Essay On Jazz Music

Jazz is a form of music that has faced tremendous advances for a long time. There have been various arguments about jazz that make people not to fully understand jazz music and how it came to develop to its current status. Proper understanding of jazz music would only be realized through exclusive analysis of what has been brought forth by various musicians concerning the form of music. Although, it is hard to understand who had the full understanding of the origin of jazz as well as its development a lot of facts may be borrowed from various musicians who may have a concrete understanding of the kind of music has been for a long time. Jelly Roll Morton and Sidney Bechet are among the various musicians who have been extremely contributive to understanding jazz music and its development. However, their arguments differ in terms of definition of its origin and process it has undergone.
Although there exist massive differences between the arguments posed by Morton and Bechet concerning the jazz music, the both agreed on that jazz music was not inherited from an individual. This initiated individual arguments on the origin of jazz music in the society. Bechet said “Jazz comes out of an environment”pg.2. He tried to mean that this form of music originated from a given society, and it was determined by various factors such as the people who were in the area being discussed. The argument was mainly based on New Orleans, where Bechet quotes a lot in relation to jazz music. On the other hand, Morton argued “Jazz music is based on strictly music”pg.36. He supported his argument by bringing in various elements that define music, which included symphonies, great operas, as well as overtures in the music. This is to indicate that this form of music was mainly inclined to features of music with minimal concern on the environment within which it was being played.
The two authors also differentiate on the context of rhythm for the music. Each of them has a belief that the rhythm of the music was different. Morton said, “Jazz music I to be played sweet, soft, plenty rhythm” pg. 36. This is an indication that this form of music was not supposed to employ musical instruments that would cause noise or disturbances to the eyes of the listener. However, Bechet brings in a unique argument on the kind of music. He said, “as long as there is melody there is jazz” pg. 2 and “you can just beat on the table and it can be jazz” pg. 2. This is a representation of hard kind of music. Beating a table is like beating drum, which produces extensively hard form of music.
Also, the tow others differentiate on the originality of jazz music. This is based on lack of proper evidence on how jazz music came to be a form of music that was extremely influential in the music industry. According to Bechet “there’s classic and there’s ragtime” pg. 3. This means that different people could have understood this form of music differently. There was a need to understand the differences that existed among people in the society in relation to music. Negros and whites played a massive role in bringing the dominant differences in understanding the exclusive meaning of jazz music. On the other hand, Morton brings an argument that jazz was a kind of scat music. This is a form of music that was mainly defined by exclusive dancing. It could support any form of dance. He argued that he made exclusive money from songs such as “winding ball” which was known as “Animule Dance ” pg. 37. This indicates that there was massive dancing in the song.
The above facts on music based on individuals may only be affirmed through thorough research on their application by other authors who may have similar arguments. However, Morton and Bechet have come up with extremely reliable forms of argument that can be extremely useful in defining jazz music.
However, the manner through which they relay their arguments on details about jazz music may give Morton’s argument more weight than that of Bechet. The oral history of Morton was based on coherent examples that would have been of extensive help in proper understanding of jazz music. Morton could have been more convincing than Bechet since he could clarify his arguments through citing songs that he had developed and their representation in the jazz world. Morton could along sing during the interview, which would have given proper understanding of his songs. On the other hand, Bechet’s argument is based on a narrative that consistently consists of quotes from various people who may have been attached to jazz music. This form of presentation may not be reliable since a lot of information may have been distorted with the aim of bringing out ideas in a clear manner. People may not enjoy reading historical narratives as they would for interviews.
Jazz music is a wide field of music with different people standing for different meaning of the music. People differ in terms of understanding this kind of music. Morton and Bechet are a representation of the kind of music that jazz is and has been in the music world. Their understandings are brought in through exclusive exposure of their thoughts in jazz music. However, Morton’s argument may overshadow that of Bechet through the use of interview, unlike historical narratives as they were used by Bechet.