Jazz: an Audible Product of Transculturation and the Embodiment of American Culture

Jazz: an Audible Product of Transculturation and the Embodiment of American Culture

Jazz: An Audible Product of Transculturation and the Embodiment of American Culture
In a nation with many different ethnic groups, shared cultural influence through social interaction inherently molds the population as it has in the United States. Transculturation- the fusion of different cultural features- religion, clothing, art, language, music- has produced some of the greatest aspects of American culture. One historian describes transculturation as “a give-and-take process” (Chasteen 71). The development of jazz music in New Orleans is a prime example of transculturation and, ultimately, of the openness of Americans to embrace and integrate other cultures into their own; American culture has become distinct- not because of it own isolated characteristics- but because of its great diversity and social unity in spite of a great mix of backgrounds.
New Orleans was the birthplace of Jazz, but- metaphorically- this musical genre had more than two parents. Urban settings such as New Orleans are naturally more conducive to transculturation because of their denser, more diverse populations (Chasteen72). In 1718, France claimed the land that is today New Orleans; it was briefly ruled by Spain but quickly taken back by the French. In 1803, the United States bought New Orleans through the Louisiana Purchase. By 1819, New Orleans was the most important port city in the southern region of the United States, and, consequently, it was inhabited and visited by many different ethnic groups. Even before the French occupied the city, the Chotaw and Natchez Indians had lived there (Burns and Ward 4). Though it now belonged to the United States, French influence remained; the city was home to not only descendents of early French settlers but also many political refugees- fleeing Canada, the French Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars, the Slave rebellions of Haiti and Santo Domino (Burns and Ward 4, 6). A mix a people coming from other parts of the world starting...

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