Jazz music is so much like a hydra with many heads. All of them connected to one body yet all independently distinct in character and form.
This genre of music that has swept right across the world, started around the last decade of the 19th century in New Orleans in the United States.
For various social, economic and geographic reasons, New Orleans was the most receptive region to changes, new innovations and it was the most relaxed about artistic additions and experiments.
“Concert music” in Europe and the Americas had been, for about 300 years, been notated by the composer and then musicians then tried to play exactly what was on the score.
Jazz, on the other hand, went more with a loose thematic idea, and free improvisations and the creative skill of the musician being the yardstick of which the music was judged.
So a jazz piece might begin with a seed of an idea or a snatch taken from a popular melody, forming a skeleton structure – but by the time the musicians finish with it, it might be a completely new and different composition, perhaps never to be repeated.
These jazz musicians did not have to have any formal music training – in fact, most of them couldn’t read music – but played for the sheer joie de vivre and their audiences enjoyed the performances for the spontaneity and bold energy that went with it.
The African-Americans and Creole musicians in New Orleans were the first to play “jazz”. There are still many theories as to where this word was coined from, none of the substantiated as yet.
Early jazz was a mixture of ragtime, marching band music and the blues.
Influence came from both the Africans as well as established European music.
Melodies came from the blacks who had been brought to America – they had the songs that they sung while working in the fields and plantations, sorrowful chants for when they sang about the hardships of their lives and their homeland, spirituals from the religion they had adopted. A lot of these melodies have the call-and-response format that is characteristic of African music.
The structure of the songs and the harmonies, however, came from European music.
It was also mostly the stylized dance forms like the European polkas, waltzes, etc that were used as the basis of the structure of the music. Harmonies were the established “western” chords that had been around since the time of J.S. Bach.
African rhythms had a driving beat which was quite independent from the melodic line. These also tended to put many different patterns one on top of another, and it also kept shifting the accents which gave it the polyrhythmic feel of many layers all at one time.
And of course, African rhythms were not as staid or respectably formal as European ones, thus creating a feel of wild abandon.
Buddy Bolden, the cornet player, is generally recognized as the first person who got jazz started.
He, plus other musicians of his time, probably found that they could not sustain a living playing the music they did.
It took another cycle of musicians to build on the ideas of these early jazz pioneers, take it one more step in terms of sophistication, faster tempos and exciting part playing, and to achieve greater social as well as commercial appreciation.
Half of white America was disapproving of this new “uncouth” and “scandalous” music. A big part of the reason was because it was so associated with the black community and therefore seen as a lower social class entertainment.
So it is ironical that the first bands to get official and commercial recognition for jazz were white bands playing the so-called black music!
It served to open the doors for black musicians to then jump on the band wagon, if you will excuse the pun.
It was in this way that this new amalgamation of African-American style became a huge musical tsunami that dominated the world.
The Blues was a fundamental element where jazz sprouted from. In vocal blues, there was a wide range of emotional expression – usually despair about social issues. And hardship was a very familiar environment in those early years – this boosted even more the appeal of these emotional songs and music.
The earliest form of popular jazz also came from a piano style called “Ragtime”. It probably derived from the description “ragged music” where a lot of syncopations (off-beat rhythms) were used and the accents were not precisely on the beat as well. It was stirred up also by the popularity of the “cake-walk” dance that originated from the Caribbean, and minstrel shows. Ragtime became almost an instant worldwide craze, and Scott Joplin compositions are still widely played even today. Occasionally in the music were unusual tones that were called “blue” notes – these were the notes that did not fit in with the traditional European scales or modes.
New Orleans also had a tradition of big band music that was used at parades or picnics or funerals. The end of the Spanish-American war saw a flood of military brass instruments tossed out by the army and all this was suddenly available cheaply to a largely non-musically trained public.
Because of this unfettered musical experimentation by people who didn’t know how to play these instruments “properly”, new and unconventional sounds evolved and were lapped up by an avid audience. Novel instrumental techniques and treatment of popular tunes also came about since there was no “proper” training for these newly sprung musicians.
