Jazz

Jazz is often referred to as America's Classical Music. It is a genre that grew out of the fields of slaves and has developed into a music that African American's can call their own. Music has always played a huge role in the lives of African Americans. Songs known as spirituals were sung during a time of slavery to pass time and pass along stories of their past. Many of these songs were filled with a yearning for freedom and a deep dedication to God.

In the 1800s an influx of immigrants from Ireland, Germany, France, and many other European countries contributed to the melting pot of cultures in America. These waltzes and jigs inspired African American composers like Scott Joplin and Earnest Hogan to combine the rhythmic nature of spirituals with the music of Europe. This became known as ragtime. Ragtimes has a syncopated rhythm with melodic accents occurring between beats. Rag time was extremely popular in the African American community and even became popular with the rest of the North American Audience in the early 20th century. Maple Time Rag is one of the most famous examples of ragtime music

Was created in the early 20th century as a combination again of European styles of music with traditionally African American music like blues and ragtime. Although jazz developed in many different cities in the United States, many believe that it originated in New Orleans. New Orleans has a history of being a mix of many different cultures. At one time or another, all of the European colonists held stake in this piece of land. Sitting at the mouth of the Mississippi River made New Orleans made it so unique. As African Americans moved to northern cities like Chicago and New York, this daring new kind of music dared the youth of America to break away from their parents old fashioned views. With new technology such as the radio, the sounds of Jazz were able to reach every corner of America which helped this genre grow at an amazing rate. 

This video provides a brief overview of the history of jazz and some examples of the early pieces

Prohibition also contributed to the growth and possibility of Jazz. Known as the jazz age, this period of time was filled with speakeasies where this genre of music thrived. 

There are many different styles of Jazz. Bebop, swing jazz, ragtime jazz, folk jazz, gospel jazz. Each one of these is like a separate genre. But my favorite type of jazz is Big Band. Big Band Jazz gave names to Duke Ellington and Luis Armstrong just to name a few. This type of jazz has three main parts, reeds, rhythm and brass. These bands played mainly in unison, but often a solo instrument would start lines of improvised melodies. This type of jazz later developed into swing music.

Here is one of my favorite Jazz songs. I heard this played when I went to New Orleans. This song just takes you back to the Jazz Era. It is amazing to think of all of the genres of music that came from Jazz (Like Rock and Roll) It is an amazing genre of music that is uniquely American.