New Orleans: the Cultural Melting Pot of America
19th Century America was a time of great change and progress and one of the cities at the centre of this was New Orleans. With the lifting of trade restrictions on the Mississippi River, following the Louisiana purchase, the economy in New Orleans blew up and soon the city would enter into a, “period of unprecedented prosperity” (Gioia, 27). With the docks bringing in around $200 million worth of freight in 1951 there was a lot disposable cash going around the city and all sorts of different people were able to mix in “The District” (Gioia, 27). This amalgamation of cultures was pushed further when the Louisiana Legislative Code No.111 was passed. Now anyone of African ancestry was designated a Negro preventing the elitist, European Creoles from disassociating themselves from the black population. Slowly these different cultures were forced closer together and not only in social arenas but also “in the musical subculture of New Orleans” (Gioia, 32). All of this migration of people and goods is one of the main factors that enabled jazz to develop in New Orleans and when combined with the cosmopolitan aspect of the city the foundations for the jazz movement were set.
When considering the sources of New Orleans jazz one must first look at the musical styles before it. One of these was the Blues which was a style that was able to grow after the civil war. It was a new musical form that emerged with a new black identity and aspects like the unique voices it provided inspired the early jazz musicians. Another musical style that came before jazz was ragtime which Gioia says, “rivals the blues in importance- and perhaps surpasses it in influence- as a predecessor to early jazz” (Gioia, 21). However, jazz is characterized by individuals and strong personalities so we must also look at the people that started the movement. The first name that comes to mind is Buddy Bolden who “is often cited as the first jazz musician” (Gioia, 33). He characterizes the idea of being a source of New Orleans jazz as he was was able to combine both the rhythms of ragtime and the bent notes and cord patterns of the blues (Gioia, 34). His “ragged and raucous” musical style became something that musicians tried to emulate and thus became a key element to jazz music.
I think it is difficult to say that there is one factor that surpasses all others in an explanation of why jazz emerged in New Orleans. The impact of the city’s growing economy was imperative and furthermore it possessed a “cosmopolitan environment that few cities in the New World could match” thus saying one thing was more important than the other is a hard thing to do (Gioia, 27).What further asserts this point is the contribution of Mexican immigrants to New Orleans jazz. They arrived after performing at the World’s Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition in New Orleans, 1884, and from this point on the Mexican influence,“would echo in the jazz and blues of this region” (Johnson, 225). Hart’s music store on Canal Street published over eighty Mexican compositions during the late nineteenth century, a testament to its popularity (Gioia, 9).
The nature of New Orleans as a city is one that characterizes jazz. The modern, new, urban style with questionable ethics is something that is captured by both the city and the music it produced. The blend of cultures it possessed helped make jazz what it is but is also the main reason why you can’t place superior importance on only one influence.
>commented on Addison Jerlow's blog
