DeVeaux, Scott. Constructing the Jazz Tradition Essay

DeVeaux, Scott. Constructing the Jazz Tradition - Essay Example Jazz history’s linear history came into being through the acknowledgement of its African roots by the American people (i.e., dubbed as a â€Å"rare and valuable national American treasure†), which reinforced the un-ambiguity and clear ‘linear’ path of jazz history (DeVeaux 2). In the process of this history’s unmaking, Tirro (291) pointed out how it lost its â€Å"historical strand that linked contemporary jazz to its roots...† (qtd. in Deveaux 2). On the other hand, it gained more forms or terms such as â€Å"cool jazz, hard bop, modal jazz, Third Stream, and New Thing† (DeVeaux 2). Interestingly, this unmaking story of jazz history is a common pattern among other music history; the original or traditional music has to become obsolete to pave the way for the creation of another music of similar ilk. The bebop era left a series of casualties in the jazz history. First, it successfully caused the dissolution of jazz’s â€Å"evolutionary lineage† through the percolation of different, â€Å"and in some cases mutually hostile styles† (DeVeaux 2). Second, the era pulled the traditional jazz to â€Å"contrasting directions,† through emerging music genres such as free jazz and jazz/rock fusion, and placed jazz music in a very pluralistic standpoint (DeVeaux 3). DeVeaux’s view evidently places the bebop era and influence as the main culprits in obscuring the official jazz