By College of Professional and Continuing Studies
University of Oklahoma
LSTD – Interdisciplinary Inquiry
Professor Robert Dougherty
Hope Elena Sardella
8/25/2020
Music can define our lives in mysterious ways. We may have heard a song or new genre of music at a particular time in our lives that the music starts to define us for some unearthly reason. In this essay, I will describe my relationship with the genre of music, Jazz. Jazz music, I feel, is the basis for my love of all music, not only because I was raised on it, but because most music has some fundamental influence from the genre of Jazz. The following examination of my history with Jazz will lead you through an interdisciplinary analysis by reflecting on the historical nature of Jazz in my life, as well as the psychological and sociological effects it has had. Lastly, I will reflect on the business and economic impacts that the music genre has experienced through the lens of my own experiences.
I can remember it like it was yesterday; a warm summer day in San Diego, I’m seven years old, and I am thoroughly evading any obligations. While my dad reupholstered a chair, I sat in my stepfathers’ workshop, the sound of jazz music dancing on the breeze through the workshop. My father would often stop what he was doing to ask me if I could identify a particular instrument playing. By the time I was nine years old, I could tell you what every instrument was in a jazz song by ear, an accomplishment my father used at dinner parties to strut his great parenting success and jazz knowledge. Jazz music and music influenced by Jazz were the music of our household and my childhood. My first stepfather, Jason, ran an antique reupholstery business during the day, and on the weekends, my father’s blues band would meet up for band practice. Afterward, we would have a wonderful homemade dinner my dad made, and the jazz records were always spinning somewhere in the background. Those were some of the best days of my life, and I try to relive those days by reminiscing and listening to the music he loved. When I listen to Jazz, I allow the unpredictable harmonies to fill my house while I work, and clean. It takes me back to a simpler time when things were authentic and vibrant. When every sound was administered by a human hand, at just the right time, it is in my earnest belief that music is wholly connected to the people that introduce you to it. Those people teach us how to love, enjoy and be musical adventurers and connoisseurs. Our friends and family pass on the traditions of music-loving, which makes it unique to us. When I listen to the music my father loved, I can go back into time and feel the magic I first felt when it was introduced to me.
Music is a form of medicine. Medicine usually works because it’s a toxin canceling out a toxin. When one expresses themselves through music, I believe they are taking all the world’s toxins and making something beautiful out of all the darkness from the world. The beautiful darkness from the creator or creators, then, in turn becomes a form of medicine to treat whatever ailments the creators intended. Music plays an intrinsic role in my life to keep my mental health in working order. Dead silence can leave me feeling lonely. The golden tones of Ella Fitzgerald give me a sense of belonging and drowns out the loneliness. Culture & Sociology is also influential in music, for without culture and the social natures behind the music, you lose the breath of life in the music.
The Jazz era is a pinnacle example of a thriving culture in a music genre. I think it’s a combination of the oppressive forces jazz artists faced, equally made the jazz era all that more extravagant. Often jazz musicians face prejudice when trying to perform or get into the industry. The racial segregation caused a culture to form outside of the oppressive forces to support each other. Lives concerts were held in secrecy at times during the prohibition era, creating an almost occult following. The Jazz era teaches us how to listen to stories and to relax and is a beautiful choice of music for psychological health. It goes back to the basics of making music and reminds us of a culture that formed around their shared experiences while wanting to create a life for themselves in that. When we listen to music, it’s essential to consider what it’s doing to you on a long-term level emotionally. I choose Jazz music, as well as other Jazz-influenced genres, to primarily listen to because I believe it’s almost an audio cure for bad emotions or vibes that may be surrounding me. Furthermore, I love playing it for my friends, who rarely listen to it. I, therefore, pass on the tradition of Jazz to another, planting seeds for the next wave of the jazz era.
The music industry has changed since the golden age of Jazz, and I don’t know if Jazz could change with it. People no longer have a direct physical connection to their music due to the decreased audience well as record and album sales. The face of music is just different. Even when I was a child, I had a record collection of my own and CDs and a Zune. Now I have nothing, and I can’t tell you when the last time is, I have purchased al album. I primarily listen to my music online, but this is not to say that I won’t change the way I consume music in the future. I believe as I have gotten older, I have rekindled this desire to purchase records again. From a consumer’s perspective, records have a more authentic and more luxurious reverberation, whereas audio files of a phone or computer have a different sound effect that’s a bit flatter. Currently, I believe that musicians are overabundant and not enough people stepping up to the plate coordinating the talent into a sellable product. The era of wealthy business professionals taking chances on musicians seems to be over, and the “independent” music revolution is attainable for some but not many. I believe if the music industry is going to raise their heads above water, they are going to have to start taking an interest in assisting emerging artists with their media development. Additionally, without culture, it’s challenging to retain a fan base for music. Music corporations must rebuild a thriving art culture.
In conclusion, Jazz music was and will always be a crucial part of my life due to the historical relationship I have with the genre. Throughout my life, I have used the music to assist me in psychological and social contexts to enhance and improve my experience. Likewise, Jazz has always had roots in communities that historically have faced oppression. The genre of Jazz owes much of its acclaim to its culture that was built with it. In reviewing Jazz music from a listener’s perspective, the genre must evolve with times or the times will need to develop with it. One thing is for sure that the genre’s economic success lies within thriving and active music culture.