Jazz

The African Americans of the time not only gave us great:

Culture, Literature, Art, and Entertainment

They gave us Jazz and Blues!

The African American society did give us Jazz and Blues, but the question is why did they feel it was so necessary to implement such music into a society that never believed they were capable of being more than just slaves? The answer… the African American society didn’t just give us Jazz and Blues because they wanted something to pass on to the generations to come, but rather they wanted to prove not only to themselves that they could be “something” but also to the “high – hat White folk” that saw them as nothing. As the need for expression grew, soon after came the birth of jazz-American music characterized by improvisation, and ensemble playing among other things.

For many blacks of the time they were the New Negro: a person who calls for social order and demands that blacks fight back against racism and segregation in American society. For the most part the type of music remained the same, except this time it really wasn’t about God, it focused more on suffering, the loss of love, finding love, being strong, and being down right human, blues really enveloped the human condition. But since it wasn’t 1835 and it was 1920 African Americans knew it was also time to change the music style. Jazz got it’s beginning through old time spirituals, it consisted of a theory that claimed: an infinite amount of melodies can fit the chord progression of any composition. And the way most blacks fought back, just as their ancestors did during the time of slavery was through music.