The Jazz Concert Analysis Essay

Jazz is considered to be the culmination of black ethnic music and is one of the defining music genres of the twentieth century (Sarath ix). Its rhythm inspired many black people to change their lives during the "Jazz Age" in the 1920s (Bearden and Henderson 136). After returning from World War I, African Americans took pride in their soldiers, which changed their perception of identity and resulted in mass migration from the southern to northern states (Bearden and Henderson 135).

This migration led to a significant shift in the role of black people in American culture and the emergence of famous African American artists such as Palmer Hayden and Augusta Savage (Bearden and Henderson 134). Jazz was the music genre that initiated and accompanied the decade of the rise in cultural and social awareness among black Americans.

The concert analyzed in this essay took place at Lincoln Center in New York in March of 2019. The sextet members, including Cecile McLorin Salvant, Bria Skonberg, Melissa Aldana, Jamison Ross, Yasushi Nakamura, and Christian Sands, spread the spirit of the annual Monterey Jazz Festival on tour in 2019 (“Monterey Jazz Festival on Tour (Live in New York)”).

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Although Sands appears to be the group’s organizer, each member contributed to the whole, showcasing their incredible synergy of skills and talents. Love, beauty, and dreams were the central themes of the concert, expressed in songs such as “Fog,” “Visions,” “Sack Full of Dreams,” “Ghost Song,” “Yasugaloo,” and “Splendor.” Salvant's "Fog" and "Splendor" opened and closed the concert, respectively. Despite its short duration of less than an hour, the concert conveyed the band's inspiration to the audience.

Jazz is distinguished by its rhythmic accuracy and the space it allows for individuality in improvisations. According to Sarath, jazz's critical features include “African-based foundations, the prevalence of improvisations in individual and collective formats, blues roots, highly personalized expression amidst rich collective interaction, self-transcending connections, and spirituality” (xi).

The concert preserved this energy, taking the audience back to the time when jazz was at its peak popularity. Songs like "Yasugaloo," composed by Nakamura and dominated by bass sounds, transported the audience to evening meetings in the 1920s-1930s after a long day of hard labor when black people were overwhelmed but hopeful.

"Visions" and "Sack Full of Dreams" set the mood for recalling the Civil Rights movement and the hopes for a better future full of love, peace, and consensus between races. "Ghost Song" allowed the audience to imagine themselves in New Orleans in the 1900s, with Salvant's singing reminiscent of African American women's voices who sang masterpieces in their small communities, remaining unknown to the world.

The jazz music played during the concert may have misled some uninformed listeners into thinking that it was solely for the entertainment of the wealthy. However, jazz was actually created by African American communities, who initiated a renaissance of collective consciousness (Sarath 101). For instance, the migration of black people from the South to the North resulted in over 12 million African Americans residing in the North during the late 1920s (Schneider 23).

Though the primary reason for their exodus from southern plantations was to find work in industries, folk music reflected these historical changes (Schneider 24). Despite the economic recession during the Jazz Age, this migration led to increased income for black laborers in factories and plants located in industrial cities such as Chicago, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Detroit, and New York (Schneider 25).

Furthermore, the surge in jazz's popularity allowed for cultural exchange, as African Americans shared their thoughts, emotions, and concerns through music (Schneider 90). Jazz was a form of art that received acclaim from millions of white people, who gained a better understanding of the black soul through this new musical genre, although it was created by the African American diaspora.

Jazz gained popularity among white people, attracting musicians of different races to this field. The 2019 jazz concert by the band from the Monterey Jazz Festival was multicultural, a phenomenon that would have been impossible in the pre-jazz era. Jazz's irresistible magnetism stems from its combination of different musical elements, including "African rhythms, blues-inflected chord progressions, church spirituals, European melodies, and American marching-band instrumentation" (Schneider 86).

According to Schneider, jazz rhythms removed the barriers between the two races in the 1950s, "when young people danced to the music of Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley without caring about either singer's race" (90). This cultural shift resulted in a significant mindset shift that later facilitated the end of interracial hostility.

Jazz played a crucial role in the cultural, legal, and political changes that took place in the United States. It accompanied the great migration of African Americans to the North, the increase in education and employment opportunities, and the civil rights movement. Jazz chords inspired individualism and egalitarianism, reflecting the African American community's power and resilience (Sarath xii).

ven modern jazz songs performed at the 2019 Lincoln Center concert carry the spirit of change. The genre's original nature continues to thrive, preserving its unique rhythm despite many changes over the last century.

In conclusion, the 2019 jazz concert at Lincoln Center in New York exemplified the best traditions of this music genre. The six-member band performed with instruments like piano, bass, tenor saxophone, trumpet, and drums, conveying the Jazz Age's spirit, where significant cultural and social changes began with the migration from the southern to northern states in search of better opportunities. The songs' central theme was love and dreams, yet they still managed to reflect the genre's impact in removing interracial barriers in the United States.

Reference

1. Bearden, Romare, and Henderson, Harry. “The Twenties and the Black Renaissance.”
2. The Romare Bearden Reader, edited by Robert G. O’Meally, Duke University Press, 2019, pp. 133-155.
3. “Monterey Jazz Festival on Tour (Live in New York).” YouTube, uploaded by Jazz Night in America. 2019. Web.
4. Sarath, Ed. Black Music Matters: Jazz and the Transformation of Music Studies. Rowman & Littlefield, 2018.
5. Schneider, Mark Robert. African Americans in the Jazz Age: A Decade of Struggle and Promise. Rowman & Littlefield, 2006.

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