The Queen of Jazz

Ella Fitzgerald is one of, if not the most, popular Jazz singer in America.  Jazz is often times considered to be the most revolutionary genre of African American music. Many Americans refer to Jazz as America’s classical music or African American classical music. Jazz was prominent and contributed to the social implications of many historical eras in America such as: urbanization, racism, innovation of broadcasting and radio, modernism, the World Wars, and the Civil Rights Movement. Key components of Jazz consist of improvisation, syncopation, swing, blues, and harmonic complexity. Although jazz was popular throughout the entire United States, New Orleans and Chicago were the heart of Jazz music. New Orleans is known to be the birthplace of Jazz. The extremely diverse demographics of New Orleans people contributed to the development of New Orleans Jazz such as: whites, blacks, creoles, and Caribbean. White, black, creole, and Caribbean people lived in New Orleans. The convergence of Creole musicians and black musicians influenced the sound of jazz. Notable instruments used in New Orleans jazz included the clarinet, cornet, trombone, guitar, bass, and drums. Following World War I, a significant amount of African Americans migrated to or around the city of Chicago. Many New Orleans jazz musicians were also part of this migration such as legendary Louis Armstrong. Many African American owned clubs on the southside of Chicago became a thriving nightlife for jazz musicians. This nightlife and destination for talented jazz musicians led to interracial interactions due to whites enjoying the music. Over the years, jazz has both sustained its traditional sound and continued to revolutionize for almost a century.