A survey of “Western music” should include a study of music that is now considered completely “American”: jazz & blues.  Although Jazz and Blues are technically separate genres, they may share a common ancestry.  Much of the music sprang up among Africans who had been brought to America on the slave ships.  From the fields and community worship came the work song and the spiritual.  Survival dictated the need for creative means of expression – both in keeping the connection to a far away homeland and as way to release emotional turmoil thus finding freedom in spirit if no where else. 

From its inception, blues music has continued in the direction of a melancholy, mournful state of expression, simplicity and repetition. The blues as a genre has to this day been able to hold on to its unique and identifiable elements.  At the same time, it was able to branch off to become something different: Rock-n-Roll.  We identify blues and rock-n-roll as separate entities; yet in rock-n-roll, we can still pinpoint the elements of blues music.

Jazz, on the other hand has been more refined than blues.  Early in its musical life, there were connections to ragtime music with its syncopated rhythms, as well connectivity to the American marches and popular music.  Jazz reflects the harmonies of the European tradition. The blending together of the “folk” and “classical” resulted in complex harmonies and unique rhythms, as well as an improvisational style that cannot be mistaken for any other type of music.  While jazz is not “classical” in the terms that we have been discussing, it is “classic,” in that it has endured and offers something important to our culture. 

To learn about Jazz & Blues, we are going to do something a little different.  We will note the most common characteristics of Jazz and Blues and list the various types of each along with a representative artist and brief description.  In lieu of providing listening selections in this lesson, you, as the student learner, will locate the listening selections.

First, you will review the sections on jazz and blues to decide on a specific category you’d like to research. You may look at one type and say, “This isn’t for me” and choose something different.  Once you have decided on a style you like, you will then find five representative songs of that category. 

In your initial discussion board post, you’ll share your decision with your classmates by describing in detail the music you have chosen and why it falls into that specific category. Then you will post the five representative songs.  You might even include the names of some of the artists who have had an impact on that genre. 

After reading the posts, choose two posts to answer, but before you do – you should explore the music about which your classmates wrote. You should have listened to their choices of music prior to responding. 

The goal, of course, is to learn about different styles, so let’s see how many styles we can get on the board.  If you see a style repeating – choose something different.  Have fun! 

The characteristics of Jazz and a list of styles follows.

“Jazz is unique for two very special aspects: (a) its provocative rhythms, technically known as “syncopation” and “swing feeling,” and (b) its insistence that performers create their parts as they play them, technically known as improvisation. Each jazz performance represents a new and original creation” Griddley 2012, 3).

When we say that jazz is improvised, there are certainly elements that have to be decided before the song. When there are multiple performers, decisions on tempo, key and chord progress have to be determined ahead of time.  That way, when the soloist improvises, it makes sense and works with what the others are playing.

New Orleans is known as the “Birthplace of Jazz.” This is largely due to the diversity of the area. Jazz was influenced by popular music, the blues, the brass bands, ragtime and the people’s desire for dance and party music.

Features of Jazz area as follows:

  • Improvisation
  • Syncopation
  • Harmony
  • Instruments
  • Role of percussion
  • Rough tone qualities
  • Repetition of brief patterns poly-rhythms
  • Decorations of tone
  • Blue notes
  • Overlapping call and response

For your music selections, here are jazz styles from which to choose.  One example of a musician from that era is also included.  That way, you’ll have a better idea of what you’re looking for.

  1. Early Jazz (1920s) – Louis Armstrong & James Johnson
  2. Swing (1930s) – Coleman Hawkins & Art Tatum
  3. Transition to Bop (Late 1930s) – Lester Young & Count Basie
  4. Bop (1940s) – Charlie Parker & Thelonious Monk
  5. Transition to Cool and West Coast (Late 1940s) – Miles Davis & Lennie Tristano
  6. West Coast (1950s) – Gerry Mulligan & Dave Brubeck
  7. Hard Bop (1950s) – John Coltrane & Art Blakey
  8. Transition to Modal Jazz and Free Jazz (Late 1950s) – Miles Davis & Ornette Coleman
  9. Coexistence of Hard Bop, Free Jazz & Modal Jazz (Early 1960s) – Bill Evans & John Coltrane’
  10. Mid-Sixties (same as above) – Joe Henderson & Herbie Hancock
  11. Jazz Rock (1970s) – Coexistence of AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Music), Jazz-Rock, and Modal Jazz – Keith Jarrett & Chick Corea
  12. Coexistence of New Age, Smooth Jazz, Jazz-Rock & Neo-Classical Jazz (1980s) – Joe Henderson Keith Jarrett
  13. Coexistence of Acid Jazz, Jazz-Rock, Neo-Classical, Hip-Hop Jazz, Klezmer-Jazz, Neo-Swing (1990s) – Kenny G., & Keith Jarrett

In this module on the Main Moodle page, you will find a “Special Assignment Discussion Forum.”

The objectives for this assignment are to…

  • provide the student an opportunity to assimilate and organize the historical and cultural elements of jazz and blues;
  • help the student consider how jazz and blues impacts the his/her own culture;
  • help the student recognize elements of jazz and blues in much of the current music;
  • help the students learn about the individuals who influenced jazz and blues;
  • give the student an opportunity to decide how he/she feels about a specific type of music; and
  • help the student learn to communicate about music.

To learn about Jazz & Blues, please review the sections on jazz and blues to decide on a specific category you’d like to research. You may review one type and say, “This isn’t for me” and choose something different.  Once you have decided on a style you like, you will then find five representative songs of that category. 

In your initial discussion board post, you’ll share with your decision with your classmates by describing in detail the music you have chosen and why it falls into that specific category. Then you will post the five representative songs.  You might even include the names of some of the artist who have had an impact on that genre. 

After reading the posts, choose two posts to answer, but before you do – you should explore the music about which your classmates wrote. You should have listened to their choices of music prior to responding. 

The goal, of course, is to learn about different styles, so let’s see how many styles we can get on the board.  If you see a style repeating – choose something different.  Have fun! 

*You do not need to post the actual videos, just the title and additional information on how to find each listening selection.

Now that you have had a taste of Jazz & Blues, perhaps you will want to explore this music on a much deeper level. Culturally, this music has impacted our popular music including rock-n-roll in more ways than we can even understand in so short a lesson.  Whenever you listen to these types of music, make it a point to identify elements such as syncopated rhythms and improvisational techniques from the jazz tradition or the call-and-response and twelve-bar-blues from the blues tradition.  Most of all, enjoy and appreciate this “American” music! Resources

Bierman, Benjamin. 2016. Listening to Jazz. New York: Oxford University Press.

Bonds, Mark Evan. 2013. A History of Music in Western Culture. Fourth Edition. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, Inc.

Bonds, Mark Evan. 2015. Listen to This. Third Edition. Boston & New York: Pearson Education, Inc.

Deveaux, Scott, and Gary Giddins. 2011. Jazz: Essential Listening. New York and London: W.W. Norton & Company.

Campbell, Michael. 2015. Music2. Instructor Edition. Stamford: Cengage Learning.

Gridley, Mark C. Jazz Styles: History and Analysis. Eleventh Edition. Boston and New York: 2012.

Herzhaft, Gerard. 1992. Encyclopedia of the Blues. Fayetteville: The University of Arkansas Press.

Kamien, Roger. 2015. Music: An Appreciation. New York: McGraw-Hill Education.

Shaw, Ghita M. 1986. Black Popular Music in America: From the Spirituals, Minstrels, and Ragtime to Soul, Disco, and Hip Hop. New York: Schirmer Books.

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