Preview

How Did Jazz Music's Influence On American Pop Culture

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
884 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
How Did Jazz Music's Influence On American Pop Culture
The Jazz Age lasted from 1915-1935, and the music created during that time period has left a lasting impression on American pop culture. The music still has a large fan base, and can be found in numerous books and movies. Biographies and movies have been made about people like Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, who made huge contributions to jazz. However, many of jazz artists from that time period died without much money or fame. Jazz originated in New Orleans, and traveled on to Chicago and New York, changing and growing along the way. Ragtime was the first major black music style that became popular with the white community. It also helped to create jazz, and Scott Joplin was the undisputed “King of Ragtime” (“Scott Joplin Biography”). …show more content…
Musicians began playing jazz in speakeasies, which were illicit nightclubs that allowed people to drink alcohol, which was outlawed at the time. It was also a place for people to hear and dance to new music. Other places musicians were able to find work were recording studios and radio networks. And when these companies realized they had an audience, jazz increased in popularity and gained national influence. Censorship quickly followed this popularity. Prohibition supporters wanted to restrict jazz like alcohol, because they feared that it could have the same corruptive effects. They led anti jazz “crusades” and passed legislation barring jazz music in clubs. Their attempts at subduing the music were unsuccessful. Jazz was becoming mainstream. Louis Armstrong was one of the genre’s first big stars, and some of his most popular works include “Chimes Blues” (which created “swing”), “Star Dust”, “La Vie En Rose”, and “What a Wonderful World” (“Louis Armstrong Biography”). He is considered to be “one of the most influential artists in jazz history” (Louis Armstrong Biography”).
Another transformative figure of the genre is Duke Ellington. He was a classically trained pianist, and moved his band to New York City. The combination of his artistic talent and non-threatening persona led to his popularity. Some of his popular works include “Jubilee Stomp” and “The Mooche”. There were white national stars as well, which include Paul Whiteman, and George Gershwin. Gershwin’s music is still very popular today, especially “Rhapsody in

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    LaKeshia Kerley Professor Music Appreciation September 27,2014 Louis Armstrong: Life and Contribution to Jazz Music Jazz is considered to be one of the most influential music genres of the world. It is said to have developed out the unique experiences of the black man in America (Levert). Jazz was born in the city of Storyville, New Orleans . For many years during the post American Civil War period, Storyville was acknowledged as corrupt and as a sanctuary for every form of low life (Shadwick).…

    • 639 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout this course, I’ve been introduced to and learned about many events in history. One topic in particular that fascinates me is the era of the 1920s, also known as the Jazz Age. Following World War I, a movement began in America which caused dramatic political and social changes. One of the major changes included a new genre of music. With inventions such as the radio, Americans had easier access to music. Jazz was born, and with the help of new technology, became popular throughout the country.…

    • 535 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the late 1930’s and throughout 1940’s, Louis Armstrong was an American Jazz Trumpet player. Or may have been the most legendary, inspiring, exhilarating, Intoxicating, and electrifying jazz trumpet player. He was born August 4, 1901 - July 6, 1941(Louis Armstrong Wikipedia). After being on the road for a some while, he had finally went ahead and settled in Queens, New York, in 1943 in gratification of his fourth wife, whose name is Lucille. Jazz and soul music was a root to everything during that time period, especially blue. Although, African Americans knew about the discrimination that was going on, the whole dilemma didn’t phase them in any way. “Louis Armstrong transformed jazz in the 1920’s and gave it a…

    • 638 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A key similarity between jazz and hip-hop is that they were both started by young African-Americans, who had nowhere else to turn but music. Jazz entered the United States at the turn of the 20th century in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. It only emerged after the introduction of the Jim Crow laws though. Before this, third-class black musicians played ragtime and blues, while the then superior second-class self-proclaimed creoles of color (light-skinned blacks of European decent) played more formal marching band type music, as they were above their fully African-American counterparts. This all changed with the introduction of Jim Crow, which said that all African-Americans, no matter how black they actually were, were second-class citizens. After, both communities combined their sounds and fused together to create the first sounds of jazz. Consequently, as jazz became popular amongst the African-Americans, it became unpopular in the eyes of the superior white community. The first places where jazz was being played was…

    • 811 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In today’s society the African American community still dominates the music industry with song and dance. Recording artists such as Michael Jackson, Jay Z, Whitney Houston, Beyonce, Chuck Berry, Little Wayne, and Janet Jackson are few of the many African American artists that have influenced America with their traditional ethnic rituals of song and dance.…

    • 899 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Jazz Age was a cultural movement that began around 1918, post WWI. It was born in New Orleans but later spread around the world, it was a beautiful mixture of jazz and march banding styled music and was often played by African-Americans. It was the first time that people began to move to the cities rather than in rural areas. It was the first time that African American were given the opportunity to progress in a society that failed them since the ending our slavery. After the war, new trends began to surface, for example: dancing, music, fashion, theater and all the other arts in an attempt to help ease the post-war feeling of the nation.…

