Jazz music

                                     Jazz music 

Jazz is a music genre that is difficult to define. It is a type of music that heavily uses musical elements such as ragtime, blue notes, brass band tradition, European harmony, swung note, syncopation, polyrhythms, and improvisation (Baskerville, 2009). Jazz gets its appeal from the blend of different musical elements and the fact that different performers have different improvisation and personal interpretation. It spans over a period of 100 years and commonly associated with the African American community as the originators. This paper discusses the social influence of jazz music.

Jazz began somewhere in the late 19th century. It was used to interpret West African and European cultures. But over the years, its style and composition have evolved with different performers coming up with their own improvisation and interpretation. Majority of the African slaves brought to America during the slave trade period came from West Africa. The slaves were largely from the region around the Congo River basin (Kofsky, 2008). They are known to have a strong musical tradition characterized with a single line melody. Their traditional folk songs were a reflection of their speech patterns with a counter metric structure of rhythms. The slaves used to organize dance and musical festivals every Sunday in New Orleans.

When slavery was abolished, new opportunities emerged for African Americans to be educated. Despite the strict segregation rules that prevented African Americans from getting employment, there were opportunities in the entertainment industry which obviously favored black musicians. Opportunities for performance were created in entertainment spots such as clubs and bars. The jazz age officially began from 1920s when alcohol and sales of illicit brews were banned in the US.

However, establishments that sold alcohol illegally sprung up around this time. These establishments were known to host jazz musicians and as a result, jazz was considered an immoral type of music associated with all vices in the society. The music began to receive bad reputation even in the media as media houses began to pick at it.

Jazz, which started out as an African folk music, has had a fair share of both negative and positive influence to the society. It has been a force of racial integration, bringing together African Americans and whites not only in the US but also globally.