Jazz music originated in New Orleans. Many early jazz musicians got their start by playing in the brothels and dance clubs of Storyville, the red light district of New Orleans from 1897 until 1917. Although no one knows for sure how Jazz got its name, it is has been said that the prostitutes of Storyville would wear perfume that was heavily scented of jasmine oil as jasmine was a locally popular scent at that time. Adding jasmine to a perfume was referred to as “jassing it up.” This saying was soon applied to the music. Performers and bands started to use the word jass to refer to their style of music, and at some point that word began to be replaced with jazz. This also may have been where jazz music got a bad reputation; the term is related to prostitutes and sexual activity.
Esperanza Spalding is one of today’s most popular Jazz artists. Born in Portland, Oregon, Spalding is a Jazz singer, bassist and cellist. As a child she was regarded as a musical prodigy playing the violin. At 34 years old, she has recorded seven solo albums and has created music with the likes of Prince, Stevie Wonder, Bruno Mars, and Janelle Monae. Spalding has won four Grammy awards, including Best New Artist, making her the first Jazz artist to win in that category. Along with creating music, Spalding is a Professor at Harvard University’s department of Music.
The genre of Jazz dates back to the 1800s. Jazz was born in New Orleans but it is unclear which sole person created Jazz music. The music was inspired by other genres such as blues, ragtime and band music. Withal, jazz gained more recognition in the 1900s with artists influencing and developing the genre into what is is known to be today. Jazz was seen as an inferior and secondary genre however, it paved a path for itself over the years through the hard work of artists extending the genre nationally.
Miles Davis (1926-1991) was one of the most recognized and influential jazz artists. He was an American trumpeter, bandleader and composer. Davis was born in Illinois however, studied in New York City by which he made his professional debut in 1944. After a couple of years of experience, he recorded with capitol records the “Birth of the Cool” in the late 1940s which were a record that was significant to the development of cool jazz. Davis moved from label to label recording session with many different jazz artists. He had many low moments but also heaps of joyful moments such as his record “Kind of Blue” which critics deem to be the greatest jazz record of all time. Davis explored different directions in his 5-decade career such as rock, funk, African rhythms, electronic music and more that made him influential to the developments of jazz music.
The creation and development of the internet has had a substantial effect on jazz music, particularly for the artists who write and perform it. The internet changed the way they go about their work, as music available on the internet has come to overshadow any that is not. This forces jazz musicians to approach the issue of finding an audience online, in order to avoid becoming irrelevant.
Online streaming services have drastically influenced the music industry as a whole. From musical sound, stylistic frameworks, and marketing strategies, online streaming platforms have shifted every aspect of the music industry both positively, and negatively. It is very interesting to analyze how the genre of jazz has evolved and changed since the emergence of online streaming services and social media. Often times, when we think of music that is benefiting from streaming services, jazz does not tend to enter the equation. The genre has had to find creative and alternative ways to stay relevant during the emergence of YouTube, social media, and internet streaming services such as AppleMusic and Spotify. One of the most prominent ways that the genre of jazz has been influenced by internet streaming services, is its difficulty to stay relevant within pop culture.
Streaming services often promote mainstream music, making it difficult for contemporary jazz to garner attention in the online space. Jazz as a genre, has found creative new ways to stay relevant, and insert itself within pop culture mainly through collaborations with hip-hop and r&b artists. Artists such as Kamasi Washington, Kendrick Lamar, and Robert Glasper freely fuse jazz and hip-hop in their sounds. This is an evolved place from earlier eras when a hip-hop artist would sample a jazz riff into the production, or a jazz musician would play with beats and a DJ scratching over a bebop head (CBC Music, 2018).
In 2015 Kendrick Lamar released an album called To Pimp a Butterfly that featured various prominent jazz musicians such as Kamasi Washington, Robert Glasper, Ambrose Akinmusire, and Terrance Martin (CBC Music, 2018). To Pimp a Butterfly engages and celebrates black music traditions, described by Lamar as “honest, fearful, and unapologetic work that draws on funk, hard bop, spoken word, and soul” (Hale, 2016). Stereogum, the online music publication, stated that “To Pimp a Butterfly is an ambitious avant-jazz-rap statement”. This album bridged the gap between hip-hop and jazz, and was able to intertwine the two genres seamlessly.
