Music provided African Americans with an escape and way of expression from the constant discrimination, segregation, and racism inflicted on them especially in the United States. Jazz music did bring about significant social uplift and change but this uplift was not directly felt by African Americans within the jazz field. Black jazz musicians made it priority the state clearly that jazz music was at the epitome of black culture. Duke Ellington, one of the world’s most famous musicians, even began to label his music as “Negro music” in order to stress how paramount jazz music was to black culture.
