Essay by EssaySwap ContributorCollege, Undergraduate February 2008

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The early roots of jazz are deeply rooted in African American culture and traditions. It has been said that jazz is a rhythm that came from African musical traditions, but jazzes harmony comes from the European musical tradition. African slaves used European rhythmic and harmonic forms to express their own musical traditions. The slaves retain many of their traditional. By this it lead to the development of the blues, an early cousin and forerunner to jazz.

Jazz for some people is a way of life. It is mixed with people's happiness and sorrows and their feelings of the everyday life. It's like a gumbo because you see gumbo is a mixture of many things just like blues.

Blues was created a mostly sang by black slaves. Slaves sang theses songs because of the pain that they felt on the fields. When they sang on the fields it was called their work songs.

Slaves were allowed to sing publicly on Saturdays in a square. In this square is where they held their meetings and sang the blues. Some white folks that were curious when by secretly to see exactly what happened there at the square on Saturdays.

Later on in the 1900's jazz was changed. Now blues were no longer sang by black slaves it was now sang by people of all races and was also sang in clubs and bars. Jazz by this was now changed it was no longer just gumbo it was gumbo with rue. The rue you ask what exactly what it is?, well it was the mixture of people and their feelings, cultures, and traditions all mixed togetgher.

Jzz is another way of life to some slaves. It is music for the soul and it heals their pain. When I say it heals their...