As we are moving into a new area where music is solely accessed online, all genres have had to adapt in various ways to stay relevant. Jazz music at its core is collaborative in nature, and is rooted in improvisation. According to David Hargreaves and Raymond MacDonald, authors of the article Designing improvisation: Intercultural collaboration and musical imagination, “improvisation in jazz, as well as in other musical forms, is concerned with both product and process: how it is quintessentially social and collaborative; how it gives rise to new ideas in response to problems: and how it is culturally situated.” (Hargreaves & MacDonald, 2012).
Due to this collaborative nature, jazz has been adapted and mixed with hip-hop and r&b singles, and is still very prevalent within mainstream culture. Kendrick Lamar and other hip-hop artists have capitalized on the unique sound of jazz, and have incorporated it into the mainstream. Jazz music has been utilized within various genres for its unique and soulful sound, that complements various different genres. Online streaming services have reframed the music industry, and we are beginning to see a blend of genres and audience cross over that is reshaping the idea of ‘genres’ as a whole. Although online streaming services have made it more difficult for jazz to stay relevant, they have also created new opportunities for the genre to insert itself within the mainstream through cross-genre collaboration.
Kendrick Lamar “Alright” music video including prominent Jazz sounds
The Internet and its social media platforms have given the genre of Jazz access to an endless amount of potential audiences. Websites such as YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter have given Jazz musicians a chance to grow their audience in a time when it has become harder for them to get mainstream platforms to do it for them. There are not enough press outlets covering Jazz music because it is no longer mainstream and as popular as it once was (Fripp). Social media has allowed for musicians to reach out directly to their fan base to try to build a following. In an interview, Jazz musician Dave Stryker talked about the importance of using social media to keep “the buzz going” in hopes of booking new gigs and to continue making a living as a Jazz performer. Stryker mentions social media as a way to inform fans of upcoming concert dates, new music releases, and behind the scene footage (“How some Jazz artists are using Social Media to promote their music”).
Internet algorithms also help in promoting a Jazz artist’s music to current and new audiences. The more content an artist puts out on platforms such as YouTube, the more YouTube will push that content to its current subscribers. The more content and views that a musician collects, the more likely their content will fall under a person’s “Recommended for You” section (Fripp). Even streaming services will recommend artists, songs, and create playlists for is users. This allows for an audience to be introduced to an artist that they may have never been familiar with before. For example, when a person listens to Tony Bennett’s music on Apple Music, they will be recommended to listen to Bill Charlap, who is a lesser known jazz pianist, because of work they have done together in the past.
Although jazz musicians are still playing the same kind of music that they always have, their image has undergone a dramatic change in the age of the internet. Jazz has effectively become the modern equivalent of classical music: well-respected by musicians and audiences, but no longer popular as a form of mainstream music. Even when a jazz artist is able to cultivate a successful online following, their music is still perceived as being antiquated, like a modern embodiment of decades past.
“How some Jazz artists are using Social Media to promote their music.” YouTube, uploaded by Jazz Video Guy, 27 Jan. 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhAb_zruewg. Accessed 29 Nov. 2018.
Jazz is a genre that has rich history ranging back to the late 19th century. Traditional media had a role in significantly changing the genre over the course of its development. Highlighted in this article, are ways radio changed the image of jazz from being considered “cheap” and “inferior”, to being recognized on a more global scale. Additionally, this article outlines how the music press represented jazz as an art form which gave the genre and the performers a more legitimate position in the music industry.
Radio was the first factor in the transformation of Jazz music. Prior to the 1930s, Jazz music had a very poor reputation among most Americans (Tucker and Jackson). It was thought to be associated with immoral behaviours, representative of moral corruption in then-modern society (Tucker and Jackson). Further contributing to Jazz’s bad image was its association with crime,
creating the impression that criminals might listen to jazz music in ‘shady’ places (Tucker and Jackson). It was the type of music that one often listened to in a dingy bar, rather than a ‘respectable’ family diner or a concert hall (Tucker and Jackson). Thus, when radio was first invented, few people anticipated that Jazz would become popular in the average American household. Yet, as a matter of fact, the genre developed a better reputation through the very advent of radio (Tucker and Jackson).
