Jazz is an art form that is as American as baseball, yet as synonymous with the country that the music is normally used to describe it. Present from storefronts and coffee bars, all the way to movies, and pop culture, jazz is everywhere. Coming into being during the earlier decades of the 20th century Jazz is an art form that describes that changes in American society around that time, while also allowing minorities to gain the spotlight for the first time. An art form that praises skill, innovation, and improvisation, Jazz is a music that will always take you to a different place in time, and the rhythms from it will get into your bones. The beginning of jazz is largely attributed to African Americans living in New Orleans, who used music to escape the discriminatory practices apparent in the south. New Orleans is one of the most diverse cities in the American south with over 8 ethnic groups always in contact with one another. New Orleans is a city that is …show more content…
Davis is known for revolutionizing how the trumpet is played and he is a major contributor to jazz and it’s world-renowned sound. Born on May 26, 1926, to a wealthy African American family, John did not begin to lay trumpet until the age of 13, when he received one from his father as a birthday present. He began taking lessons and after a chance encounter with the Billy Eckstine Band in 1944 which allowed Davis to substitute for one of their sick players, he began his career. On that fateful evening, Davis met innovators like Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, and he soon moves to New York to attend Julliard and he spent time with Parker, recording and working with him. In 1949, he became addicted to heroin, and he managed to quit after 4 years. In 1955 Davis performed at the Newport Jazz festival, and his “remarkable soloing—particularly his improvisations on “’Round Midnight”—brought him widespread notoriety.”