Jazz In America

Yesterday & TodayBy Chris Jackson

Period 4 APUSH

Focus

Jazz culture serves as a reflection of the time period, continually evolving while remaining true to its original roots as a

vehicle of individual expression.

• How has African-American influence shaped the evolution of jazz music?

• What were the prominent styles of jazz throughout the 20th century?

• How has jazz evolved to reflect the time period?

• How does contemporary music show its roots in jazz?

What Is Jazz?

• West Coast slang referring to the music of Chicago around 1915

• There were several basic features that remain true even today:• Improvisation• Syncopation• Blue notes• Polyrhythms• Swung notes

These elements represented a

distinct breakaway from the traditional European music of

the time}

African-American Background

• Jazz is a result of African-American and European contact

• Based on the “call-and-response” pattern of African oral tradition

• Served as a raw and energetic rebuttal of what was musically acceptable at the time, and became the voice of a generation of African-American youth

Creoles

• Free colored peoples living in French dominated New Orleans

• As offspring of French masters and African slaves, they enjoyed rights similar to those of whites

• Many of them lost these privileges when the Spanish took over in 1764

• Some became traveling musicians, resulting in the evolution of the Southern minstrel show and widespread exposure to African music

1920s “Jazz Age”

• During WWI, the Great Migration of African-Americans to the north sparked the jazz scene in Chicago and New York

• Jazz was part of the Harlem Renaissance, a celebration and outpouring of African-American creativity

• Prohibition encouraged many whites to visit the nightclubs of Harlem, where they were exposed to jazz performers

• The invention of the radio further increased jazz’s popularity and its growth nationwide

Eddie Ross, 1921, Ross’s

Reel

1930s “Swing”

• It also served as a form of dance music

• Optimistic – attempted to boost morale in the face of the Great Depression

• Benny Goodman Quartet – the first racially integrated band

Prominent artists: Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong

• Jazz was performed primarily in a big band setting with about 20 musicians

Duke Ellington, 1941, Take The ‘A’

Train

1940s “Bebop”

• Characterized primarily by significantly faster tempos and complex lines

• Chordal improvisation – primary focus on the soloing aspect as opposed to the melody

• 1947 – The University of North Texas became the first US university to offer a degree in jazz studies

1967, Thelonious MonkProminent artists: Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie

Charlie Parker, 1946, Yardbird

Suite

1950s “Beat Generation”

• Counter cultural movement of writers protesting primarily against conformity in society

• Free Jazz Movement – turned jazz into a way to challenge racism

• The evolution of rhythm and blues into rock and roll as a high art form1960 Max Roach album, We Insist! –

Freedom Now

1970s - “Fusion”

• Mixture of jazz improvisation with rock music’s energy and rhythms

• Smooth jazz – influenced by R&B, funk and pop

• Complex time signatures and rhythmic patterns, especially in guitar, base and drums

1989, Miles Davis

Prominent artists: Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter

Mahavishnu Orchestra, 1973,

Birds of Fire

Contemporary Jazz

• Smooth jazz – downtempo

• Mostly successful in radio format, both traditional and online

• Increasing popularity of jazz worldwide, especially in Japan and Europe

Prominent artists: Roy Hargrove, Wynton Marsalis, Freddie Hubbard

Kenny G, 1986, Songbird

Jazz & Hip Hop

• Jazz rap progressed through the 1980s and 90s, incorporating jazz influence into hip hop

• Early hip hop group Gang Starr released several albums sampling jazz classics as instrumentals

• Similar roots of free artistic expression and raw, energetic rebellion

Courtney Pine, 2000, The Jazzstep

Legacy

• “Jazz is also the most inclusive. It’s a music that will take anything” – Gerald Early

• “It is from the blues that all that may be called American music derives its most distinctive characteristics” – James Weldon Johnson

• “Jazz is hereby designated as a rare and valuable national American treasure” – H. Con. Res. 57 (1987)

Sources

• http://www.examiner.com/jazz-music-in-nashville/111th-congress-reaffirms-jazz-as-a-national-treasure-and-honors-miles-davis-kind-of-blue

• http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/su/cja/jazzmaps/ctlframe.htm

• http://www.jazzistry.org/timeline.html

• http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/su/cja/greatmigration.html

• http://www.spirit-mag.com/spirit/index.php?id=92

• http://www.apassion4jazz.net/timeline.html

• http://articles.cnn.com/2008-08-15/entertainment/hiphop.jazz_1_hip-hop-jazz-history-of-african-american-people?_s=PM:SHOWBIZ

• http://jazz.about.com/od/historyjazztimeline/a/JazzCivilRights.htm