Jazz Exhibit Experience

My overall impression of the Jazz: The Syncopation of Democracy exhibit was good. I was impressed with the variety of examples and information that informed us about the jazz age. I was very impressed with the music part of the exhibit. For me, hearing the music, and hearing the soul throughout the songs was my window. I appreciate music very much, and it is a big part of my life. I felt like I was personally connected to the music part of the exhibit because in my life, music reaches out to me. So when I was listening to the Summertime songs, I felt like I could relate to the soul within the song.  believe that the connection between jazz and democracy is similarity. In democracy, you  have to be willing to hear another’s point of view, and acknowledge it. Within the music of jazz, the music is the conversation, and people respond to just what you are playing. George Gershwin worked on the opera, “Porgy and Bess,” while composing “Summertime.” Summertime is sung multiple times throughout the opera “Porgy and Bess,” in many different ways and tones. The connection between jazz and opera could be that both genres of music come from within, and from the soul. The juxtaposition of Nina Simone’s lyrics and Tupac Shakur’s writing was intentionally done in the exhibit because I believe that it symbolized the connection between the two, and the similarity of meaning. It also displays the fact that maybe music hasn’t changed as much as we have thought. These days, a lot of popular music is in the genre of rap. Tupac Shakur is still very popular amongst people today. However, the language of rap has changed. Tupac’s music was focused around real life things, and his intentions were to get something across to people. Whereas today, it’s simply for brief entertainment.