Jazz No Other Art Form

Jazz No other art form has managed to capture the essence of the African American experience in the 20th century like jazz. Its relevance continues to endure well in to the 21st century, during a period when music continues to expand and challenge listeners' perceptions. This essay will take a look at the history of jazz, from its humble origins, through its development in to several different sub genres throughout the course of the 20th century, and up to its present day incarnations. In doing so, I intend to show how much popular music today is indebted to jazz's enduring influence over the years. The origins of jazz stretch back to the 19th century. It was during this time that a number of black musicians began teaching themselves how to play instruments that were considered to be white European instruments. Through their own cakewalk dances, African Americans would infuse European dance rhythms in to their music. This new form of hybrid music would become popularized in touring minstrel shows, which featured white European and American performers in blackface, doing imitations of black Americans.

Following the emancipation of African Americans from slavery, new opportunities were opened up across the United States. At the same time, African Americans did not have the same employment opportunities that whites had. African American musicians were thus limited and could only find employment in low end entertainment joints, such as saloons and bars. It was in this environment that ragtime, one of the first forms of jazz, was developed. At the same time, an earlier form of music invented by African Americans, the blues, began to be popularized throughout the early 20th century, as composers began writing down some of the more famous blues melodies, thus enabling its legacy to travel overseas and across the American continent. One of the other early main influences on jazz was New Orleans music. This music originated in the bars and brothels of New Orleans' red light district, where many black musicians found work. This gave jazz its basic foundation - reeds and brass tuned in the European tone scale, as well as drums. This form of music spread throughout the Deep South, giving rise to the first truly African American artistic culture. If jazz was invented down south, then it was formalized up north in New York City throughout the 1920s and 1930s during a period known as the Harlem Renaissance, when a new generation of enlightened African Americans began to articulate an American black identity rooted in the urban cultural experience. It was here that jazz really started to go wild. For a form of music in which there were no set rules, the New York musicians of the Harlem Renaissance set out to break new ground. This would give rise to all sorts of jazz - from Be Bop to free jazz and beyond. Jazz continues to manifest itself in the popular music of the 21st century. If one listens hard enough, one can readily discern the jazz influence in such experimental pop artists as Bjork, Radiohead, and Portishead. Elements of jazz have also found their way in to electronic dance music. Whereas jazz was once on the cutting-edge of avant-garde black culture, it has now integrated its way in to the mainstream. This fact alone demonstrates jazz relevancy as a musical art form, as well as its enduring appeal throughout the years.