Slowly but surely, jazz music was brought into people’s homes, and this exposure helped to demonstrate that it was not the inherently dangerous music many had thought it to be (Tucker and Jackson). The radio ‘domesticated’ jazz music, allowing people to hear it for themselves in ways that never would have been possible without radio technology (Tucker and Jackson). It became ‘cleaner’ and more ‘respectable’. No longer would a well-known person risk compromising their social standing if they were caught listening to it. Yet the phenomenon of jazz’s growing reputation was not entirely clear-cut, and its original listeners were not automatically elevated with it. For better or for worse, a genre that had always been distinctly black, now held the attention of a primarily white audience (Tucker and Jackson). Through the radio, jazz transcended its cultural origins and expanded into the mainstream market, transforming it from a ‘gimmick’ into a well-known popular music genre. Social acceptance provided a solid foundation for jazz musicians to stand upon, and the premise that jazz music could be ‘appropriate’ dramatically shaped the rest of its history.
The second factor in Jazz’s transformation was the exposure it received in the music press. This began in 1917, when it first began to leave the confines of New Orleans (Collier). This was that point at which Jazz became too significant to ignore, and at this point it was already on its way to becoming respectable. Jazz was a significant part of American show-business in its own right, and the musicians who had made the original Jazz recordings were now making a profit playing in dance halls (Collier). However, while it was not universally hated, neither had it found widespread acceptance.
Dixie Land Jass Band: The Original Dixieland Jass Band’s Livery Stable Blues was the first jazz recording but their later song Tiger Rag would be more influential.
A considerable portion of the American music press had criticisms to level against Jazz, particularly its immoral reputation (Collier). Jazz had become something worth debating and the early misunderstandings on the parts of most coverage were mixed with hints of genuine comprehension (Collier). Jazz criticism in the 1920s treated it largely as an entertainment industry, but in the 1930s it became the subject of additional critiques from the political left (Collier). These writings praised jazz’s roots, emphasized its perceived rejection by mainstream society, and demonized musicians who had ‘sold out’ their music to a mainstream audience (Collier). These writings promoted the idea that Jazz could be considered an art form, and that those who performed it could be considered artists (Collier).
Already a concept proposed and/or contemplated in the 1920s by some, popular criticism in the 1930s helped the genre gain real traction (Collier). Now one could distinguish the classic, ‘authentic’ jazz music from the ‘commercial’ swing music that emerged afterwards (Collier). The writings of the music press went a long way towards shaping the very industry they were writing about; previously seen as mere entertainment by its own musicians, Jazz in the 1930s became a truly ‘serious’ art form, and this ‘authentic’ brand of jazz music grew to rival its mainstream counterpart in popularity.
Louis Armstrong: Innovator of early jazz in the 1930’s (Wikipedia)
In conclusion, before the 1930s jazz was a genre most people were not fond of or familiar with. The genre attracted a small audience and performances took place in shady areas or events which made it seem inferior compared to other popular music. However, its breakthrough on radio domesticated jazz and gave it the recognition it needed to gain more supporters. Not to mention, the music press turned jazz into an art form that people could appreciate and establish as real. Through these two mediums the image of jazz music changed and the genre developed to be a more authentic form of music.
Jazz music has a complex history, and its status has shifted throughout its history. Exposure to recordings changed it forever, yet it was a live performance that helped it go mainstream.
The first ever Jazz record, by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, emerged and shaped the genre by establishing a specific sound that people who were not familiar to the genre would initially learn about it from. Furthermore, the 1938 Carnegie Jazz Hall Concert was extremely significant for jazz music, because that was when the genre received true mainstream recognition, authenticating it in the eyes of the public. These two points in jazz history influenced the genre culturally, politically and economically.
Original Dixieland Jass Band
Original Dixieland Jazz band is a group consisting of five musicians, all of them white men, who performed Jazz pieces in the early 20th century. Before them, no other artist had ever made a jazz record. Most performances were live improvisations in bars, restaurants, festivals, parades, and more. It was rare for someone to be able to attend a Jazz concert and watch a full set of organized performances. However, towards the end of the first world war, in February of 1917, the Original Dixieland Jazz Band made the first ever jazz record (Dommett, 11). According to Dommett, jazz was among the types of music that experienced a vogue period following the World War era (11). Most of Europe and some other countries became more aware and familiar with jazz music after the First World War, mainly because of the band’s recording certifying the genre (Dommett, 11).
