JAZZ NOTES

                                              IN THE BEGINNING


Jazz as an art form, is thought of as having come out of New Orleans at the beginning of the 20th century. While it is true that many of the great jazz figures were from New Orleans, or migrated there, it is certain that jazz did not suddenly appear there and no where else. New Orleans, however, continues to be referred to as the "cradle of jazz."

One of the most important developments is jazz occurred in the early 19th century when an increasing number of Black musicians learned to play European instruments, especially the violin, and used them to parody European dance music in their own cakewalk dances.

Conversely, the Europeans adapted the African music tradition, evident in the work songs and field hollers of the Black slaves, into their piano salon melodies, and their minstrel show performances, where they even performed in "black face," in parody of Black performers. From this musical sampling, a meeting of syncopation and harmonic sounds ensued. The process of "flowering" had begun.

The influences which led to the flowering of jazz were many and varied, and given it's geographical spread, some White people were certainly involved in this early development, or at least made use of this new form. So although it was spawned from the Black tradition, it would be inaccurate to view jazz as purely Black music.

It is without question that conditions in New Orleans and the southern states of America were favorable in the emergence of jazz, but it would have probably come into being somehow and somewhere, anyway, sooner or later.