Perhaps more than any other form of music, jazz music means America.
Jazz music, like America itself, is a melting pot of ideas, emotions, and
traditions. According to Joachim Berendt, jazz is a form of music that
emerged in the United States as a combination of African American and
European music. The instrumentation, melody, and harmony are influenced by
Western music while the rhythm, phrasing, and production of sounds are
influenced by African American music. When we examine at the history of
jazz, we encounter a variety of musicians and styles that are unique and
impressive in practically every way.
Undoubtedly, jazz us unique and important to the soul of American music.
One incident that emphasizes the significance of jazz occurred in 1977.
This was the year that NASA launched Voyager I and included a recorded
greeting for anyone who might discover it. This recording included the jazz
greats Louis Armstrong and Blind Willie Johnson as representatives of
American culture. That NASA would include jazz musicians indicates the
significance that jazz music has had not only on American music, but music
While jazz is distinctly American, it can sometimes be difficult to
define. One thing that almost everyone can agree upon is the fact that
jazz has been a "progenitor of new forms, an inventor of new languages, a
creator of new ways to express meaning" (Gennari 1991 439). Another aspect
about jazz music that sets it apart is the fact that it hinges on process
instead of form. Gennari notes that this allows for jazz to generate new
meaning with almost every performance. Because of its subversion of
traditional cultures and its "reshaping of aesthetic and social boundaries,
jazz has helped define the cutting edge of twentieth century Western
A close cousin to jazz is the blues. Shipton notes that two are "genres
are joined at the hip like Siamese Twins" (Gioia 1997 4...