Well jazz, according to sources, “Jazz first distinguished itself from its various influences around the turn of the twentieth century in New Orleans”. In fact, jazz became so iconic to the New Orleans area, that there was a NBA basketball team in New Orleans called the New Orleans Jazz. But there really isn’t one type of jazz music. Jazz is such a loose genre of music, because there are so many different kinds of music that fall under the title of jazz. In the words of Micah Issit, “ jazz has diverged into many different subgenres that may seem barely related, [but] many of the key elements found in the first jazz music have remained central throughout its many …show more content…
“Jazz came of age, helped in large measure by white bandleader Paul Whiteman’s introduction of classical jazz to New York in 1924. Yet it was mainly black bandleaders such as Fletcher “Smack” Henderson, Duke Ellington, and Louis Armstrong who popularized jazz in and beyond Harlem.” (Berg 7) The biggest of these had to be trumpeter and singer Louis Armstrong. Armstrong “ made his impact primarily as a solo artist. As early as 1923, he was noted for his stylish playing as a solo trumpeter in the King Oliver Creole Jazz Band, and he played with the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra in 1924.” (Berg 13). Louis Armstrong didn’t just perform jazz, he was jazz. “ Armstrong had an intuitive genius that transformed the sound of jazz.” (Berg 13). Not only did Louis Armstrong perform jazz, he was a social leader as well. He helped to try and organize social change in jazz age america. “[Louis] Armstrong was, in fact, a significant leader in the struggle for racial equality in America.” (Tirro 13). Another famous artist was Duke Ellington. “Duke Ellington expanded the boundaries of jazz as a composer and orchestrator. He was the master of form, a great synthesizer of jazz elements. His band developed a unique collaboration among leader, soloist, and group.” (Berg 12). As well as making an influence on the music he played, he influenced the people he met.