This kind of Dixieland Jazz was synonymous with the term New Orleans Jazz. It was the first time that some decisive steps were taken to regularize the structure of the band and instrumentations. These medium sized ensembles could also modify their instrumental content to become a marching band. Music ranged from funeral elegies to party time Mardi Gras style dances. Well, funeral wakes in New Orleans WERE parties !
The Creole population in New Orleans also played a big part in making this place a focal point for jazz. They were the free Blacks who spoke French or Spanish and originated from the West Indies. They were affluent and were considered the upper crust society. Their musicians were usually conservatory trained. They considered themselves much more elite than the poor newly-freed black slaves who lived on the other side of town.
But it 1894, a new law forced the Creoles to move to the same slums of the African blacks.
This forced clash of cultures – refined European schools of trained musicians + the roots of Africa in the hands of un-trained but exuberant people – was a definite factor in the forceful birth and growth of jazz. And the New Orleans style became a huge influence on music and musicians everywhere.
In 1917, the notorious Storyville area in New Orleans was closed down. The bulk of jazz musicians worked here. This caused them to move to other cities to try make a living. And this is how jazz started migrating to places like Chicago, Kansas City, New York and California.
Kansas City saw the rise of Swing around the 1920s which became yet another hit nationwide. This was the essence of the Roaring 20s. To be young and hip and to try everything new was to be exciting. Jazz became accepted in polite society. Swing bands were much bigger than the usual 7 piece New Orleans type group. Duke Ellington and Count Basie set up bands that are legendary up till the present day.
A lot of swing music were like concertos with the band supporting one or more soloists doing complex thematic solos, though it was still a derivation from the New Orleans style. It was sheer dance music so it was energetic, invigorating and very appealing.
When the Depression hit between 1920 – 1930, a parallel Kansas City Jazz style arose. This, to fit the times, was soulful and bluesy with the saxophone being the most popular instrument since it could produce the appropriate melancholic sounds.
Often, musicians moved around and played with different bands. This was added impetus for new developments each time a different set of people got together. It also encouraged bands to not get fixed into a set pattern and to keep evolving. Change was the keyword in jazz development.
And at this point onwards, the number of stylistic variants in jazz developed with increasing speed.
New York’s Harlem district became the next centre of attraction. The colourful neighbourhood became a magnet for jazz clubs. The Savoy and the Cotton Club also opened and were the in-places to be seen at.
At the same time Chicago was also a strong centre for jazz musicians to play at and became known as the jazz capital. Saxophones were the frontline instruments. They vigorously extemporized over a dance rhythm and the players were highly skilled technically. Arrangements of the music became more and more innovative making Chicago Jazz the main backbone of extemporizing styles.
Gypsy jazz was the next rage with French guitarist Django Reinhart at its helm. This mixed American Swing with French musettes of dance halls with East European folk music. It was sometimes called Jazz Manouche and was characterized by languid seductive melodies alternating with driving dance rhythms. Guitars and violins were the main instruments and again, it had a world-wide appeal.
Boogie-woogie started as a piano style and was very much in demand in the late 30s to 40s. It tried to imitate a full orchestral back-up sound – hence the left hand working up a sweat trying to sound like a bass line ostinato, the middle fill, and the melody ! It remains a fantastic show stealer even up till today because of the incredible speeds that it went into, plus the catchy rhythms. It later led to the emergence of Jump Blues.
In the 1940’s, bebop was developed with people like Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. Where previous jazz improvisations worked on the melodic line, bebop went for the chords or harmonic improvisations. Very often the original melody was lost after the first segment. This was not dance orientated and so did not gain as much commercial distance as Swing had done. War time had a big impact on society so the music here was also nervous and agitated. Dissonance was high. Melodies were convoluted and chromatic. Extensions of chords were used freely. And the tempo of the music speeded up as well.
After the war, especially around in New York, a new strain called Cool Jazz was taking root. It was more relaxed and more accessible to listen to. The tones were soothing while the melody was less convoluted than what bebop had been, therefore not alienating the audience as much. Dave Brubeck was one of the big names in this style of jazz.
