Jazz music has long been one of my favorite styles of music. I started playing the saxophone when I was 11 years old in the school band. I ended up playing until I graduated high school, and contrary to popular belief, I was not a band geek. Actually, I ended up marrying the captain of the cheerleading squad, so that right there should tell you how cool I am….
Jazz was formed out of the perfect storm of musical styles and cultures. The roots of jazz stem from black folk music sung by slaves, ragtime, and classical European and Blues music. To me, jazz is the ultimate form of musical expression and freedom. Playing in a jazz band myself, I was able to improvise and go with the flow of the music rather than following a specific line of notes and music. That’s what jazz is all about.
New Orleans is really the epicenter of the jazz revolution. With the passing of prohibition in the 1920’s, speakeasies became a popular destination, and jazz was the soundtrack of America. Artists such as Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Louis Armstrong and Glenn Miller were some of the pioneers of “big band” jazz that was a wartime refuge for those looking to take their minds of the battles going on overseas.
Perhaps one of the best known jazz musicians is the legendary trumpeter Miles Davis. Davis was the father of “cool jazz,” and is one of my favorite artists. It also happens to be around the time that the beat poets were beginning to take the stage at coffee shops and jazz bars, setting of a revolution for the mind during the late 50’s and 1960’s.
