In the 1800S, Jazz Was Born in the New Orleans Area From

History of Jazz In the 1800s, jazz was born in the New Orleans area from the roots of slave spirituals, minstrel and vaudeville shows, and West African work songs combined with European brass band instruments and rural blues expressions and harmonies. This newborn style of music could be heard on every street and at every occasion from parades to funeral Jelly Roll Morton marches. New Orleans jazz (often called Dixieland jazz) and ragtime was popularized nationwide in the early 20th century. They are the first forms of black music to cross over into white America. Pioneers like Scott Joplin (“The King of Ragtime”), Jelly Roll Morton, Ma Rainey and W.C. Handy (“Father of the Blues”) paved a road on which many others would travel. Ragtime’s fresh rhythms distinguished the new sounds of early jazz. The great riverboats of the Mississippi River spread the music up to northern cities, as did the growing train system. This also allowed for the Great Migration, which occurred between 1910 and 1940, when an estimated 1,750,000 African Americans left the South seeking better lives in northern industrial cities like Chicago, Detroit, New York and Philadelphia. The “Roaring 20s” heralded the creation of the phonograph and radio. These inventions allowed the blues and jazz music to be presented to the world. The era also brought with it the creation of “race records,” music made for black audiences, as popular belief was that the races had different musical taste. One of the first recorded blues singers was Bessie Smith. She became the most popular singer of the decade, selling records widely to both blacks and whites, and earned the title “Empress of the Blues.” The 1920s and ‘30s also marked the Harlem Renaissance. Many black bands, led by legendary talents as Cab Calloway, Edward “Duke” Ellington and Count Basie were often showcased in popular nightclubs such as the Cotton Club. While the clubs in Harlem would often be packed with both whites and blacks, the same was not true of other clubs. Despite their popularity with white Ameri- cans, black performers were not allowed to stay in hotels, not allowed to eat in dining rooms, and never permitted to enter through the front door of the white clubs they played. Even after the first interracial jazz quartet performed at Carnegie Hall in 1938, the segregation continued. The next 40 years saw the creation of new styles such swing, bebop (by Thelonious Monk and Dizzy Gillespie), cool jazz, hard bebop, soul jazz, free jazz, avante garde jazz and fusion (a predecessor to rap). In 1958, the Grammy Awards introduced several jazz categories. Ella Fitzgerald won Best Jazz Performance, Individual, and Best Vocal Performance, Female. In 1997, New Orleans musician Wynton Marsalis became the first jazz musician to win the Pulitzer Prize for music. Virtually all the different styles of jazz music are still being performed by live bands today. Now jazz enjoys an extremely diverse range of audiences. Ella Fitzgerald History of R&B The music we know today as R&B, or more properly, “rhythm and blues,” evolved in the 1930s and ’40s from Afro-American gospel, jazz and blues music. Many R&B artists can trace the start of their musical career to early childhood performances in a church choir. Count Basie One of the earliest forms of R&B styles is doo-wop, which emerged out of the streets of cities like New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and Baltimore. An early hit within this genre was “One O’Clock Jump” in 1937 by Count Basie. Doo-wop saw mainstream acceptance solidify in the 1950s and ’60s. The actual term R&B is credited by some to Jerry Wexler in 1947 while he was serving as editor for Billboard Magazine. This music was previously referred to as “Race Music.” In 1953 Wexler joined Atlantic Records to produce the label’s legendary R&B performers in all-night sessions. Some of the superstars of this era include Fats Domino, Chuck Berry and Ray Charles. Many R&B artists of this time did not get credit for the songs they wrote because there were con- sidered “too ethnic” or “colored music.” A prime example of this practice was one of Elvis Presley’s greatest hits, “Hound Dog,” performed in 1956. “Hound Dog” was originally recorded in 1952 by Big Mama Thornton. It would be many years before she would be given recognition for her version. This common practice was featured in the hit Broadway musical and recent blockbuster movie “Dreamgirls.” The 1960s ushered in a four-decade period of evolution within the genre from its humble origins. The predominant styles of the ’60s were Chicago soul, Southern soul and Motown, all identifiable by such stars as The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, The Jackson 5 and Patti LaBelle. This music gave birth to the current styles of soul, funk, new jack swing