Characteristics of Jazz: different, unique, many subtypes, ragtime, big bands amd little bands, syncopation, off-beat rhythm and improvisation.…
Why is jazz hard to define? Describe some of the reasons why it is sometimes difficult to determine if a musical recording or a performance qualifies as jazz.…
The characteristics of American Jazz era of the 21st century closely resemble that of the European Classical era of the 19th-20th centuries. Jazz music is considered to be the free spirited spin off of it’s older sister classical music. “Classical composers envy the melodic verve, spontaneity and open emotion of improvisation; jazz musicians look to the larger scale, the coloristic and rhythmic flexibility and the respect given classical music.” Jazz music is defined by two fundamental elements of Classical music (the swing beat and the prevalence of improvisation). Since this is true, it indefinitely should be appreciated by critics almost as much as Classical music is. While the rhythms are not of classical nature, the harmonies and melodies of jazz stem directly from European music. In theory then, the boundaries between jazz and classical music seem to me to have been falsely erected. After all: What is jazz but ad-libbed classical music with a swing…
The “Globalization of Jazz” is occurred when musicians from all around the world that were assimilating bebop and post-bop styles into the music of their culture in interesting and creative ways and creating new hybrid styles. Jazz had absorbed musical influences from other cultures and the reciprocal absorption of jazz into other parts of the world was…
Jazz was created from African Americans and evolved more and more over time. White people in the middle-class came to enjoy the music. This helped combine the ideals of African Americans with the White people of America.…
In summary, Jazz and modern music differ in many areas, while they are identical in others. When comparing the two you will notice that jazz music push the boundaries on societies restraints, while modern music does not shun provocative behavior. You will also see that the circumstances of our society will adjust what the purpose for the…
This classification arguably stemmed from the traditional Cartesian mind/body split and the tendency to for jazz to fall on the devalued side due to it's physicality and sensuality. Categorizing jazz as a form of classical music would seemingly elevate it's aesthetic value by distinguishing it as cultural and appreciated by the mind. This innocent attempt to make jazz seem "on par" with classical music does have its dangers, though. For one, it assumes that classical music is the standard by which all music should be judged, which is clearly not true. Classical music was, for the most part, merely a European phenomenon, whereas jazz, as argued above, involved so much more. In addition, classical music should not be seen as the pinnacle of musical technical greatness either. Jazz, for example, incorporates improvisation, an aspect of music almost completely absent in classical music; jazz musicians also developed a host of new musical skills to suit their styles. Wynton Marsalis, himself a player of classical music in his earlier days states flatly that "classical music is not as difficult as jazz." To label jazz as "classical" is arguably a belittling insult disguised as a…
Jazz is one of the musical genres that represent America. It had a combination of influences from Africa and Europe. When Africans were brought to the United States as slaves, they brought their music and culture with them. Samuel A. Floyd Jr. stated “…particular musical tendencies were brought with Africans to the New World…and spread throughout African-derived populations in the United States, eventually becoming an integral part of the music we know as jazz.” African slaves used musical expression for social purpose in the 1800s; they sang songs when they are working or they played drums. The immigration of Europeans started in the seventeenth century. They brought the instrumentations, the tonality, the chords, and the form into the United…
Throughout this time period jazz music was a defining aspect of American culture. As well as culture, jazz music had a huge effect on the social lives of many. People of the time saw either playing or listening to jazz as a way to feel free or even escape from their daily lives.…
On February 19, 2015, Jared Blum at the Sacramento State University had his first concert of the spring semester featuring plenty of special guests. This concert was presented as partial fulfillment of the requirements that he needs for his Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Studies. Jared Blum, with his special guests (Megan Spurlock on the clarinet, Morgan Childres on the trombone, the Jazz Combo, the Jazz Essemble, and other special guests), collectively performed nine pieces along with a medley that compromised of three songs at the concert. Prior to taking this course, one of the first questions that I asked myself was “what do I know about jazz?” I have always consociated jazz music with the African American culture, mainly because of the general idea of how jazz music can give off a “bluesy” rhythm. Little did I know how diverse jazz music can be. “Creole Belles”, “Creep”, and the medley that compromised of “When you’re smiling”, “Swing that music”, and “Shiek of Araby” are the pieces that allowed the audience, including myself, to experience the diversity of jazz music.…
What is jazz music? A single definition cannot be found. Many people try to define jazz music only to regress to trying to define what it does. Even this approach is difficult. People are only able to find things to agree on, such as agreeing that jazz is music. 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 in the 20th century and from they’re spread to the North and Midwest. Based in blues and ragtime, jazz 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.…
Dixieland jazz sounds are created when an instrument plays the melody or a variation on it, and the other instruments improvise around that melody. This works in jazz’s key element of improvisation. Next, swing jazz. Jazz music reached its height during the swing era. Swing music is unique in its strong rhythmic drive and “call-and-response” usage. As we discussed earlier, jazz music is unique in its rhythm, particularly swing, an element prominently incorporated in swing jazz, hence the name. Without this rhythmic element, swing music would not have the original jazz style. Mainstream jazz is considered to be extremely complex in nature, but it still contains important elements of jazz, including subtle use of rhythm, improvisation along with pre-arranged introductions, and “blues notes.” Despite introductions that are composed ahead of time, Mainstream still has the important element of improvisation. This shows us that jazz has evolved from the original style in to new styles that incorporate new and different elements. Funky Jazz, basically Mainstream’s alter ego, even contains the elements essential to original jazz style. Many of the original Funky jazz pieces were influenced heavily by blues and contain an abundance of “blues notes.” The rhythm of funky jazz is very simple, but funky jazz still includes strong jazz…
I am doing my end of the semester paper on Jazz music. Jazz was created in the twentieth century and was said that it was, “created to bring people together.” Jazz was also known in many cities around the time of the jazz age, but the city that was known as the birthplace of jazz was New Orleans. There are many important names that people still know today from the jazz ages. One important name during the jazz age was Louis Armstrong is known for many Jazz songs like “What a Wonderful World”, “When the Saints Go Marching In” and “Go down Moses.” Another name was Billie Holiday and she was known for “God Bless the Child” and “Billie’s Blues.” The other name was Duke Ellington, who have many recordings like “Take the A Train”, “Black and Tan Fantasy”,…
To me, it doesn’t matter if jazz is black or white, Avant Garde or swing, cultural or patriotic. It’s good music, and when it’s played, it brings people together in ways that would otherwise be impossible. No other form of music employs structured improvisation from every single band member, and no other music can get me to come out of my shell like jazz can. This is not to say that there isn’t a history and culture of jazz worth studying, especially when attempting to fathom the jazz legends - all I’m saying is that you can still get a lot from jazz without ever picking up a history…
The reason I chose to study this, is because when I was looking at the genre of jazz for another subject for another subject, there was a mention of it apparently “dying” and I have never thought about a whole genre, made up of so…