New Orleans has always been considered as the "birthplace of jazz" (Gioia, 31). New Orleans, historically, was known for its major trade ports, where everyone and anyone came in and out. As a result, different cultures and traditions from around the globe meshed and integrated in this city including the Spanish, French, Africans, and Southerners. Thus, jazz emerged because of different cultures and traditions, but also from differing social classes.
Most Africans were slaves and as a country, Americans brutally treated their slaves by restricting freedom and severely treating them. To cope with the brutality, slaves participated in Congo Square every Sunday which incorporated music and dance in a way to deal with sorrow. Since slavery was a big economic expansion in the growing Americas, slaves dealt with the cruelty of masters. They began singing songs of sorrow and despair in hopes of finding some sort of freedom. These "songs" eventually turned into a genre called the blues. Blues was a type of music that described the troubles of slavery. It was a form of hope that suggested freedom. New Orleans was home to these blues and became a new genre that never existed before. In fact, the blues had a sort of epistemology and their lyrics were important as they emphasized Black identity, freedom, and the conditions of life. They were very personal and relate-able and became a critical characteristic of America, posing as the tragedy of love, heartache, disappointment, and suffering.New Orleans brought the blues of America and yet, still brought a different level of jazz.
The Creole (which describes a person of mixed Black and Spanish/French descent) were classically trained musicians that were considered in a higher social class than slaves. New Orleans was a centerpiece of Creoles where they performed in operas and were especially technical in their musicality. They invented ragtime, which was a more technical musical version that messed around with syncopation and rhythm. It was classical for balls and dances especially with its chords and rhythms. However, throughout the Reconstruction period, Creoles were considered the same social class as slaves. As a result, they began to suffer the brutality of white Southerners. This process led to an integration of Creole tradition and slave conditions. Traditions and culture intertwined to create a form that mixed ragtime and blues into one form. That form is what we would call, jazz. "Many musicians were experimenting with the syncopation of ragtime and the blues tonality and applying these rhythmic and melodic devices to a wide rage of compositions" (Gioia, 36).
Thus, New Orleans became the birthplace of jazz. New Orleans combined the Creole culture with the African culture while creating something American. Jazz is the fusion of ragtime and blues, but was strictly American. In fact, "jazz destined to become part of the broader cultural pool as it was taken up with enthusiasm by musicians of all colors, all classes" (Gioia, 37). Furthermore, jazz was important for the integration of all Americans as it united people through music. Historically shown, New Orleans is the important city that featured jazz as an integral part of America. Without New Orleans' impact, who knows what would have happened.