and neo-soul. The current pantheon of R&B artists includes such notables as Mariah Carey, Alicia Keyes, Maxwell, Chrisette Michele, John Legend and Jill Scott. Jill Scott History of Hip-Hop/Rap Hip-hop is a form of popular music comprised of four elements: emceeing (rapping), deejaying, graffiti and break-dancing. Kool Herc Rap is music that formed the base of the hip-hop culture. A product of cross-cultural integration, rap is deeply rooted within ancient African culture and oral tradition. Hip-hop is a lifestyle with its own lingo, dress code, etc. In the words of KRS-One, “hip-hop is something you live, rap is something you do.” It is widely thought that the birth of hip-hop occurred 37 years ago with a Jamaican DJ named Kool Herc at a house party in a small recreation room at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx, N.Y. Herc’s style of deejaying involved rapping over instrumentals. At house parties, Herc would rap with the microphone, using myriad in-house references. Duplicates of his house parties soon spread through the city. Herc and other block party DJs helped spread the message of hip-hop and spawned tons of followers. Some of the earliest rap songs include “King Tim III (Personality Jock)” by Fatback Band and “Rapper’s Delight” by the Sugarhill Gang. The latter reached the No. 36 spot on the Billboard charts (a huge feat by 1970s standards), demonstrating hip-hop’s ability to draw commercial appeal. In the 1980s, groups Afrika Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force used samples of Kraft- werk’s “Trans-Europe Express” to make their song “Planet Rock” the first global electro hit. Also in the ‘80s, N.W.A.’s “Straight Outta Compton” earned gold status in sales, signaling the arrival of gangsta rap. The 1980s and ‘90s saw mainstream recognition of rap. 1989, the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences recognized rap music when it awarded the first-ever Grammy for Best Rap Perfor- mance to DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince. Many artists – including the recipients – boycotted the award ceremony when it was decided not to broadcast the rap category during the live show. In 1994, Da Brat became the first female rap artist to achieve platinum sales. In 1995, the Academy announced the addition of the category Best Rap Album. The first award was presented to the group Naughty by Nature. In 2002 hip-hop dominated the mainstream with “Eminem: The Eminem Show” and Nelly’s “Nellyville” ranking as two top-selling albums of the year, far outperforming releases by Celine Dion, P!nk and the Dixie Chicks. Jay-Z’s collaboration with Linkin Park on “Collision Course” debuted at No. 1 and became the biggest-selling CD/DVD package of the year. In 2006, Three 6 Mafia became the first hip-hop group to win an Oscar for its contribution to the “Hustle & Flow” movie soundtrack. Other current successful rappers include Kanye West, Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj. Nicki Minaj History of Afro- American Gospel Afro-American gospel music has been a major influence in nearly all the different musical fields from blues, ragtime, R&B, soul, jazz and even rock ‘n’ roll. Mahalia Jackson At its root, gospel music sprang forth from the early slaves as they adopted their owner’s religion. Slaves were not permitted to sing in their native African tongues. During long work days on the plantations they typically could be heard singing protestant hymns and spirituals. Because slaves were not permitted to read or write, it was not uncommon for messages to be encoded within songs, particularly during escapes, such as “Go Down Moses” and “Steal Away.” The 1800s saw the spirituals begin to be performed publicly as the evangelism movement began. Thomas Dorsey, who is often referred to as the “father of gospel music,” was born in 1899. He composed timeless songs such as “Take My Hand, Precious Lord,” “(There’ll Be) Peace in the Valley,” “Angels Keep Watching Over Me,” “I’ll Tell It Wherever I Go” and “I’m a Pilgrim.” Over the years, gospel greats like Mahalia Jackson, Albertina Walker, James Cleveland and Aretha Franklin have performed the songs composed by Thomas Dorsey. One of the most recognized early performers is Mahalia Jackson. As Thomas Dorsey is referred to as the father of gospel music, Mahalia was crowned as the “queen of gospel music.” Her performance in the funeral scene of the classic film “Imitation of Life” received praise worldwide. While on a world tour she was referred to as the “Angel of Peace” by the French. In 1961 she performed at John F. Kennedy’s presidential inauguration, and received the first ever Grammy Award for Gospel Music or Other Religious Recording, which the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences created specifically to recognize her work.

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