Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Early Jazz
Early jazz, which began primarily in New Orleans, was used as a way to bring a culture of African Americans together after the Civil War. They didn't limit themselves to playing with only one another, but people of all races and cultural backgrounds. This mixture of cultures included French, Spanish, Italian, Jewish, and Irish influences, but primarily African influence. Exotic musical elements from these cultures met to form what we know today as American Jazz. Much like America became a "melting pot" of cultures, Jazz became a "melting pot" of musical culture, allowing most people to enjoy it because of its roots in music that they already knew. In the early 1900's, small groups of musicians would play this heavily blues-influenced music, with a new, Africian-influenced, swing style, and a powerful focus on improvisation. This style of music evolved from small ensembles into large swing bands, and jazz gained massive popularity. Entertainment became a mass industry as more and more immigrants poured into cities. Jazz had quickly spread throughout all major cities in America.
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This is very interesting! Not only is it a great way for different cultures to express themselves, but jazz also seemed help integrate different cultures as well, which was especially important during the Civil Rights Movement. I am curious to know of any famous jazz bands that are known for being multi-cultural and if/how that may have presented some difficulties along the way. Surely, one ethnicity may have a different view on what they want to call jazz which could disagree with another's. What have been some major changes in jazz over the past few years? Who are the main musicians of this industry right now, as well as back then? It will be cool to find out!
ReplyDeleteI believe that this journal entry was very interesting and contained a lot of new and useful information! I believe that jazz had the ability to bring blacks closer together and it also helped them show other cultures how proud they are of their own race. To me, jazz represents a new beginning for blacks and it truly emphasizes and captures their pride in their own race. This idea reminds me of the day in class when we listened to jazz music and drew pictures or wrote words that represented jazz music (during this specific time period). I remember that I had written down the words hope, faith, and a new beginning. I believe that these words truly show how the blacks were feeling during this time period and how jazz music influenced them. What words do you think of when you think of jazz music and how it influenced the blacks?
ReplyDeleteI think that learning about the history of Jazz caught my attention because my dad's career is based off of it. Without Jazz, it seems as though my dad wouldn't have become who is he today. I know that Jazz is a very popular type of music and it has even been integrated through our own school. You are in the Jazz band at school, what do you personally like about Jazz? What interests you about it?
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