The originators came from plantations to the city to the world.
This a lucid commentary that cuts to the chase regarding jazz’s social and musical origins. The devil is in the details and the details are what I like about this piece, and its incisive presentation. Black slaves were the instrument, no pun intended, by which the music emerged, evolved, and took wing. The originators came from plantations to the city to the world. It’s truly a folk music to use a term. It came from everyday people, thus its feeling of universality, joy and sadness, and like all good things it morphed into the public’s heart, influencing every genre of popular music as well as a good part of classical music of which it gained structure and got written down. In the end, like all the great arts, the end product is feeling, a sense of connection with the heart and soul of its listeners. It’s one of the few things in life I cherish and that has set me free in the best sense of the word to relive the primordial spirit inside my mind and body. We should have a monument the likes of the Eiffel Tower on the river shore of New Orleans, lit every day with the colors of wonder and the knowledge of its historic roots. Below it should be the most elaborate museum and library of jazz literature and recordings in the world.