Jazz Improvisation Essay

No one could truly write a paper on a jazz artist without starting on where everything started. Jazz has been called America’s classical music. Along with the blues, its forefather, one of the truly native music to develop in America. We all know how jazz is known as improvisation and its rhythmic form. Also originated from the African American communities of New Orleans in the 19th and 20th centuries. Yet its impulsive, risky ventures into improvisation gave it critical cache that the blues lacked. Jazz was also and is still being a way of bringing people together and enjoying the moment. Like every other styles of music, some of them makes you want to dance, some makes you think or are filled with surprises. Rapidly the dance element faded into the background and improvisation became the key element of the piece. As it evolved, it split into numbers of different styles from the speedy, hard-hitting rhythms of the be-bop and the laid-back, mellow harmonies of jazz. Throughout the years, and in all the different styles, those still remain the qualities that defined Jazz.

Defining jazz is very difficult because there are too many varieties, it would be like finding a needle in a haystack as people say. Although the most common words that would best describe it are improvisation and swing feel. Improvisation is improvising; making things up as you go along

It featured many of the leading performers like Count Basie, Peggy Lee, Sammy Davis Jr. and Tony Bennett. Sadly, the shows did not last long, going off the air just a year after it got launched. Blaming it on the lack of sponsors, it was difficult to find one specially when no one would really sponsor a African American entertainers at the time. That did not stopped Cole on doing appearances on other programs such as the Ed Sullivan Show and The Garry Moore Show, and many other