Jazz John F. Szwed resides in Connecticut, and he is currently a professor of anthropology, African-American studies, music, and American studies at Yale University. He has written seven books on music and African-American culture and numerous articles and reviews on similar subjects. Szwed has received honors including a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Rockefeller Foundation Humanities Fellowship. Knowledge of jazz has fallen far behind its development. Most people do not know the facts on jazz, only some generalities and stereotypes. Often being called America’s only original art form, jazz began as an ethnic music, but there is much more to jazz than music. It is difficult to think of jazz without thinking of African-American people, but it was probably the first art to challenge European culture and the idea of the classes as time-honored and serious. Jazz was not only musical, but physical, visual, social, and emotional. The popularity of jazz all of a sudden diminished, but it continues to define and give shape to American culture. Many people do not realize its significance. Jazz has developed from the mix of African and European music. The rhythm patterns, articulation, staggered entry, and percussion enrichment are some of the contributions that African music made to jazz. This is why African-Americans have been called the pioneers of jazz. Jazz has been relatively free of constraints. It is usually improvised, but many times it is not. It is usually considered as music characterized by a rhythmic feel or influenced by the blues. Throughout the history of jazz, there have been people of other races and ethnicities involved in its creation. Jazz might be the best documented art in the history of the world. There are not one or two specific instruments that characterize jazz. Almost all instruments have been used by jazz musicians at some time. The saxophone, trumpet, trombone, bass, drums, piano, and guitar are the most popular instruments still being used. Jazz is polymeric, which means that there is more than one rhythm playing at a time. Double-time is a main concept with jazz. This means the tempo is doubled in the melody while the other instruments continue at the same speed. The opposite of this, half-time, is another key part of playing jazz. The most fundamental forms of jazz are pop songs and blues. Anot... ... middle of paper ... ... was one of the main musicians of the next period, free jazz. Larry Coryell was popular for fusion and jazz rock. Wynton Marsalis is a key figure of the present period, which is neo-traditionalism. These styles did not just end during their period. They persist and change throughout time. The media and fans of jazz are the ones that single out the styles, but they have blended together throughout the periods. Certain aspects of jazz gained popularity while others became less popular, thus causing the change in periods. After reviewing this book I have a new understanding of jazz. This book explained the historical significance of jazz in our culture. Many people today do not truly understand the importance of jazz. The author explained the complexities, the styles, and the musicians of jazz, which were much larger than I knew about. I agree with the author on attending live performances over listening to recordings. Recordings are often short, premeditated events. When attending live performances you get the true feel of the musician and their music. Jazz has much more to it than other music styles, and now I appreciate it and have a greater understanding of jazz.
Music is magical: it soothes you when you are upset and cheers you up when you are down. To me, it is a communication with souls. I listen to different genres of music. When appreciating each form of music, with its unique rhythm and melody, I expect to differentiate each other by the feelings and emotions that it brings to me. However, I would definitely never call myself “a fan of jazz” until I witnessed Cécile McLorin Salvant’s performance last Friday at Mondavi Center. Through the interpretations and illustrations from Cécile’s performance, I realized that the cultural significance and individual identity are the building blocks of jazz music that create its unique musical features and support its development.
Although jazz first appeared in New Orleans in the twentieth century, the music it was derived from has been around for much longer. The roots of jazz can be found in both African and European influences that blend together to create a distinctive musical quality and swing character. It encompasses a wide range of music, including that of ragtime and blues, which are two of the most prominent genres that influenced jazz in its early stages. Although there are many differences between the musical styles and instrumentation of ragtime and blues, there are also some similarities in terms of common origin that helped drive the birth of modern-day jazz.
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
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 issue, I will illustrate the movement from the 1930’s swing era to the birth of bebop and modern jazz.
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.
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 ...
The evolvement of jazz throughout the years has been an interesting one. Blues and Ragtime are just two simple innovations that has allowed for many variations in the jazz genre. Both of these genres have their similarities and differences in how they influenced jazz music through: improvisation, syncopation, and experimentation.
Jazz was portrayed through different styles of writing throughout each story. The first author focused on telling a story based on a time period of revolution while the second, focused on writing an interview-formatted story. Both stories did display sense of Jazz as a catalyst to feeling different types of ways no matter the situation. The group mentioned in the first story was able to revolt and share their beliefs of Jazz through performances. The author showed how Jazz affected even the people who were against it. Jazz touches everyone in some way like many other types of music. The second story didn’t mention Jazz a lot, but gave way to the feeling that Jazz heals people. As soon as the protagonist heard Jazz music, he was cured from his disease. Not everyone will view Jazz in the same way, but Jazz affects everyone as seen in the passages before.
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.
Though Jazz has changed, the background behind it still inspires those today. Even though each artist has their particular style or expression, they all can agree that music is art. They can all agree that Music is emotions and feelings. Through the years, just as all things do, Jazz and Bebop have grown and flourished across America and the World. All in all Jazz for African Americans opened the doors in America, jazz alone opened doors and ears all across the Earth.
Jazz is more than music. It is a way of thinking that has defined literature, philosophy and music. Surrounded by its own unique lifestyle and culture, jazz has been in perpetual evolution. Emerging from the oppression of slavery, Jazz inspired musicians to define and express freedom through music. As jazz evolved it began to inspire freedom just as freedom had inspired it. New anthems written for the civil rights and anti-apartheid protests demonstrated that jazz had the power to inspire change. Coated in a shell of glory, jazz had been hiding its own internal darkness. Discrimination has been rampant throughout the culture of jazz. Racism, addiction, ageism, mental illness and the power of first impressions have limited or ended the careers of many great jazz musicians.
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...
Jazz is not just music, it was a way for people to express themselves and their emotions. It also had a part in fashion and poetry. “Jazzy clothing” and “jazzy poems” also arose. Jazz was unique because it broke many social and musical rules. Instead of the regular and usual structure, jazz would be improvised by the musician. It provided a way for people to express themselves, gave them character which set them apart, and cultural freedom. New dances were being created lie the Charleston and the One Step. The birth of jazz music is generally credited to African Americans, but expanded and over time it became socially acceptable to middle-class white Americans. White performers were used for the popularization of jazz music in America. Even though the jazz movement was taken over by the middle class white population, it facilitated the blend of African American traditions with the white middle class society. Cities like New York and Chicago were cultural centers for jazz, and especially for African American artists. Some famous black artists of the time were Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Count Basie.
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.
As it mentioned above, the title itself, draws attention to the world-renowned music created by African Americans in the 1920s’ as well as to the book’s jazz-like narrative structure and themes. Jazz is the best-known artistic creation of Harlem Renaissance. “Jazz is the only pure American creation, which shortly after its birth, became America’s most important cultural export”(Ostendorf, 165). It evolved from the blues