Why Did Jazz Start?

The purpose of this paper is to show the beginnings of Jazz and how it transformed and developed through the decades. What I needed to research, was how jazz all began and how it evolved. How did it start? Who were the people that were involved in the beginning? Where did it begin? How did it evolve into what jazz is today?
Jazz had its beginnings in Africa. Before the slave trade, tribes in Africa had there own rhythms, instruments, and dances. It was the slave trade brought by ships to South America, the Caribbean, and America that actually planted the seeds of jazz.
Many slaves were brought to the city of New Orleans. There, slaves were allowed to own drums. Many of the black rituals were tolerated by the whites. New Orleans was the first
Using his fingers and the edge of his hand, he jabs repeatedly at the drum head. A second drummer, holding his instrument between his knees, joins in. A third black man, seated on the ground, plucks a string instrument.”(allaboutjazz). The scene could have been Africa, but it was an area of New Orleans then known as Congo Square. From those early seeds, jazz began its long odyssey across America and the world. The roots of west african culture and musical expression included blues and gospel. Jazz is deeply rooted with the black experience, although it has been called,“One of America's original art forms”
The music spread throughout the country because of radio remote broadcasts in 20’s and early 30’s.
I learned through my music class in school that each member of a band was given a chart. A chart or “leadsheet”(Mark Levine), is a composition written by a composer. “The hot Swing jazz orchestras of the day soon found the necessity of using an “arranger” for their pieces of music. His job became an all important function in the making of Big Band Jazz. While small group jazz had previously allowed a group of musicians to basically just “blow”, structure became necessary with large gatherings of musicians”(SwingMusic).This new American sound became a part of American culture.
As jazz spread up north, Chicago became the destination for jazz musicians in the early 1920’s. It was becoming more and more difficult for musicians to play in New Orleans because a lot of the clubs couldn't afford to stay open. Chicago was also the first place that began recording jazz. As early recordings of jazz from Chicago sold, a wider audience began to