How to Listen to Jazz

Rather, I’m claiming that, just as scientists first split the atom open in 1917 (the same year as the first jazz recording, by the way), the New Orleans musicians of that same period split open the notes of Western music. In both instances, energy was released, and you can be the judge of which left behind the biggest bang.

Densely packed populations, many individuals coming and going via land and waterways, an overheated mixture of people recently arrived from different locales, informal settings where they intermingle in close contact, a culture and environment that emphasize communal activities and get-togethers—these are nightmare conditions for anyone trying to stop an epidemic, but they are the same ingredients that can spur world-changing artistic revolutions.