Creole Quadrille Waltz African American influence, African influence Jelly Roll, Charlie Patton, Bolden, Robert Johnson,

Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, John Phillip Sousa, Scott Joplin, King Oliver, Louis Armstrong The early beginnings of the genre people now refer to as jazz began in the late 1800s. It stemmed from a fusion of new ideas with the ideas of blues style, march style, and ragtime. The New Orleans scene was to become a hotbed for the ever developing Jazz style. Rising up from famous blues artists such as Charlie Patten, Bessie Smith, and Robert Johnson, the march styles by such greats as John Philip Sousa, as well as ragtime legend Scott Joplin. By combining these traditional styles with a mixture of African American and European American styles, jazz was born. Before one is to learn about the early originators of jazz, they must first learn about the new mixture of old elements being formed. New Orleans was a cultural melting pot. It was home to European Americans, African Americans, and Creoles alike. Amongst all these subcultures, the Creole culture is considered to be a primary reason why jazz was born in New Orleans. The Creoles were the French and Spanish speaking free African Americans who were able to reach the top of society in New Orleans. Many of these Creoles were trained in conservatories in areas such as France. Playing to the higher class in grand halls at the time, the Creoles prided themselves in precise execution and strong musical knowledge. Dynamically proficient, the Creoles delicately approached music from the European musical side. This style of music catered to the upper class. In contrast, the style of the newly freed African Americans was much more minimalistic. From musical styles of African Americans at the time, such as the field holler, work song, and religious song, the sense of a backbeat is very present. The people living in this American region of New Orleans at the time

lacked any professional training or education in their craft, and for the most part solely relied on memorization and learning by ear. The musical style of these musicians strongly rose from the blues, gospel, and work song stylings. This minimalistic beat based music also carried over techniques reminiscent of African music. Rich with syncopation and polyrhythms, the African drumming style is a very important predecessor of jazz, as this was something not very present in European music at the time. A combination of these techniques would begin to take place in 1894, when a segregation law placed the Creoles on the American side of New Orleans, mixing the two musicians together. The precision and skill of the Creoles made it easy for them to climb to the top of the American sides musical setting, but the tension about the mixture of styles is what would fuel the beginnings of jazz formation.