A piece of jazz, half of American history

Text |Deep pupil** Li Yiyin

Edit |Natto.

As a classic song and dance film, jazz plays an important role in its soundtrack style. At the same time, jazz is also an important clue to connect the protagonist's story in the film.

The jazz that is "about to die" in the film is like the jazz that can only be seen in bars occasionally today.

Today, we will talk about jazz through the Philharmonic, about its improvisation, and about its "disappearance".

1. At the turn of the 20th century: "mixed-race" jazz, free integration It is often said that ** has no borders. But of all the forms, perhaps none is more powerful than jazz across races, borders, and genders.

For example, in modern jazz, the emergence of the free jazz and jazz fusion genres has expanded the boundaries of jazz and made it more diverse and creative. But the freedom and integration of jazz is not contemporary, but consistent.

Jazz originated in the United States in the late 19th and 20th centuries, in the southern port city of New Orleans, and its roots came from the blues and ragtime.

There has always been a debate about jazz and blues, but they have a clear difference, that is, the blues were inspired by the tragic experience of personal trafficking by black slaves at that time, and it was often called "grievance song" because it often conveyed sad and painful emotions.

And Jazz is not just black, which is very similar to Ragtime.

Scott Joplin, known as the "King of Ragtime", was born in a highly educated black family, and was influenced and inspired by his white neighbors around him, and fused the characteristics of scattering and syncopation in Africa with the dignified and serious classical** to form a rather dynamic ragtime.

As more and more low-class black African-Americans migrated, there was an influx of New Orleans. The blues** they brought with them blended with various nationalities** such as the ragtime of New Orleans, and jazz with a distinctly "mixed-race" character was born.

It's fast-paced, dynamic, and self-expressive. Under the circumstances at that time, it was African-Americans who challenged and broke through the traditions.

The NBA professional team Utah Jazz, originally known as the "New Orleans Jazz", was originally formed in New Orleans to commemorate the birthplace of jazz.

During this period, jazz also had an anthropomorphic image in film and television works.

The protagonist of the classic film "The Pianist at Sea" is 1900 - a white abandoned baby adopted by a boiler-burning black uncle, who, like a free-flowing jazz, has no nationality, no birthday, and no home.

Under the enlightenment of Scott Joplin's "King of Ragtime", 1900 played the piano and played his own life.

Later, in an exchange with friends in New Orleans, 1900 realized that the music he improvised was the popular "jazz" in the outside world.

2. The 20-30s of the 20th century: jazz swing, integrated into the mainstream In 1918, the First World War ended, the world was peaceful and everything was beautiful, and the economic depression at the end of the 20s was far from coming, people's hedonistic spirit reached a climax, and the "Jazz Age" quietly came.

Writer Fitzgerald wrote:

It was an age of wonder, an age of art, an age of spending, and an age of mockery.

During this period, the United States** promulgated a ban on alcohol, and citizens were not allowed to hold drinking banquets without permission. But the ban can't suppress people's desire for alcohol.

During this period, the ban on formal markets and the prevalence of speakeasies led to the expansion of the black market, gangs, and police corruption, and the rapid development of jazz, which was synonymous with "freedom".

Once Upon a Time in America tells the story of this era.

The meeting place of the gang boss in the film, under the bright lights, there must be a band playing jazz music, gorgeous, arrogant, chaotic, and even a little vulgar.

The song and dance movie "Chicago", adapted from the ** drama of the same name, is based on a real case in the 20s of the 20th century.

Actresses Lockie and Velma were imprisoned for murder, but after being hyped up by lawyer Billy, they not only escaped the death penalty, but also became famous by acting in an absurd story.

It's like the phrase that goes through the film: all that jazz. Jazz Age. At the climax of carnival pleasure, arrogant and rebellious jazz has also become synonymous with deviance.

In The Pianist of the Sea, Morton, who challenged himself in 1900, called himself the "father of jazz", also played the piano in a brothel in New Orleans at the age of 12.

