Some say that Jazz was born in 1895, when Buddy Bolden started his first band. Others say 1917, when Nick LaRocca and his Original Dixieland Jass Band recorded the first Jazz record, Livery Stable Blues. Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton said, "It is evidently known, beyond contradiction, that New Orleans is the cradle of Jazz, and I myself happen to be the inventor in the year 1902." The truth is that Jazz wasn't born on a particular day, it was created over a period of time. It wasn't just one person or one race that was responsible for creating it. It was a meeting, and mixing, of the essences and emotions of many people, of many cultures. Jazz is alive. It grows, it dies, it changes, it stays the same.
Read more »