Influence of Jazz Music on French Culture

Jazz music has influenced everyone from authors to musicians the world over. French culture in particular has been receptive to the influences of jazz over the many decades since its inception into mainstream culture. Jazz is notable for the universal appeal it has held, in France and beyond--appealing to rich and poor, black and white, and everyone in between. New Orleans, as a city steeped in French history and influence, is a solid example of the successful intermingling of jazz with French culture, but in France, jazz also has deep roots.

Early Influences

In the 1920s and 1930s, when jazz was a relative newcomer to the music scene, oft-photographed songstress Josephine Baker fled racism in the United States for France, where she quickly rose to popularity. Baker was not alone; she and other musicians, such as saxophonist Coleman Hawkins, emigrated to a France that welcomed the musical form even under the shadow of the German occupation. According to Paris-based jazz musician Rene Urtreger, when World War II ended, the French had openly embraced American cultural influences--food, movies and jazz included.

Early Controversy

In his book, "Making Jazz French: Music and Modern Life in Interwar Paris," Jeffrey Jackson discusses the origin of the controversy caused by jazz in Paris during the early 1920s. Reactions varied due to both the newness and foreign airs that surrounded jazz, which was seen as an African-influenced American import. French-based American musicians were feared to be taking jobs from local musicians, yet jazz as a musical form had already taken hold on the French ear. Fears were gradually dispelled during the late 1920s, and the French embraced jazz as their own.

Jazz Musicians in France

Josephine Baker was a sensational singer who was wildly popular in Paris in the 1920s, but she was only one of many who made their names as jazz musicians in France. Django Reinhardt, a Belgian-born gypsy, traveled to Paris with his family and was famous for his accurate technique on the guitar, which he played with only two fingers of the left hand and full use of the right. Stéphane Grapelli was a violinist who led the Hot Club in Paris along with Reinhardt. The Hot Club is looked to as "the prototype of all later jazz clubs," according to the Louisiana State Museum website.

Individual musicians were not the only ones to strike a chord in France; the band of the all-black, Harlem-based Army regiment known as The Hellfighters was led by James Reese Europe, a legendary American ragtime bandleader. The band toured France in part to boost morale and friendliness between the French and Americans.

Jazz and Art

Henri Matisse is one of the most prominent examples of the direct influence of jazz music on French artistic culture. Notably, Matisse created work commissioned by the publisher of Verve magazine, a publication that appeared in both French and English. These 20 compositions are collected in a book titled, "Jazz," and feature vibrant, black cut-out figures, bold colors, and a strong sense of movement. Other artists, set designers, and costume makers, such as Pablo Picasso, Paul Poiret and Erté, created work that was strongly influenced by jazz. The Art Deco movement flourished in France during the 1920s and bears hallmark influences of jazz culture as well.

Continued Influence and Scholarship

According to the Louisiana State Museum website, the French were "the first to consider jazz worthy of serious study," while Americans tended to view the musical genre strictly in terms of its entertainment value. Jazz has continued to influence other musical forms, such as bebop, which became popular in the 1940s, and rhythm and blues, which continues in popularity. The influence and prominence of jazz as both a musical form and a topic worthy of scholarship is evidenced with such events as The Getty Center's 2007 conference, titled "Côte à Côte--Coast to Coast: Art and Jazz in France and California."

References

• Making Jazz French: Music and Modern Life in Interwar Paris by Jeffrey H. Jackson
• Jazz; Henri Matisse; 1992
• Pianist Rene Urtreger: Jazz Builds Cultural Bridges

Resources

• Louisiana State Museum: The Influence of Jazz Music in France
• Jazzistry: Jazz History Timeline