Jazz Music Essay

End-Of-Term Reflection Paper
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Introduction
Jazz is a music genre which originated in the United States from African-American communities of New Orleans. The establishment of jazz in the American society significantly contributed to cultural awakening which united and integrated both black and white people, and it also functioned as a catalyst for the civil rights movement in the twentieth century. Understanding the history of jazz music and jazz musicians such as Louis Armstrong is key in comprehending how they inspired African Americans to gain pride in their black heritage. The jazz music also aided in growing the sense of black pride in different parts of the United States. For example, James Reese Europe who was a band leader that was honored in the city of New York and other cities across American encouraged fellow African Americans to follow his footsteps. This paper addresses issues related to assumptions of jazz music and how these assumptions have impacted the views about jazz music.
When I started the course, I already had my idea about jazz music. Concerning the jazz musicians, I would usually envision black men and women with hipster shades as well as fancy clothes playing trumpets and saxophone. Although this assumption was not entirely wrong, it absolutely misses the fact that there was no ordinary or typical jazz musician. The information which I have gained in this study has challenged this view because jazz music would be played or performed by a single man to an audience of one. This indicated that jazz music was not necessarily preserved for bands to perform for large crowds.
Additionally, I had a negative assumption about the jazz music that it was mainly associated with radical individuals who used music for their individual interests. However, this study enabled me to comprehend the origin of jazz music...