The History of Jazz Music – A Hundred Year Journey
A History of Jazz Music by those who lived it, and those who loved it
Voices of Despair, Voices of Joy
Where did jazz come from?
The original Dixieland Jass band?
Definitely Not!
New Orleans at the end of the 19th century?
Probably a lot closer!
But the real roots of jazz?
AFRICA!
And that goes back a long way.
Jazz starts with the drum.
Rhythm, Syncopation, Swing, Jazz!
African and European music followed 2 distinct trajectories. The formality of European music created some of the world’s most intellectually inspiring and uplifting music. And, sometimes some of the most boring!
African music lacked formality – it was the music of feeling, of spirit, of joy, of pain, of celebration, of birth, of death, of dance. This is where we find the roots of jazz.
But it took the plague of slavery, the absolute nadir of human civilization to introduce, influence, merge, and coalesce these two cultures, and create the greatest music of the twentieth century – Jazz.
The History Of Jazz Is The History Of America.
It came from the cotton fields, it came from the churches, it came from the Blues, it came from Gospel, it came from fathers dying, it came from mothers crying…
It came from despair but it created joy!
