Jazz music is a musical style that began in the United States in the early 1900s. It has its roots in African American music, combining elements of blues, improvisation and syncopation. This, coupled with classical music from Europe, created a distinct type of music that is as complicated in nature as classical compositions, but in many cases have a very simplistic sound, as do other American genres including blues, rock and roll, country, and bluegrass.
Early jazz began in an around New Orleans, growing out of African spirituals and plantation music that was comprised primarily of vocals, percussion and banjos. Now spirituals, on one hand, are generally homophonic, meaning that two or more parts of the music move together in harmony. Early jazz, on the other hand, is heterophonic, in that the music contains simultaneous variations of a melodic line.
We will explore all the elements of jazz, its’ instruments, genres, and musicians throughout the rest of this site. Please come back often as we expand and explore the world of jazz.