jazz

jazz, musical form, often improvisational, developed by African Americans and influenced by both European harmonic structure and African rhythms.

Jazz is a kind of music in which improvisation is typically an important part. In most jazz performances, players play solos which they make up on the spot, which requires considerable skill.

Etymology. The similarity of "jazz" to "jasm", an obsolete slang term meaning spirit, energy, and vigor, and dated to 1860 in the Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang (1979), suggests that "jasm" should be considered the leading candidate for the source of "jazz".

The team name was, of course, synonymous with the famous jazz music played in New Orleans. They called New Orleans home for five seasons until the team was sold to a group of businessmen in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1979. The team became the Utah Jazz on June 26, 1979.

Unit Summary. Jazz. Jazz is a distinctively American style of music that developed in the early decades of the 20th century. Its roots include many Afro-American folk music traditions, such as spirituals, work songs, and blues. It also borrowed from 19th century band music and the ragtime style of piano playing.

'Jazz' was named the Word of the 20th Century by the American Dialect Society, which is remarkable since we don't actually know for sure from where the term originates. One of the most striking features of jazz to its earliest listeners was its speed, its sheer energy.

The beginning of the jazz music era in America started in the early 1920s after World War I. Americans sought joy from the dark times of the war. Jazz music quickly became popular because of its upbeat tempo and its ability to bring crowds from toe-tapping to learning a new style of dance called the Charleston.

In the late 1890s, syncopation joined with soulful melodies, upbeat dance tunes united with the sultry sound of brass instruments, and jazz began to emerge. Buddy Bolden, an African-American bandleader called “the first man of jazz” by historian Donald M Marquis, was at the forefront of the jazz movement.

Jazz facts for kids. Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, United States, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and developed from roots in blues and ragtime. Jazz is seen by many as “America's classical music”.

There are also songs specifically created as jazz vehicles, for example Fats Waller's "The Joint Is Jumpin'," Slim Gaillard's "Flat Foot Floogie" (With the Floy Floy) or Duke Ellington's "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)." These and other such songs cannot be properly sung without a jazz feeling.

Jazz was born in New Orleans about 100 years ago (early 20th century), but its roots can be found in the musical traditions of both Africa and Europe; in fact, some people say that jazz is a union of African and European music.

Charles "Buddy" Bolden The early development of jazz in New Orleans is most associated with the popularity of bandleader Charles "Buddy" Bolden, an "uptown" cornetist whose charisma and musical power became legendary.