In Los Angeles, there were also many jazz innovations being experimented on and these creative movements were loosely termed as West Coast Jazz and it thought to be the epitome of sophistication. Free expression was encouraged. More and more talented improvisers with high technical ability went on the stage.
In the 5th decade, these big bands broke into smaller ensembles. Especially along the east coast of America, a more explosive and punchier delivery of the music created a tight intense form. This was termed neo-bop or the new Hard Bebop style. It borrowed also from gospel and from Rhythm & Blues and rhythm became an obsession.
At the same time, jazz started marrying new partners like Classical music and Latin American grooves and Afro-America rhythms. This became very popular and sought after.
New heads of the ever-growing hydra also produced modern Avant-garde Jazz which coincided with the European concert music experimenting with atonal writings of, for example Schoenberg in Germany or percussive harmonies of Prokofief and Stravinsky. All kinds of ensemble combinations were now used – in fact, the more unusual, the better. It was radical and much harder to absorb but it became a big influence in mainstream jazz in the years to come.
Non-jazz instruments like the flute and the oboe were introduced to try and create novel timbres.
A move to medieval modes to escape the grip of major and minor tonalities was also attempted. This Modal Jazz freed themselves from the constraints of traditional harmony but it meant that the ensembles were forced to be smaller.
In the 1960s, the voice became an important focus in what was called Vocalese by a jazz critic. This was the treatment of the voice as an instrument and using it to do virtuostic things. This could be a solo singer or an ensemble, and it could be backed by a small band or an orchestra. It retained the style of the bebop.
The Bossa Nova melded West Coast cool jazz with European classical chords and samba rhythms – hence also called Brazilian Jazz. Acoustic guitars became the main thing to have – subtle, gentle and hypnotic. It became almost a cult for easy listening music.
Soul Jazz became very popular in the late 60s. The Hammond organ became the familiar tone in most of the music. Bass lines were strong and served as the anchor to the improvisations going on above it. Repetitive dance rhythms were more important than complex harmonies. Soloists became frontline starts again. It leant more towards the trend of Rhythm & Blues.
This led to Groove Jazz which used blues for its tonal colour, rhythm as its focus, and was danceable – whether it was slow moves or more upbeat and happy. This was also known as Funk.
By now, the rock-and-roll craze had swept into the limelight. Dance enthusiasts were more interested in this music.
Jazz musicians became wrapped up in their own pedantics about technical development, and for a while, jazz forgot it was supposed to be entertainment music. It’s audience numbers dropped and it became almost like a private club.
Then compromise came in the form of Fusion Jazz – this was rock elements introduced into a jazz composition. Boundaries were becoming more and more blurred.
By the 1990’s, there were new off-springs of jazz that incorporated funk and Latin and hip-hop. This was often called Acid Jazz. Improvisations were less used, causing critics to shake their heads and negate that this was still a jazz genre. But the British loved it and it cannot be ignored even though it covered such a wide range of styles.
Afro-Cuban Jazz was also the hottest thing around. This was more popularly known as Latin Jazz and its infectious rhythms, showy improvisations, dance associated movements and strong array of Latin percussion pushed it into numerous pop charts.
The earlier movement of Fusion Jazz developed into a more commercial strain of mellow, less energetic and slick blends. This was termed Smooth Jazz which had not much or no improvisations at all but was packaged cleverly and became a great economical success.
America was now not the dominant source of jazz anymore. Europe and particularly the Scandinavian countries tried to return to the dance roots of jazz. It combined disco with samplers and electronic displays of sound. This European Jazz has proven very popular and is considered to be the face of contemporary jazz.
World music in the later part of the 20th century triggered a huge surge of interest. World Fusion became the loose term for anything that merged jazz with ethnic based roots or anything that was other than western based music.
Now in the 21st century, there is such a wide span of styles in jazz music – from the traditional paths to new experiments with electronica and mixing of styles.
Like the fashion scene, anything goes now.
New trends are still being explored. Old traditions are revived.
What then, can be categorized as “jazz” in the 21st century?
Perhaps the best answer comes from one of the biggest names in jazz history …
"If you gotta ask, you’ll never know"
---Louis Armstrong.
