Lesson 3: The Birth of Jazz

The Birth of Jazz

The birth of jazz occurred around the beginning of the twentieth century. Although New Orleans is usually credited with being the birthplace of jazz, similar music also began happening not long after in other cities, including Chicago, Kansas City, and Saint Louis. In New Orleans, what would become jazz grew out of the different musical traditions already present, including brass bands, ragtime, and the blues. Ragtime was a musical genre that developed in the late nineteenth century. It combined the music of marches (such as those composed by John Philip Sousa) with the rhythms of African music. This dance music featured a “ragged” or unexpected rhythm.

Small bands were common in New Orleans at this time. Dance bands played in taverns and other sites in the “red light district.” Marching bands also played for funerals. The instruments used in these bands would become the instruments used to create jazz; they included brass and reed instruments as well as drums. These bands typically had around six or seven members, with the trombone, cornet, and clarinet on the melody. Other instruments that might be included were the guitar, tuba, piano, string bass, and drums. Many of the musicians were self-taught and it was not unusual for their instruments to have been salvaged after the Civil War. The beat of the music was often a four beat rhythm (which was also known as “four on the floor”). Improvisation occurred, but it generally accompanied the melody rather than the featured part of the music.

This type of jazz is generally referred to as “classic jazz.” Classic jazz, sometimes called New Orleans style jazz, started with these dance and funeral bands around the start of the twentieth century. It has also sometimes been called Dixieland jazz. This type of jazz features a syncopated rhythm and solos that added on to the melody through improvisation.

One of the individuals who helped create this new form of music was cornetist Buddy Bolden (1877 – 1931). Bolden led a band in New Orleans from about 1895 to 1906. Unfortunately, we don’t really know much about what Bolden’s band or this very early jazz sounded like as there were no recordings made. Many of the other details about his life are also hazy; in many cases, it is hard to tell what is reality and what is myth in the details of his life. Contemporaries of Bolden reported that he had a “loud, piercing sound” that could be heard even in the distance. Some scholars have suggested that his sound was probably improvised ragtime with some blues added in. He played by ear and adapted the music to his cornet. His band was said to have been made up of a cornet, clarinet, string bass, trombone, and piano, and they apparently played familiar music from the blues and folk genres, including “My Bucket’s Got a Hole in It” and “Make Me a Pallet on the Floor.”

One of the individuals who helped create this new form of music was cornetist Buddy Bolden (1877 – 1931). Bolden led a band in New Orleans from about 1895 to 1906. Unfortunately, we don’t really know much about what Bolden’s band or this very early jazz sounded like as there were no recordings made. Many of the other details about his life are also hazy; in many cases, it is hard to tell what is reality and what is myth in the details of his life. Contemporaries of Bolden reported that he had a “loud, piercing sound” that could be heard even in the distance. Some scholars have suggested that his sound was probably improvised ragtime with some blues added in. He played by ear and adapted the music to his cornet. His band was said to have been made up of a cornet, clarinet, string bass, trombone, and piano, and they apparently played familiar music from the blues and folk genres, including “My Bucket’s Got a Hole in It” and “Make Me a Pallet on the Floor.”