    • 359 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    African-American music has had such an impact on our society today. African-American music became popular in the 19th century after the civil war as musicians of color were hired to play in saloons and brothels. A couple of forms of popular music are spirituals, gospel, blues, jazz and ragtime. Spiritual and gospel music reflected the poverty and oppression of slaves. As Jazz entered the popular culture it provoked a great deal of criticism. An artist know as, Louis Armstrong, had a huge impact in the way white people became to appreciate African American music. Blues music came on to the scene, in which it reflected the emotions and struggles of the poorer segments of the black community. Blacks as well as whites criticized…

    • 339 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Duke Ellington Influence

    • 561 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Harlem Renaissance(Negro Movement) was during 1919-1929 in Harlem, New York. It was a time when African-Americans where able to express themselves through the arts. African-Americans fled from the south to the north because of unfair treatment. This “culture explosion” let African-Americans share their culture through music, literature, and art. A key figure during this time period is Duke Ellington. Duke Ellington was born April 29, 1899, in Washington, D.C. He was a famous jazz composer that played an important role in jazz history. He composed many songs on stage and performed at many night clubs. During the Harlem Renaissance African expressed themselves for the first time and Ellington helped in the music area. “Ellington created a blend of melodies, rhythms, and subtle sonic movements it was a complex yet accessible jazz.” As Ellington was conveying his own culture he was putting his own twist on the music.” Ellington became famous in the 1940s for the songs Concerto for Cootie “ , “ Cotton Tail” , and “Ko-Ko”. He also toured Europe twice in the 1930s.” Duke Ellington was part of the Harlem Renaissance because he was a jazz composer and he became famous for his wonderful music he created. He showed others his customs and culture through music. He wasn’t the only one their were many other jazz players during the Harlem Renaissance that wanted to express themselves.…

    • 561 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    America in the 1920s saw many instances of drastic change, impacting the lives of many Americans. The Roaring Twenties brought about many new inventions, wealth, and a new outlook on the common American lifestyle. With these new times came new influences and much change to the musical industry of jazz. This investigation will study the evolution of jazz music in the rapidly changing times of America in the 1920s and how the new American lifestyle and optimistic times influenced the music. Two sources that are used in this investigation are Jazz from its Origins to the Present by Lewis Porter, Michael Ullman, and Edward Hazell, and Chicago Jazz: A Cultural History by William Howland Kenney and published in 1993, which will be evaluated for their origins, purposes, values and limitations.…

    • 1921 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Roaring Twenties Facts

    • 551 Words
    • 3 Pages

    * Famous artists of jazz during this time were Louis Armstrong, Bessie Smith, and Edward Kennedy Ellington…

    • 551 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Jazz music of the Big Band Era was the pinnacle of more than thirty years of melodic advancement. Jazz was so creative and diverse that it could truly clear the world, changing the melodic styles of about each nation. Enormous band Jazz that makes the feet tap and the heart race with fervor that it is perceived with almost every kind of music. The melodic and social upset that achieved Jazz was an immediate consequence of African-Americans seeking after vocations in expressions of the human experience taking after the United States common war. As slaves African-Americans has learned couple of European social conventions. With more opportunity to seek after vocations in expressions of the human experience and conveying African imaginative customs to their work, African-Americans changed music and move, in the U.S., as well as everywhere throughout the world. For after the war, African American artists and performers…

    • 406 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Jazz Music Influence

    • 223 Words
    • 1 Page

    The birth of jazz music is often accredited to African Americans but both black and white Americans are responsible for its immerse rise in popularity. It is present in black vocals, music-spirituals, work songs, field hollers, and the blues. Jazz united people across the world and had powerful meanings about their lives. Jazz music was completed with a trumpet, clarinet, trombone and section of drums. The music was created with passion inspired by people’s lives. Ragtime was a musical style emerged from St. Louis in the late 1890s. The swing was the new style for Jazz. Benny Goodman was the “king of swing.” and he was the first white bandleader to feature black and white musicians playing together in public. There were other different styles…

    • 223 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Jazz Influence On Harlem

    • 523 Words
    • 3 Pages

    New York City was the cultural center of the U.S. and was the jazz center as well. Most of the city’s black jazz musicians lived in Harlem, which had been the creative focal point of…

    • 523 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the early 1920's, African Americans were a great part of a cultural movement known as the Harlem Renaissance. "The New Negro Movement", later known as "The Harlem Renaissance" was an unexpected outburst of creative activity among African-Americans occurred in all fields of art… it caught the country by surprise. The migration of African Americans from the South brought them to Harlem, a New York area. The Harlem Renaissance brought out a lot of musical talent. Singers, musicians, writers, shopkeepers, and painters all played an important role in this cultural inspiration.…

    • 326 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Jazz Music

    • 1462 Words
    • 6 Pages

    I am doing my end of the semester paper on Jazz music. Jazz was created in the twentieth century and was said that it was, “created to bring people together.” Jazz was also known in many cities around the time of the jazz age, but the city that was known as the birthplace of jazz was New Orleans. There are many important names that people still know today from the jazz ages. One important name during the jazz age was Louis Armstrong is known for many Jazz songs like “What a Wonderful World”, “When the Saints Go Marching In” and “Go down Moses.” Another name was Billie Holiday and she was known for “God Bless the Child” and “Billie’s Blues.” The other name was Duke Ellington, who have many recordings like “Take the A Train”, “Black and Tan Fantasy”,…

    • 1462 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics