The Impact of Jazz on the 20th Century

The Impact of Jazz on the 20th Century

Jazz is a musical form sui generis to the United States , but its history is multi-ethnic and multi-cultural , spanning continents and musical forms . The roots of jazz are to be found in Western African music that was likely brought to this country during that shameful period when humans were kept in subjugated bondage . These roots were married with the traditions of western music , and blended together . The commonality of blues and 19th century ragtime was infused with bluegrass or hillbilly music and church

hymns . It has hints of the oompah brass bands of Oktober Fest . Jazz music relies heavily on improvisation polyrhythms and syncopation . The word Jazz , it is believed , was first used to refer to music in Chicago circa 1915 . In searching for its origins , it can be seen that the word was used in the early part of the 20th century to refer to sports and to sex . There are a variety of opinions as to how it came to into being . Jazz , since its beginnings has had a profound effect on other musical forms , which naturally include popular music and even classical . It is a pure art form that is distinctly American

What is known as Blues predates jazz and is one of the most misunderstood forms of music around . Most people use the word Blues to refer to any sad , heart-wrenching bit of music with a slow melody . This is not the case . Blues has a narrow definition . The contemporary musician , when speaking of Blues , means a twelve-bar form that relies heavily on tonic , dominant and subdominant harmonies (Gioia

13 Some forms of jazz , called jazz blues , follow the standard 12-bar blues progression but are played in the style associated with jazz . But it is not only the chord progressions which jazz borrows from blues . There are such things as blues notes , blues riffs , and the phrasing that is peculiar to blues but inserted into jazz . Jazz blues treats the harmony of the music a little differently from normal , or traditional , blues songs . A chord in what would be the normal progression is substituted for another or more than one , which has the same tenor . While all music is a form of communication , jazz is the first indigenous American music that ever influenced the rest of the world . Jazz snatched bits and pieces from beats of ragtime syncopation to marching bands and their brassy intonations . It is no surprise that the blues has a place in the mix that came to be American Jazz . But there is more than one form of American jazz . It has several regional forms as surely as there are regional dialects and accents that the savvy can spot immediately

Certainly any study of American jazz must pay homage to the City of New Orleans and its contributions to the music . New Orleans has a large black population as well as being on the Mississippi River and on the Gulf of Mexico . It...