However, it doesn't seem wrong to say that jazz has yellow genes.

Jazz, which originated from the bottom, is indeed closely related to the sensory stimulation of drunken fans, as well as to the early New Orleans cabaret industry.

According to legend, in the beginning, jazz was not called "jazz" but "jass", which came from the hooligan phrase "jassing it up".

In 1929, an economic crisis broke out in the United States.

When the economy was in recession, small jazz bands lost their place to live, and large-scale bands began to grow popular in New York, and the era of big band jazz arrived.

It has a band of more than 10 or 20 people, with a number of trumpet, trombone, saxophone and bass, guitar, drums, piano and other accompanying instruments.

In the early days, the role of the big band was not only to play for people, but also to play the role of accompaniment to dance for everyone in places such as dance halls.

Because jazz dance music is lively and bright, people will always involuntarily sway their bodies when they hear it, this dance is also called swing dance (swing), and jazz also has a new name for "dancing**".

In the 30s of the 20th century, swing dancing was popular, and jazz gradually integrated into mainstream American culture in swing.

In the big band stage, the space for the musicians to improvise is compressed, and a more improvised bebop emerges.

3. The 40s and 50s of the 20th century: Improvisational jazz, a return to the artsThe big band jazz musicians in New York were dissatisfied with the creation of boring "dance accompaniments" and performed according to ready-made arrangements, so they began to play a more improvisational, free jazz style.

After the band's performance, the musicians who had been depressed for a day would gather in places like bars and taverns for some "piano fighting".

The Pianist of the Sea, 1900 with Morton).

Piano fighting is not confined to one instrument, and the process tends to become faster and more intense. Through the communication between instruments, they screened out some more amateur musicians, which required the musicians' abilities.

There is a battle between musicians and musicians, and they test each other. In this case, the instruments in the hands of the musicians are their "microphones", and they can communicate with the players and compete with their opponents through improvisations and variations of jazz standards.

Standard music is a regular repertoire in jazz, mainly from familiar songs from Broadway or movies at the time.

In the movie "Soul Journey", Docia directly began to test Joey's jazz level without a clear repertoire. And Joey's subsequent co-performance process is also called "call &response".

Another characteristic of pop jazz is that it is unique.

Because of Pop's pursuit of high improvisation, every performance of Pop Jazz is different, and unless it is deliberately recorded, you will never find a fixed score.

In terms of the rhythm and frame of the playing, Pop does not follow the usual path, and the change depends entirely on how the musician wants to change.

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For musicians, Pop's free improvisation raises the bar for musicians to play;For the audience, the unpredictable change of rhythm puts forward the requirements for the best appreciation.

Unlike the big band period, when jazz was reduced to a dance accompaniment, pop was born out of the need for musicians to fully express their talents, and it was a very avant-garde genre in jazz, and the audience was more niche, and jazz began to evolve from entertainment to art.

In other words, if swing music is collectivism, pop is distinctly individualistic.

In fact, this is also coinciding with the development trajectory of the times.

In the 40s of the 20th century, World War II broke out, a large number of young people were conscripted into the army, the number of big bands was obviously insufficient, and small group performances returned.

But this also seems to alienate it from a wider audience, and jazz has become a more extreme form of artistic expression from a kind of "escapism" used by the public, and the atmosphere has become tense, serious, and discordant.

Pop trumpeter Miles D**is then led the ninet to begin recording the famous Birth of the Cool.

Unlike the high-tension pop, Cool Jazz (also known as "West Coast Jazz") is played in a restrained and introspective manner, with soft and beautiful tunes.

This is often found in cafes, hence the nickname "café jazz".

At the same time that cold jazz reached its extreme, a hard bop with a more intense glissanda vibrato appeared.

The East Coast, on the other hand, favors the fiery, theatrical bebop** and calls for a return to the path of "mainstream jazz" based on improvisation and emotional expression.

The emergence of pop jazz had a significant impact on the development of jazz, making it a form that could be compared with classical music.

