A New Musical Identity
It is difficult to pinpoint a definitive
reason as to why jazz emerged in New Orleans instead of another city. It
is a combination of reasons rather, that New Orleans became a cosmopolitan
collection of cultures, peoples and music.
Until it was bought by the United States
with the Louisiana Purchase, New Orleans had been under both French and Spanish
control (Gioia 6). During these times,
slave trade was prominent across the Atlantic and in the Gulf of Mexico.
Many African natives were brought and sold in the New World, including
New Orleans. What became important for the New Orleans slaves was the
Latin-Catholic culture that guided the city, still with it's faults, but much
more tolerant of social hybrids than the English-Protestant culture prevalent
in much of the New World. Under Spanish code, slaves could be set free,
own property and even buy their freedom if need be (Gioia 6). This
tolerance for slaves was uncommon elsewhere and allowed for a substantial
African and Creole culture to develop in New Orleans. This noticeably
freer atmosphere shaped much of the attitudes and ideals of New Orleans
culture, and later, jazz. The Spanish
culture added what Jelly Roll Morton called “tinges of Spanish” to jazz (Gioia
6). These Latin tastes are important to
the sound of jazz, especially the woodwinds, mainly the saxophones, that were
introduced by Mexican classical musicians.
French and Spanish cultures had a long
influence on what New Orleans would become, yet after the Louisiana Purchase,
many more cultures arrived that would influence the city. Immigrants from
Germany, England, Italy, Scotland and Ireland arrived, bringing their cultures
with them (Gioia 7). The city's black population was composed of
Africans, native-born Americans, and even refugees from turmoil in the
Caribbean. The African population brought with it traditional African
music and dance, specifically the concept of call and response and performance
in both music and social interactions (Gioia 9). As slaves, these ideals
were altered and Americanized (at times), creating new musical styles such as
work song, blues and spirituals. These styles, especially the blues, were
popularized and shared. It is this sharing, the blending of cultures,
that made New Orleans into a melting pot of music.
Through sharing and blending, the jazz
created in New Orleans developed a distinct sound. The sound came from blending many musical
styles. “Ragtime music” says Gioia,
“rivals the blues in importance—and perhaps surpasses it in influence—as a
predecessor to early jazz” (Gioia 20).
Ragtime was both a compositional style and a way off playing music,
especially on piano. It was often contrasted,
for example, by Buddy Bolden’s “ragged and raucous music”, which appealed to
the lively, younger generation (Gioia 34).
Another music that had a large influence on New Orleans was the
march. It was that march that caused
many musicians to favor brass and woodwind instruments in New Orleans. Jazz became a mobile music that could
accompany parades or funeral processions.
Even within New Orleans, there were many different musical styles at
work. It is this competition that
created the distinct sound of New Orleans jazz.
It is not out of one culture or event that
jazz emerged, but rather out of many cultures.
It is this combination of cultures, the idea that combining several
existing things can create something new that is why jazz came to be in New
Orleans.
*I commented on BLST14Delia's post.
*I commented on BLST14Delia's post.
