Jazz was a form of musical protest during the oppression of African Americans in the US, especially throughout World War 2. Duke Ellington’s passion for music and drama made him stand out throughout the musical evolution of Jazz. His song “Cotton Tail” paved the way for a new jazz subgenre called modern jazz. Ellington’s innovation and free mentality influenced the future of jazz, inspiring other artists and musicians, and making him one of the most influential composers of the genre to date. Through the song Cotton Tail, we unravel the historical, musical complexities and cultural significance. In the 1940s WW2 was reaching its peak, causing racial and political tension in the United States. On June 5th, 1940, Germany attacked Great Britain …show more content…
865)” Cotton Tail is 3 minutes and 9 seconds long, with vocals from Ella Fitzgerald, and is a piece with a new style. It is still under the Jazz genre but is more upbeat and resembles ragtime. The end of the piece gave the audience a new taste of jazz, modern jazz. According to the text “The solo plays off the same chord progression as the tune but does not vary or develop the tune. Rather, the music at each chorus presents new ideas and may or may not use melodic or rhythmic ideas from earlier in the piece. The remaining three choruses feature various combinations of instruments playing together or in call-and-response fashion, and the final bars of Ellington’s tune return to bring the piece to a close (Burkholder et al. 865)” as the piece was closing, Ellington’s point of having solos, and then combining all the artists with different instruments was notable. Although modern jazz started in the 20s, it became more popular due to improvisation in the 40s, and Ellington’s “Cotton Tail” is a prime example of the evolution of jazz. My take on the song is that I notice the resemblance and influence of ragtime throughout the song. In minute 1:16, there are a series of accents in the song which I see in ragtime, and the influence is