Why Jazz Is Purely American Essay, Research Paper

Jazz music originated in New Orleans, Louisiana in the early 1800 s. It is very popular and underwent many changes throughout its history in the United States. Jazz music is purely American because it started in America and grew in America.

New Orleans was a major cosmopolitan when Jazz was born. People sometimes called New Orleans a pot of gumbo because of its diversity of people. It started off when slaves were permitted to sing and dance in Congo square every Sunday afternoon. African American slaves were the only un-free people in a free country. After that, theaters in New Orleans had shows with plantation music called minstrel. Minstrel music was soon played around the world. Not only that but even the same songs could be heard in different parts of the country. A white man named Daddy Rice who said he heard a black stable hand singing it wrote the first big Minstrel hit.

Once Jazz finally sprouted, it started to grow around the country. Two new styles derived from Jazz, Ragtime and Blues. Ragtime was the type of music that adults hated and kids loved it because their parents hated it. It was a mix of many types of early jazz from minstrel to African American. Blues was a type of music to show how you feel. It was built on 3 chords with 12 bar sequences called chorus. Blues music was used to get rid of the blues by singing ones feelings aloud and telling a story at the same time. It was said to be the underground aquifer that fed all the streams of American music.

A bold and innovative musician started the Big Noise in Jazz. His name was Buddy Bolden and he played the trumpet. Boasting a loud trumpet-playing style, he invented the Big 4, which was a new way of arranging beats. He was regarded highly in the red light district. Then he turned to alcohol and ended up in an insane asylum after fights with his band, paranoia, and headaches.

Jazz music is purely American because it was born in America and grew here. It underwent many transformations in New Orleans as well as other parts of the country.