Christian Music
Lyrics and Jazz: The Pairing that Swept the
Nation
When the African slaves who were brought to the colonies were
first introduced to Christianity and Christian music lyrics
they brought with them their own free spirituality and deep
appreciation for life. That enthusiasm bled over to create
ebullient and emotional gospel music that brought together the
unlikely pairing of European Protestant hymns and the fierce
rhythms of Africa. Not content to leave their message in the
church, however, many gospel artists took their Christian
music lyrics and went mainstream. Thus was born gospel
jazz.
When jazz sprang up among the African-American community in
the early 20th century it was a blending of blue
notes, improvisation, polyrhythm and syncopation, all
traceable to its African roots. Jazz soon became a very
popular performance media, garnering a reputation for
expressing personal, emotional and spiritual messages. It was
only a short step from there to combine Christian music lyrics
with the jazz beat and create a genre of music like the world
had never heard before.
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Thomas A. Dorsey, the “Father of Gospel Music” is credited
with being the first to combine Christian music lyrics and
black gospel with jazz. A blues pianist in his youth, he went
on to open the first black gospel music publishing company and
wrote “Take My hand, Precious Lord”. The song has since been
performed by Elvis Presley, Mahalia Jackson, Aretha Franklin,
Clara Ward, Roy Rogers and Tennessee Ernie Ford. See what we
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When Dorsey was introducing Christian music lyrics to the jazz
world he faced an incredible amount of opposition. The
combination of church and secular music, although popular now,
was strongly frowned upon then, particularly because jazz was
often played in clubs and other places of ill repute. One can
assume that he was frequently criticized for his choice during
the duration of his career. He persevered, however, and his
work would later become the standard of traditional gospel.
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“The histories of jazz and Gospel are intrinsically linked.
They share the roots and ancestry of African slave hollers and
field songs,” said artist Kirk Whalum, who released in 1998 an
album titled “The Gospel According to Jazz”. The ties between
the two are made even more evident in the works of Louis
Armstrong, the man who became the symbol of jazz in America.
His performances of what are now considered to be “gospel”
songs, combining Christian music lyrics with a jazz beat, set
the tone for the future of jazz artists around the world. Shop
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Although it was considered scandalous at the time, there can
be no doubt that the pairing of Christian music lyrics and the
powerful spirit of jazz resulted in a genre of music that was
both awe-inspiring and deeply spiritual. Gospel jazz has swept
across the nation.
Gust Lenglet is an accomplished
author and has written many articles in the fields of
education and religion, as well as informative articles
in finance & related fields. He is also CEO of Christian
Gospel Music Lyrics, Ltd., a web site detailing the many types
of gospel and contemporary music
lyrics in use today and their orgins.
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