Jazz and Drugs Jazz musicians and drugs: some might say one cannot exist without the other. As jazz musicians began to rise, the use of narcotics also increased. Among the many great jazz musicians, it's difficult to find an artist who hasn't touched any type of narcotics. There are many reasons why people in general take drugs. It could be because they want to escape or relax, to rebel, to relieve boredom, or to experiment. It's because they want to change something about their lives. People might think drugs are the solutions to their problems but eventually, drugs become the problem. Drugs may help you escape from the reality for a moment but eventually you get to face the problems again. Some people may think that taking drugs will help you become more creative and inventive but drugs can also turn you into someone you're not. People may take drugs to get the feeling of happiness but when the drug wears off, they crash even lower than before. It gets worse every time. Eventually, drugs will completely destroy all the creativity a person has. Drugs lead many great jazz musicians like Billie Holiday and Miles Davis to end of their careers and to their deaths. So why do jazz musicians take drugs? A survey done by Nat Hentoff in 1957 showed 409 New York City jazz musicians confirmed that more than half tried heroin and marijuana. Sixteen percent was regular users of drugs. In the "Research Digest" article, Tolson and Cuyjet said the jazz greats turned to drugs to release their creativity, to enhance the natural high of performing, and to cope with the strain of a disapproving society. The musicians of the 40's and 60's spent most of their lives in nightclubs where drug use was common. Many had to face racisms where they had to enter from the back door, or were prohibited to converse with white patrons. There are musicians like the famous vocalist Billie Holiday who went through rough childhood and relationships which made her an addict most of her life. Eleanora Fagan, also known as Billie Holiday was born on April 7, 1915 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her mother, Sadie, was only a teenager when she had her and her father who was a successful jazz musician abandoned her. The two of them had a hard life and most of the time, Billie was left in the care of other people. When Billie was 9 years old, she was sent to the House of Good Shepherd which was a facility for troubled African American girls. Her major influence on her singing came when she ran errands for the girls in a near-by brothel in return for the privilege of listening to recordings by Mr. Armstrong and Miss Smith. At the age of 18, while performing in Harlem jazz club, a producer John Hammond discovered her and got her to work on a recording with a clarinetist Benny Goodman. She made her first recording, "Your Mother's Son-in-Law" in November 1933. She started series of recordings with the members of Count Basie's band. It was Lester Young, the tenor saxophonist, who gave her the nickname, "Lady Day". Billie Holiday broke the color barrier by becoming one of the black jazz singers of that era to perform with white musicians. "Even when she was young and singing trivial pop songs, her unique tone and emotional commitment made her performances special". Holiday used drugs for most of her life, starting as early as 12 or 13 years of age. It is unclear who first introduced her to drugs. Holiday sang many songs that reflected her personal romances that were destructive and abusive. In 1941, she married James Monroe, which she picked up her husband's habit of smoking opium. The marriage didn't last long and after that marriage, she started using heroin with her boyfriend Joe Guy. In 1945, her mother died which led Holiday's drug use to ease her heartache. Even with all her problems, she stayed as a major star in the jazz world. Holiday was in a film New Orleans with her idol Louis Armstrong in 1947. At the height of her musical career, her success
quote from his website dated August 23, 2009 Najee began playing the clarinet, saxophone and flute as a kid in Jamaica, Queens New York. While in high school his influences from other musicians were Jimmy Heath, Frank Foster, and Dr. Billy Taylor at the Jazzmobile in Harlem, a non-profit organization that brings Jazz to inner cities in New York. Najee continued to study the art of music with Harold Jones at the Manhattan School of Music and the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. His career…
African-Americanization) of West African and West European culture in North America, the formation of jazz became one of the most prominent style of music during the 1800s up until today .(Davis 45). Though the roots of jazz can be traced back to the late 1600s on the plantations in the north and south of the United States, it is clear that the true beginning of jazz evolved from the port city of New Orleans. Though traditional jazz is based on the forms produced in New Orleans, a new style that gained widespread popularity…
one of the great pioneers of Jazz. His contribution to Jazz and American music is undeniable. While growing up in New Orleans in poverty, Armstrong became passionate about music by listening to the jazz musicians of his time such as King Oliver, at a time when jazz was relatively new. Armstrong’s improvisation was a hallmark of his music. He used melodic paraphrases and chord-change-bases improvisations to captivate and charm his audience. He showed how versatile jazz could be by varying the melody…
referred to him as the "King of Jazz". (When the term was more loosely defined: referring to practically any popular music with African-American attributes or influences.) Using a large ensemble and exploring many styles of music, Whiteman is perhaps best known for his blending of symphonic music and jazz, as typified by his 1924 commissioning and debut of George Gershwin's jazz-influenced "Rhapsody In Blue". Later, Whiteman's work on Symphonic Jazz influenced many jazz musicians either way - directly or…
Small Changes Make Big Differences A living jazz legend once exclaimed “jazz has borrowed from other genres of music and also has lent itself to other genres of music.” Herbie Hancock makes it clear that jazz has been an evolving form of art. And just as simple as the notion that music can change the world, music changes in itself. Jazz once evolved into something we call swing. Back in the roaring twenties people got up and danced to this kind of music. However, these simple and playful melodies…
most renowned jazz musicians of all-time—one of those being the charming Mister Jelly Roll Morton. Born in 1885 and raised by a Creole family in the vivacious city of New Orleans, Morton found his attachment to jazz music at a young age. Ferdinand Lamonthe, enshrined as Jelly Roll Morton, became the first great composer and ragtime piano player of jazz. He was adored not only for his musical talents, but also for his flamboyant arrogance and self-promotion that no other jazz musician of his time…
JAZZ Origins: Multicultural population of New Orleans Gospels and Spirituals African Drumming Caribbean Rhythms European Music Tradition Military Band Music Ragtime: Popular between 1895 and 1918. Its most important characteristic is the syncopate rhythm. It is a sort of modification of the "march" rhythm. Scott Joplin is perhaps the most celebrated musician associated with Ragtime. Blues: Blues could be defined as secular negro spiritual. Important Names Sippie Wallace Bessie Smith EARLY…
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Jazz in the USA, 1930 to 1960 ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Jazz in the USA, 1930 to 1960 ! ! ! !1 ! The Swing Era ! The swing style developed during the early 1930s, influenced by the work of band leaders and arrangers such as Fletcher Henderson and Don Redman. Important centres of the style were New York and Kansas City. ! Big Bands Big bands were key ensembles during this era. Band sizes varied…
the Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton. I simply don't think it is possible to really understand these artists and numerous others without at least acknowledging the impact Robert Johnson had upon them. By understanding Robert Johnson as an mazing musician we can understand a bit of why blues and rock 'n' roll have taken the course it has throughout the years, what inspired some of the greatest artists of all times as well as a bit about why music speaks to us as human beings on such an emotional level…
was one of the greatest and most important figures in jazz history. Miles Dewey Davis III was a musician, composer, arranger, producer and bandleader all in one. Davis was at the forefront of almost every major development in jazz after World War 2. He was one of the most influential and innovative musicians of the twentieth century along with Charlie Parker and Louis Armstrong. His versatility landed him at the forefront of bebop, cool jazz, modal, hard bop and fusion (Kirker, 2005:1). His sound…