1. New Orleans - Birthplace of Jazz
   1. New Orleans was from its founding tied to France. Various changes in the politics of the city (Louisiana given to to Charles III of Spain, Napoleon forcing the Spanish to return the territory in 1800, and its US purchase in December 1803) did not fundamentally alter the its tone.
      1. Voluntary colonists began to settle the area.
         1. Capuchin monks, Jesuits, and Ursuline nuns settled there in the late 1720s.
         2. A large group of Germans established a community just above the city.
         3. "Casket girls" - young women bringing a casket-sized trunk of clothes and a small dowry - came from France, bringing an element of stability to the area.
         4. Acadians came to the area from Nova Scotia; other arrivals included people from Spain, Africa, the West Indies, British America, Ireland, and Italy. Slaves were also brought in to "ease the lives" of the upper class whites (at least a few "free blacks" lived in New Orleans by 1722).
      2. Under the rule of Pierre Cavagnial de Rigaud de Vaudreil (1743-1753), New Orleans became a multidimensional community.
         1. The Marquis' love of parties , banquets, parades, and balls combined with Latin Catholics' tendency to celebrate heavily before Lent. The celebration of Mardi Gras began to take on the form by which it is known today.
            1. Almost from its beginning, New Orleans was a city of pleasure, "a kind of hedonistic binge with style; a style probably unmatched to this day" (Buerkle and Baker, p. 5)
   2. Two factors significantly influenced the population growth of Creoles of color
1. Upper class men desired to carry on a tradition of their forebears - the keeping of mistresses. In order to facilitate this, regular balls (the bals du Cordon Bleu) were established where patrons (eligible young men) and ladies (often "octaroons" - ladies of one eighth black ancestry) could meet. A lady who became a mistress was typically provided with a house (a number of which were located on Rampart Street) and servants.
2. A so-called "Black Code" was enacted in 1724 which regulated the interaction between slaves and owners; one aspect of the code was the provision for the manumission of slaves with consent of their owners.
3. In general, African Americans enjoyed a much higher degree of freedom in New Orleans than in almost anywhere else in the US. "By the beginning of the nineteenth century, the Creoles occupied a position very near the the top of the social order and though excluded from certain areas of white interaction, they had created their own social units, equal to and often vastly superior to all others in the community" (ibid., p. 8-9). A few owned cotton and sugar plantations with numerous slaves.
4. Spain freed many of the slaves during its rule; also, after a slave revolt in Haiti (1791-1804), free people of color took refuge in Cuba; most were forced out in 1809, and many of them came to New Orleans.
5. The Vieux Carré (often called the "French Quarter") was the heart of the French-speaking district. It was home to French families, their servants, and Creoles of Color.
   1. While often not "accepted" socially among the most upper classes, many of the Creoles were successful business people, and they figured prominently in the Carré's cultural activities.
   2. It was generally understood that, regardless of parentage, the French-speaking "downtown" families were significantly higher on the social ladder than those on the other side of Canal Street.
      1. Although it is true that most of the "uptown" people of color had darker skin than their "downtown" counterparts, neither skin color nor physical features defined the two communities.
      2. Cultural traits defined the two groups: the Creoles spoke French and had a predominantly Catholic background. Their uptown counterparts were Protestant, English-speaking, and to a large extent had assimilated Anglo-American culture and lost touch with much of their African heritage (Johnson 2000).
   3. Creole musicians (for whom musical performance was a "hobby" rather than a profession) had access to the best formal musical training available, and they participated in opera and symphonic performances as well as the numerous brass bands.
6. Congo square
   1. After the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, slaves were allowed some limited freedom; in particular, many were not required to work on Sundays and certain religious holidays.
   2. They were allowed to assemble in a 4-block area near Orleans and Rampart Streets behind the French Quarter. Although the area had many names, it was most widely known as "Congo Plains" or "Congo Square." It was "reserved for the free expression of African culture and customs, especially dancing to the music of the drums" (from Parascope.com) It is possible that voodoo rituals were performed there, although many sources deny it.
2. Beginning with the War Between the States (April 12, 1861) and continuing with the Reconstruction and post-Reconstruction eras, a series of events and changing economic and political circumstances gradually changed the social strata of New Orleans.
   1. Public segregation by race, which was banned during Reconstruction, began to be reimposed after its end in 1877. "Act 111 of the Regular Session of the Louisian Legislature" - the first of the so-called "Jim Crow" laws - was enacted in 1890. It specified that separate cars were required for black and white patrons travelling first class. (A legal challenge to this law led to the famous case Plessey vs. Ferguson.) Two other legislative acts called for separate waiting rooms in railroad depots and the outlawing of interracial marriages. Some disagreement exists in the literature concerning the extent to which these laws changed race relations in the city or directly influenced the economic status of the Creoles (see for example Buerkel and Barker [1973] and Johnson [2000]).
