All that jazz
Daddy-O, it’s that quintessentially American sound. Dimly lit space, a thin fog of smoke. A light succession of piano keys leads into that groove only a horn can produce, then the joint is jumpin’.
The crooning of jazz queen Ella Fitzgerald. Swooning to the timeless trumpeting of Louis Armstrong — what a wonderful world he could create. Duke Ellington, Aretha, Miles Davis. All those cool scat cats.
It’s International Jazz Day, baby.
Dig the history. America’s Jazz Age was about more than music. It was a post-war cultural shift — an early bridge between black and white cultures evolving from the shared love of music.
Jazz in the 1920s brought needed joy after the darkness of World War I. Its freewheeling style was so different, and made people feel just as free and unfettered. With it came a distinctive, hip slang and “wild” dance styles such as the Charleston — symbols of the Roaring Twenties.
Jazz was mostly developed by African American musicians, especially in New Orleans. In the decades following emancipation, racial violence and tensions in the South sent musicians fleeing to cities such as Chicago, Kansas City, or New York.
Meanwhile, music had an exciting new medium: Radio. It wasn’t long before jazz spread across the country.
The music is so fly. Jazz has a distinct feel, and rhythmic improvisation plays a key part. A typical piece starts with an instrumental introduction, followed by the main melody. At that point, musicians weave in their own improvisations, often with solos — those hot licks.
Creative improv and jam sessions are what made jazz unique, and what sets apart the greats. That relaxing feel comes from its swing rhythm and the fact that notes can be played behind or ahead of the beat.
“Jazz is not just ‘Well, man, this is what I feel like playing.’ It’s a very structured thing that comes down from a tradition and requires a lot of thought and study.” — Wynton Marsalis
Era gone, but still blowin’. The jazz era ended abruptly with the Great Depression, but the music never died. It did face opposition as “the devil’s music” in the ’20s. Even in later decades, so-called musical purists didn’t consider it a serious art form like traditional and classical music.
Yet music students are drawn to its syncopated rhythms and relaxed feel. By the 1960s, high schools and universities had their own jazz ensembles. Even beyond the music, jazz has become part of America’s rich cultural history. No jive.
“If you have to ask what jazz is, you’ll never know.” — Louis Armstrong
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Sholeh Patrick is a columnist for the Hagadone News Network who misses the jazz and blues clubs of Houston’s back streets. If you’re down with that crazy beat, hand me some skin at Sholeh@cdapress.com.