BLOG #1: New Orleans, Birthplace of Jazz

The reason jazz happened to emerge in New Orleans rather than other American cities in the early part of the 20th century can be found in its ethnically diverse history. When the city was founded, it was under the control of the French empire, but from 1764-1800, New Orleans was Spanish territory. As a result of this change, the Latin-Catholic culture brought over by the Spaniards was able to take root and deeply influence the social attitudes toward a number of things, but most importantly African Americans. "Under Spanish law, slaves could be set free without permission, could own property, and had the right to coartacion, which allowed them to purchase their own freedom based on an adjudicated contract." (Gioia, 23 E-book). These relatively lax conditions were highly conducive to the practicing of the African music tradition; in places like Congo Square, slaves were free to dance and play music, elements of which would later be incorporated into jazz music.

Two other characteristics of New Orleans also set the city up to give birth to jazz. One of them was the population's avid enthusiasm for brass bands, which played for "almost every type of social event." (Gioia, 102 E-book). The presence of talented brass players made it easy to recruit players for small jazz ensembles. Another was the bustling "district". New Orleans' location on the Louisiana cost made it a prime center for trade in all sorts of goods. At the end of a long day's work, the thousands of dock workers, merchants, and all other types went into the district to succumb to their vices. While they waited for a favorite escort to become available, some form of entertainment was necessary, and so the earliest jazz innovators scored numerous gigs in the bawdy houses, where the nature of their music meshed ideally with the atmosphere of the place.

Not to be forgotten is the impact made by Mexican musicians, who traveled into New Orleans to perform their craft at events such as the World's Cotton Centennial Exposition. Jelly Roll Morton, one of the first jazz pioneers, said the distinct Latin feel of their music was like a spice, and must be present in any decent jazz rendition. The Mexican musicians had received formal training in classical music back in their home country, and would occasionally pass along their skills and knowledge to the black musicians of New Orleans. More importantly, they are credited with being the first to bring woodwind instruments onto the scene; the sound of a saxophone wailing out a solo is now seen as the epitome of jazz.

After considering the evidence, I believe the most important factor that explains why jazz emerged in New Orleans is the city's tolerance for the African musical tradition during the slavery era, having a profound appreciation for brass big bands and public musical displays in general, and being open to unorthodox and revolutionary music making methods. Being a large and diverse commercial center alone is not sufficient, otherwise New York City would have been the birthplace of jazz. The jazz created in New Orleans is so distinctive because of the numerous races and cultures which contributed. Spanish, Haitian, West African, French, Mexican, and many more nationalities played a part in sculpting the earliest forms of jazz music.