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Jazz

The connection between jazz music and race has been discussed ever since it first appeared around 100 years ago. Over the last forty
years or so, many jazz artists have expressed their beliefs that jazz is strictly an African American style of music. One of their main arguments for the "blackness" of jazz is that the most influential and significant foundations of jazz were rooted in African American culture. Some of these foundations include blues, ragtime, and religious music. The blues evolved in the southern United States in the communities of African American laborers. The blues appeared sometime between 1870 and 1970 corresponding with the emancipation of the slaves, thus the belief that the development of the blues was associated with the newly acquired freedom of the slaves. In the 1920s, the blues became a major element of African American popular music, but at the same was being listened to by white audiences for the first time. Those responsible for spread of blues to other cultures include W.C. Handy, the so called father of blues, and the early female blues artists such
as "Ma" Rainey and Bessie Smith. Ragtime is another foundation of jazz which is rooted in African American culture. Ragtime originated in African American musical communities, in the late 19th century, and descended from the marches played by all black bands common in all northern cities with black populations. There are three composers who are acknowledged as the most significant and influential individuals of the ragtime era. Scott Joplin was an African American composer who is the best known ragtime figure. After his death, Joplin's music and ragtime in general waned in popularity as new forms of musical styles, such as jazz. Similarly there was James Scott. Like Joplin, he was a very significant African American ragtime composer. Finally, there was Joseph Lamb. Unlike Joplin and Scott he was a white ragtime composer, yet Lamb's Ragtime pieces were authentic...