How Jazz Has Influenced Modern Music

Jazz has been a major force in the development of modern music, with its influence felt across genres. In this blog post, we explore how jazz has helped shape the sound of popular music today.

Origins of Jazz

Jazz is a genre of music that originated in the African-American communities in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Jazz has been a major influence in various music genres such as blues, rock, and pop. The word “jazz” is derived from the West African word “jasm”, meaning “to energy”.

New Orleans

Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, United States. It emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and developed from roots in blues and ragtime. Jazz is seen by many as “America’s classical music”. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, jazz has become recognized as a major form of musical expression. It then emerged in the form of independent traditional and popular musical styles, all linked by the common bonds of African-American and European-American musical parentage with a performance orientation. Jazz is characterized by swing and blue notes, call and response vocals, polyrhythms and improvisation. Brass instruments such as the trumpet, saxophone, trombone and clarinet are often used in jazz ensembles. The chord progressions and specific melodies used in jazz (and sometimes blues) are definitely African in origin. The influence of earlier Negro music is very evident in jazz.

Ragtime

Ragtime is often thought of as the first truly “American” music. It was born in the late 1800s in the southern United States, and its popularity quickly spread across the country.

Ragtime was originally a type of dance music that was played on piano. Its distinctive syncopated (or “ragged”) rhythms were based on popular African-American dances such as the cakewalk and the two-step.

As ragtime evolved, it began to influence other genres of music, including blues and jazz. Many of ragtime’s most popular tunes were later adapted by jazz musicians.

Ragtime enjoyed its greatest popularity from roughly 1898 to 1918. It then fell out of fashion, but has enjoyed something of a revival in recent years.

Key Figures in Jazz

Louis Armstrong

Louis Armstrong, nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American trumpeter, composer, singer and occasional actor who was one of the most influential figures in jazz and in all of American popular music. His career spanned five decades, from the 1920s to the 1960s, and different eras in jazz.

Armstrong was born into a poor family in New Orleans, Louisiana. He started playing the cornet when he was just eleven years old and by the time he was fourteen he was playing in brass bands and riverboats in New Orleans. In 1922, he moved to Chicago to join the legendary musical group known as The Hot Five. It was with this group that Armstrong first made his mark on the music world, recording some of his best-known songs like “Heebie Jeebies” and “West End Blues”.

Over the course of his career, Armstrong continued to innovate and experiment with his music, incorporating elements of blues, gospel, and pop into his jazz style. He also had a profound impact on other musicians, both through his recordings and through his live performances. Armstrong’s influence can be heard in the playing of later jazz greats like Miles Davis and John Coltrane.

Duke Ellington

Considered one of the greatest composer in jazz history, Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington was born in Washington D.C. in 1899. Duke began playing piano at age seven and by his teens he was already performing professionally. His first big break came in 1923 when his band was booked at Harlem’s premier nightspot, the Cotton Club.

Duke’s years at the Cotton Club were hugely successful and established him as one of the most popular bandleaders of the time. It was during this period that he wrote some of his most famous compositions, including “Mood Indigo,” “Sophisticated Lady,” and “Solitude.” In 1930, Duke’s orchestra embarked on its first European tour, which was a resounding success.

Duke continued to compose and perform well into his later years, and his work had a profound influence on generations of musicians. He died in 1974 at the age of 75, but his legacy as one of jazz’s greatest innovators lives on.

Miles Davis

Miles Davis was an American trumpeter, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music. Davis signed with Columbia Records in 1955 and would go on to release some of the best-selling jazz albums of all time. Bitches Brew, In a Silent Way and Kind of Blue have been cited as among the most influential albums in history by publications like Rolling Stone and Time Magazine. Davis won nine Grammy Awards throughout his career and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2006.

Elements of Jazz

There are many elements that make up the genre of Jazz. These elements include but are not limited to: blue notes, call and response, swing, and improv. All of these elements work together to create the unique sound of Jazz. Jazz has heavily influenced modern music and has provided a foundation for many other genres.

Improvisation

Jazz is often thought of as a type of music that is easy to listen to but difficult to define. One of the most important elements of jazz is improvisation, which is when a musician spontaneously creates melodies and harmonies during a performance.

