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New Orleans Jazz & Dixieland Jazz

 When: 1915

Super Genre: Jazz

Description:

“The very first type of Jazz was played in the background of bars(barrelhouses), brothels, and cabarets by a small band. It first appeared in New Orleans thanks to the melting pot present of Ragtime, Haïtian Folk, Creole Folk and Country Blues. New Orleans was not only home to Dixieland marching bands and a main port for sea travel with Cuba, but a former French colony as well. Cuban music, French music, and marching bands all heavily influenced Jazz, making it one of the most diverse musical stews.

The music was not rough and emotional like Blues, but balancedand reserved. The basic instrument ensemble for New Orleans Jazz is trumpet, clarinet and trombone; a very modest but complementary trio, filling all frequencies and improvising around each other. No instrument dominates: they all communicate and play out their melodies at each other in a counterpoint manner. The technique of counterpoint came into Jazz through Cuban Contradanza (or Habanera) music, which in turn came from French Contredanse. All three instruments also improvise collectivelyinstead of separately, an important difference with later Jazz. Improvisation and experimentation were common in Jazz and stimulated by frequent marihuana use, as the drug was still legal in the U.S. during the 1910s and 1920s. 

After a while, Jazz bands expanded and became performed by white artists, leading to a slightly different sound (more instruments) which is known as Dixieland Jazz, though the difference is negligible.” Musicmap

Sample Song: Snake Rag by Louis Armstrong



Up next…Boogie Woogie/Piano Blues

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