Transcript Birth Of The Blues

Birth Of The Blues
Juan Martinez Alex Espinoza
Who was Sidney Bechet ?
Sidney Bechet was an American jazz saxophonist,
clarinetist, and composer. He was one of Jazz’s
greatest musicians.
Where did the Blues come from ?
- Blues started with the music of African Americans in
the Mississippi Delta and other places in the southern
parts of the US, such as New Orleans, and Memphis.
How was the blues made ?
Blues music originated from African American slaves
who would sing 'work' songs during their long days
toiling in the plantations. The songs borrowed a lot
from African folk songs and the slaves used them as
a way of motivating themselves during their hard
times.
Was the Blues successful after slavery?
Virtually all modern music in the West owes a
profound debt to the American black man. If not for
the soul and expression imported so cruelly from
Africa there would be no blues, no soul and no jazz –
and hence no R’B, no rock and roll, no rap, no hip
hop and no funk. If not for the plaintive laments of
black slaves working in cotton plantation in the
Mississippi we would probably all still be singing
polkas and hillbilly ballads today.
Sidney Bechet
Sidney Bechet, one of the great jazz
musicians of all time , was born in New
Orleans, Louisiana, in May 1897. He was a
Creole of color , a member of a black
community that traced its roots back to the
French, Spanish, and Caribbean culture
that characterized the city before
Louisiana became part of the United
States. The Bechets were a musical family;
the father was a shoemaker who played
the flute and Sidney’s brother played the
clarinet and trombone, while Sidney took
to the clarinet. His extraordinary musical
abilities were evident by the time he was
ten.