It is the seventh year that Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM) has been celebrated in April. JAM is a chance for jazz musicians and lovers of jazz music to celebrate their appreciation of jazz together. It is also a chance for the spotlight to be shined on jazz history and the importance of jazz in American culture.Jazz first originated in the African-American communities in the early 20th century in the southern part of the United States. The music was influenced by from African and also some European roots. With its use of call and response, blue notes, polyrhythms, improvisation, and syncopation, jazz proved its originality. The word ‘jazz’ originated somewhere on the west coast to describe music played in Chicago around 1915.
Jazz itself has produced a number of subgenres. In the early 1910’s, Dixieland was popular. Big-band style swing started up in the 1930’s and 1940’s, and there was an influence of Latin music on jazz such as Afro-Cuban jazz and Brazilian jazz. Also, later in the 1970’s, acid jazz and jazz-rock came about.
One of the most popular elements of jazz is improvisation. Many jazz performers will not play the same composition the same way twice. Depending on the interaction with the audience, other musicians, or the mood of the performer, the musician may alter melodies or other aspects of the music. This is a unique aspect to this type of music which sets apart from many other genres.
Some of the most famous jazz musicians include Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and George Benson. The most well-known of all jazz musicians, however, is Louis Armstrong. Louis Armstrong was born and raised in what is known as the birthplace of jazz-New Orleans. The first instrument he started to play when he was a child was a cornet, which is a type of trumpet. During the late 1920’s, Armstrong became the most famous jazz musician to grace the world and is still considered one of the greatest jazz musicians in the world.
Many different instruments can be used in jazz bands. These instruments include the guitar, the piano, a drum-set, the double-bass, the trumpet, the saxophone, the trombone, and the clarinet. A typical jazz composition may last up to 10 minutes, and usually the theme of the composition only lasts for around two minutes because the other part of the composition is focused on the improvisation. Also, jazz music hardly ever carries a vocal melody; it is usually carried by an instrumental melody.
Jazz Appreciation Month started at the Smithsonian in 2002. During the month of April since it is JAM, the Smithsonian has a lot of different jazz events going on. Many curators at the Smithsonian give lectures on different jazz musicians such as Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong. There is also a Family Day that is offered that includes a jazz concert. The Smithsonian also offers concerts by their orchestra and the orchestra’s compositions include different tributes to different jazz artists.
Jazz is still a very popular type of music today; and we do not realize how much of an influence jazz has on even some of the music that we listen to today in hip-hop, R&B, and even some pop music. Jazz Appreciation Month gives us the chance to recognize this and see just how much it has influenced our music.
Marcelle Bacon is a first-year student majoring in French. She can be reached at MB650800@wcupa.edu.