This point in jazz history is especially significant, because it was the moment these artists took the music a step further and introduced it to a new audience. At the time they played a meaningful role in publicizing jazz. However, the genre that allowed complete improvisation and musical creativity was then limited to the sound of the Dixieland Band (Dommett, 12). New upcoming artists and consumers of jazz began to take inspiration from the early records, imitating them in order to produce their own music (Dommet, 12). As a result, the genre became less of a creatively improvised phenomenon over time. In fact, Lawrence Gushee asserts that it is clear hundreds of young, upcoming musicians have copied the instrumentation, manner of playing and repertory of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band (151). Some of them may have never been to America at all, let alone New Orleans, but the widespread distribution of Jazz records allowed them to study and compose within the genre nonetheless.
Dommett says that the Dixieland Band was the “First authenticated jazz band to travel outside the united states” (Dommett, 11). These travels spread jazz so that it would be known around the world, helped to support it economically, and made it more recognizable in the music industry.
The Original Dixieland Jazz Band may have been white, but jazz in the United States was known to be a genre largely dominated by black people. On the other hand, Negro jazz was never recorded until the early 1920s; even then, it was frequently pushed aside to give way to the artists that were already gaining international recognition (Dommett, 12). It was significant that this particular band was the first to produce a jazz record, because the perception people had of them directly inf luenced jazz’s cultural and social identity; seeing white men as the face of jazz probably contributed to the worldwide popularity of their music. Black people were not entirely removed from the picture, though, as Lawrence Gushee points out: “Even at the time, however, New Orleans colleagues and competitors of ODJB fully acknowledged the debt all of them owed to African Americans” (Gushee, 152). This may be because many of the earliest jazz musicians were African Americans, who invented jazz’s distinctive sound.
Buddy Bolden: key developer of early Jazz music
With the new prejudiced social identity that followed the first ever record, musicians from New Orleans felt that they owed the African Americans more recognition (Gushee, 152). When the first Negro jazz record was made in 1923, the genre changed to become more supportive and inclusive of black musicians.
Kid Ory and his Creole Orchestra made the first African American Jazz record.
The famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert, by Benny Goodman of Colombia Records, was a monumental performance in the history of jazz music. This performance, which was re-released in 1950 as a record, became known as jazz’s “coming out” party to the world of “respectable” music. At the time, it was acknowledged as a landmark in the acceptance of jazz by American society (DeVeaux, 6). Music culture within American society was either considered “high” or “low” (DeVeaux, 7): high culture music was performed within concert halls for upper class citizens, whereas low culture music was regarded as mere dance music for those of a lower social status. Previous to 1938, jazz was considered low culture music, and its audience was within a lower social and economic status. Along with being a “low” form of music in general, jazz was viewed as Afro-American music in a society that considered blacks second-class citizens (DeVeaux, 7). The music industry was unwilling to recognize black artists, let alone jazz music, due to racially charged classist ideologies (Deveaux, 7).
The 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert was one of many firsts. Benny Goodman would be the first jazz bandleader to perform at Carnegie Hall, which legitimized jazz music for the high class American music culture. Jazz musicians did not abandon their distinctive performance styles after 1938, but jazz ceased to known as music that only lower-class people should enjoy. In addition, it was one of the first recorded jazz concerts, and its exceptionally positive public reception further served to legitimize jazz in the mainstream. Benny Goodman gained success from marketing to the public’s fascination with basic musical elements of jazz, such as the improvised solos and hard-driving rhythms (DeVeaux, 9).
Benny Goodman
After the success of the 1938 Carnegie Hall Concert, jazz music gained a new public perception. This concert demonstrated the essence of jazz on a wider social scale, and gave the genre the recognition it deserved. Along with the added exposure, this concert began to shift classist ideologies that were prevalent during this post-war era. Benny Goodman gained even more notoriety after this performance, and it legitimized jazz performance on a much wider scale. After this performance, jazz was not viewed as a genre meant for one specific class, gender, or race, but rather as a part of commonplace music culture.
The first Jazz record and the first Jazz concert were two exceptionally important events. Both gave the genre much more exposure than it had previously received, and both made it seem more “legitimate” than before. Their successes were economically valuable, their impacts were politically significant, and their mark on jazz culture can be seen even today.
DeVeaux, Scott. “The Emergence of the Jazz Concert, 1935-1945.” American Music, vol. 7, no. 1,1989, pp. 6–29. JSTOR, JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/3052047.
