1

Early Jazz Epicenters and Jazz Music

Student Name

Institutional Affiliation

Course

Instructor Name

Date
 2

Early Jazz Epicenters and Jazz Music

Major Historical and Musical Points of Early Jazz (Jazz of the 1920s)

The seven videos depict the historical development of early jazz. As underscored by the

videos, the early jazz underwent three major historical changes – New Orleans jazz, Chicago

jazz, and New York jazz. The transition from one change to another in their chronicle order was

aided by renowned jazz figures and important historical events as accentuated by the movies.

Early Jazz 1

The video focuses on the historical association of jazz to New Orleans, which has

traditionally been considered its birthplace around 1900-1920. Important questions are posed

concerning this association. For instance, the origin of the word jazz, whether jazz is distinct

from ragtime, and the role played by urban centers such as Chicago and New Orleans in the

development of the music. The video underscores that it is hard to establish the precise origins of

the word jazz. However, the word initially appeared in 1913, in a San Francisco newspaper. Its

meaning was ‘pep’ or ‘energy.’ According to its etymology, it had diverse spellings – jaz, jas,

jass. Further, in ascertaining the association, the video highlights the characteristics of the New

Orleans jazz style, which is also referred to as Dixieland.’ Its standard instruments are clarinet,

banjo, piano, drums (bass or tuba), trombone, and typical cornet. The trombone, clarinet, and

cornet are used as the front-line instruments. The other instruments – bass, drums, banjo, and

piano are for providing accompaniment in the rhyme section. Another notable feature of this

music is collective improvisation – front-line members are required to simultaneously improvise

their parts. The video proceeds to assess the distinction between jazz and ragtime. It

demonstrates that from 1910-1920, the differences between ragtime and jazz became unclear.

Ideally, this is because some New Orleans jazz musicians constantly referred to their music as
 3

ragtime while within the urban areas, the word jazz was considered fashionable. In finalizing the

association, the video demonstrates the characteristics of the New Orleans music between 1900

and 1920. The front-line instruments for music of all occasions were trombone, clarinet, and

cornet. Its rhythm section instruments comprised of drums, piano, tuba, banjo. Therefore, it is

apparent that jazz traces its origin from the New Orleans music of between 1900 and 1920.

New Orleans

The New Orleans video primarily centers on the theories that link the origin of jazz music

to New Orleans. One of such theories is the uptown/downtown theory. The theory attributes the

origin of jazz to the New Orleans segregation of the Creoles of Color (people of mixed European

and African ancestry) in 1894 and their union with African Americans. The former group resided

downtown in the French Quarter, while the latter lived uptown. Most of Creoles of Color were

well educated and relied on written music. Their refined music style was referred to as ‘dicty’ or

‘sweet.’ On the other hand, the African Americans music style was improvised, rougher, and less

refined. The combination of the two styles of music led to a unique mix, which contributed to

jazz. Another theory is the generational theory. The theory postulates that “the refined music

style of the Creoles of Color was replaced by a newer, improvised, and tougher style. Notably,

this was through a generation change from the Creoles of Color who read music to one that

performed in the rougher hotter style, whose demand was high and led to more employment.

Some of the notable players of the hotter New Orleans style of music include buddy Bolden,

Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, and Joe (king) Oliver.

The Great Migration

The Great Migration video focuses on the migration from New Orleans to urban center

during the late 1910s. During this period, several of the New Orleans musicians left the city and
 4

relocated to northern urban centers including Chicago. One of the reasons cited by historians for

the migration of New Orleans musicians is the closing of the Storyville in 1917 – the New

Orleans red-light district. The musicians’ migration was also contributed to the alcohol

prohibition in 1919. Basically, the New Orleans musicians migrated into Chicago in search of

better employment opportunities accorder by the city’s impressive nightlife. The video

underscores that during the 1920s, Chicago clubs such as the Lincoln Gardens and Dreamland

Café offered places for urban nightlife and dancing. For instance, Lincon Gardens was a notable

venue for New Orleans bands such as Creole Jazz Band whose performers included Joe (King)

Oliver.

Chicagoans and Bix Beiderbecke

The Chicagoans and Bix Beiderbecke video focuses on the generation of jazz musician

that succeeded the New Orleans musicians – Chicago jazz. The video highlights that the name

Chicago Jazz was given to the music played by performers who styled their music based on the

New Orleans players and bands, mainly Armstrong and Oliver. Also, white groups such as the

New Orleans Rhythm Kings (NORK) and the Original Dixieland Jazz Band had an influence on

the development of Chicago jazz. Apart from Armstrong and Oliver, Leon Bix Beiderbecke is

hugely credited with development of Chicago jazz. He was a classic 1920s self-taught pianist

and cornetist. He was born in Davenport Iowa in a middle-class family that did not support or

approve his talent as a jazz player. To hinder his interest in Jazz, his parents took him to school

outside Chicago by enrolling him to Lake Forest Academy. However, this provided him an

opportunity to make trips in the city to listen to music. Ideally, this resulted in his expulsion from

the school for missing classes. He later became a full-time musician and recorded as Bix

Beiderbecke and the Wolverines. Apart from Armstrong, he is most well-known soloist and
 5

cornetist of 1920s, and his lyrical sound in his records such as the ‘Blues’ and ‘Singing’ have had

influence on later jazz players. Leon Bix Beiderbecke died in 1931, aged 28 years as a result of

alcohol related complications.

