The Historical Roots of Jazz

The Historical Roots of Jazz

It was written that Jazz music had begun in Congo Park in New Orleans currently known as Louis Armstrong Park in ninetieth century. A group of African- Americans collectively started drumming, and playing string instruments mixture that reflected original substance from African heritage, which was like a pervasive ritual ceremonies of Africa. However, the music by these groups lasted little long. As Gioia wrote “The Congo Square dances were hardly so long-lived. Traditional accounts indicate that they continued, except for an interruption during the Civil War, until around 1885. Such a chronology implies that their disappearance almost coincided with the emergence of the first jazz bands in New Orleans.” During the first era Jazz music it was a collective memory and oral history of the city's black community. Buddy Bolden was the first to be acknowledged as a Jazz musician. He had revitalized the traditional music mostly alike with African origin to modernity of Jazz. As Gioia noted “the Americanization of African music had already begun, and with it came the Africanization of American music”.

During that time many Jazz musicians were emerged and produced the music through blending the cultural elements that previously existed in the genre with the modern style. Even if the African-European music were mixed prior to the era of the Congo park musicians, the true birth of modern Jazz was recognized with the blend of African, European and Latin American culture. However there is still a controversial point on the single origination of Jazz music as the heritage from the African music “The popularly accepted theory that Jazz stemmed from a simple combination of African rhythms and European harmony is in need of a little revision. Both African and European rhythms were employed. African music supplied the strong underlying beat (absent in most European music), the use of polyrhythms, and the idea of playing the melody separate from or above the beat. European music provided formal dance rhythms” ( Weinstock). The integration of multi-culture in Jazz music had produce a blend of diversity, as  Gioia stated “which evolved out of European dance forms like the French quadrille, the waltz, the mazurka and the polka. Including the Spanish rhythms in early Jazz, an effect he calls the "Spanish Tinge". As Weinstock argues “The multiplicity of ethnic, cultural and musical conditions needed to spawn Jazz was thus unique to the United States and specifically to New Orleans”. Since from New Orleans Jazz went on to be recognized as  America's Classical Music growing in its performance and acceptance. As Weinstock wrote “jazz gracefully making the long trip from Funky Butt Hall to Carnegie”. The music gained recognition to be presented in the Lincoln Center of the Performing Arts, the Smithsonian Institution, Congress, most Universities and music conservatories, for surly to world wide acceptance (Weinstock)

Works Cited

Gioia , Ted. "The History of Jazz ." Prehistory of Jazz (1997): n. pag. Web. 20 Apr 2011.

     <http://www.washingtonpost.com/

      wp-srv/style/longterm/books/chap1/historyofjazz.htm#TOP>.

Weinstock , Len. "The Origins of Jazz ." Jazz is Timeless Records n. pag. Web. 20 Apr 2011.

      <http://www.redhotjazz.com/originsarticle.html>.