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Today, Congo Square in New Orleans is considered one
of the most important cultural sights in the United States.
It has been said that it was in this spot that African music,
which was suppressed in other parts of the South, flourished,
and it was this African music, fused with European influences,
which would create jazz.
Recently, New Orleans' status as the birthplace of jazz
has been disputed, and no one spot is recognised by jazz historians
as its site of origin. Nevertheless, the place certainly had
a crucial role to play during its infancy, and so many recent
writers have diplomatically re-christened New Orleans the
'Cradle of Jazz'. The legendary Louis Armstrong, Jelly
Roll Morton, King Oliver and Sidney Bechet are
amongst the crowd of jazz artists to have resided in New Orleans
at one time or another. In this city, jazz is everywhere,
and the subtropical climate means that during the day it is
all over the streets.
History
Jazz came into being in around 1895, initially as a part
of black American culture, and combined elements of ragtime,
marching band music, and blues. The real difference between
the new jazz music and its earlier influences was the emphasis
on improvisation. It was during the 20's, though, that jazz
really became fashionable all over America, crossing over
from black American to mainstream culture, so much so that
the 20's are sometimes known as 'The Jazz Age'.
It was all a part of the youthful revolution that came about
during the 'return to normalcy' after the First World War.
Records were sold by the millions to people wanting to perfect
their steps to exotic dances like the Shimmy, the Charlestown,
the Black Bottom and the more utilitarian dance, the
Fox Trot, also known as "the Businessman's Bounce".
Steamboats offered dance excursions along the Mississippi,
which provided employment for many New Orleans jazz musicians.
Things to see and do today
These days New Orleans remains a centre for jazz musicians
and related events. The New Orleans Jazz Fest, which
runs from April 26th until May 5th, has developed from a jazz
festival into an event which, whilst still keeping jazz at
its heart, now encompasses a more diverse range of music.
Sting has recently headlined there, for instance, despite
having little to do with New Orleans, or, indeed jazz.
The Jazz Fest is renowned as much for the music as for its
incredible array of foods, which include crawfish, shrimp,
catfish oyster and crab-based concoctions, and masses of other
culture-specific offerings from over 60 different food vendors. |
