History:
It's origins lie in the south of the united states within the African American communities. The music itself is a mix of African and European music styles and incorporates blue notes and improvisation.
Jazz itself is broken down into many sub-genres including New Orleans, big band swing, West Coast, Latin and Bebop.
The name itself came from west coast slang spoke in about 1912.
Jazz began to emerge properly in the 1920's when attitudes were starting to change and become more liberal. The older generations at the time found it threatening to their old values as it very much represented the changes being seen in the younger generations.
Philosophy:
Jazz has been notoriously hard to define, which in itself shows you it's unpredictable nature and it's sense of freedom.
The dictionary tells us that it is 'A style of music, native to America, characterized by a strong but flexible rhythmic understructure with solo and ensemble improvisations on basic tunes and chord patterns and, more recently, a highly sophisticated harmonic idiom.'
The words flexible, improvisation and unpredictable pop up quite alot actually. Part of it's charm seems to be it's experimental nature and it's expressionism. It encourages musical freedom. Jazz isn't something you can pin down and it aims to be constantly exploring new depths. You have to feel it to fully enjoy Jazz music, it needs to resonate within.
Initial Thoughts:
The philosophy is what I think I'm interested in capturing visually. I want the publication to feel unpredictable and expressionist and for it to not feel too graphically structured. Or if it is then I don't want that to be too obvious to the viewer. It should be free and experimental with links to the colours and feelings of the context. In my head I picture something which emulates Jazz music but for the eyes.
This could end up being very interesting I feel. Obviously I still want it to feel graphic in ways but I guess slightly post modernist in it's execution.
Next Step:
Now that I have a basic understanding of Jazz I think I need to look at it's visual culture.
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