Essay Preview: Jazz
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Jazz is a music with a history and a heart. Born in the rich melting pot of New Orleans after the turn of the century, jazz has grown into a vast and deep current of American musical culture. Historically and culturally, it is a music that had to happen. Although it is undoubtably Black Americas gift to the world, it is culturally a profound integration of musical factors: African rhythms and tonalities, the sensibilities of blues and gospel expression, European styles and instrumentation, and the creative energy of Americas expansive and tumultuous early 20th century. Important battles against racism were won in the jazz era as bands and audiences began to integrate by virtue of sharing the music. Thus, jazz is both historically and musically a very deep expression of American culture. We achieved in this music what we couldnt — and have yet to — achieve in our social environment: a true and harmonious integration of the diverse streams of human culture that converged in America. Even more than rhythm & blues or rock & roll, jazz has become a melting pot, absorbing and integrating the musical styles of the whole world, which is in fact our cultural legacy.
The types of jazz are many, ranging from blues-based styles drenched in feeling to the more airy styles of jazz that are almost indistinguishable from modern classical music. Your own favorite kind of jazz is in there somewhere; you just have to find it. What is important is to hear the different styles of jazz and find ones that work for you.
And chances are you that may already be somewhat of a jazz expert. If you like movies or watch TV, you are already hearing all kinds of jazz. Many soundtracks and almost all the background music used for movies and many TV shows is popular jazz. Whether its a Woody Woodpecker cartoon, an old Laurel & Hardy bit, or the latest full-length movie, jazz is the predominant music behind the video that we watch.
For all this cultural significance, jazz is remarkably easy to listen to, with an unpretentious, spontaneous feeling and a wide emotional range. It has tremendous diversity in its styles and historical eras, and the richness of recorded jazz (recorded music started about the same time as jazz itself) makes it a wonderful project for long-term enjoyment and learning. Most of us who listen to jazz have found one or two favorite types of jazz that we can really get into. We work