Cambridge, Jazz, Live perfomances
Jazz
Jazz is a musical form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions.
From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th century American popular music. Its West African pedigree is evident in its use of blue notes, improvisation, polyrhythms, syncopation, and the swung note but one of jazz's iconic figures Art Blakey has been quoted as saying, "No America, no jazz. I've seen people try to connect it to other countries, for instance to Africa, but it doesn't have a damn thing to do with Africa"
Origins of Jazz
By 1808 the Atlantic slave trade had brought almost half a million Africans to the United States. The slaves largely came from West Africa and brought strong tribal musical traditions with them. Lavish festivals featuring African dances to drums were organized on Sundays at Place Congo, or Congo Square, in New Orleans until 1843, as were similar gatherings in New England and New York. African music was largely functional, for work or ritual, and included work songs and field hollers. The African tradition made use of a single-line melody and call-and-response pattern, but without the European concept of harmony. Rhythms reflected African speech patterns, and the African use of pentatonic scales led to blue notes in blues and jazz.
In the early 19th century an increasing number of black musicians learned to play European instruments, particularly the violin, which they used to parody European dance music in their own cakewalk dances. In turn, European-American minstrel show performers in blackface popularized such music internationally, combining syncopation with European harmonic accompaniment. Louis Moreau Gottschalk adapted African-American cakewalk music, South American, Caribbean and other slave melodies as piano salon music. Another influence came from black slaves who had learned the harmonic style of hymns and incorporated it into their own music as spirituals. The origins of the blues are undocumented, though they can be seen as the secular counterpart of the spirituals. Paul Oliver has drawn attention to similarities in instruments, music and social function to the griots of the West African savannah.
Live performances
A concert is a live performance, usually of music, before an audience. The music may be performed by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band. Informal names for a concert include "show" and "gig". Concerts are held in a wide variety of settings or venues, including pubs, nightclubs, houses, barns, dedicated concert halls, entertainment centres, large multipurpose buildings, and even sports stadia. A concert held in a very large venue is sometimes called an arena concert. Regardless of the venue, musicians usually perform on a stage. Before the dominance of recorded music, concerts would be the only opportunity one would generally have to hear musicians play.
While the principal reason for a concert is the opportunity for the musicians to perform in front of an audience, even the most purely artistic of endeavors will see gains. Concerts provide the musicians exposure to the public. An attendee will probably see the musicians perform again if the concert was worthwhile. Recording artists usually go on tours to promote record sales and introduce their fans to new musical compositions. Some musicians and musical groups are known for consistently touring and holding concerts, others rarely so.