The first question I asked myself at the beginning of the week was how much do I actually know about jazz? I have realized that the original impressions that I perceived from the music were not accurate. My musical background does not go very deep. I listen to a wide variety of music, but I really do not have a favorite. Jazz has made an impression on me in the first week of my studies. My knowledge for the music has inclined to a point where I have gained an idea of how important the culture of jazz music has played in the past. The numerous cultures that the music plays part in has really structured the different styles of many of the artists we have learned about. The dynamic styles of jazz has transitioned from Ragtime, to Swing, and on through "Modern" and "Cool" jazz. These specific styles have played a role in uniting different cultures through a new form and inspirational style. .
I have always characterized jazz music as a rhythmic and instrumental form of music. My impression on the basis of the music has always been portrayed with the African-American race. This was accumulated from the rhythm "n" blues era. I always felt that jazz and blues were a very similar type of music. The blues, like all of jazz, are capable of expressing human emotions and can be played in every tempo from funeral slowness to breakneck speed (22). The two art forms are similar in the instrumental background, but the individual singing elevates the blues, which is not very common in jazz music. This portrayal of the race origin was gained when I attended a blues festival two years ago in Arkansas. All of the blues artists were of the African-American decent. I observed that the majority of the audience was also African-American. After learning more about the culture of the music, I have realized that the frontiers of the music go far beyond race, but to what is popular to the American culture.
