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Why do you believe jazz plays an important role in American culture
Music in the jazz age
Music in the jazz age
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Billie Holiday is considered one of the most influential vocalists in jazz history She made a deep impression on her contemporaries such as Frank Sinatra. A publication in Ebony magazine, published shortly after her death in 1958, described her as “The most important influence on American popular singing in the last 20 years” (Teachout). The things that she achieved in her music changed the way that people looked at jazz singers. Before Billie Holiday jazz singer did not have a big role in the song After Billie Holiday, jazz singer was seen as headline the leader of an Orchestra. In effect to her outstanding success in the jazz industry, black artists began to become more successful in the music industry. Billie Holiday represented more than just a great vocalist. In her music, she would address the oppression of black people during her time. Songs like “Strange Fruit” which details …show more content…
Throughout her career, Billie holiday would find ways to breaking barriers. Billie holiday would be the first African-American women to work with a white orchestra, that was a hard task to accomplish at the time. She was more than just a singer, she stood up for what was right. Billie Holiday would not back down for what she stood for, she showed this first when Holiday's record label refused to record the song “strange fruit” but Holiday did not give up she went on to recording it on a different label instead. The song “Strange fruit” symbolize the practice of brutality and racism of in America's South. The song was quickly adopted as the anthem for the anti-lynching movement. Making her a more influential person, with the way she sang the it made people mad but overall it pulled the people closer making them see reality. The song was so popular that it has been re-recorded many of times. It has even samples on Kanye West album Yeezus seventy years
“Strange Fruit” by Billie Holiday conveys the inhumane, gory lynchings of African-Americans in the American South, and how this highly unnatural act had entrenched itself into the society and culture of the South, almost as if it were an agricultural crop. Although the song did not originate from Holiday, her first performance of it in 1939 in New York City and successive recording of the song became highly popular for their emotional power (“Strange fruit,” 2017). The lyrics in the song highlight the contrast between the natural beauty and apparent sophistication of the agricultural South with the brutal violence of lynchings. Holiday communicates these rather disturbing lyrics through a peculiarly serene vocal delivery, accompanied by a hymn-like
Eleanora Fagan (April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959), professionally known as Billie Holiday, was an American jazz artist and artist musician with a vocation traversing almost thirty years. Nicknamed "Woman Day" by her companion and music accomplice Lester Young, Holiday affected jazz music and pop singing. Her vocal style, firmly propelled by jazz instrumentalists, spearheaded another method for controlling stating and rhythm. She was known for her vocal conveyance and improvisational aptitudes, which compensated for her restricted range and absence of formal music instruction. There were other jazz vocalists with equivalent ability, however Holiday had a voice that caught the consideration of her crowd.
Her influence is simply not a question; it is a salutation to a musical icon that has embedded her legacy into musical history. When I think of the word artist, I think of someone who is innovative, original and someone who has style and a sound all their own. One artist that comes to mind is Janet Jackson. They simply don’t make artists like Janet anymore. Unfortunately, she was the last of her kind.
Throughout history, and even today, music has shaped America’s culture, society, and even politics. One of the most outstanding and enduring musical movement has been from African American artists, ranging from bebop to jazz to hip-hop to rap. During the 1920’s , jazz artists stepped into the limelight and began their impact on American and even world history. Louis Armstrong was one of the most influential leaders during the Harlem Renaissance and his jazz legacy and impact of American history is everlasting. A master of his craft, Armstrong and his music heavily influenced America’s white and black populations from the 1920’s and up until his death.
The blues emerged as a distinct African-American musical form in the early twentieth century. It typically employed a twelve-bar framework and three-lined stanzas; its roots are based in early African-American songs, such as field hollers and work songs, and generally have a melancholy mood. The blues can be divided into many sub-genres, including Classical, Country, and Urban. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the careers of two of Classical blues most influential and legendary singers: Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith.
Born on June 12, 1941 in Chelsea, Massachusetts, Armando Corea, also known as Chick Corea, is better known as a jazz-rock fusion style bandleader than jazz pianist. Like other artists discussed throughout the course, Corea created a new style in jazz, specifically with the piano. A few of his pieces were jazz standards as well; such compositions include “Windows”, “500 Miles High”, “La Fiesta”, and “Spain”.
Imagine you are walking the streets of New Orleans. You are standing right where jazz was established in the United States of America. Jazz wasn’t just about music, it also affected the culture involving social, economic, artistic and jazz leaders.
Josephine Baker Josephine Baker was an African American woman who had to overcome discrimination and abuse in achieving her dream of becoming a singer and dancer. She did this during the 1920s, when African Americans faced great discrimination. She had a hard childhood. Her personal life was not easy to handle. Furthermore, she overcame poverty and racism to achieve her career dream.
Impact of Music of the Harlem Renaissance Upon the Artists of Today. Musicians during the Harlem Renaissance created a style and movement that simply took Americans by storm. Musicians such as Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong have inspired others all over the country. The Renaissance itself was not only an observation of life for African Americans, but it also showed Americans that they have a place in society.
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.
Bessie Smith impacted Billie Holiday because Holiday learned a lot through Smith’s records by thinking that Smith was kind of a teacher. Even though Billie Holiday did not have a voice as powerful as Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday’s musical interpretations and phrasing were similar to Bessie Smith. Frank Sinatra was impacted by Bessie Smith because he believed that she was an early blues genius. Sinatra’s voice was more polished than Smith’s voice, but he did find inspiration in the emotions she sang with in the records. Bessie Smith was a highly influential artist that had the power to help people with their music even after her death proving that she truly is “The Empress of Blues” ("Bessie Smith"
Early jazz or Dixieland developed in the 20th century. Early Jazz influences are ragtime, the blues, gospel music, and military brass bands. The main feature of Dixieland jazz is collective improvisation, or each musician taking a solo in turn and improvising at the same time. Majority of Dixieland jazz musicians were African American. Early Dixieland bands were small original marching bands. In the early 1920s jazz music evolved into an important part of American popular culture. Although, African Americans were faced with discrimination, racism, and segregation they found comfort in jazz music. Jelly-Roll Morton, also known as, Ferdinand Joseph Lamothe, was an important jazz musician of early jazz. Morton wrote the first published jazz composition
Influence of Jazz on American Culture Nowadays, many believe that jazz is not that important in the 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 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. Jazz began affecting American culture from the beginning of its conception.
The song “Strange Fruit” was a landmark song at the time as it was a call to attention of the racial segregation and the injustices committed in not only the south but all across the Unites States. This song is best known as being performed by Billie Holiday in 1939. However, it has more history to it than that. The song was originally written as a protest poem by Jewish high school teacher Abel Meeropol (Holiday). He wrote it as a poem protesting the racism in America and specifically the lynching of African Americans in the south. The lynching of Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith in 1930 influenced Meeropol in writing this poem which was originally titled “Bitter Fruit” published in The New York Teacher in 1937 (Holiday). How the song got to Holiday
Billie Holiday was a musician like no other. She is known for saying “No two people on earth are alike, and it’s got to be that way in music or it isn’t music” (PBS). Holiday created her own style of music. She sang with so much feeling and emotion that she captured not only the attention, but the hearts of her audience. Holiday lived in a time when racism was prevalent and racial equality was nonexistent. She used her platform to speak up for what she believed in. “Holiday debuted Strange Fruit in a 1939 performance at Cafe Society, New York's first integrated nightclub” (Monir). “The song Strange Fruit was written by Abel Meeropol as a poem” (Monir). The poem was written about the lynching of African Americans. Holiday was courageous enough to sing the song even though it was not acceptable to speak of these things during that time. Billie Holiday was a respected musician who left her mark on the