Music comes in many forms; most countries have a style of their own.
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the turn of the century when jazz (爵士乐) was born, America had no prominent
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of its own. No one knows exactly when jazz was
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, or by whom, but it began to be
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in the early 1900s. Jazz is America"s contribution to
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music. In contrast to classical music, which
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formal European traditions, jazz is spontaneous and free-form. It bubbles with energy,
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the moods, interest, and emotions of the people. In the 1920s jazz
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like America, and
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it does today. The
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of this music are as interesting as the music
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. American Negroes, or blacks, as they are called today, were the jazz
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. They were brought to Southern States
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slaves. They were sold to plantation owners and forced to work long
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, When a Negro died his friends and relatives
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a procession to carry the body to the cemetery. In New Orleans, a band often accompanied the
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. On the way to the cemetery the band played slow, solemn music suited to the occasion.
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on the way home the mood changed. Spirits lifted. Death had removed one of their
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, but the living were glad to be alive. The band played
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music, improvising (即兴表演) on both the harmony and the melody of the tunes
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at the funeral. This music made everyone want to dance. It was an early form of jazz.