   2. Both black and white workers experienced economic hardship in the 1880s and 1890s. A huge influx of immigrants competed for available work, and industrial machinery replaced large numbers of workers. Also, unions were organising many of the trade and craftsman positions that had been the stronghold of Franco-American artisans (Johnson 2000). Many artisans found themselves completely out of work; others continued operating on a much smaller scale, their customers likewise being in poorer financial circumstances.
   3. What had once been a hobby or an avocation became the primary source of income for many of the Creoles. Music in particular became an occupation, albeit a precarious one (Buerkle and Barker 1973).
      1. Initially, this worked reasonably well for the skilled "downtown" musicians, who found work playing for social events and, occasionally, the professional orchestras.
      2. Gradually, however, a new blues-based musical style from uptown challenged the livelihood of the Creole musicians.
3. Alderman Sidney Story, in attempting to confine the trade of prostitution to a limited area, wrote Section 1 of Ordinance 13,032 C.S. This established a 38-block area that became known as Storyville.
1. "While some legitimate enterprises were conducted in the area, Storyville was primarily a collage of cabarets, whorehouses, cafes, cribs, honky-tonks, houses of assignation, "dance-schools," gambling joints, and clip-joints, all devoted to fleecing the adventurous sensualist of his money" (Buerkel and Barker 1973, p. 19).
2. A wide variety of music could be heard in Storyville, ranging from string trios to ragtime pianists to the blues. Playing in Storyville meant a loss of social status within the community, but the work was steadier and the money was a little better. Musicians frequently commented that they did not necessarily enjoy playing in Storyville, although some seemed to revel in the decadence.
3. In August 1917, the Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy issued orders forbidding open prostitution within five miles of Army or Navy posts. After much protest, the city finally conceded, and operation of a brothel became illegal anywhere in the city. This of course did not eliminate prostitution, but it was driven underground, and large numbers of musicians lost their jobs. This contributed to the emigration of musicians from New Orleans that had already begun.
4. Music in Storyville
   1. Almost all of the musicians listened to each other and adapted their own styles.  The more classically trained (typically white or Creole) were attracted to the freedom and spontaneity of the more earthy music of their counterparts, who in turn sought the polish and technical facility of the more formally-trained musicians.
   2. The music in Storyville was clearly functional; the music in these establishments enhanced the atmosphere, making customers feel happy and more willing to part with their earnings.
   3. Musicians needed to make a living, and they played (and recorded) whatever produced income.
   4. Early jazz was considered “tainted” by critics both by venues in which it was performed and by the “unpolished,” improvisatory nature of the music.
4. Two musicians hold the most plausible claims to the title of “First Jazz Artist” – Buddy Bolden and Jelly Roll Morton.
   1. Buddy Bolden - "Sometime around 1897, the Charles "Buddy" Bolden band began filling the dance halls and streets of New Orleans with a new kind of music. Instead of following the notes on sheet music like they were a railroad track, Buddy made his cornet an extension of his emotions. To this rough Negro barber, popular melodies were only points of embarkation for funky, hip-swinging improvisation. Some twenty years later this new music would be called jazz." (Buerkle and Baker, p. vii)
   1. Bolden played cornet and was generally considered the first to actively embellish melodies in the “jazz style.”
   2. He was the first "King of Jazz" in New Orleans and is remembered by musicians of the time as “one of the finest horn players they had ever heard.”
   3. He became known around 1895 playing in New Orleans parades and dances, and his band eventually rose to become one of the most popular in the city.
   4. In 1907 his health deteriorated and he was committed to a mental institution where he spent the remainder of his life.
   2. Jelly Roll Morton (Ferdinand Joseph La Menthe) was probably the first jazz composer and an important transitional figure between ragtime and jazz piano.
   1. Morton was born into Creole society and studied classical piano.
   2. After the death of his mother, Morton found work in Storyville.  In addition to his music, he was active as a gambler, pool shark, and nightclub operator.
   3. In 1912, Morton briefly settled in Chicago's South Side where he published his first number, "The Jelly Roll Blues."
   4. Morton recorded for the Gennett label in 1923 and 1924.  Soon after he formed the Red Hot Peppers and made a series of classic records for Victor.
   5. During the Depression, with the shift in public interest from “Hot Jazz” to the big bands, Morton fell on hard times.  He even lost the diamond in his front tooth.
   6. Morton died just before the Dixieland revival rescued so many of his peers from musical obscurity. He reportedly blamed his declining health on a voodoo spell.

    

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