Jazz: what, what directions, who performs

The origins of modern jazz are rooted in the African musical culture. After Christopher Columbus opened a new continent and the Europeans settled there, the ships of merchants of live goods followed more and more often to the shores of America.

Wounded with hard work, yearning for home and suffering from cruel attitude of the guards, the slaves found solace in music. Gradually, Americans and Europeans became interested in unusual melodies and rhythms. So there was jazz. What is jazz, and what are its features, consider in this article.

Features of musical direction

Jazz is music of African-American origin, based on improvisation (swing) and a special rhythmic design (syncopation). Unlike other directions, where one person writes music, and the other performs, jazz musicians act simultaneously as composers.

The melody is created spontaneously, the periods of writing, performances are separated by a minimal period of time. So it turns out jazz. What is the improvisation of the orchestra? This is the ability of musicians to adapt to each other. At the same time each improvises his own.

The results of spontaneous works are preserved in musical notation (T. Cowler, G. Arlene "Happy all day", D. Ellington "Do not you know what I love?", Etc.).

Over time, African music was synthesized from European music. There were melodies, combining plastic, rhythm, melody and harmony of sounds (CHEATHAM Doc, Blues In My Heart, CARTER James, Centerpiece, etc.).

Directions

There are more than thirty directions of jazz. Let's consider some of them.

1. The Blues. In English, the word means "sadness," "melancholy." Initially, the blues was the solo lyrical song of African-Americans. Jazz-blues is a twelve-tenth period, corresponding to a three-line poetic form. Blues compositions are performed at a slow pace, there is a certain understatement in the texts. Famous blues musicians - Gertrude Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, etc.

2. Ragtime. The literal translation of the name of the style is the torn time. In the language of musical terms, "reg" means sounds additional between the beats of a measure. The direction appeared in the United States, after the overseas were fascinated by the works of F. Schubert, F. Chopin and F. Liszt. The music of European composers was performed in the style of jazz. Later, original compositions appeared. Ragtime is typical for the works of S. Joplin, D. Scott, D. Lamb, and others.

3. Boogie Woogie. Style appeared at the beginning of the last century. Owners of inexpensive cafes needed musicians to play jazz. What is the musical accompaniment presupposes the presence of an orchestra, of course, of course, but it was expensive to invite a large number of musicians. The sound of various instruments was compensated by pianists, creating numerous rhythmic compositions. Boogie features:

• improvisation;
• Virtuosic technique;
• Special accompaniment: the left hand performs the motoristic ostinant configuration, the interval between the bass and the melody is two to three octaves;
• Continuous rhythm;
• Exclusion of the pedal.

Boogie Woogie played Romeo Nelson, Arthur Montana Taylor, Charles Avery, and others.

Legends of style

Jazz is popular in many countries of the world. Everywhere there are stars, which are surrounded by an army of fans, but some names have become a real legend. They are known and loved around the globe. Such musicians, in particular, are Louis Armstrong.

It is not known how the fate of a boy from a poor black neighborhood would have developed if Louis had not been sent to a correctional camp. Here the future star was recorded in a brass band, though the band was not playing jazz. What is blues, and how it is performed, the young man discovered for himself much later. World fame Armstrong gained through diligence and perseverance.

The founder of jazz singing is Billy Holiday (real name Eleanor Feigan). The singer reached the peak of popularity in the 50s of the last century, when she changed the nightclub scene to a theatrical stage.

Life was not easy for the owner of the three-octave band Ella Fitzgerald. After the death of her mother, the girl fled the house and led a not very decent lifestyle. The start of the singer's career was the performance at the musical competition Amateur Nights.

George Gershwin is world famous. The composer created jazz pieces based on classical music. Unexpected manner of performance captivated listeners and colleagues. The concerts were invariably accompanied by a standing ovation. The most famous works of D. Gershwin - "Rhapsody in blues tones" (co-authored with Fred Grof), operas "Porgy and Bess", "American in Paris".

Also popular jazz performers were and still are Janis Joplin, Ray Charles, Sarah Vaughn, Miles Davis, and others.

Jazz in the USSR

The emergence of this musical direction in the Soviet Union is associated with the name of the poet, translator and theatrical Valentin Parnakh. The first concert of a jazz band led by a virtuoso took place in 1922. Later A. Tsfasman, L. Utyosov, J. Skomorovsky formed the direction of theatrical jazz, combining instrumental performance and operetta. To popularize jazz music much did E. Rozner, A. Varlamov, O. Lundstrem.

In the 40s of the last century, jazz was widely criticized as a phenomenon of bourgeois culture. In the 1950s and 1960s, attacks on the performers ceased. Jazz ensembles were created both in the RSFSR and in other Union republics.

Today, jazz is freely performed at concert venues and in clubs.