The film “Gumbo” is a documentary that depicts the history of jazz – the evolution and impact it has in today’s culture. Jazz is truly the embodiment of America in a music medium – the mixtures of cultures, ethnicities, and traditions come together as one.

Many groups of people are depicted in the film – influencing the jazz culture. It starts by talking about all the remarkable men and women who influenced jazz, such as a pianist who falsely claimed to be the innovator of jazz but wrote down jazz into musical sheets, a Russian-Jewish immigrants boy who was taught the clarinet but taught the country to dance, a troubled daughter who sung her issues into music and transferred the industry, and many more. It depicts that jazz and its influencers have come from all across with so many upbringings and character – truly showing how unique and unchained jazz can be. I want to note that all of these people were not given names – which shows how jazz can’t be accredited to individuals, but to everyone. It shows the diversity, the robustness, and the freedom that jazz represents.

It’s hard to pinpoint what the music sounds like since the documentary shows the evolution of jazz. There were vocal chants of slaves in the early history of America – singing whilst working in the fields. It goes to the free people of Creoles in New Orleans who played music for all sorts of dancing. After the Civil War, music changed from staccato and military short marching to more mimicry of vocals, having vibrato added to the end of notes, giving it more emotions and power. One of the points the documentary makes is that the popularity of Jazz could be accredited to the speed of the music – as video became popular during the time, it made the footage very fast because of the low frame rate, but at the same time, jazz was known for its speed, so footage of playing and the sound of the music really made it amplify the notion that jazz was quick.

Though New Orleans was a prime hotspot for the foundation of jazz, the music was really played anywhere, everywhere, and by anyone. When jazz finally became recorded, it spread like wildfire, spreading across all of America with immense popularity. Jazz was a way to break away the mold of the past and create something new by the new generation. Arguably starting prior to the Civil War, this phenomena, this jazz birth, has been brewing and maturing for hundreds of years. Starting from the hardships of slavery to the discrimination of African Americans, to the political and social struggles of men and women, jazz was an expression that evolved throughout the time. It’s a statement of freedom of expression, a stance to never give up.

The biggest thing that stood out to me is the appreciation and rich in history of jazz. It’s very inspiring to watch and learn about the evolution of jazz. It’s one of those few things that you can clearly tell the linkage of the struggles of many people, how deeply rooted you can trace back jazz in the history of America. It’s something so representative that can be applied today – about the struggles of every day people, of expressing yourself differently and uniquely and be proud.