Fourth, "American Classical**" traces the history of jazz, which began to take root in humble classes and places, from the beginning of notoriety and obscurity, to the popularity of the swing music era, and gradually evolved into a serious art**.

Half a century of ups and downs has made jazz deeply engraved on the land of the United States and has become a "unique national treasure", and many people also call it "American classical".

But the debate between classical and jazz never stopped.

1.Objective classical, subjective jazz, although people have different views on the definition of classical music. However, whether in a narrow or broad sense, it is generally believed that classical music is a professional artistic creation that has gradually formed in Europe since the Middle Ages.

Classical music pays attention to the symmetry and coordination of form, mainly focuses on the pursuit of objective beauty, and gradually becomes a professional artistic creation with strong artistry. As a result, classical music focuses on norms, and there is very little room for improvisation.

Compared with the objectivity and self-sustaining of classical music, jazz has a self-entertaining and releasing temperament. It tries to express itself with instruments outside the classical standard.

For the performer, playing classical music is more about presenting a story and mood, and maintaining the right distance between the performer and the work;The performance of jazz music is the musician's full expression of creativity, whether it is the warm rationality of pop music or the soft restraint of cold jazz, it is the natural expression of the musician.

Neiman in the film "Burst Drummer" is in Schaefer, aspiring to become a top jazz drummer like Barty Ricky, but his teacher Fletcher is extremely strict and even a little sick.

Although it is a jazz orchestra, the performance of the orchestra must be performed according to the score, improvisation is simply impossible, and it is really difficult to call the jazz of the score.

At the end of the film, Neiman's impromptu solo performance of rebellion also reaches its climax, and Neiman and Fletcher also achieve a ** reconciliation at that moment.

But what needs to be seen is that improvisation doesn't mean that technology isn't important. The Neiman in the film can only complete the final stunning solo after repeated practice.

Aside from the ** angle, the opposition between jazz and classicism also involves racial contradictions.

As shown in the "Green Book", in the racially conflicted United States, classical ** is often white**, and the pianist Shelly is persuaded to give up classical ** because of the color of his skin.

2.Jazz & classical, the same pursuit of innovation, compared with pop**, jazz, classical audience is slightly niche.

The two have completely different demands from pop, and jazz and classical music are more concerned about breakthroughs and innovations, which are often manifested in complex forms.

The complex syncopation and difficult solo in jazz music are completely contrary to the standard of pop hits.

The same goes for classical.

Listeners who are not trained as quasi-professionals have a hard time finding resonance in a free-paced composition.

While meeting the entertainment needs of most people, it is inevitable that it will not be able to take into account a small number of people who pursue complexity, breakthrough and innovation.

And the ** aesthetic of these people can be satisfied by classical music and jazz.

In the later stage of jazz development, fusion jazz is also constantly learning some ways of performing and creating classical music.

In 1924, at the beginning of jazz's development, American composer George Gershwin wrote Rhapsody in Blue for solo piano and jazz ensembles. This repertoire, which combines the principles of classical ** with the elements of jazz, has been a great success.

5. Conclusion: Born of self and died of self in the 20s and 60s, under the haze of the Cold War, the rebellious sentiment of young Americans reached its peak.

The Beatles came into being and quickly became popular, and their ** was full of enthusiasm and strength, shouting out the dissatisfaction and criticism of young people. Rock 'n' roll was all the rage, and at the same time, jazz was becoming more avant-garde and self-effacing.

If 1900 is really the spiritual embodiment of Jazz, then perhaps the end of Jazz should be - refusing to get off the ship.

Just as it disappeared into the sea in 1900, jazz faded into obscurity.

But jazz has not disappeared, whether it is fusion jazz or acid jazz, jazz is still evolving, improvisation is still the same spirit of jazz, but not as dazzling as before.

Jazz, who retreated to the bar, is no longer brilliant, but he is still whispering silently, constantly expressing himself in different ways.

Just as, the movie "Soul Journey"22 has an understanding of jazz and life:

I'm just expressing myself, just like you play jazz.