Kansas City Jazz: Influential Persons
What is jazz music? A single definition cannot be found. Many writers have attempted to define jazz music only to regress to trying to define what it does. Even this approach is difficult. Writers have only been able to find broad areas to agree up, such as agreeing that jazz is music. But alas, even this is a shortcoming in the eyes of some. Jazz has been so many things throughout it long and illustrious history that it's even hard to point out its origins, which stem from many places, many styles of music, and many people. However there is an ongoing debate as to its precise origins. It is known to have evolved out of New Orleans at the turn of the 20th century and from there spread to the north and Midwest. Based in blues and ragtime, jazz was seen to have geographical "hot spots" throughout the country; New Orleans, Chicago, New York, and Kansas City. Each "hot spot" has its own history containing significant events and people that helped shape the musical style of that culture center. Kansas City is no exception. There are innumerable persons that helped make Kansas City jazz what it has become.
Jazz emerged in a time that one might think that something new, such as the jazz movement, would not succeed. Jazz began to gain notoriety in the midst of The Great Depression. Kansas City's ability to sustain throughout such a horrible time can only be accredited to one thing; the administration of Thomas J. Pendergast, "boss" of Kansas City (and much of Missouri) from 1911 until his arrest for tax evasion in 1938. His methods, however, where not of the most reputable morals. Pendergast openly tolerated a "wide-open town" in Kansas City in exchange for political and financial benefits. Pendergast's tolerance of such laws as Prohibition were so extreme that from the year 1920 to 1933 there was not a single felony conviction for violation of that law. This is seen as more unusual when one realizes that there were over 300 bars in the city that employed live musical entertainment (Pearson, Political 181).
Pendergast and his followers were not avid supporters of black music, in fact, "he scarcely listened to music at all. Throughout his life he made it a rule to be in bed no later than nine o'clock, an hour at which musical happenings in the nightclubs of Kansas City were barely getting started (Russel 6).
Joseph Nathan Oliver, also known as King Oliver, was THE MOST important person in all of jazz history. Joe was born on May 1885, Abend, La. Joe was a Bandleader, composer, and soloist cornet/trumpet player that arose from New Orleans. Oliver was also the mentor of Louis Armstrong and together, they changed jazz and American music forever.
The popularity of jazz grew in the twenties, and its center changed from New Orleans to Chicago. From there it spread to Kansas City and New York. The end of WWI ushered in the Jazz Age in New York, and it came to be associated with the parties and wild behavior of the 1920’s (Verve). Music from this era is also sometimes called “The Chicago Style,” and includes artists such as Bix Beiderbecke on trumpet and Pee Wee Russel, Mezz Mezzrow, and Benny Goodman on clarinet.
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.
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 issues, I will illustrate the movement from the 1930’s swing era to the birth of bebop and modern jazz. As the 1930’s began, the effects of the Great Depression still ravaged the United States, which in turn caused a dramatic change in the music industry.
Jazz was introduced directly after World War I by African-Americans (Boundless.com par. 1). Although jazz was composed by many different African-Americans the main founder of jazz was Ethel Waters (McCorkle par. 8). Jazz was first played in New Orleans, but as the African-Americans moved north, white citizens caught on and tuned jazz into a new craze (Lindop 107). Even though jazz was created in New Orleans, Chicago became the home of jazz music (Bingham 8). The first jazz players derived the tune from a mixture of Latin American, African, and European rhythms, making it very popular among many different types of people (“Latin Jazz” par. 1). Jazz was so well-liked because it gave the artists the opportunity to make the predetermined tune their own (“What is jazz par. 1). When listening to jazz the same song is never heard twice because the band members each put their own spin on the way they play their instrumen...
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 ...
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 a term F. Scott Fitzgerald coined to describe the ostentatious era that began after World War I during the Roaring Twenties. It was a joyous time full of great prosperity. He published many famous books during this time like The Great Gatsby and Tender is the Night. Fitzgerald claimed to know a great deal about the glitz and glamour of the Roaring Twenties, while he never actually experienced those aspects himself. Although F. Scott Fitzgerald had many struggles with alcoholism and his marriage, he is considered to be one of the greatest American writers of the twentieth century.
A single artist can have a very strong impact on a whole genre of Music. We have seen this time and time again through artists such as Charlie Parker, David Brubeck, John Coltrane, Art Blakey, Miles Davis, and various others. All of these artists had tremendous influences on the different eras that evolved throughout the history of Jazz. Bill Evans, and American jazz pianist, was no different. Just as Charlie Parker had started the evolution of Bebop and influenced the subsequent generations of Jazz Artists, Bill Evans has influenced Modern Jazz and the generations of artists that followed him. Throughout his career and his works with various other artists, Bill Evans has cemented himself as one of the great influences on modern day Jazz.
When it comes to jazz music, there is one name that everyone knows, whether they’ve never listened to jazz before or if they’ve listened to it their whole lives. That name is Louis Armstrong. Armstrong was one of the pioneers of jazz music, from his humble beginnings in one of New Orleans roughest districts, “the Battlefield”, to playing concerts for sold out crowds in Chicago and New York City, Louis left a massive impact on the way America listened to music for a long time. One of his premier tracks, “West End Blues”, left an impact on jazz music, which other musicians would try to emulate for years.
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.
Jazz music has got a lot of importances as much as it lacks a correct definition. It plays a role in the entertainment sector. It entertains the listeners who are passionate to the art. They get a special entrainment especially for the working class who find listening to jazz as an activity done during the leisure time. Jazz on the other hand is very educative and informative of the past and the current issues. Since it is a long time art, it can be used to safeguard and protect the cultural practices of the people of the community. The culture is stored in the jazz songs and easily passed from one generation to another. It can also be transferred from one community to another since jazz music listeners are all over the world. Hence jazz music is a store of culture of a people of a particular social locality or geographical location.
During prohibition, many musicians fount places with a good crowd where they could dance which was illegal at the time. Many speakeasies were owned by Al Capone’s Gang which was in Chicago, and the Italian Mafia in New York. Jazz style in New Orleans can sometimes differs from style in Chicago due to Chicago’s greater emphasis on individual solos, a less relaxed feeling, and a smaller reliance on elements of 19th-century black ethnic music. When comparing the two forms, it may seem difficult because New Orleans was recorded before the time both the black and the white New Orleans bands had already been in Chicago long enough to influence each other. These styles employed simple accompanying rhythms and improvised counterlines among the melody instruments such as trumpet, clarinet, saxophone, trombone, and occasionally
Cultural Intermediaries”).The 18th Amendment, or the ban of alcohol also fueled new opportunities for jazz to begin. Tirro, Frank. 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 to the change it had to the music scene. When jazz is brought up, many first think of its birthplace being New Orleans, Louisiana.