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Brandon Frank

ENC2135

Rob Cole

Exploring the Cultivation of the Early-Modern Jazz Genre

Louis Armstrong is arguably the most influential man to the cultivation of early to

modern Jazz music. His composure and talent led him to become one of the most famous jazz

artists in New Orleans, where jazz sprouted and became increasingly popular throughout the

African American community. Armstrongs talent started to become more recognized beginning

in the nineteen twenties, where he became well known as a trumpet player, one of the key

components of the genre of Jazz. Deciphering the meaning behind jazz requires a deeper analysis

of the genre and the components that work together to produce it. Genre functions to help

circulate a piece of work to a particular audience. This is essential to growth of the genre because

it serves as a guideline to attract individuals who take an interest in the style of music provided.

Although jazz music has grown and transformed over the decades, the basic elements of the

genre are still the same. The collaboration of instruments, lyrics, and how the performance is

executed are all key factors in the creation of early to modern jazz, and Armstrong demonstrates

these factors flawlessly in his live performance Hello Dolly. My artifact defines genre with a

live performance by Armstrong. The performance is the epitome of jazz music at its core. Some

have accredited Armstrong with being one of the founding fathers of jazz. To completely

analyze and understand the meaning behind this genre and to help explain the meaning of genre

itself, its essential to briefly discuss the history and the meaning behind its creation. Jazz music
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took off in New Orleans as a way for the African American community to express their culture,

hardships, and successes through their own style of music.

Armstrong dominated the jazz scene in New Orleans through his mastery of the

components of the genre. The conventions of a genre like Jazz refer to the specific instruments

used in the creation of the work. The two most popular and influential jazz instruments are the

trumpet and the saxophone. With their unique sounds they cooperate and flow perfectly to form

the style and tone of the performance. Armstrongs live performance of Hello Dolly,

showcases perfect execution of the trumpet in relation to contributing to the overall tone and

style of the work. The collaboration of these sounds is essential contributing factors to the

creation of the genre. The trumpet and saxophone are commonly associated with jazz music

because the elegance of the mixture of sounds serves to best express the culture and emotions of

African Americans in New Orleans around the time of its popularization. One of Armstrongs

greatest attributes is his popularization of solos in the performance of music. Armstrongs

performances in which he would incorporate solos spurred a movement in the jazz community

that eventually led to solos being an essential component in the creation of more modern jazz.

Louis mastery of the trumpet and his incorporation of solos in which he would play his trumpet

alone, without the contribution of sounds by the other musicians, was a major breakthrough in

the cultivation of jazz and would serve the popularization and recirculation of the genre for years

to come. Utilizing the conventions (instruments) of jazz flawlessly and to perfection served to

shape the genre of jazz and provide diversity with the numerous possible combinations of

tone/style that could be incorporated into the piece of composure. The collaboration of

instruments in the up-beat performance serve to help recirculate pop-jazz in the community, as

well as to extend the genre to individuals who enjoy the euphemistic sounds of these instruments.
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Aside from the conventions that relate to the genre of jazz, there are other conventions that went

into the making of the artifact I chose. Some of the conventions that relate to the actual

performance itself are the vocals, colors, costumes, etc. In Louis Armstrongs time period, the

conventions of a performance like this would be the lyrics, as well as the formal attire worn by

the musicians while performing on stage.

Form in relation to jazz music refers to the lyrics, subject matter, and stylistic approach

used in the composure of the piece of work. The form of jazz is typically developed

incorporating choruses, which depending on lyrics, determine the sub-genre of jazz that the work

belongs to. Different forms of jazz include the Blues and Heart and Soul which are crafted

through the lyrics, harmony, and subject matter of the music. Some of the key factors of Heart

and Soul in relation to jazz music include one musician contributing the chord changes while

the other musician constructs a harmonious melody, whereas Blues incorporates a poetic form

and includes solos in the performance. Armstrong effectively introduced a combination of pop

and jazz in the artifact through his witty lyrics and excellent use of rhythmic contrast that is a key

contribution to the genre of jazz by the African American community. The form of Armstrongs

performance includes a poetic style chorus in which he utilizes an upbeat trumpet and saxophone

combination to provide rhythmic contrast. This innovative stylistic approach opened up jazz

music to a new realm of diversity and rightfully won Armstrong a Grammy award, which

benefits pop-jazz in recirculation and popularization of the genre.

Armstrongs performance incorporates multiple tones that contribute to the overall style

of the piece of composition. Unlike the form of the work, there isnt just one tone in the

song/performance. Genres are composed of multiple tones that work together to portray a unique

style of work. In relation to jazz music, the overall tone, depending on the form, can range from
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violent and chaotic to adoring and cheerful. Since jazz music at its birth was dominated by the

African American community, the audience was mainly African Americans which situated the

genre around the aspects of African American life and the style of African American music. In

New Orleans, in the heart of the jazz community, many artists used a violent or aggressive tone

to represent the crime and corruption of the community. African American musicians used these

tones to portray and express their culture and their struggles in the community as well as to relate

to their primary audience, those living in New Orleans or other similar cities. Armstrong

however, shocked the jazz community once again by constructing Hello Dolly, in which he

utilizes an adoring and cheerful tone in relation to Dolly. This, stylistically speaking, was a major

breakthrough in the world of jazz incorporating the tone and upbeat style of pop combined with

the form and conventions of modern jazz. Armstrongs rhythmic pop-jazz style in the artifact

perfectly blends the components genre to create one of historys most famous composures. The

circulation of this artifact serves the purpose of illustrating a historic masterpiece in which one of

the most influential artists in jazz history beautifully combines the key components of genre to

create a remarkable piece of work and performance. This artifact also served to diversify jazz

music by incorporating upbeat tempos and cheerful outlooks to the genre. Armstrong, through

his impeccable combination of conventions, form, style, and tone cultivated the jazz music genre

into what it is today, and will always be regarded as an essential member in the creation and

advancement of jazz music.


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Sources

"Musicians." Musicians. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Feb. 2017.

<http://www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/tbacig/studproj/is3099/jazzcult/20sjazz/musicians.html

"The Jazz Age - Boundless Open Textbook." Boundless. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Feb. 2017.

<https://www.boundless.com/u-s-history/textbooks/boundless-u-s-history-textbook/the-

roaring-twenties-1920-1929-24/a-culture-of-change-187/the-jazz-age-1031-1995/>.

"History of Jazz | Black History in America | Scholastic.com." History of Jazz | Black

History in America | Scholastic.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2017.

<http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/bhistory/history_of_jazz.htm>.

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