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     A recent Wednesday night I ended up at a Jazz Ensemble performance at BYU in the HFAC. It was incredible! I have been to a number of musical performances at BYU, all of which have been absolutely fantastic! There are so many talented performers in the performing arts and I for one am not as talented in that area but I have greatly benefited from the concerts put on. My first experience with Jazz music was a little bit of practice during my piano lesson years ago back in high school. Oh and then there was one painfully dull and drawn out Jazz concert in high school that I attended all in the name of supporting some young women in my class. I like to think that I have become cultured and can now appreciate things from a wide spectrum of genres. Now I can't say I listen to Jazz music on a regular basis but after the concert I think I am going to have to change that. I love Jazz music! There is something about it that is so exciting and makes me want to move, it pulls at my soul and I am automatically happy and inspired, I feel like I can conquer the world in style, in ragtime.

Luckily we just studied the birth of Jazz music in the United States that came about with the mix of African American slave culture, immigration, and industrialism. The music I heard reminded me a lot of Scott Joplin and his style of Blues with catchy ragtime rhythms. I still remember playing Maple Leaf Rag on the piano, one of Joplin's popular pieces. Joplin’s great talent that he brought to the music world was syncopation. Joplin infused European and African American styles to create a new rhythm now recognized as ragtime. I have played in ragtime and have also felt a sense of liberation with that type of music. Those feelings might have something to do with growing up playing the piano and having to follow the strict count and measure but when I got to learn Maple Leaf Rag I could use a little, very little J freedom in counting. I could play the notes with a little give here and there and “feel” the music and that’s how I felt the other night listening to the Jazz Ensemble.

      Jazz music is a kind of branch that was born out of ragtime. Like blues, jazz is associated with musicians from the south most of which had to overcome some type of obstacle to become a voice and a recognized artist. Jazz musicians and music quickly gained favor with the majority of the population and was soon considered one of the greatest art forms to be born in the States. Jazz music was born and gained popularity within the modernist movement. Jazz is part of the modernist movement because of the leading characteristics of jazz. Jazz is based on experiments, on improvisation, an interest in new technology, and focus on self-creations over the individual piece of artwork. Jazz lyrics focus on secular themes which is a very modernist idea. Further infusion of classical and folk music varied the styles and breadth of jazz as did each musician. Every jazz performer is unique and brings to the stage their own set of ideas and interpretations of jazz. Louis Armstrong, a noted jazz musician, is known for his voice and for his interest in ensemble solos. 

                                 
                                                       {via: Music Liner} Louis Armstrong         
     Armstrong is in fact one of my favorite Jazz musicians and he has certainly made his mark in music history. The BYU Jazz Ensemble was inherently influenced by his style. It was Armstrong who introduced the idea of solo showcasing and highlighting specific musicians throughout a piece, the Jazz Ensemble did that Wednesday night, highlighting certain performers throughout songs. Armstrong was one of the first musicians to treat his voice like an instrument and to make new and different voices. Armstrong's music is unique and can easily be identified by his voice. Armstrong just like many other musicians overcame a difficult childhood he was an orphan and was adopted and became a great musician.
This Thanksgiving season I am so thankful for cultural events, for lots of genres, talented students that surround me, and most importantly for music and the happiness it brings me!