The Origin of Jazz

Tracing Jazz back to its roots has always been somewhat of a daunting task. The recording technology in the late 1800s wasn't very good and listener accounts can only provide us with so much information. What we do know about the origins of Jazz is that the recently freed slaves, played a large role in bringing Jazz to the forefronts of society. Jazz music began in the south as work song that were sung by slaves, and later prison inmates. After slavery ended, it existed in the black communities in forms such as gospel music, blues, and ragtime. As time wore on, black people became more educated and moved to new parts of the country, their music also changed. Musicians had begun learning how to play new instruments, and combined with their new talent, many began mixing the various elements of gospel, blues and ragtime. The music we know as Jazz, didn't come about until the early 20th century, when Broadway and music were just beginning to blossom.

This website,

http://www.redhotjazz.com/originsarticle.html

I found to be very interesting, because they give a brief, but excellent description of the Afro-Creole cultures that lived in New Orleans who had a big hand in creating Jazz music. A group I never knew existed. As I previously mentioned, Jazz music originated in the south. The Afro-Creoles were a group of French and Spanish speaking blacks who lived in the territory acquired in the Louisiana Purchase. Their influence form the French and Spanish is what allowed them to become highly educated musicians and they were the ones who began combining new instruments with the blues, gospel, and ragtime of the newly freed, American slaves. The article also tells of New Orleans' red light district, Storyville. I knew New Orleans had a very widely influenced history, being that the city is still divided into four sectors, but I never imagined that such a popular genre of music began there.