|
|
What is Jazz? “Jazz is America's classical music,” according to Dr. Billy Taylor, and while still rooted in the African-American experience, it is truly an international phenomenon. Jazz is a kind of music in which improvisation is typically an important part. In most jazz performances, players play solos which they make up on the spot, which requires a considerable amount of skill. There is tremendous variety in jazz, but most jazz is very rhythmic, has a forward momentum called "swing," and uses "bent" or "blue" notes. You can often hear "call--and--response" patterns in jazz, in which one instrument, voice, or part of the band answers another. Jazz can express many different emotions, from pain to pure joy. In jazz, you may even hear the sounds of freedom. In the past jazz music has been a powerful voice for people who were suffering unfair or even un human treatment, or because they lived under a cruel ruler or type of government The roots of jazz can be found in the sounds of West African drums and singing. Arising from their homelands by the slave industry, forbidden to play the drums or to speak their native languages the first African-Americans nonetheless kept and preserved a common idea from the establishment of African music.
|
