Author: ztobias (Page 1 of 2)

Problem Statement: The Role of Music Venues and African American Jazz and Rock performers that Shaped St. Louis’s Culture Identity.

Observation, Background, and Context: St. Louis is to be recognized as one of many central points for Music, specifically Jazz, Blues and rock. Some venues like the Pageant, Gaslight Square, and Blueberry Hill have provided performance spaces for iconic musicians while also giving and showcasing local talents. What inspired me to do this topic was I use to be in the band in middle school and played Saxaphone and clarinet. It’s interesting how these venues not only serve as entertainment for these musicians but also cultural spaces, which can mold the city’s identity and give the community a sense as well. As time continues with anything in life, there are economic shifts and gentrification that have affected these historic sites. Some thrive and expand while others have closed or shut down due not to meeting certain expectations. This brings me to the question as the impact of music venues on the city’s culture in the face of economic changes.

Problem at Hand: The challenge in understanding how music venues have impacted St. Louis cultural identity over time. What roles have these venues played in a social life of the city of St. Louis, and how they have molded to changing times? Another question to consider is how the impact of some places does be closed and not closed impact the local community, the musicians and the city’s landscape itself?

Technology to present this work: To do this research effectively, I will use an interactive storytelling map to visualize the changes in St. Louis’s music venues over time. By integrating these digital tools, I seek to get my audience attention and interact with the material while also having these informative resources that showcase the relationship between music, space and cultural identity.

Below are some sources that give a background to St. Louis history of Jazz and RocknRoll music that were used in this project:

The Old Rock House | Gateway Arch Park Foundation

“Around and Around”: St. Louis Community Hopes to Restore Chuck Berry’s House | National Trust for Historic Preservation

List of Jazz musicians from St. Louis – FamousFix List

Unraveling the Legendary Rock Music Venues of St. Louis

Jimmy Forrest: The Tenor Saxophonist Who Bridged Blues and Jazz – Jazz Daily

Hamiet Bluiett, Giant Of The Baritone Sax, Has Died At 78 : NPR

In this comparison I chose to pick St. Louis in 1862 vs Alton in 1906. Based on the data there was a cross between the Cirrus I noticed how regardless to the word count difference both are centered around the words City and St. Louis. I would have thought the Alton one would be more focused on Alton itself and the history, but since it’s in the metro area of St. Louis it makes more sense as to why it appears in the article still. Also seeing how St. Louis 1862 had way more information about the city and what took place compared to the Alton 1906 and that could be due to the fact that STL is still bigger than Alton therefore have more information about what took place.