Our Jazz Appreciation class is an opportunity for people to get together to share ideas and learn about jazz music and the diversity of styles. During this time of restrictions, we are exploring other ways to experience jazz, and I wanted to share some songs with you.
All music is a source of many things. It allows us to escape into the sublime, to drift into another time and to encourage feel-good fun. At this unusual time, music reminds us that people have always had to meet challenges, to cope with difficulty and to find sources of support. Listening to music may help during the current times, as it has through much of history. The song titles below show how music can reflect personal experiences.
So, how are you going in your solitude? I suppose you don’t get around much anymore, and there is a lull in your life. Certainly, things ain’t what they used to be, and it’s tempting just to stay sitting and rocking in your chair. Are you by yourself, or are you alone together? If we could see you now, would we notice that you are trying to get happy? We hope that you are packing up all your cares and woes and having some fun!
In the list below, there are links to some jazz songs written in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. These were historically tough times in many ways: epidemics, world war and economic depression. Music was a way to share the sadness as well as the sunshine. This collection of songs provides another way to reflect on today’s testing times by re-visiting the past. Each song is provided as a YouTube video. Explore and enjoy yourself!
- Pack Up All Your Cares and Woes … (Bye Bye Blackbird) (1926).
- Get Happy (1930).
- Alone Together (1932).
- In My Solitude (1934).
- There’s a Lull in my Life (1937).
- Are You Having Any Fun? (1939).
- Things Ain’t What They Used To Be (1942).
- Don’t Get Around Much Anymore (1942).
- Just A-Sitting And A-Rocking (1941).
- If You Could See Me Now (1946).