What can we learn about American history and the American experience Essay

What can we learn about American history and the American experience through an in-depth study of the jazz tradition - Essay Example The touch and feel of jazz is purely from an African origin because the mellow feeling was as a result of suffering African slaves underwent in settlement schemes (Whyton 17-21). Thus, an in-depth study of jazz tradition is imperative in giving insight into American history and experience. Thus, they came up with the concept of jazz music as a technique of communicating their sorrows and tribulations they underwent as slaves (Rinzler 3). Jazz music has a blues quality that is a characteristic of soft and mellow voices that further express the feelings of Africans during the slavery period. The slaves would not air their grievances to their masters and so the only way to expel their bitterness was through music and in this case jazz music. In addition, this genre of music is often accompanied by instruments whenever it is performed. The African tradition induced a certain culture into jazz such that an instrument being played would be done in an individual’s expression without following any particular order or rules (Rinzler 7). The Harmony in jazz music is a culture borrowed from Europeans. Additionally, the music has a chorus that is played on a piano, which accompanies tunes. Despite the African tradition having their musical instruments, those used in the performance of jazz music trace their origin in Europe and they include trumpets, saxophones, and pianos among many others. Thus, it is evident this genre of music developed as a result of the integration of two different cultures that had varied backgrounds (Larson 79). Despite the long history often attached to jazz music, it is believed the genre first originated from New Orleans in America, which is a coastal city located in Western America that was a major transient port during the ancient times where ships carrying slaves from Africa and the rest of the world docked. For this reason, the city provided an environment for people from various ethnical