New Orleans and the Emergence of Jazz

           The city of New Orleans allowed for the incorporation of true urban life into jazz composition. As America progressed into the 19^th century, depression brewed amongst the decay of the once booming Deep South river town. As Giola argues, music and dancing not only maintained the little vitality left in New Orleans, but also provided a necessary distraction from the heft of every day life. “Festivities allowed them to distance themselves from the suffering and pestilence of the here and now,” (Giola 31). As partying became a part of living in the ghettos of New Orleans, grit and grunge intertwined with the heavy beats of the music. It was born out of music played in night clubs and dirty brothels. Impoverished New Orleans needed jazz. Suddenly, the entertainment value so engrained into the performance of the music allowed it to be manipulated. Because of the overwhelming aura of the city, jazz music began to morph into those entertained by it; the music was a part of them, and they were part of the music. The development of jazz was more of a social construct that the brainchild of just one man, although many like Jelly Roll Morton claimed credit for the distinctive style.

Any city is the perfect breeding ground for deeply cultural music like jazz, and because of its definitive melting pot atmosphere, inspiration is everywhere. Giola argues that the unique sound of jazz resulted from combining music from the brothels with choir songs from church, a blend of two completely different spheres of city life. However, the unpredictable amalgamations that precluded blues, ragtime, and jazz are far more deeply rooted in history. Before it was famous for jazz, New Orleans was famous for being a racial mixing bowl, incorporating White, Black, Spanish, French, slave, and master into its midst. The city was about combining polar opposites, housing huge numbers of Creoles and Mulattos and propagating its own unique social stratification, so naturally, a genre of music comprised of European, South African, and American Creole styles, stirred together over the decades, emerged from the mishmash.

 Most importantly, I believe that it was the sincere activism against jazz that propagated its emergence so successfully. Songwriters like Buddy Bolden promoted the spread of jazz more than any District night club could have. “Bolden pushed the limits as few of his contemporaries dared, no doubt enhancing the allure of his quasi-forbidden music in the process,” (Giola 36). The fascination with the underground and illegal was already prominent in the ghettoes before jazz emerged and aggravated the delicate hierarchy of the city. The police force getting involved with jazz did little more than further popularize the style amongst the wide variety of people. The fascinating grunge, lawlessness, and diversity New Orleans life contributed to the soul that is still present behind modern day jazz, a music powerful enough to transcend social stigmas, racial barriers, and state lines.