Jazz improvisation is based on a number of different elements, including the musician’s ability to hear the chord progression of a song and then create a new melody using those chords. Jazz musicians also have to be able to listen to other musicians in the band and improvise together, creating new parts that fit with what everyone else is playing.

While improvisation is one of the most important elements of jazz, it’s also one of the most difficult things for jazz musicians to do. Improvising requires a lot of practice and experience, and even the best jazz musicians make mistakes sometimes. But when it all comes together, the result can be an exciting and swinging performance that sounds like it was made up on the spot.

Swing

Swing is a popular music genre that developed in the 1920s and 1930s. It is characterized by a strong rhythm section, horns, and vocals. Jazz began to be heard in European and American cities in the early 20th century. The first recorded use of the term ‘swing’ was in reference to music, not dancing, in 1916. By the early 1930s, Swing was the most popular form of American popular music. Swing bands were often featured on radio programs and resembled dance bands of the era. The best-known Swing bandleaders of the 1930s were Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, and Glenn Miller.

Blue notes

The basic ingrediants of jazz are the “blue notes.” TheFlat 3rd, Flat 7th, and Flat 10th. TheFlat 3rd is also called the “Blue note.” These three notes are the key to most all Jazz performances and recordings. It is these same three notes that give Jazz its characteristic sound.

TheFlat 3rd gives Jazz its “bluesy” sound, while theFlat 7th lends a certain “spiritual” air to the music. TheFlat 10th provides an element of tension and release that is essential to the swing feel of Jazz.

In addition to these three keynotes, other important factors in Jazz are improvisation and syncopation. Syncopation is simply accenting the weak beats in a measure instead of the strong beats. This gives the music a “loping” or “rolling” feel that is unique to Jazz.

Jazz Today

Jazz has been around for over a hundred years, and it has influenced almost every genre of music today. Jazz is known for its improvisation, its unique chord progressions, and its swing. Many modern musicians have been influenced by jazz, and it is still a popular genre today.

Jazz fusion

Jazz fusion is a genre of jazz that developed in the late 1960s when musicians began blending elements of rock music and funk into their playing. This resulted in a more “modern” sound that became popular with younger listeners. Jazz fusion often uses electric instruments, such as guitar and bass, and is sometimes considered to be a form of “progressive” jazz.

Some well-known jazz fusion artists include Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Weather Report, and Return to Forever. Jazz fusion continues to be popular today, and many modern musicians have been influenced by this genre.

Jazz-rock

Jazz-rock, also called fusion, popular musical style in which modern jazz improvisation is combined with the strong rhythms of rock, funk, or rhythm and blues. The result is often an energetic and accessible music that appeals to both jazz and rock audiences. Popular early exponents of jazz-rock included Blood, Sweat & Tears; Chicago; Weather Report; Miles Davis (with his album Bitches Brew); and the Tony Williams Lifetime.

During the 1970s other performers who popularized jazz-rock included Steely Dan, Pink Floyd, Herbie Hancock, Chaka Khan, Jean-Luc Ponty, Al Di Meola, Jeff Beck, Stanley Clarke, the Brecker Brothers (Michael Brecker and Randy Brecker), David Sanborn , Pat Metheny , Chick Corea , Billy Cobham , John McLaughlin , Jan Hammer , Weather Report , Wayne Shorter , Joe Zawinul , Jaco Pastorius

In the 1980s jazz-rock reached a broader audience with such performers as Dire Straits ( Brothers in Arms ), Toto (‘Africa’), Phil Collins (‘Against All Odds’), Bob James (‘Nautilus’), Kenny G (‘Songbird’), Chick Corea Elektric Band,’ Spyro Gyra,’ Bruce Hornsby and the Range (‘The Way It Is’) and Ray Charles ( Genius Loves Company ).

In the early 21st century popular exponents of jazz-rock included Jamiroquai, Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer Trio’, Derek Trucks Band,’ Robert Randolph and the Family Band,’ Garaj Mahal,’ John Scofield,’ Soulive,’ Umphrey’s McGee , Matisyahu ‘ Snarky Puppy .