Jazz Music Analysis: A Cultural and Listening Guide Examination

This essay provides a comprehensive analysis of jazz music, examining its cultural impact on American society, particularly during the 1920s. The analysis includes a detailed listening guide for Count Basie's "April in Paris," dissecting the song's structure, rhythm, and key elements. The essay explores how jazz influenced various aspects of American culture, including fashion, social behaviors, and the rise of new social classes. It discusses the interactions between jazz and broader cultural trends, such as the changing roles of women and the evolution of hairstyles. Furthermore, the essay investigates how these cultural trends, in turn, affected jazz music, highlighting the support from other music genres, literature, and the growing number of jazz bands. The work cites various sources to support its arguments and provides a well-rounded understanding of jazz's significance in American history and culture.

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Name
Professor
Course
Date
Jazz Music
Question 1
Listening Guide
"April in Paris "
Written in 1956
By Count Basie
Duration 3:50 min
"April in Paris "was first recorded in July 1955. After five months that is in January 1956,
back to back record was released. The song helps in promoting the culture of Jazz in society. The
point is that the song worked on educating the society at that time (Owens 45). It was one of the
favourite songs for jazz lovers. Most of the people described the song to be full of elegance and
modernity messages.
Count Basie played a vital role in the band. He was the one playing the piano and other
rhythm section. The Eddie Jones was the one controlling the bass with the Freddie Green
providing the rhythm guitar on the other side. Basie rarely worked on solo, but he concentrated

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more on the piano. His character of humour and the aspect of harmony helped him to blend with
various elements of the song, thus making unique tunes.
The personnel list
i. Count Basie – piano
ii. Wendell Culley -trumpet
iii. Bill Graham – alto saxophone
iv. Frank Foster -tenor saxophone
v. Freddie Green -guitar
vi. Eddie Jones- bass
vii. Sonny Payne -drums
Time-stamped solos
Therefore, to set the listening guide, I have identified the world-weary tone that was established
by the Basie in the song. Above all the recordings before sets the volume, the rhythm and the
pitch of the song.
CD TIME Listen For
23
(30)
0:00 Piano introduction; Piano sets the audience ready with a constant rhythm.
24
(31)
0:58 The extra beat sets the rhythm of the song.
There are vocal controls as one listens to the changing volume
25(32) 1:34 The piano provides a smooth response to the vocal tune. There is a
melodic tune from the tenor.

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26(33) 2:00 The line sets humour. The repeated themes at this point set a pulse
through. One can hear the "freeze "of the rhythm.
27(34) 2:30 There is a repeat. The song moves down to set a staccato articulation. The
line seems to change keys to D/
28(35) 3:00 Repeat, With changing rhythm. The rhythm moves from right to left with
more of the left leaps as indicated by the line.
29(36) 3:50 Repeat. With the return to the primary key. The piano sets the final
cadence throughout the range.
Question 2
Throughout 1920, Jazz played a paramount role in evolving American culture. Jazz music
has transformed American society to higher levels. The tone of the music for sure it has changed
some of the social behaviors in America (Anagnostou, 34). According to the classwork Jazz
induced changes in various elements such as race, class and gender. Among these elements, the
issue of the class received an unmeasurable impact. It has been noted that Jazz created a change
in America.
Blacks were the pioneers of jazz music in America. The group was highly recognized for
its good tunes they produced regularly. Through this process, American society was divided into

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two groups that are the rich and the poor. The large number of blacks who were seriously
investing in the Jazz were making huge money (Breyley 12).
Besides, Jazz music created some greedy and fear in society. Through this analogy, the
community was now divided, thus giving new groups. It was at this time when the Whites started
to dominate the Jazz industry. Most of the whites tortured blacks to diminish their music
prowess. It was observed that a large number of these whites could deter black to innovate
rhythms related to Jazz. The fear and tension from the white created a room for discrimination,
and at the same time, the music increased aspect of social difference (Fléchet, 39). Whites now
could reap a lot of money, and the black were less credited due to their inferior capabilities. Also,
whites dominated everything related to Jazz music, thus making famous as compared to blacks.
Some of the whites could be given some influential names such as the "KING OF JAZZ' and also
"KING OF SWING." All these virtues perpetuated a room social class in America (Hardesty
100).
Also, the issue of the social class created by Jazz resulted in greedy and discrimination in
society. Whites continued to reap a lot from the industry. There was complete control of the
recording studios and music companies. The entire process of dominating these institutions to
some extent created a long division between the groups that the whites and blacks. Whites
continued to dominate everything as the Jazz was inducing new cultures such as the fashions and
dancing styles. Blacks were lacking some of these styles, and therefore whites could see them as
the second group in the nation (Heyman,12).
How early jazz music interact with broader Cultural trends.

