Jazz and American Culture – The Study of Music and the interaction of Population

Jazz has been growing up for more than a hundred years since The United State of America was released from the region of Britain. Jazz is a main pop culture at the beginning of 20 century in America. And, as the history passing by, America had been undergoing a lot of struggle that also carefully form the experience of the country of American. In this thesis, I will try to explore the development of Jazz history, the racial issue and the impact of Jazz to America through the view of Jazz culture. Jazz is brewing in The colonial history of Louisiana and New Orleans; the development of steam boat and the Great Migration, while the mass market moved from south to the north cities; and the break out of several wars leads the jazz band a transition from big band to small combo; the evitable African-American social status also reflects the Bebop jazz music style, Harlem Renaissance and the rise of Civil Right Movement; and, undoubtedly, Jazz is involved in all of them. Jazz not only reflects the culture of pop culture, it also expands the essence of American culture; it reflects the greatest part of Individualism, Modernism and Multiculturalism with its own features of fusion, improvisation and innovation. Jazz, to me, is an attractive part of American soft power. United States President, Bill Clinton, also stresses the importance of Jazz; he says: “the Jazz music will help the American image better in the future.”