The Story of a People

Jazz is the story of a people,
a people struggling to fight oppression.
The oppression of racism,
the oppression of injustice,
the oppression of brutality
and more.

It is the story of a people,
a black people,
an African American people,
a negro people,
a people growing up in America.

 

It is the story of their struggles in America.
Although, the story does not start nor stop with Jazz. Jazz is just a part of the story.

It is a story that includes Blues, Gospel, R&B, Soul, Rap, West African Drumming and so much more.

As with any great story, the levels of complexity are vast.

 

Has Jazz or Blues died? Is Gospel, R&B outdated?
Jazz is not dying, nor are any of the musical forms outdated.
The music is not a genre, rather it is the story of a people.
A people learning to talk, a people learning to speak,
a people learning to know who they are.

Jazz is the story of a people in transition,
no longer a people only speaking though instruments, it is now a people learning to use words.
Not just using words,
but the breathing of words,
breathing of vocabulary,
breathing of sentence structures.
It is the elevation of communication,
the elevating of thought and language to new heights.

 

The music is the story of a people,
a people struggling to fight oppression,
the oppression of racism,
the oppression of prejudice,
the oppression of injustice,
the oppression of brutality.

To look at the music of black people,
African American people,
Negro people
as a style or genre would be incorrect.

We need to look at the music as individual instruments in a grand orchestra.
We need to look at the music as individual melody lines of an orchestral song.

Jazz is one melody line in the voice of a people,
a people learning to speak,
a people learning to talk,
a people learning to communicate.

One instrument,
one melody line,
the song of a people,
an orchestral song,
a song that is only now beginning to take form.