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As indicated in the element of class Jazz music interacted a lot with society to induce
several virtues. First and foremost, we have observed significant changes in fashion. It is evident
that Jazz influences some of the trends we have seen in the nation (Hietala 76). For example, the
flappers most of the time used Jazz to induce changes in society. Most of the musicians could use
some costumes to signify different aspects of culture. Through this process, the industry of
fashion grew at higher rates, thus influencing the entire society to substantial levels. Before, Jazz
music, most of the people loved wearing pre-war Victorian fashions. After the introduction of the
Jazz, a large number of musicians described pre-war Victorian styles as unconducive for
dancing. Through this analogy, new techniques such as drop waist styles were introduced. Most
of the dancers could wear these drop waist styles since they signified different cultural aspects
(Jackson,123).
With the increased use of the drop waist styles, Jazz pioneers went ahead, and musicians
introduced new dresses that lacked the waistline. This was one of the best techniques and dances
could use these brands all the time whenever they were presenting in any event Jergel
(Hutchinson, & Lauren 23). Besides, Jazz could not affect fashion that led to class but also it
influenced the hairstyles in America. The bob hairstyle was famous at this time. The style was
loose, and people could feel free when in that style. The dancers were also using loose costumes,
and they could use bob hairstyle that could make them free when dancing. Through this analogy,
the hairstyle changed in society due to Jazz music (Lamoreaux, 17).
On the other hand, Jazz influenced the whole society. It is indicated that after the war,
groups such as women in society wanted to be recognized just as the men were. Jazz music
supported the women's motion "to be heard", and therefore new tunes supporting women were
introduced by the Jazz experts. Besides, the music studios and editing companies started

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employing women, and female musicians emerged. The issue of fashion provided diverted
channels for spreading the Jazz styles. By the end of 1920, a significant number of advertisers
started producing new magazines explaining some of the trends. A large number of women were
buying these magazines to learn more about these fashions (Shūhei 21). Besides, the Jazz music
changed the lifestyles, and this was marked by improved African -American culture. The music,
according to black, it was a new life since it marked their lives as slaves in America.
How did those broader cultural trends affect Jazz music?
As indicated above the society was favorable to Jazz music. The point is that the whole
community started recognizing the vital role played by the music. In the industry of fashion, we
had observed how people were regularly using new styles. The dancers were using various
techniques that were appealing to the audiences (Shūhei 91). Through this analogy, a large
number of people started wearing these styles and return they supported the spread of Jazz
music. Besides, the hairstyles used by the musicians and dancers were highly endorsed by
society. Through this process, the entire community started supporting Jazz music.
On the other hand, other genres in society supported the spread of Jazz music in America.
Different types of music such as the rock, the hip-hop and the pop were also supporting Jazz.
These genres could borrow some styles and some elements that were used in Jazz music. For
example, the issue of freestyle rap in America helped the spread of Jazz. Hip-hop musicians were
also performing with the Jazz experts (Uyar, Yaprak & Songül 75). We have visible examples in
today's lives on what has been happening in the concerts of Beyoncé, for instance.

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Lastly, the increased aspect of literature and large number of bands also supported the
spread of Jazz music. In 1920, poetry was now spreading just like Jazz music. Poetic styles and
its key elements were highly used when composing the Jazz songs. The society has appreciated
the use of poems, especially when handling cultural rituals. The two arts seemed to support the
virtues that were common in the community at that time (Uyar et al 176). Poems used
chronological steps to articulate messages. These traits contained in the verses attracted Jazz
musicians, and they could use these poetic structures to spread the industry. Everything in Jazz
was now mimicking the poems. Musicians could reference those messages revealed by the lyrics,
thus making literature style a catalyzing element to the spread of the Jazz in society.

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Works Cited
Anagnostou, Panagiota. "Towards a history of jazz in Greece in the interwar era 1." Jazz Research
Journal 10.1-2 (2016): 54-74.
Breyley, G. J. "From the ‘Sultan’to the Persian Side: Jazz in Iran and Iranian Jazz since the
1920s." Jazz and totalitarianism. Routledge, 2016. 317-344.
Fléchet, Anaïs. "Jazz in Brazil: An early history (1920s-1950s)." Jazz Research Journal 10.1/2
(2016): 13.
Hardesty, Jacob. "Moral Outrage and Musical Corruption: White Educators’ Responses to the
“Jazz Problem”." History of Education Quarterly 56.4 (2016): 590-617.
Heyman, Matthias. "Music (1924-1939): a history of Belgium's first jazz journal." Current
Research in Jazz 7 (2015).
Hietala, Maiju. "THE ROLE OF MUSIC IN TONI MORRISON’S JAZZ." (2019).
Jackson, Jeffrey H. "Arguing About Jazz in the Parisian Café: Jazz, Race, and Literary
Communities in 1920s Paris." The Thinking Space. Routledge, 2016. 133-142.
Jergel Hutchinson, Marcie, and Lauren McArthur Harris. "Listening for History: Using Jazz
Music as a Primary Source." Social Education 80.3 (2016): 134-140.
Lamoreaux, Emma. "February 22, 2015 History of American Music Term Paper# 1 Women in
Jazz 1920s-50." History (2015).
Owens, Rachel. "A Year in Paris: Season by Season in the City of Light." Library Journal 144.1
(2019): 106.

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Shūhei, Hosokawa. "Shōchiku Girls’ Opera and 1920s Dōtonbori Jazz." Music, Modernity and
Locality in Prewar Japan: Osaka and Beyond (2016): 211.
Uyar, Yaprak Melike, and Songül Karahasanoğlu. "The early performance of jazz music in
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