The History of Jazz - Essay Example

History of Jazz A. Describe how jazz developed in New Orleans from the fusion of African and European influences around the turn of the century until the 1920s. What role did the cultural diversity of the city play in this development in regards to French, Spanish, American, African and Creole cultures? Use specific examples of major jazz figures of this period. Use specific examples of stylistic developments that occurred during this time. Jazz music can be said to have begun approximately in 1880 and formed by different brass bands and Creoles. The first of the brass brands to start the music consisted of a Creole drummer known as John Robichaux and a Creole clarinetist called Alphonse Picou. The next brass band was formed in 1884 and it consisted of a Creole cornet player called Manuel Perez who was an addition to the group. Different bands continued forming after that as well and they consisted of Creoles up until 1898. Jazz consisted of several different kinds of music such as blues music, ragtime and the brass band fanfares. Religious music was however not included in the mix of music during formation of jazz. White music which was popular was also missing at the beginning of the jazz music formation but was later on incorporated to add a commercial sense to the music and enable it to sell widely. In 1898 immediately after US defeated Spain and liberating Cuba, troops who had been in the war landed in New Orleans on their way to other locations. They brought brass instruments with them and they sold them on the black market which was adopted quickly. These brass instruments were unlike what was used before as they were European instruments and hence the music played from then incorporated European aspect into the Creole jazz blending the two up1. This new form of jazz with both African and European music and instruments in it was soon picked up across New Orleans and it formed the basis of the present jazz as it is known to date. New Orleans was a city which was filled with people of different races. There were Africans who were slaves, the Spanish from Cuba and who were at war with the US as well as other races such as the French, Germans and even Italians all whom were in South America but some also resided in New Orleans. Even though they had different cultures and languages, they shared a commonality which was the love for music. Each race had its own form of music which they sang in different places. It is these different genres of music that combined together to form jazz. The most renowned historian of jazz was Buddy Bolden who was a cornet player and who was the first jazz musician once the complete blend and establishment of jazz as a form of music was made. He began playing in 1895 after formation of his own band with now renowned jazz musicians such as Sidney Bechet and Bunk among others2. Cultural diversity in the city of New Orleans can be said to have provided the roots of the development of jazz music as the different music genres from the different cultures came together. Before the jazz became official with Buddy and the rest of the people in late 19th Century, there were different forms of jazz for the different cultures such as the Creoles and the Italians. This was however before the European brass instruments were brought to the city making jazz officially a new genre which borrowed from the other types of music. As mentioned earlier, jazz combined different stylistic music from the different races occupying New Orleans. These stylistic music included blues, quadrilles, ragtime, beguine as well as folk and marches3. Blues originated from the southern part of the United States and was played by the African Americans. It was also a combination of music such as work songs, spiritual songs and even chants but with narrative that was simple enough to understand and sing along to. The blues were known to involve repetition and seeking response. The music was slow played with instruments and contained deep message with meaning that was related to their lives as slaves. They form the larger part of jazz music and therefore explain why the African-Americans related heavily to jazz when it started. Ragtime was a syncopated genre of music which was also common among the African Americans in the red-light districts. It was played to be danced and not just sang like the blues in order for people to enjoy it. It can be said to be a modification of March music style and was played with the help of a piano. The earlier form of ragtime contained heavy racial connotations but was soon refined and it became much more sophisticated by the time it was being incorporated in jazz music. Folk originated from Europe and hence was not an Africa-American musical genre but it was adopted by them and it was later incorporated in jazz. It appeared in America in the 19th Century and was liked especially during social gatherings. Beguine was originally a Caribbean music but was fused with French and African music. It was played using instruments such as saxophone, trumpets, acoustic guitars, clarinets, drums and piano. It contributed the most in jazz music in terms of equipment which were heavily borrowed from it. It was led by a soloist and incorporated a lot of rhythm in it making it very entertaining and hence popular in the 19th Century. Quadrille is another musical style that contributed to jazz. It was Creole music that involved a lot of dancing. The music was also based on themes and people adored it whether alone or in groups. It was music that one could perform alone unlike the rest of the stylistic genres discussed above. Marches were performed in a symphony and were popular with the bands. It was played during special occasions and was considered prestigious unlike the other mentioned musical genres above. Their keys and tempo of the music was what was taken to contribute to jazz music in the early 19th Century. The coming together of the above mentioned stylistic genres to form jazz is enough evidence that jazz was and still remains to be a multi-cultured musical genre as it brought together different races and cultures from the French to the Creoles to the African- Americans with their different musical styles to form one common type of music. Work Cited Gioia, Ted. The History of Jazz. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011. Larson, Tom. History and Tradition of Jazz. Iowa: Kendall/ Hunt Publishing Company, 2002. Ward, Geoffrey and Ken Burns. Jazz: a history of Americas music. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2000. Read More