Dommett, Kenneth. “Jazz and the Composer.” Proceedings of the Royal Musical Association, vol. 91, 1964, pp. 11–20. JSTOR, JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/765961.
Gushee, Lawrence. “The Nineteenth-Century Origins of Jazz.” Black Music Research Journal, vol. 22, no. 1, 2002, pp. 151-174. DOI: 10.2307/1519947 https://www.jstor.org/stable/1519947
Jazz music is an American artform, that has rich artistic heritage and is a product of cultural collaboration. Academically, jazz music is defined as a genre that originated from New Orleans in the 1900s that was strongly influenced by African American culture. Jazz is characterized by strong and distinctive performance techniques, and dotted or syncopated rhythmic patterns. Although jazz encompasses these characteristics, it is so much more than that. Jazz music, (like most music) has the ability to emotionally connect with its listeners and create an experience that can not be put into words. The distinctive quality of jazz music that sets it apart from other genres, is its unique ability to collectively improvise. The audience plays a large role in the spontaneity of jazz, where the performers and the audience create a partnership in the creation of this music. The defining feature of jazz, is its ability to improvise which creates a new form of artistic expression that is not commonly seen within other genres. We compared and contrasted three different definitions of jazz from Wikipedia, Grove Music, and the Encyclopedia. We analyzed historical development, musical traits, key performers, and race/gender ideologies of jazz music. Based on our research, we believe that jazz music is a unique language that blends musical creativity, culture, and heritage, with raw and intimate expression that runs on the foundation of collective improvisation. Although the genre has evolved and will continue to evolve, this foundation of collective improvisation is at its core, what jazz is built on.
“The Jazz Man” http://www.thejazzmann.com/features/P12/
The early development of Jazz music took place in New Orleans during the late 1800s. After the abolition of slavery in the United States, African Americans began to find jobs performing in the entertainment industry (Wikipedia, 2018). African musical traditions were combined with European music and instruments to create Ragtime, the foundation of Jazz (Tucker & Jackson, 2001). During the early 1900s, Jazz musicians migrated from New Orleans to bigger cities due to segregation laws, as well as the closing of Storyville, a popular performing venue, and the overall decline of the entertainment business (“Jazz”, 2018). During the early 1900s, as Jazz music began to be recorded and bands toured America and Europe, Jazz started to be acknowledged as a genre (Tucker & Jackson, 2001). The 1920s and 1930s, also known as the Jazz Era, saw Jazz and Swing music being fused and performed by Big Bands to create popular dance music. After World War 2, swing-era Jazz began to decline due to the lack of resources for big bands (Wikipedia, 2018) and New Orleans-style jazz music resurged (“Jazz”, 2018). Since the 1940s, new forms of Jazz music were continuously being created. The 1940’s saw Bebop Jazz and Afro-Cuban Jazz. Bebop Jazz was more intricate, complicated and artsy than previous Jazz music where as Afro-Cuban Jazz incorporated the musical rhythmic features of Afro-Cuban heritage with Jazz (Tucker & Jackson, 2001). Hardbop and Modal Jazz became popular in the 1950s. Hardbop was similar to bebop but incorporated R&B and gospel sounds. Modal is improvisational Jazz that requires the musician to create the song structure using melody (Wikipedia, 2018). The 1960s saw Free Jazz emerge as a style that broke free from mainstream Jazz and contained more raw emotion (Tucker & Jackson, 2001). Since the 1960s, Jazz continues to grow and develop into new styles, including Latin Jazz, Jazz-Rock, Jazz-Funk, Smooth Jazz, and Acid Jazz (Wikipedia, 2018). Jazz is such a wide and diverse genre of music that includes many styles that to this day remain equally as important and popular.
