Narrator Listen to part of a talk in a music class. Now get ready

Professor  Okay, uh. As you all know, music comes in many forms; most countries have a style of their own. Poland has its polkas. Hungary has its czardas. Brazil is famous for the bossa nova, Caribbean countries for the merengue, and Argentina for the tango. So, how about America? What kind of music is typical of America? Does anyone know it?
Student A Uh, I think it must be jazz. The U.S. is known for jazz. Whenever you turn on the TV or radio, you will hear jazz music. It’s almost everywhere.
Professor  That’s right. Jazz is originated in America. But do you know who invented Jazz?
Student B  Um...African Americans. They invented jazz.
Professor  Exactly. It was African Americans who invented jazz and contributed to popular music in America. You know, in contrast to classical music, which...uh...which follows formal European traditions, jazz is spontaneous and free-form. It bubbles with energy, expressing the moods, interests, and emotions of the people. It has a modern sound, which is brash, uninhibited and exciting. Do you know how jazz was originated? Come on, we’ve talked a little bit about this before.
Student A  Since jazz was invented by African Americans, it must have some connections with the history of African Americans.
Student B  Yeah... I read an article about jazz. It says.., it says that American blacks were brought to the Southern states to work as slaves. And...and they were sold to plantation owners and forced to work long hours in the cotton and tobacco fields. Since... urn... since this work was hard and life was short, singing became one way for them to relieve their pain and sufferings. So, jazz came into being.
Professor  Very good. But... there is something interesting missing. In fact, the origin of jazz is as interesting as the music itself. As said by Mary, the work of American blacks in plantation fields was very hard and life was short. So, when a Negro died his friends and relatives formed a procession to carry the body to the graveyard. A...a band often went with the procession. On the way to the cemetery the band played slow, solemn music, but on the way home the mood changed. The band played happy music. Everyone was happy. Although one of them died, the living were glad to be alive. The music made everyone want to dance. It was an early form of jazz. But there were other influences, too. Do you know other influences of jazz?
Student A  I went to cultural nights before and watched the show by African Student Association. I got a feeling that jazz bears certain similarities with African music. They both sound happy and have quick rhythm.
Professor  You got that right. Jazz did get some influences from African music. The blacks usually came from West Africa. So... um...when they were brought to America, they already possessed a rich musical tradition. In Africa, people dance, sing, clap and stamp to the beat of a drum especially on religious ceremonies. Thus, uh...when American blacks settled to their new life, music retained its importance. In the fields, they made up... made up work songs, since, you know, singing made the hard work go faster. Besides, as they were converted to Christianity, they composed lovely spirituals. Spirituals also influenced jazz. What else besides work songs and spirituals?
Student B  How about the blues? I once came across a song of the blues named "Four Women". I remember what one line was like. "my mother is black and my father is white. My back is strong, strong enough to take the pain. " It’s about four black women.
Professor   Yes, you are right. Blues also contributed to jazz. Blues was a type of slow, sad music from the southern U.S. Blues songs always describe something sad like... like an unhappy love affair, a money problem, bad luck etc. To this day, the expression "feeling blue" means being sad or depressed. In fact, there was hardly any activity or social event that could not be set to music. After the American Civil War, the Negroes became free and were ready for a new type of music. They wanted the music to preserve their musical tradition but be fast and happy to express their new-found freedom. They wanted something which... um...which they could play as professional musicians for both black and white audiences. So, they invented jazz, a combination of Negro work songs, spirituals and blues. To be good, a musician had not only to remember his part but also to be able to invent new variations on the spur of the moment.