DIRTY DOZEN BRASS BAND 5
Running head: DIRTY DOZEN BRASS BAND 1
Dirty Dozen Brass Band
Students Name
Institutional Affiliation
Introduction
African-American art is an art that has been done by individuals of the black race but Americans at the same time, namely the black Americans. Several arts and genres have been created by various people of these backgrounds, ranging from dressing, music, weaving, hairdressing, films, and literal works, among other things. This paper aims to critically analyzing arts done by African Americans, namely jazz. Jazz is a music genre that trended from the 1950s to the early 2000s. It was first introduced in New Orleans by American-Africans (Library of Congress, 2019). The Dirty Dozen Brass Band is among the early jazz bands that were formed during the year.
Dirty Dozen Brass Band
This was band formed in the New Orleans, Louisiana in the year 1977. Benny Jones formed the band. The jazz developed by this group incorporated much freedom from other genres. They, for example, they incorporated funk and bebop to the original jazz music to make it more entertaining. The initiation was by youths who had an interest in music, and Danny helped them realize this dream.
Various factors made the band successful. The group had various practices and rehearsals, which made them experienced and sharpened what they knew. The band also took some of its members from other bands which had developed earlier n. For example, they took members from the Tornado band. This would strengthen the band. This was a good move as it helps develop the upcoming musicians in the new band. They are also able to take up the fans of the members taken from the Tornado band.
The group also had regular performances, for example on Thursdays; they would perform in the Seven Wards club and the Glasshouse. The excellence of the band’s singing spread to radio stations which often played their tracks. For example, their songs would be played in the WWOZ radio broadcast. This follows the attention which caught Jerry Brock, who was the founder of the radio station. This is a good move which other groups ought to follow. They should seek to diversify the market for their music.
Dirty Dozen Brass Band also gave a lot of freedom to its members. They had the freedom to bring in other tunes as long as they were to enhance their jazz music. This enabled the outcome of their music to be unique to that of others. They can therefore to overcome their competitors from other bands which were also developing that time. The involvement of other tunes makes the sound of the music more interesting, creating some sort of brand unique to the group only.
The founding of this band was the onset of departure from the old New Orleans jazz music (Dricsoll, 2012). The introduction of the piano and guitar tunes moved the higher levels of popularity. The band was the most influential in the 1980s. During this period, they demonstrated that the music could move to other levels through the introduction of the new tunes. The band had risked stagnation in the industry due to the beliefs in the traditional jazz music.
Outside Louisiana, the band performed in other varied places and their fame went worldwide. Among some of the international avenues, they performed include the Monteux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. The band also included an international specialist in their recordings like Elvis Costello Norah Jones and DJ Logic. This step made the band be recognized internationally and would after that receive invites for performance in international arenas. Other several small bands were formed after them, following the way they did a thing and thus further diversified the genres inclusive in the Jazz music.
The band serves as an encouragement for other music genres to explore all possible ways of introducing uniqueness in the industry. It demonstrates how music as an art can be presented in various forms, making it possible to bring together different existing tunes and form a new one. This way, the music genre will take varied forms and natures from which fans can choose from. It also provides a platform for music artists to use their freedom and use their creativity to come up with new ideas.
In conclusion, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band is among the Jazz bands that elevated Jazz music to a different level. The band successfully introduced new tunes particularly the funk and bebop tunes, to the music. This move graduated the traditional New Orleans Jazz music to a higher level. This also made the band go international away from Louisiana. It also opened another artist to create and used freedom in the music industry in the generation of new tunes. Through this, the Jazz music diversified even to the current genres that still exist.
References
Driscoll, M. T., (2012). New Orleans brass band traditions and popular music: elements of style in the music of mama dig down’s brass band and Youngblood brass band.
Library of Congress. (2019). Jazz | Popular Songs of the Day | Musical Styles | Articles, and Essays | the Library of Congress Celebrates the Songs of America | Digital Collections | Library of Congress. Retrieved from https://www.loc.gov/collections/songs-of-america/articles-and-essays/musical-styles/popular-songs-of-the-day/jazz