1 10/24/11 What Makes Jazz Uniquely American Thelonious Monk was once quoted as saying Everybody in all countries

tries to play jazz. While this is hyperbole, it is clear that Monks message rings true. Jazz is a special type of music in that it has not faded in popularity much, unlike other genres of music that have grown old and outdated with their generation. Jazz music is a global phenomenon, and in many ways is an icon: it is easily recognized and can be a way of life for those who follow it. Yet jazz music has also been called Americas Classical Music. How can such a global image be labeled something so uniquely tied to a specific country? This question can be answered by looking at the origins of jazz. Jazz is a multicultural institute, it originated in America despite heavy influence from other areas of the world, and jazz evolved on a global scale based on Americas own economic and social development. America is a country of many cultures, often called the melting pot of the world. Looking at how vast Americas cultural, ethnic, and racial diversity is, it is not be hard to see that something called uniquely American should contain multiple examples and influences from different identities. The reading Early Jazz: Its Roots and Musical Development by Gunther Schuller spoke about the major influences of jazz originating from Africa and Europe. It explained that though you shouldnt stereotype influences of a massive musical entity in such day and night terms, it is clear that most rhythms and 2 melodies stemmed from Africa, either through traditional chants and rituals or slave field work shouts and callings, and most harmonies came from Europes already vast classical music library. The entanglement of these two influences created the backbone and the earliest examples of what we

would call jazz. The two cultures, one predominantly white and the other predominantly black, inevitably put their own culture and sentiments into jazz music. This difference can be seen in comparing an early white jazz band with an early black jazz band, such as The Original Dixieland Jazz Band and Duke Ellington and His Orchestra. By listening to two tracks by both of these artists you can tell that the Dixieland Band has a much stiffer feel to their music, while Duke Ellington and His Orchestras music flows with an impromptu feel, even if it is written out. Nevertheless, both groups had significant influence on jazz music. The Original Dixieland Jazz Band recorded the first jazz song for commercial use, which was a cornerstone in jazz music becoming a mainstream sensation. Duke Ellingtons compositions became some of the most important in jazz history, and his son continued the Duke Ellington Orchestra after his death, as did his grandson after his sons death, and so on to this day. Both of these groups had significant impact on jazz, just as many other groups from different cultural identities did before and after them. The largest commonality between the two groups, though: They are both American. The thing that most makes jazz uniquely American, and might be the most overlooked, is that it originated in America. America was built by our founding fathers on the principles of equality, freedom, expression of thought and person, and the right to interpret. These are all found in surplus in jazz music. In no other genre of music do you see more covers, interpretations, and remakes of songs than in jazz. This isnt because the original artist messed up, but because of the wide range of variations you can implement on any such jazz piece. A great example of this is Miles Daviss So What, from the 3 album Kind of Blue. The majority of the song is high amounts of improv by members of the band on trumpet, saxophone, and piano, all backed up by a consistent rhythm section made of bass and drum set. This type of jazz reflects the core American values that our country was created on. The openness

of the song is a great template for future artists to put their own spin on things. Since jazz wasnt written with a set of guidelines, people had the freedom to make their own. This entitled artists to put jazz music into tracks not originally made as jazz, such as in The Bad Pluss cover of Nirvanas Smells like Teen Spirit. Their ability to take rock instruments and transcribe their parts for jazz instruments exemplifies the freedom that jazz encourages. The point that jazz incorporates American values is further proven when you look at the World War II era, when Hitler banned jazz music in Nazi Germany. Despite jazz music being widely popular in Europe and other areas before Hitlers rise to power, he saw jazz as a representation of resistance, a source of power for his enemies, and he was intimidated by it. During this time America and the free parts of Europe played jazz over the radio to promote patriotism and freedom. Jazz was seen as a representation of the freedom America stood for, and is still seen as such today. Economists argue that anything that develops in the world does so because of politics and the economy. The same holds true for jazz music, as it evolved on a global scale with great influence by Americas economic and social progress. An example of this is the early life of great trumpeter and vocalist Louis Armstrong. Satchmo was born into an extremely poor family in New Orleans, Louisiana. He spent a lot of his childhood in the bad parts of town, and despite getting in trouble every now and then found a way to fall in love with music. In his teens he ended up working on a steamboat on the Mississippi River. This led him to join many others in the exodus to Chicago, as the city began to boom

4 with musical talent. During these earliest years of his musical career was when his talent really began to take shape. When we take a step back and look at the big picture as a whole, we can see that Louiss path to musical greatness would never have happened without one of the single-most important

economic developments of history: the steamboat. The steamboat allowed for much simpler transportation of goods and people to the expanding north and western parts of the U.S. Before even the invention of the steamboat came the mass urbanization records of the industrial revolution. During the industrial revolution new inventions and developments made supporting a family and earning money much easier in the city factories than in rural farms. Such is the way of life, and the jazz community took notice. Jazz moved into the spotlight thanks to the city clubs and bars that jazz musicians frequented. The Roaring Twenties, as they were called, were years of extreme jazz experimentation, innovation, and success. Jazz moved out of the localized entities it resided in previously and started taking over the country and world in full force. No doubt that without the help of urbanization and economic developments jazz would have become just as popular as it was then, but it would have taken much longer to achieve. Economic and social progress not only enhanced the spread of jazz music, but was necessary in making it as popular as it has been for decades. Jazz is a global institution filled with millions of peoples on insights, contributions, and ideas on how to make it better. The major African and European influences on early jazz helped make it a multicultural style of music, yet it still has its origins firmly rooted in American tradition and values. Those principles and values the country was created on helped shape the form and structure of jazz, and the economic and social developments of America during jazzs heyday boosted it to global appreciation. Yet when you take all of these things and put them together and you create something so abstract and complex as jazz, it can only be described as uniquely American.