The History of Classic Jazz
- According to Scholastic, the foundation of jazz is in the blues. Blues music was born in the 1800s in the South, and evolved from African American hymns and working songs. By the 1900s, blues was an integral part of Southern culture. New Orleans quickly rose as a musical hotspot, and the popularity of church music, ragtime, African influences and the blues culminated into a melting pot style that quickly became known as jazz.
- Improvisation was one of the key factors that separated jazz from other musical genres. According to MeltingPot.FortuneCity.com, the earliest forms of jazz were Dixieland and Chicago jazz, and they perfected the art of improvisation. At first, jazz was a collection of improvised solos all being performed at one time. In 1901, Louis Armstrong, one of the most popular jazz horn players of all time, introduced the idea of musicians taking turns improvising. This idea advanced to become the modern day instrumental solo.
- By the mid-1930s the swing era had captured America. Swing music's upbeat rhythms and dance beats offered an escape from the great depression, and jazz leaders such as Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Fletcher Henderson and Benny Goodman were infusing the big-band style of swing with jazz, creating super-sized jazz dance bands and orchestras.
- According to MeltingPot.FortuneCity.com, Bebop jazz rose to the forefront of the jazz movement in the 1940s. Bebop was jazz foe jazz players. It was faster, and included more complex harmonies, melodies, and syncopated rhythms. Too complex for dancing, Bebop jazz was intellectual music for an audience to sit and listen to intently. The Bebop sound was invented by Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk and Charlie Parker, who met in New York City in 1937. According to JazzStandards.com, the 1940s also bought censorship. Associations such as ASCAP and the American Federation of Musicians felt that jazz was pornographic and dealt with inappropriate subject matter. However, this gave rise to the smaller labels that were willing to records songs such as "Night and Day," and "Just You And Me."
- According to JazzStandards.com, after WWII, the popularity of extended play 33 records allowed jazz musicians to record extended live performances, and as records became more affordable, jazz records filled American and international homes alike. The 1950s also brought a Cuban aspect to jazz, infusing Latin rhythms and aspects of Spanish music with American Jazz. Artists Dizzy Gillespie and Chano Pozo, a Cuban musician, even created a new genre of Latin jazz called CuBop, which was a celebration of combined cultures.
- Today, jazz is still extremely popular and has influenced modern rock and roll and pop music. Other forms of jazz such as easy listening jazz, still have a strong presence on American radio. Symphonic orchestras have also taken to playing big band jazz pieces as a part of their regular concert programming.