When it comes to music, most people don’t say they like it. People say they like heavy metal, pop, rhythm and blues, or anyother type of music, since they have their own preference to whattype of music they like, not just enjoying the broad area ofmusic. One of those types of music which many enjoy is jazz.
Actually right now jazz is really big and popular in Europe, andis rising in its popularity in the USA through its many forms. Jazz does have many forms, so many that some people wouldn’tconsider just saying they like jazz, they would say they enjoyedbebop, ragtime, blues, or other types of jazz. Jazz has survivedlonger than many types of music, and it has always influenced theways people involved in jazz compose or perform. It has alsobrought out many famous people.
Although jazz is not the most influencing music currently inthe nation, its history proves that it is a great form of musicwith many origins, a multigenerational life span, numerousstyles, many legendary musicians, and its own creative,independent interpretation. Jazz is over 100 years old, probably making it one of thelongest, lasting forms of music so far. Jazz was not created byEuropeans, it was created by Afro-Americans who descended fromancestors in Africa. These Afro-Americans learned how to playthese European instruments well, including percussion or the drumset, trumpet, cornet, saxophone, trombone, tuba, and many otherinstruments. They wanted to show what they were like to otherraces, so they attempted to express themselves and their feelingsthrough music and the instruments which were so foreign to them.
A lot of the music which they played came from black folk music. Jazz did have a part of it come from Europe. The instruments ofcourse, and the basic beginning forms of music helped jazz to becreated. Another part of jazz which is not of African origin isimprovisation, which is similar to interpretation but has nomelodic restrictions. Improvisation began with the Greeks andtheir music over 2,000 years ago, before the many emotional andcreative types of music were even composed.
At one time, baroqueand classical music used a lot of improvisation in their music. It was very important, and composers such as Bach, Mozart,Beethoven, and Liszt used it in their unique composing. Thesecomposers were also good at improvising themselves, and wereamong the best in the world in their time. Many types of musicare created from other types of music, and jazz is among themany. Many people influenced jazz along its development, and itwas usually a performer or composer. This includes Buddy Bolden,Benny Goodman, Louis Armstrong, Art Tatum, Billie Holiday, DukeEllington, Count Basie, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, MilesDavis, and John Coltrane.
There are even more jazz greats whohave contributed to jazz. The form of music we know as jazz has existed ever since thelate 19th century, and is still alive. It consisted of manydifferent eras, each one with one or two different styles ofjazz. Each era also had many good performers and composers whichmade a certain era stand out.
Through the late 19th century toabout the early 1920s the form of jazz we know as New OrleansJazz, which included Dixieland jazz and ragtime. The 20s and 30sdeveloped the Swing Era, which made many performers famousthrough the first recordings. The 40s and the postwar decadesled to bebop, also called bop for short. Bebop’s performers alsochanged the way jazz was looked at. The 50s through the 70screated a few types of jazz which were very loose and had nolimits, but could be critized.
The 80s and to the presentdeveloped a type of jazz which was more calm and smooth thanother types of jazz. The present has brought back all the formsof jazz, and now is experimenting with the many differentinstruments from the orchestra, including the french horn,bassoon, or violin. There are so many styles in jazz that jazz could not be definedclearly without ignoring one of its forms. It included vocals,ragtime, blues, New Orleans jazz, Chicago and New York City jazz,Big Band, bebop, modal or free jazz, fusion, and modern jazz.
Vocals were definitely a style of jazz which performers couldeasily express moods or feelings, since the instrument was thehuman voice. The singing of the performers had great freedom andcolor, and could be expressed by many syllables. Grunts,vibrato, and the impersonation of instruments could all
