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An Analysis of the Historical Origins and Development of the “Cool Jazz” Movement in Mid-20th Century America
This historical analysis defines the origins and the development of the “cool jazz” movement in the post-WWII era of United States history. The originations of “cool” begin with the mellow and more relaxed expression of jazz by Miles Davis, Chet Baker, and other musicians that defined a contrasting tonal approach to jazz than the fast-paced music of the Be-bop movement. Davis’ album Birth of the Cool defines the trend towards slower placed and more relaxed musical arrangements that were defined as “cool” in the counter culture of jazz music. The deviant aspects of “cool jazz’ also incorporate the subculture of heroine use and criminal behavior as part of a more mellow jazz culture. The late 1940s
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By the 1920s, though, cool is firmly fixed as an unambiguous term of approval and even reverence. In 1924, the singer Anna Lee Chisholm recorded “Cool Kind Daddy Blues.” In the early 1930s, Zora Neale Hurston, in her short story “The Gilded Six-Bits,” wrote of a male character: “And whut make it so cool, he got money 'cumulated. And womens give it all to 'im” (Vuolo para.10).
These early stages of “cool” culture in the African American community brought about a stable etymological word usage, which provided a foundation for the school of “cool jazz” to form at a later stage. Therefore, a combination of African American 19th century word uses for “cool” and the continued use of the word in popular musical and literary culture defined the “cool” in artistic communities. More so, the counter culture aspects of a deviant music scene also helped to enforce a popularized image of the “cool cat” in terms of a more mainstream musical expression in the early
William Howland Kenney provides an in depth look at the Chicago jazz as a cultural movement that shaped the 1920’s. His new interpretation of the Chicago Jazz life reveals the role of race, cultural, and politics in the growth of this new musical style. This in depth look focuses on the rise of jazz from 1904 until its end in 1930. This book covers a lot of areas in Jazz that were fundamental in its development. My overall impression is that this book is well written, it is expansive in its overview of jazz. Kenney is knowledgeable in this area of cultural history, and his book is well researched. The purpose of this book is to
Jazz music of the 1940’s and 1950’s was defined by a history of change since its beginning at the dawn of the 20th century. Almost every decade brought a new flavor to the movement, and by the 1940’s jazz had developed into a mature, complex form of music, with many nuances and avenues for continued change. It is important to trace the early movements in jazz to better understand the innovations of the Bebop and Cool jazz eras of the 40’s and 50’s.
Jazz is one of the only uniquely American forms of music. Its roots date back all the way to the Atlantic slave trade. Jazz is still alive and well today. This paper will walk you through Jazz’s rich history. We’ll start with the basics of African music and its influences. Then we will take you through the decades leading to modern Jazz.
Jazz was a unique form of music, there had never been anything like it before. It was rebellious, rhythmic, and it broke the rules- musical and social. It started a musical revolution, “With its offbeat rhythms and strange melodies, jazz was blamed for everything from drunkenness and deafness to in increase in unwed mothers.” Jazz was seen as immoral and worried the older generation that their kids would lose interest in classical music. It was also seen as against society because it came about from the African- American culture, but despite all of that, jazz led to a new era of music that still prevails today.
The Jazz Age was one of the many highlights of the 1920’s before the stock market crash that triggered the start of the Great Depression in 1929. Because of the distress that the American soldiers faced during World War 1, many of them returned questioning the true meaning of life. Their solution was to recklessly enjoy their lives since you only live once. A completely new culture bloomed during the decade through it’s new music, crazy dancing and brand new atmosphere. While the country seemed to be rather optimistic as a whole during the 1920’s, this decade actually had quite a few issues. Although the United States demonstrated confidence throughout the decade, there were many situations in which the country experienced disillusionment and isolation.
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.
The 1920’s through 1940’s were incredibly influential years for America, as this was the first period when the commonwealth could partake in entertainment and leisure activities. Although these years had great impact on all of entertainment,the jazz rebirth of the Swing Era was the dominant cultural overtake in the 20th century. The Swing Era impacted America predominantly through its new found discovery as a social commodity, its reimagination of music, and the effect it had on the people who played it.
By the end of World War I, Black Americans were facing their lowest point in history since slavery. Most of the blacks migrated to the northern states such as New York and Chicago. It was in New York where the “Harlem Renaissance” was born. This movement with jazz was used to rid of the restraints held against African Americans. One of the main reasons that jazz was so popular was that it allowed the performer to create the rhythm. With This in Mind performers realized that there could no...
Also known as the Jazz Age and the Roaring Twenties, the American people felt that they deserved to have some fun in order to forget the emotional toll and social scars left from the war. The Jazz Age was appropriately named due to the illegal activities and good times, which included music, parties, and flapper girls. Jazz was a new style of music that originated out of the New Orleans area, where one of the greatest jazz musicians of all time – Louis Armstrong – began his career. The energy of jazz was a very new and almost uncomfortable style for the very traditional, rigid family of the 1920s. Young people in particular seemed to enjoy this new music the most, as it made them feel carefree. The energy of jazz was symbolic of the era’s trans...
Jazz is an American genre that developed from ragtime and blues in the early twentieth century in urban areas of the U.S. This genre is characterized by strong, prominent meter, improvisation, distinctive tone colors, and performance techniques. The development of Jazz made a postive, lasting impact after World War One ended. It became a way of bringing young people together. Jazz became the basis for most social dance music and provided one of the first opportunities for public integration. Subcultures like the gangs of New York and Chicago encouraged the subjugation of the black artists to the white man’s economic and social power, often resulting in gang leaders having complete control over
As it grew in influence and popularity, Jazz brought many young people together. It was such a social movement it brought mixed young people together to dance “The Charleston, The Cakewalk, The Black Bottom, The Flea Hop.” Since Jazz was such a influential and persuasive musical style. It had its time as a great social leveler and unifier. It brought together African Americans and Americans, in a love of fast, rhythmic music, which was multiplied through the radio and the recording industry. “What a crowd! All classes and colors met face to face, ultra aristocrats, bourgeois, communists, park avenue galore, publishers, broadway celebs, and harlemites giving each other the once over.” Jazz became attractively to popular Jazz Bands, it traveled widely playing all kinds of venues from restaurants, to dance halls, and even nightclubs. One of the many best renowned nightclubs would have to be the Cotton Club its where hollywood, paris and broadway rubbed elbows, people who came from all over the United States wanted to experience what was going on Harlem in the
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...
Not only is it nearly impossible to pinpoint jazz’s conception in time, many locations are accredited with its origin, the United States allowed for jazz to start gaining popularity and leading into the change it had to the music scene. When jazz is brought up, many first think of its birth place being New Orleans, Louisiana. New Orleans has always been a big musi...
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
Swing music – and its predecessor, jazz – is, as famed swing artist Benny Goodman put it, “folk music special to the United States” (Erenberg 65). It is perhaps one of the most “American” genres of music. The very characteristics that define swing music are uniquely “American”; it is lively, promotes freedom of expression (through improvisation), and bursts with seemingly endless optimism. It is energetic, youthful, and most importantly, unifying. As it is formed from a mix of elements from African American, European and American folk music, swing played a crucial part in bringing the issue racial integration to the forefront of the American psyche, especially among the younger population. It is no surprise that swing was so wildly popular – it promised “personal freedom, hope for a better life, and a measure. . . of racial acceptance” (Erenberg 70), which seems an apt remedy for a society suffering from not only widespread unemployment and hardship, but also rampant racism and classism.