself implies no change. Traditional means it stays the same according to how it was from the beginning or tradition. It cannot compete with the new music crowds and cannot grow unless it steps out of its own box which would, again, create new music. New music is what people are and who they are and traditional jazz cannot compete with that.

Sources

Zabor, Rafi and Garbarini, Vic. "Soul, Craft, and Cultural Hierarchy." Musician Magazine. 1985

Woodard, Josef. "Star Brew." Down Beat Magazine. October 2005.

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