Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Blog #5


This quarter in History of Jazz, I learned many new things and also had a few assumptions change that I thought I already knew.  Some of these assumptions included me thinking that jazz came out of one place and from only one person and also that it was just one sound and style.  Throughout the quarter I learned that my assumptions were wrong but on the right track.  There also was one specific concept that stuck out to me which was improvisation.  Before taking this class, I believed that I knew exactly what the definition was but I later learned that there was a much deeper meaning to the word.
I assumed that jazz originated from one place, not sure which place, but just one.  Little did I know that jazz did not come out of only one city or state but it came from many including,  New Orleans, Chicago, and New York.  Also, I assumed that there was only one person who basically created this style of music.  I later learned that there were many founding people associated with this style, including Charlie Parker, Thelonius Monk, Miles Davis, Buddy Bolden, Louis Armstrong, and King Oliver.  In addition to my other assumptions, I never knew that there are many types of jazz and that it is not just one sound.  From this class and the readings I learned that there were subsets such as blues, swing, improvisation, and bebop. 
Upon taking this class, the definition I thought of in my mind of improvisation was as follows; any style, whether it is singing, instrument playing, or dancing, that was made up on the spot and as the music went along.  Improvisation, I eventually learned, is not only just a style of jazz music, but also something that can be expressed by the musician.  This style cannot be easily imitated or copied because of the fact it is made up on the spot making it original work.  Each of the musicians that used this style were able to claim their own songs and individuality which gave them their own identity.  Audiences knew who each of the individual musicians were because of their distinct sounds.  I really came to understand this concept in during one of the weeks of the course when Professor Stewart played audio recordings from multiple musicians who used this style.  It made me realize that this style was used to show the creative sides of each of the musicians who played this way.
Looking back on these past ten weeks, I have learned to appreciate jazz music a lot more.  This is because I now have evidence, reasons, and answers to my questions on this subject.  In addition to my greater appreciation of jazz, I also have a better understanding of the music itself and the culture in which jazz was created.

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