But still, one last element is needed - a geographical area - one where all the influences can converge and intermingle; where the social factors were present to allow these four cultures to function concurrently; a period of relative political stability; and a heritage of freely accessible musical activity.
Before we visit New Orleans, we’re going to stop in the West Indies. Last month, I mentioned the factors of the slave trade and how the European Colonial Powers imported the slave population to the New World and the Islands of the West Indies as the first major stop in this forced migration. Remember also, that the treatment and attitudes toward the African Slave varied between the Latin-Catholic and the British-Protestant colonies. A more detailed description to the West Indies will provide some necessary background for New Orleans.
I will be using two sources for this next section:
• “The Story of Jazz”, Marshall W. Sterns,Oxford University Press, New York, 1958
• “A Story of Jazz”. Paul Tanner amp; Maurice Gerow, W.C. Brown Co.,Iowa, 1973
Each island in the West Indies represents a unique blend of African and European elements. Dutch Guiana - now the Republic of Suriname - had a large element of slaves who escaped into the interior jungle and they retained almost all their African heritage; those who remained on the coast and in close contact with the predominant European culture lost most of the African heritage. Haiti is a predominately Dohomean/French culture and the music is a blend of French folk melodies with African elements. Cuba is a predominately Yoruba/Spanish culture and the music also reflects this - the Habanera, Guajira, Punto, and Guaracha contain strong Spanish elements; the Rhumba, Conga, Son Afro-Cubano, Mambo, and the Cha-Cha are predominately African. Trinidad is a mixture of Spanish, French, and English influences - Spain and England held it as a colonial possession and the French entered as colonists. Important for us is a group of people called Shouters. This group were in effect a culture of African, Latin-Catholic, and with a final overlay of Protestantism (by conversion). The resultant religious music of this group is very close to a style of Revival music found in the United States.
These examples show how the particular European/African blend resulted in a uniquely different musical hybrid. The Shouters experienced the closest circumstances to that of the United States - and developed a music very similar to the Revival style in the United States. But, New Orleans added more to the mix. The circumstances here were similar but additional factors were present. It is the sum of these circumstances and influences which made New Orleans the Place in Time with the Opportunity for Jazz to develop.
The colonial history of New Orleans is a microcosm of the period. It was a French colony for its first 46 years. Customs were established that have endured to this day and during this period resembled the French West Indies. It was ceded to Spain in 1764 and then briefly back to France in 1800. In 1803, as part of the Louisiana Purchase, it was sold to the United States. In short, it was a Latin-Catholic colony of both France and Spain for 82 years and then part of a British-Protestant country. This history of the city created an environment very different from the rest of the US.
The slave population reflected each colonial preference - Yoruba with Spanish and French sovereignty (as France had taken over many Spanish possessions); Dahomeans, again, with French sovereignty. But, this population was mostly imported from the West Indies. Later, many were obtained from San Domingo with a stop over in Cuba. Also, there was still an influx directly from Africa. It is in New Orleans that the many African Tribal Cultures were able to also influence each other - right up to the Civil War.
The city, however, remained a predominately Latin-Catholic area. This - even with the increasing Protestant influence - enabled the African to retain much of his music and culture. But the increasing range of musical influences upon the African was unique. The Creoles who combined Spanish, French and African ancestry attained considerable social status and assimilated much of European Culture - many sent their children to school in Europe; the slave population in the large surrounding plantations were able to maintain most of their African heritage; and the economic prosperity of the city opened the paths of cross-culturalization.
With the Louisiana Purchase the great western migration started in the US. The opening of the Ohio and Mississippi river valleys created a demand for supplies most easily transported up the Mississippi river from New Orleans. New Orleans prospered and the city population doubled in seven years - from 10,000 (1/2 white amp; 1/2 black). This created a demand for entertainment and a singular mixing of the European and the African. Early on, the city was segregated along economic lines rather than racial - this spread the black population across the city and did not concentrate it in any one area (till the import of Northern prejudice after the Civil War). Sterns maintains that this economic prosperity is really what enabled this mixing of cultures to take place.
Two African-american practices have direct influence on the development of Jazz - the practice of Vodun and the pre amp; post Civil War performances by slaves and former slaves in Congo Square. The Vodun ceremonies (a African/Catholic mixture) tended to act as a preservation of many of the African cultural elements. It flourished in the city because of the long Latin-catholic history and the importation of slaves from the West Indies. Sterns indicates that ‘Jelly Roll’ Morton was a devout believer. The Congo Square performances (outdoor dances held 1817 - 1885) were legalized by the city’s Municipal Council in 1817 - in part to combat the underground practice of Vodun (which was illegal) and to provide a safety valve to keep the slaves contented. The performances brought the sounds of Vodun out into the open and hastened the blending of European and African elements. Each of these, in varying degrees, used melodic elements which were French-creole, were sung in a French-creole patois, and gradually mixed with European instruments as the century wore on.
The Latin-catholic heritage of the city pervades this pre-jazz period in many ways. The most direct link (to my mind) is the French Military Band. This particular performance group reached its peak in Napoleonic France. It spread throughout the United States as entertainment and New Orleans followed the French tradition. These Bands were employed at almost all functions - including funerals. The Afroamerican followed this tradition and organized similar musical organizations early on. Coupled with the development of the ‘secret society’ and ‘fraternal organizations’ which provided employment for these groups; they became a focus for the blending of European and African musics and instruments. It should be noted that the fraternal/secret societies and the forms of funeral ceremonies utilizing the Bands have parallels in the West African Traditions of the slave and former slave populations - the mixing of cultural influences is now in earnest.
One last factor needs to be expanded upon - the Creoles of Color. The Black Code of 1724 provision for the manumission (freeing) of slaves in which the children shared the status of their mothers created a new social class in the city. When a white aristocrat died, he frequently willed that his part-african mistress/slave should be freed and his children by this mistress were also freed. These people became know as Creoles of Color - with French, Spanish, and African ancestry. The children were often given all the advantages the family could provide - including a European education - and as such, assimilated a distinctly European heritage. The Creoles of Color attained status and wealth, some, by 1830, owning cotton and sugar plantations and slaves of their own. Their status however ebbed and flowed with the tide of prejudice in the city. By 1889, they were no longer considered a separate class and assumed a place in the Black community. Here, their European training in music combined with the influences of the former slave population and again provided a means for European and African musical cultures to mix. The Marching Bands provided the focal point of much of the musical contact.