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Introduction
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.
History
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.
Church music among the African American community was also a strong contributor to the development of jazz. The black slaves used to play harmonic hymns in church and this style of music became a blend associated with the community. During the late 19th century, many black people began to learn how to play European musical instrument. They learnt to play the violin among other instruments. In effect, they used their new skills to parody European music during their festivals (Gerard, 2008).
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
Influence on society
During the early development stages of jazz music, black Americans found a lot of solace in their music. They used music to air their voices and to express themselves due to the discriminatory circumstances that surrounded their community.
Jazz music helped to create racial integration between African and white musician, a phenomenon that was difficult to see in the past. There was still widespread racial discrimination in the United States. However, jazz musicians were seen as equals. Jazz started out with blacks and received full acceptance among the whites. It was seen as a positive force for creating cohesion within the society. Musicians could name their albums and music using international connotations. For instance, one of the early and most celebrated jazz musicians named one of his albums India (Peretti, 2002).
There are also programs that train children to appreciate the history of the music and to learn the music. Jazz festivals held in the US and different parts of the world has given the music global recognition. Only recently, Kenya held an internal jazz festival where several international jazz artists shared the stage to entertain large crowds. Such events help the music to survive.
The recording music industry has played a huge role in promoting Jazz. They provided an opportunity for making it more marketable. However, the social discrimination against blacks affected the music. Many black musicians were forced to record music that appealed to whites for their music to sell. The discrimination also left many black musicians not to be credited for the creation of the music. Furthermore, there was also widespread discrimination within the industry. Recording, distribution, and marketing was mainly controlled by white people who financially exploited talented black musicians.
Jazz has become popular as a modern music style. Several television shows, movies, and music videos have shown performances of jazz. There are jazz radio shows in many popular radio stations. In addition, many young and vibrant people enjoy listening to jazz. Jazz concerts are usually filled to capacity and it is not surprising to see so many people turn up for jazz concerts. Jazz has also had a significant influence on the development of other musical genre such as afro fusion. A lot of performances of the African musical cues have elements of jazz.
Conclusion
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.
References
Baskerville, J. D. (2009). The impact of black nationalist ideology on American jazz music of the 1960s and 1970s. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press. Web.
Gerard, C. (2008). Jazz in black and white: Race, culture, and identity in the jazz community. Westport, CT: Praeger. Web.
Kofsky, F. (2008). Black music, white music: Illuminating the history and political economy of jazz. New York: Pathfinder. Web.
Peretti, B. W. (2002). The creation of jazz: Music, race, and culture in urban America. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. Web.
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