A BRIEF HISTORY OF JAZZ
1.- Origins:
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, United States, by the end of the 19th century. It has a lot of roots in blues, which developed from traditional African songs ans spirituals, and ragtime, a kind of syncopated rhythm born in Europe which began as dance music and became very popular at the end of the 19th century in cities such as St. Louis and New Orleans.
Jazz is then a union of African and European music. From the African music it got the "blues", the rhythm and the tradition of playing an instrument as if it was an extension of your own voice. From European music Jazz received the harmony and the instruments because most of the instruments used in jazz (saxophone, trumpet, piano, double bass ...) originated in Europe.
2.- Why New Orleans?
New Orleans, Louisiana, was the perfect city to be the birthplace of Jazz, as it was a port city (with people arriving from all parts of the world), a meeting place for people of different ethnic groups and it offereed a lot of job opportuniteis. The city had a popular nightlife where musicians had the opportunity to play together, learn from each other, and combine all of these elements.
3.- Improvisation:
One thing that makes jazz music so unique is its focus on improvisation. Perhaps it is the key element. The imortance of improvisation came from the blues and the work songs of African-American slaves on plantations. These work songs were commonly structured around a repetitive call-and-response pattern, but early blues was also improvisational.
Classical music performance is evaluated more by its fidelity to the musical score.That means that the classical performer's objective is to play the composition as it was written. In contrast, jazz gives less value on the contribution of the composer, The jazz performer interprets a composition in an individual way. The same song would not be performed the same way twice.
4.- The Jazz Age:
The Jazz Age is the name given to the era in American history between the end of World War One and the start of the Great Depression in 1929. The Jazz Age is also referred to in conjunction with the Roaring Twenties.
From 1920 to 1933, Prohibition in the United States banned the sale of alcoholic drinks, resulting in illicit establishments which started hosting that popular music. That way, Jazz began to get the reputation of being immoral.
5.- Expansion:
The musics popularity began to increase as did its sophistication, and many cities all over the United States began to feature jazz performers and jazz bands.
During the 1940s dance halls were full of fans that came to see jazz performances. This period is known as the Swing Era, term employed by the Big Bands.
These bands elied more on arrangements which were written or learned by ear and memorized but they gave some musicians the opportunity to experiment with improvisation. They began to develop a highly virtuosic and harmonically advanced style known as "Bebop," an onomatopoeic reference to the rhythmic of that kind of music.
In those bands, the soloist wass supported by a rhythm section of piano, guitar, double bass, and drums. They were there to complement the soloist.
6.- Great Performers:
a) Louis Armstrong:
Born in New Orleans, this trumpeter and singer became one of the greatest influences in the world of jazz because of his ability for improvising.
b) MIles Davis:
He was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Miles Davis was, together with his musical groups, at the forefront of some of the major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz, hard bop, modal jazz, and jazz fusion.
c) "Dizzy" Gillespie.
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (October 21, 1917 - January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer and occasional singer.His contributions to jazz were great. He is considered one of the greatest jazz trumpeters of all times. Besides, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz.
d) "Count" Bassie.
William James "Count" Basie (August 21, 1904 - April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, bandleader and composer. His skills at the piano quickly gave him a reputation and he performed with great vocal stars as Sarah Vaughan or Ella Fitzgerald.
e) Ella Fitzgerald.
Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917 - June 15, 1996) was an American jazz vocalist. She was known as the "First Lady of Song," the "Queen of Jazz" and "Lady Ella," She collaborated with artists like "Count" Bassie, "Dizzy" Gillespie or Louis Armstrong.
f) Charlie Parker.
Charlie Parker, also known as "Bird" was an american saxophonist and composer. He was a leading figure in the devolopment of bebop, a kind of jazz characterised by fast tempos and virtuosity.
g) Billie Holiday.
Billie Holiday was born as Eleanora Fagan in Philadelphia,on April 7, 1915. She was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" , Holiday had an outstanding influence on jazz and pop singing. Her vocal style, strongly inspired by jazz instrumentalists, was amazing. The song below "Strange fruit" is considered one of the first songs against racism.
h) "Duke" Ellington.
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 - May 24, 1974) was an American composer, pianist and bandleader of jazz orchestras. He led his orchestra from 1923 until his death.