New Orleans, 1900 Why New Orleans? ◦ Mix of cultures Creole French Spanish White Black Caribbean All the ingredients of jazz met and mixed in the streets of New Orleans of-jazz/origins-of-jazz/ of-jazz/origins-of-jazz/
No one knows for sure which musicians were the first to play jazz The most likely candidate was cornet player Buddy Bolden His music was never recorded
It was “free” Improvised- music that isn’t written down (improv) ◦ Never the same way twice Music centered in the black community in the south tch?v=0TvxkpiD-zw tch?v=0TvxkpiD-zw
Each melody instrument has a distinctive role in the song Drums = Keep Time Tuba/Bass = Bass line Trumpet/Cornet = Melody Clarinet = Embellishment Trombone = “Tailgating” (slide) Each musician puts personal touches on the melody King Oliver’s Creole Band A A
White group, blending all styles around them In 1917: recorded first “jazz” recording in NYC ◦ “Dixieland Jass Band One-Step” ◦ “Livery Stable Blues”
A white group playing “black” music… The band leader did not help matters by saying that white musicians in New Orleans invented jazz
Tune recorded by the Original Dixieland Jass Band Trumpet, clarinet, trombone, rhythm section Original recordings had no bass line – why? ◦ Low frequencies made the recording needle jump ◦ ch?v=89fZGnAdago ch?v=89fZGnAdago
Bought more than a million copies at 75 cents each- more than any single record in history
Thomas Edison joked that he played jazz records backwards because they “sounded better that way” Younger people loved it- it was fast, exciting, and ideal for dancing
However, many white Americans resisted Jazz Music Jazz was considered rebellious – like ragtime before it Criticized by political/religious leaders Associated with stupidity, crime, and interracial mingling There were “professional” reports that even tried to link jazz to suicide, insanity, and indigestion
Jazz arrived on the scene just as ragtime was beginning to become ‘acceptable’ to dance to (This will repeat itself) Considered a musical “novelty” – everyone wanted to try it just once to say they did
White people could “experience what it was like to be black” without going near a black person. (This will repeat itself) Audience for jazz expanded after WWI
Louis Armstrong Louis Armstrong