Chasing the Cords – “Summary of Jazz History Timeline” https://brianjump.net/2017/05/21/summary-of-jazz-history
Musically, Jazz is a genre characterized by lively ‘swinging’ polyrhythms, blues notes, call and response vocals and improvisation (Wikipedia, 2018). The instrumentation typically includes one or more brass horns, a trombone, a trumpet, a bass drum, a snare drum, and sometimes a clarinet (Tucker & Jackson, 2001). Improvisation in particular is a key element of Jazz’s musical style, which can be attributed to the prior influence of blues music (Wikipedia, 2018). Jazz songs are well known for their syncopated patterns (Tucker & Jackson, 2001), diatonic harmonies (Tucker & Jackson, 2001), and for having multiple simultaneous instrumental rhythms (Tucker & Jackson, 2001). Drum beats in jazz songs are particularly energetic (Tucker & Jackson, 2001), which helps contribute to its reputation as a form of dance music. In general, Jazz music places much more value on the present performer than on a song’s original composer, because every performer interprets the tune in their own unique way; even when the same person plays a song multiple times, it is always different in one way or another (Wikipedia, 2018). Players would embellish melodies and add details to them, while creating countermelodies to accompany the primary melody. Jazz does not merely recognize a ‘lead’ performer as being important, however; in a Jazz performance, everyone on stage is valuable. Jazz performances feature extensive interaction and collaboration between the performers; rather than simply ‘doing their part’, they will work together and respond to each other in their unique interpretation of the song (Tucker & Jackson, 2001).
Furthermore, many performers played a large part in the development of jazz. I believe that while instruments gave the genre its sound, performers gave the genre its taste and vibe. The way they move, sing, and improvise, gave the music a unique tone which defined it in a different way from the rest of the genres. There are a number of key performers that had a large contribution to the early
Jelly Roll Morton
growth of jazz. One who was really significant was Jelly Roll Morton. He was said to have been the inventor of jazz or known as one of the earliest jazz artists (Tucker & Jackson, 2001). “Morton was a crucial innovator in the evolution from the early jazz form known as ragtime to jazz piano” (“Jazz”, 2018). Other significant performers were the Original Dixieland Jazz Band. They were a band of white male performers that had a distinctive sound that was noticeable among other jazz musicians (Horn 266). Their record was the first ever published jazz piece which gave them a significant role in the innovation and development of jazz (“Jazz”, 2018). Moreover, other artists whom along the years become influential to the genre were Louis Armstrong who started his career in the 1920s was one of the most significant of his time (“Jazz”, 2018). Additionally, Buddy Bolden was a cornetist and also led a band that
Dixie Land Jazz Band
was considered to have originated the style of jazz (“Jazz”, 2018). The encyclopedia of popular music of the world (2005) supports these statements in claiming that the artists mentioned above and many more had an influence that was substantial to jazz (Horn 266).
The genre of jazz has been strongly influenced by race and gender ideologies throughout history. According to our research, jazz music has been heavily influenced by African American culture. In some perspectives, jazz has drawn attention to the African American contribution to culture and history, while for others the genre acts as a reminder of the oppression and racist society along with the restrictions of artistic vision (Wikipedia, 2018). During the Atlantic Slave Trade, slaves came largely from West Africa and the Congo River and brought their strong musical traditions with them. Jazz music emerged from the culture and musical traditions of slaves that were brought to the West during the Atlantic Slave Trade. The Oxford Grove Music article supports these arguments about the influence of the African American community on jazz music, and states that the foundations of jazz were established by black Americans in this modern environment before it was named “jazz” music (Tucker & Jackson, 2001). Additionally, the Oxford Grove Music article states that before jazz as a genre received its name, it was referred to as “ratty” music. This title is also symbolic of certain racial ideologies prevalent during this time period. The Encyclopedia article stated that a large number of musicians involved in early jazz were from creole familie (“Jazz”, 2018). Creole are persons descended from the inhabitants of colonial Louisiana, and the term means ‘native born’ (Wikipedia, 2018).
Albert L. Murray; American literary and jazz critic
Additionally, jazz music has had many female contributors. Women were far less recognized for their contribution to jazz than male composers and performers. Female jazz performers and composers have contributed throughout jazz history, but are often recognized for their vocal talent rather then for their accomplishments as bandleaders or instrumentalists (Wikipedia, 2018). It is interesting to note that the role of women within jazz music is not analyzed in depth in all three articles, even though women were instrumental to the emergence of the genre. Jazz music has been heavily influenced by the African American community, which has strongly contributed to the emergence of this genre.
In summary, the genre of jazz is multifaceted in nature and is a blend of various different types of music but is rooted in its ability to improvise. Jazz music has a rich cultural heritage, and is largely influenced by the African American community in New Orleans in the 1900s. Musically, jazz is greatly evolved throughout history and has taken various forms of artistic style, but has always been centered around collective improvisation and a partnership with its audience members to create a unique and profound experience that sets it apart from all other genres.
Jazz Hands 
