Introduction
Jazz is believed to be the culmination of ethnic black music. Indeed, it can be named one of the Western world’s dominant and defining music genres of the twentieth century (Sarath ix). Moreover, its rhythm inspired many black people to change their lives in the 1920s, known as “the Jazz Age” (Bearden and Henderson 136). For example, after the return of African Americans from the First World War, the pride for these soldiers changed the perception of their identity, resulting in the mass migration from the southern to northern states (Bearden and Henderson 135).
This migration initiated a marked shift in the role of black people in American culture, leading to the appearance of such famous African American artists as Palmer Hayden and Augusta Savage (Bearden and Henderson 134). The concert that will be analyzed in this essay took place at Lincoln Center in New York in March of 2019. Jazz can rightfully be considered the music genre that initiated and accompanied the decade of the rise in cultural and social awareness among black Americans.
The Jazz Concert
The band of individual performers held the tour in 2019, spreading the spirit of the annual Monterey Jazz Festival. The sextet members were Cecile McLorin Salvant, voice, Bria Skonberg, trumpet, Melissa Aldana, tenor saxophone, Jamison Ross, drums and voice, Yasushi Nakamura, bass, and Christian Sands, piano (“Monterey Jazz Festival on Tour (Live in New York)”). Although Sands appears to be the group’s organizer, neither he nor other members dominate the band, contributing to the whole. Interestingly, some of the band’s musicians used to perform several times before, but this event was their first concert as a sextet (“Monterey Jazz Festival on Tour (Live in New York)”).
Still, they were able to demonstrate an incredible synergy of their skills and talents. The central theme of the event seems to be love, beauty, and dreams that were expressed in such songs as “Fog,” “Visions,” “Sack Full of Dreams,” “Ghost Song,” “Yasugaloo,” and “Splendor.” The concert commences and ends with songs composed by Salvant, “Fog” and “Splendor,” respectively. Although it was a relatively short performance that lasted less than one hour, the band members conveyed their inspiration to the audience.
The rhythmic accuracy and space for individuality distinguish jazz from many other popular music categories. According to Sarath, the critical features of jazz include “African-based foundations, the prevalence of improvisations in individual and collective formats, blues roots, highly personalized expression amidst rich collective interaction, self-transcending connections, and spirituality” (xi). The New York jazz festival preserved the same energy, allowing the viewers to be carried away to the times of peak popularity of this music genre.
For example, “Yasugaloo,” composed by Nakamura and dominated by the bass sounds, reminds of the evening meetings after a long day of hard labor in the 1920s-1930s when black people were overwhelmed but full of hope. “Visions” and “Sack Full of Dreams” songs set the mood for people to recall the Civil Rights movement, expressing the ancestors’ hopes for a better future full of love, peace, and consensus between races. Moreover, “Ghost Song” allows the audience to imagine themselves in the 1900s in New Orleans. Indeed, Cecile McLorin Salvant’s singing was reminiscent of the voices of African American women who sang masterpieces in their small communities, remaining unknown to the world.
Music of Diaspora and Big Cultural Changes
The jazz sounds during this concert could deceive an uninformed listener into perceiving it as the music of entertainment places for affluent people. Although it was popular among different classes and races, jazz was developed by African American communities that initiated the renaissance of collective consciousness (Sarath 101). For example, the great migration of black people from the southern states resulted in more than 12 million African Americans living in the North in the late 1920s (Schneider 23). Although the primary driving force for these people to leave the southern plantations was to seek jobs in the industry, folk music reflected these historical changes (Schneider 24).
Despite the economic recession in the Jazz Age, this migration led to improved income for black workers in factories and plants in industrial cities like Chicago, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Detroit, and New York (Schneider 25). Moreover, the rise in jazz popularity allowed for cultural exchange because African Americans shared their thoughts, feelings, and concerns via music (Schneider 90). Indeed, jazz became the art form that received praise from millions of white people, who understood the black soul better due to this new music genre.
Although jazz was created by African American diaspora, it became popular among white people, attracting musicians of different races into this field. For example, the 2019 jazz concert by the band from Monterey Jazz Festival was multicultural, a phenomenon that would be impossible in the pre-jazz era. The irresistible magnetism of this genre is probably in its combined nature because it includes “African rhythms, blues-inflected chord progressions, church spirituals, European melodies, and American marching-band instrumentation” (Schneider 86).
Furthermore, according to Schneider, jazz rhythms removed the barriers between the two races in the 1950s, “when young people danced to the music of Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley without caring about either singer’s race” (90). This cultural shift resulted in a significant mindset shift that later facilitated the end of interracial hostility.
The Importance of Jazz
Jazz became an essential feature of the enormous cultural, legal, and political changes in the United States. The great migration to the North, better education and employment opportunities, and the civil rights movement were accompanied by jazz chords that inspired individualism and egalitarianism (Sarath xii). Indeed, these changes demonstrated that African Americans are not powerless, which was also reflected in their songs (Bearden and Henderson 134). Even the modern jazz songs performed at the 2019 concert in Lincoln Center are riddled with the spirit of change. It appears that this genre’s original nature emanates the dynamic that continues to preserve its original rhythm despite multiple changes introduced over the last century.
Conclusion
To sum up, the 2019 jazz concert at Lincoln Center in New York can be perceived as the continuation of the best traditions of this music genre. The performing band consisted of six members with such musical instruments as piano, bass, tenor saxophone, trumpet, and drums. Although the central theme of the songs was love and dreams, the band was able to convey the spirit of the Jazz Age. Indeed, it was the time when significant cultural and social changes started with migration from the southern to northern states in search of better education and employment opportunities. Finally, the appearance of jazz became the pivotal point in removing interracial barriers between the citizens of the United States.
Works Cited
Bearden, Romare, and Henderson, Harry. “The Twenties and the Black Renaissance.” The Romare Bearden Reader, edited by Robert G. O’Meally, Duke University Press, 2019, pp. 133-155.
“Monterey Jazz Festival on Tour (Live in New York).” YouTube, uploaded by Jazz Night in America. 2019. Web.
Sarath, Ed. Black Music Matters: Jazz and the Transformation of Music Studies. Rowman & Littlefield, 2018.
Schneider, Mark Robert. African Americans in the Jazz Age: A Decade of Struggle and Promise. Rowman & Littlefield, 2006.