Jazz

The mid 50s to the late 60s were a time of great social and cultural change. A cry for civil rights and equality could be heard through the entire country. This time gave rise to music in many genres that is still considered influential today. Jazz is not an exception. The impact of this time period on jazz can be seen in the complex improvisation that occurred. John Coltrane and Miles Davis were both very influential during this time period. To really understand the impact that these artist had it is important to have an understanding of the time.

Who was listening to Jazz?

Jazz had risen from it's meager beginnings to become one of the few musical styles which were given significant merit by critics of the time. The audience of jazz was as varied as the people who live in the United States, the main core of the audience was made up of older people who resided in urban environments. "Jazz music is existence music.. It doesn't take you out of the world it puts you in the world." (Wynton Marsalis). Jazz allowed the audience to embrace their feelings instead of replacing them with popularized emotions. So the audience needed to be older to truly understand the impact of the music. There was a "tremendous investment in the generation gap." (Marsalis). Jazz music was about listening and hearing what was going on and that was something that the younger musicians were unable to convey.

And who was creating Jazz?

There were many people creating Jazz during this time, they all seemed to have a few things in common. First, the musicians were mostly from urban areas which allowed them to develop their style in the type of area it was born. Second, a majority of these musicians were aging black Americans, who understood the pain and anguish that is the heart and soul of jazz. Lastly, the musicians were able to work with each other using the new styles with the men who created it. This allowed them greater understanding and the ability to learn from the masters and to innovate and recreate the jazz style.

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Revised: Andrescik, Clementz, Hudson,11/23/2004