Known To First Play Jazz Music example essay topic

Jazz: The History The music called Jazz was born sometime around 1895 in New Orleans. It combined elements of Ragtime, marching band music and Blues. What made Jazz such a different perspective of traditional music was its act of improvising. There was a widespread use of improvisation often by more than one player at a time. Songwriters would write the music down on a piece of paper, and then the Jazz musicians would try their best to play the music. Usually in a Jazz piece, musicians would use the song as a starting point to improvise around.

Jazz musicians would play a familiar song to the audience, and by the time they were done with the piece they would stir up a totally different feeling away from the original song. The average Jazz musician could not read music at all, but the way they performed on stage gave life to the audience. It thrilled them in a way that brought joy to their emotions. Their spontaneous music captured their hearts, which fell in love with the music known as Jazz. African-Americans and Creoles in New Orleans first played Jazz.

And it was generally known that Buddy Bolden was the first Jazz musician to play. Some other veteran Jazz musicians such as Freddie Kep pard, Bunk Johnson, and Clarence Williams were known to first play Jazz music. Although these people are not famous as of today, their style and ideas are still affecting musicians today. Although Jazz was enjoyed by many audiences, many men could not make a living off of music and therefore were forced to work minor jobs to get around. The second generations of Jazz musicians were some like Joe "King" Oliver, Kid Ory, and Jelly Roll Morton.

These people formed a small band and started to reshape the way the original Jazz music was played. They have made it into a different style with more complications and twists and turns. And so it became known as "Hot Jazz". King Oliver found a young artist by the name of Louis Armstrong. He soon grew to become the greatest Jazz musician anyone has known.

He is still a big star in the world today. By the 20th Century, African-American musical styles became the dominant force. The instruments played during Jazz were the average instruments played today, and nothing dissimilar. There would be about ten instruments in a band such as trumpet, string bass, guitar, piano, drums, saxophone, clarinet, trombone, and oboe. They are not all of the instruments but the basics. But in general, any instrument can become a Jazz instrument as long as it can play to the beat of Jazz.

During the 1920's which is also known as the "Roaring Twenties", Chicago became the focal point for Jazz after clubs around New Orleans were closed. Record deals were being made there and soon Jazz was being acknowledged for the brilliant music it played. Famous musicians who received acclaim for their work in Chicago were Earl Hines, Johnny Dodds, Louis Armstrong, and King Oliver. In New York City, it contributed the characteristics of Jazz in many different ways.

The first piano was introduced, and gained popularity in the world of Jazz in New York. It also became the heart of music publishing where musicians earned record deals. Among the famous Jazz musicians, Duke Ellington was one of the greatest. His gifted talent with the piano gave him acclaim in the field. Although his first trip to New York in 1922 was unsuccessful, he returned in 1923 with the help of his friends from Washington D.C. He grew to become a leader of his group, which was called The Washingtonians. Some of his popular songs called Jungle Sound, and East St. Louis T oodle-Oo began his early success as a Jazz musician.

When it comes to Jazz, improvisation was one of the greater aspects to anticipate. The ability to be different and be spontaneous has such a strong effect on Jazz and most importantly, the listeners were content. As Jazz evolved, Jazz began to move into the Swing era. Black and white Jazz bands started to tour around the United States contaminating every radio station with their flow of music. Great African-American bands during the swing era were Jimmy Lunceford, Chick Webb, and Andy Kirk. The swing era was also the start of vocalists such as Billie Holiday, and Ella Fitzgerald.