Jazz Listening: A Sample Essay For Inspiration & Mimicking

Jazz for years has remained an intriguing and interesting phenomenon in the music world. After watching the Jazz documentary by Ken Burns, the American filmmaker, there emerged interesting facts and fascinating observations that I realized made the genre a phenomenon. From the video, one of the main reasons jazz has been elegant and intriguing is origins because of its origin and diversity. The documentary comes out as a celebration of an exceptional art form in America while also noting the talent and uniqueness of people that made contributions to the genre (Farley 113-129). In the documentary, Burns strives to trace the history of Jazz making sure also to note the contributions made by each region and performer to the genre. One of the major facts that stand out in the video is the contribution made by the African Americans that go forth in making the genre a culture.
Another observation I made is that Burns in the documentary selected a group of artist deemed some of the most elegant and talented performers and in doing so, he picked the artist from different ages which is an act of revealing events that transformed the genre. Giving an example of Louis Armstrong’s “West End Blues” to reveal how jazz as a genre and a culture attempts to reflect, at its step of its development, the culture that surrounds it. I observed that by picking performers from different eras, the video delved into revealing the transformation that jazz has undergone mostly influenced by its surroundings such as the political and social issues shown in episode 3. Bessie Smith’ “Our Language” as shown was encouraged by the social temperatures existing in that time that mostly focused on race.
Additionally, I observed that the genre was characterized by different sounds and instruments. This seems to underline the assertion that it has been difficult to keep with the emerging styles and sounds in the genre. A reflection of this is seen in one of the many highlights in the video that reveals Charlie Parker’s career and his choice of style that intrigued many and marked the entry of the genre to the modern scene. The video highlights that Parker adhered to the be-bop sound as saxophonist that went on to wow many while displacing old guards such as Armstrong. This as such was a mark revealing the ever-changing nature of the music while also revealing its uniqueness. In essence, the documentary by Ken Burns serves to reveal the exceptionality in jazz music while also revealing its aesthetic value and diversity.