Abstract .....................................................................I
Key Words ....................................................................I
摘 要 .......................................................................II
关键词 .......................................................................II
Introduction .................................................................1
I. Jazz- a Mirror of American Society and Culture in the 20th Century........ 3
A. Jazz in the 1920s ........................................................3
B. Jazz in the 1960s-1970s.................................................. 5
C. Jazz in the 1980s-1990s ..................................................7
II. Jazz, Another Melting-Pot? ...............................................8
Conclusion....................................................................10
Acknowledgements..............................................................11
Bibliography .................................................................12
Abstract
Jazz originates from New Orleans of southern America at the end of 19th century, and is characterized by a strong but flexible rhythmic understructure with solo and ensemble improvisations on basic tunes and chord patterns and, more recently, a highly sophisticated harmonic idiom. In the 1920s-1990s, Jazz develops very fast, and in different periods Jazz has different characteristics. As a musical form of America, Jazz reflects the situation of American society and culture. In the 1920s, Jazz gets its first-step development and brings together elements from Africa and Europe. Jazz is a kind of pure American black music because in this period the United States monopolizes this art. In the 1960s-1970s, Jazz gets new development; some fresh elements are introduced into Jazz, which reveals that America artists do not monopolize the scene and Jazz is spread to the world quietly. Jazz’s sad and strong rhythm and disappointing lyrics reveals a confusing American society and Americans’ contradictory feelings after the Second World War. In the 1980s-1990s, it seems that each European country has its own style in Jazz for different cultural backgrounds. The melting-pot social and cultural environment brings about Jazz’s multi-elemental development. In turn, the multi-elemental development of Jazz demonstrates the coexistence and co-development of different cultures and ideas in America.
