Music and Media

Choose one of the following three topics for your essay: 1. Write an essay about the roots of Jazz in New Orleans. What was so special about New Orleans? What were the musical and cultural influences that made Jazz possible? What kind of music was popular before jazz? What distinguished jazz from the popular music that preceded it? Choose at least three key figures in the early history of jazz (before 1925) and describe their importance to the emergence of this new form of popular music? Discuss the role of race and racism in popular music in this era. What was the role of the recording industry in the transformation of Jazz from a regional music to a national music? [Use Gioia] Please make significant and explicit use of at least one of these four sources to write your essay: • Ted Gioia, History of”Jazz, ch. 1 “The Prehistory of Jazz” & ch. 2: “New Orleans Jazz” (for Roots of Jazz question)  • Elijah Wald, The Blues: A Very Short Introduction, Chapter 1 “Roots of the Blues,” & Chapter 2 “Prewar Blues.” (For Roots of the Blues or Jazz Questions.) • Robert Santelli, “A Century of the Blues,” in Guralnik, et al., “The Blues.” (for Roots of the Blues question.) • Ed Ward, The History of Rock & Roll, chapters 0-5 (for Roots of R&R question)  Your essay should be 5-8 pages long. It should include clear and explicit references to the assigned readings and at least 3 other outside sources. Use quotation marks and cite your sources clearly. Remember: plagiarism is grounds for failure for the entire semester.