Lesson21 Blues and Jazz
People from Europe and America brought Africans to America as slaves before and during the nineteenth century. These Africans brought their music with them. After the American Civil War (1861&1865), the African-American people in the United States were not slaves. Their African-American music became famous. It started in the South, in Louisiana and Mississippi. Then it travelled to the north. This music became blues and then jazz.
Blues and jazz became very popular in the twentieth century. A person who "sings the blues" feels sad. Usually, he or she lost something - a person or maybe money or a job. Blues express sad feelings sometimes in a funny way. People played blues first with only one or two instruments, for example, a guitar, a harmonica, or sometimes a piano. Sometimes they sang without any instruments. Some famous blues musicians are Bessie Smith, John Lee Hooker, and B.B. King.
Jazz came soon after blues. Composers added more musical instruments. Jazz can be happier and is often faster. Some famous jazz musicians are Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, and Wynton Marsalis.
Musicians who play blues and jazz change the music to show their emotions. They play the music differently each time.
Today people all over the world still like to listen to blues and jazz because all people have strong emotional feelings sometimes.
blues 蓝调音乐, 布鲁斯
harmonica 口琴
布鲁斯和爵士乐
十九世纪前以及在十九世纪，欧洲人和美国人把非洲人作为奴隶带到了美洲。这些非洲人带来了他们的音乐。美国内战
（1861@@1865）后，美国黑人成了自由人。他们的美国黑人音乐也声名远扬。它开始于南方的路易斯安那和密西西比，后来传到了北方。这种音乐后来演变成布鲁斯，再后来成了爵士乐。
布鲁斯和爵士乐在二十世纪变得非常流行。吟唱布鲁斯乐曲的人通常很悲伤，他通常失去了什么，可能是亲人、金钱或者工作。布鲁斯有时候以一种有趣的方式表达悲伤的情感。最早人们只用一两种乐器演奏布鲁斯，例如，吉它、口琴或者有时候是钢琴。有时吟唱时没有任何乐器伴奏。贝西•史密斯、约翰•李•胡克和B•B•金是著名的布鲁斯音乐家。
爵士乐紧随着布鲁斯而出现。作曲家们使用了更多的乐器。爵士乐表现很欢乐的情感，节奏也更快些。杜克•艾林顿、路易斯•阿姆斯特朗、迈尔斯•戴维斯和温顿•马萨里斯是著名的爵士音乐家。
演奏布鲁斯和爵士乐的乐手为表达自己的情感会改变曲调。他们每次演奏的方式都不一样。当今世上还有很多人喜欢听布鲁斯和爵士乐，因为每个人都不时会有强烈的情感要表达。 |