The Influence of Jazz Music






by Dick Richards


The Jazz music sensation began to rub off on other parts of the world which inspires the experimentation of melding their familiar sounds with the basis of Jazz. In Europe, in the Area of France came the Quintette Du Hot Club de France who was responsible for the making of the early "Gypsy Jazz".

A Belgian guitarist created gypsy jazz by mixing the style of French Musette which was used in the dance halls, eastern European Folk known as Jazz Manouche, and American swing of the 1930's. The sound was developed by instruments from the string family which are a steel string guitar, violin, and an upright bass. The atmosphere of the Jazz music is tempting with unexpected unpredictable twists, and accelerating rhythms. A French artist plays this unique music with old parts of the past.

Another style of Jazz music that permitted the musicians to express themselves unreservedly was the discovery of Avant-garde or free Jazz music. Both of these styles came from the Bebop age, yet produced a cool type of harmonic and regular music in the 1940's and 1950's. Many musicians were the creators of the free Jazz music. Between the 1960's and 1970's the Latin musicians made the Afro-Cuban and Brazilian Jazz Music styles after Bebop musicians Dizzy Gillespie and Billy Taylor cultivated it.

Gillespie and Taylor was influenced by the music of Cuban and Puerto Rican musicians Chico O'farrill, Tito Puente, Chano Pozo, Xavier Cugat, Mario Bauza and Arturo Sandoval. Jazz music voiced in a Latin interpretation was named Bossa Nova with origins in Samba music which is a mix of Jazz, classical and pop music from the 20th century. Bossa is a moderate sound of music with Classical harmonic structure from Europe, Samba polyrhythm's from Brazil and cool music. The speed of such a work is about 120 BPM. The instruments employed in this actual sound is nylon stringed guitar, piano, high hat tap of eighths, drumming on the edge of the drum like Sade's "Sweetest Taboo", and a vocalist. The sound produced is a new relaxing sound where the acoustic sound of the guitar can lull one to sleep with it's straightforward melodic line.

Joao Gilberto and Antonio Carlos Jobim became popular in the sixties with this type of music. The influence of Jazz music returned to the place of its origins in the non secular music known as Urban Modern Gospel from the spirituals music. Much of non secular music sung by southern slaves during the past has a haunting dark and mournful sound during the 1800 and 1900's. The churches know as the sanctified or holy churches took a more happier approach by encouraging member to sing speak their private testimonies as they celebrated with song and dance.

The sanctified artist Arizona Dranes who was a traveling preacher made recordings that would fit in many musical classes like blues, and boogie-woogie with the use of Jazz instruments. At the time the Jazz instruments used with spiritual themed music were percussion and brass instruments.

If you love music and Jazz music, a key central instrument to begin learning the guitar and the best time to start is really in your developmental years, between the ages of 5 and 8 years of age.




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