Final Reflection
Jazz has changed and grown considerably since it first began. How can we see the continuity of “jazz” as a style in the midst of these changes? Do the changes improve jazz as a whole, or do they take away from the great tradition that it once was? Should we be open to the changes that jazz has undergone, or should we be preserving the beauty and tradition of jazz?
After developing my mindset regarding the genre jazz, through listening and research, mostly, I would conclude that I have understood and learned lots of new information about changes in jazz. I believe that we can still see the continuity of “jazz” as a style in the midst of the changes, as I have posted some different types of information and songs regarding different types of jazz, we can still categorise jazz as one. The continuity of “jazz” in style can be seen by the instruments, and also the style of playing, because no matter how many improvisations a musician made, “jazz” itself can still be heard. I believe that some people think that changes take away the tradition, but some also improve it as a whole. I personally believe (after doing research and listening) that the changes we see today in jazz improve jazz as a whole.
For example, I learned that in the past, people who are more recognised, such as Ferdinand “Jelly Roll Morton” could easily claim to be the creator of Jazz. The jazz genre in the early jazz was more simple, if I could say, and one reason was probably because only some musicians really know how to improvise and be creative. However today, it is a positive thing, how people started to embrace the genre because after learning from the early jazz period, people today are able to improvise more, and include more elements and specific details. As we can see in the situation after the early jazz period from New Orleans, people kept on making new types of jazz, proving that people seems to be more creative as time goes on. I believe that the changes people add into jazz makes the genre more developed, creative and fresh.
One of the major reasons to why people these days are more creative is probably because we have more access and freedom. Access to the instruments, to composing songs, produce, record, and also do musical activities, compared to the early jazz era. The quality of recordings, and improvement of media had also improved, which makes more people able to hear, enjoy, and contribute in creating more jazz compositions. Because we now have more chances to produce jazz, we should really be open to the changes that jazz has undergone, because jazz is all about expression, the freedom of improvisation. Nothing should limit one person’s creativity in jazz because if we do so, then we are actually not appreciating the true beauty of jazz, which is all about the fun, enjoyment, and improvisations in between.
In conclusion, we should truly be open to the changes that jazz has undergone, because it increases our chance to extend the creativity. Creativity is what drives human able to keep on living and inspire other people. It is what everyone should have. What I am saying is that not only that we preserve the beauty of jazz, we can also do that by being more open towards the changes of jazz, because the changes would sometimes be something that people could enjoy more.
