Jazz is essential for humanity, for it is filled with resilience, culture, and every emotion at once. It is art, love, hurt, and it’s confusing yet contagious.
I’m currently taking History of Jazz with Danny (Professor Lozano) who’s a passionate musician himself. During class we pay close attention to performances to practice following the rhythms while understanding the ballads. Danny’s enthusiasm is evident even while teaching a genre that is complex. We have learned about the development and influence of jazz throughout New Orleans and New York in the 1920s.
In the first week of class, he explained, “It is a music that is flexible enough where individually you can express not only what you are feeling in the moment, but your individuality as a person”. It’s personal, which provides a space for uniqueness and vulnerability. Jazz is heavily influenced by improvisation; thus, you will never hear the same version of a song. What an experience! You are there, witnessing authenticity with the musician.
The Blues is a cultivation of sadness as it translates to a song, even a happy one. Listen as a family of instruments (wind, brass, reed, harmony, bass, percussion etc) interact with each other and play as a voice within a song. There’s a powerful narrative element within an instrumental song; it forces you to listen to the story it is trying to tell. The rhythm makes you feel and analyze the mood of the song.
We also learned about how despite constantly facing racism, many African-American jazz musicians continued to play and express themselves to their communities. During the Great Migration in the late nineteenth century, they were motivated by the discriminatory acts and placed upon them. Jazz became a way of embracing cultural identity. I wish I found jazz earlier. I still have so much more to learn and I am excited for this musical journey.
Here are some songs that I have listened to (from class) and found on my own time. The talent and soul are unmatched in these classic musicians:
Strange Fruit - Billie Holiday
La vie en rose - Louis Armstrong
West End Blues - Louis Armstrong
Blues Walk- Lou Donaldson
In a Sentimental Mood - Duke Ellington
Cantaloupe Island- Herbie Hancock
Salt Peanuts - Dizzy Gillespie Quintet
I Thought About You - Ella Fitzgerald
KJazz 88.1 is a radio station dedicated to jazz, so take a listen any time of day.
There are also various Lofi-jazz and soft jazz playlist on Spotify that are perfect for a study or lounge-y environment.
