Jazz & Cultural Transformation of America in 1920s - Free Sample

Question: Describe about the Jazz and The Cultural Transformation of America in The 1920s? Answer: Introduction: Different aspects of human creativity have changed the face of human history. Artworks of a myriad kind have influenced the thought processes of individuals and often they have played important roles in expressing views, opinions, and ideologies, and in influencing trends and movements which have restructured the social, political, and economic spheres of societies across the globe. In the context of the emergence of a unique African American identity within the realm of the American society, the contribution of several artistic productions deserves special mention, and among such artistic production, the jazz musics importance must be considered to be paramount. Over the period of time, since its inception, jazz music has evolved, but this evolution should not be considered as a phenomenon that only benefitted the African Americans. Jazz music gradually got transformed into a genre which encompassed multitude of cultures, and going beyond the confinements of regions and ethnicity, j azz music ultimately grew up into a cultural melting pot. Part I: The inception of jazz should be considered as an outcome of the cultural exchange and assimilation which saw the amalgamation of African legacy with White American cultural aspects. The interaction between black musicians and performers with their white counterpart, in the context of the American society, gave rise to the popularity of a unique form of music called jazz. It should be noted, in this regard, that, Jazz music was, ultimately, the product of New Orleans melting pot (Scaruffi, 2005). The cultural atmosphere of New Orleans made it possible for people to embrace creativity and anything that was novel, and this made it easier for jazz music to gain popularity gradually. New Orleans was conducive for the jazz bands because of the places cosmopolitan nature. It must be noted that, being the cosmopolitan amusement park within the United States, New Orleans had been a place (and still now is the place) in which music was always in demand, in every of its form (Scaruffi, 2005). I n other cities the problem of ethnicity was menacing, but in New Orleans ethnicity was an opportunity to improve the party, because each ethnic group brought its different style of partying (e.g., dances) to the party (Scaruffi, 2005). This paved the way for the rise of jazz music in New Orleans and gradually the popularity of the music surmounted almost every other form, and eventually jazz became the national music of the United States (Epperson, 2013). Popularity of the jazz music should be attributed to the social, political, and cultural events that stirred the United States in the early twentieth century. Jazz music in the early twentieth century was confined within regions and it was racially defined dance music that features solo and collective improvisation (Carney, 2003). But these confinements were surpassed with the advent of the event of Great Migration. In the context of the social and cultural development in the early twentieth century, in the United States, it can be said that, by the 1920s Jazz did become a popular form of music not dominated by only the blacks, and jazz in the 1920s helped define a generation torn between Victorian society of nineteenth century America and the culture of modernity that was quickly defining the early twentieth century (Carney, 2003). Part II: In the twenty first century, jazz music has become more cosmopolitan and liberal in nature. This may be argued by citing the jazz composition A Thousand Evenings by Dave Douglas. Douglas is considered as one of the pioneers in the sphere of the anything goes jazz school into which artists usually indulge in the amalgamation of all kinds of music into one single pot of jazz (Jazz in America, n.d.). That is one primary reason why the composition of Dave Douglas has been chosen for further analysis meant for fitting the composition to the primary aspects of jazz music. Part III Douglas work A Thousand Evenings, a jazz music album (representing the admixture of classical and modern elements of jazz), should be cited as a work which reveals the elements of jazz music in a typical manner. Fusion of different genres/cultures of music is a feature of jazz music and this very feature is thoroughly noticeable in Douglas composition, and it is this fusion which has befitted Douglas composition, A Thousand Evenings, to the genre of jazz. Most of Douglas jazz compositions represent a fusion of all styles of jazz, classical music, world music, popular music, and they also represent the admixture of blues, rock, rhythm and blues, Latin, funk, hip-hop, rap, and a myriad of other genres (Jazz in America, n.d.). Jazz music has always been the embodiment of cultural assimilation and this is true in case of A Thousand Evenings. This work of Douglas should be considered as a true form of jazz music because it composed of works which are careful and conscious amalgamations of different musical genres (and cultures) including tango, Eastern European folk, and klemzmer and all these forms have been incorporated within the framework of the downtown jazz scene of New York (Samuelson, 2016). Jazz emerged as a musical genre which entailed the charm and legacies of both the black and white cultures. This music form gradually emerged as a fusion of different cultural tastes, and this amalgamation became jazzs greatest quality. Douglas work has represented this very quality of jazz and that is the reason why his composition and the term jazz should be considered similar. Conclusion Over the period of time, since its inception, jazz music has evolved, but this evolution should not be considered as a phenomenon that only benefitted the African Americans. Jazz music gradually got transformed into a genre which encompassed multitude of cultures, and going beyond the confinements of regions and ethnicity, jazz music ultimately grew up into a cultural melting pot. In the twenty first century too, jazz has been able to keep intact its cosmopolitan and liberal outlook. This can be argued by citing the work of Dave Douglas who has proved that still jazz is synonymous to cultural melting pot. It is a fact that, Jazz emerged as a musical genre which entailed the charm and legacies of both the black and white cultures. This music form gradually emerged as a fusion of different cultural tastes, and this amalgamation became jazzs greatest quality. Douglas work has represented this very quality of jazz and that is the reason why his composition and the term jazz should be con sidered similar. References Carney, C.P. (2003). Jazz And The Cultural Transformation Of America In The 1920s. Retrieved January 19, 2016, from https://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-1110103-161818/unrestricted/Carney_dis.pdf Epperson, B.D. (2013). More Important Than the Music: A HISTORY OF JAZZ DISCOGRAPHY. Retrieved January 19, 2016, from https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/M/bo16468881.html Jazz in America (n.d.). Jazz Today, Jazz Tomorrow. Retrieved January 19, 2016, from https://www.jazzinamerica.org/lessonplan/5/8/236 Samuelson, S. (2016). Dave Douglas: A Thousand Evenings. Retrieved January 19, 2016, from https://www.allmusic.com/album/a-thousand-evenings-mw0000101479 Scaruffi, P. (2005). A history of Jazz Music. Retrieved January 19, 2016, from https://www.scaruffi.com/history/jazz1.html