Early Jazz 2

One of the issues covered by the video is the starting of jazz recording. As described by

the video, before 1925, jazz performances were recorded acoustically. The video illustrates that

Freddie Keppard, a New Orleans cornetist turned down a chance to make a recording, which

would have resulted in him making the first jazz recording. The narrative given for his decline is

that he feared that his ideas would be stolen by other performers. The first jazz record was

released by Victor Records in 1917 for the Original Dixieland Jazz Band (ODJB). According to

video, this record helped in the launching of the jazz trend of the 1920s. The other notable jazz

recordings were by the Creole Jazz Band with renowned performers such as King Oliver in

Chicago. For instance, in 1923, they recorder the Dippermouth Blues.

4 Early Jazz Stars

The 4 Early Jazz Stars video depicts the renowned figures of the early jazz – Armstrong,

Beiderbecke, Bechet, and Morton. Jelly Roll Morton was a New Orleans pianist and composer

who played throughout the US. He went to Chicago in 1922. He was immensely versatile as

notable through his skill in blues, ragtime, stomps, and popular songs. As a composer, he is

celebrated for being the first vital jazz composer while working with the Red Hot Peppers group.

He is also renowned for his creative arrangement and combination of music instruments,

improvised solos, and interchanging of written music. Another of his notable contribution is the

emphasis on ‘breaks’ in jazz, where the band is required to stop while the improviser continues

playing. Also, he introduced the Spanish tinge, which is the incorporation of Caribbean rhythms.
 6

Ideally, Spanish tinge that comprises the use of Latin American would later become a central

feature in jazz music. Another notable figure of early jazz is Sidney Bechet. He is regarded as

one of the major early jazz soloists. He is well-known for playing both the soprano saxophone

and clarinet.

Louis Armstrong: The Essence of “Swing”

The Louis Armstrong: The Essence of “Swing” video depicts the biography of Louis

Armstrong, why he is considered a central jazz figure, and what to listen in his performances. As

noted in his biography, he was born in New Orleans in 1901 in an impoverished family. At 13

years he had known how play cornet. In 1918, he replaced Joe (King) Oliver as a performer with

the Kid Ory’s band after the latter left for Chicago. In 1922, he went to Chicago, where he

performed for Creole Jazz Band alongside Oliver. He was later convinced by his wife, Lil

Hardin, a pianist, to develop a career on his own. The video also highlights Armstrong’s move to

New York after leaving Oliver’s band. In New York he received national attention and was an

influence to New York Jazz players. According to the video, his recording from 1925, such as

the Louis Armstrong and the Hot Five are some of the most important early jazz recordings. He

is also accredited for formulating scat singing. He is also celebrated inventing ‘swing’ and

making jazz a soloist art. Some of the things to listen in his family are exuberant sound, an

assortment of musical ideas, and sense of swing.

The Differences Between Jazz Music and Early Jazz Early Jazz Epicenters

There are several notable differences between modern jazz and its predecessors, the early

jazz epicenters – New Orleans jazz, Chicago jazz, and New York jazz. For instance, while the

initial jazz performances were recorded acoustically, the modern jazz music were recorded

electrically. One of the primary distinctions between the modern jazz music and the three early
 7

jazz epicenters is the evolution aspect. As notable from the videos, the early jazz epicenters

evolved as a revolution. For instance, a shift from the New Orleans jazz to Chicago jazz was

primarily influenced by the great migration. During the late 1910s, several of the New Orleans

musicians left the city and relocated to northern urban centers including Chicago. Ideally, this

migration was the origin of Chicago Jazz, which is accredited to New Orleans performers such as

Armstrong and Oliver. In contrast, the modern jazz did not evolve as revolution “modern jazz

did not burst upon the jazz scene as a revolution. It developed gradually through the work of

swing era tenor saxophonists” (Hardie, 2013 p. 227).

The modern jazz and the early jazz epicenters also differ in terms of cultures that

maintain or maintained them. For instance, the modern jazz musicians are sustained by a world

wide audience based. However, in the early jazz epicenters, the audience base that sustained the

performers were required to be localized (Goldfield, D. (2007). For instance, jazz was initially

confined in New Orleans, where it started, then Jazz performers confined in Chicago, and later in

New York. Other notable differences between them is that the modern jazz does not have defined

rules to follow unlike the early jazz epicenters. For instance, the New Orleans Jazz specified the

that the trombone, clarinet, and cornet should be used as the front-line instruments.
 8

References

Goldfield, D. (2007). Encyclopedia of American urban history. SAGE.

Hardie, D. (2013). Jazz historiography: The story of jazz history writing. iUniverse.