Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major form of musical expression in traditional and popular music. As jazz spread around the world, it drew on national, regional, and local musical cultures, which gave rise to different styles. New Orleans jazz began in the early 1910s, combining earlier brass band marches, French quadrilles, biguine, ragtime and blues with collective polyphonic improvisation. But jazz did not begin as a single musical tradition in New Orleans or elsewhere. In the 1930s, arranged dance-oriented swing big bands, Kansas City jazz (a hard-swinging, bluesy, improvisational style), and gypsy jazz (a style that emphasized musette waltzes) were the prominent styles. Bebop emerged in the 1940s, shifting jazz from danceable popular music toward a more challenging "musician's music" which was played at faster tempos and used more chord-based improvisation. Cool jazz developed near the end of the 1940s, introducing calmer, smoother sounds and long, linear melodic lines.

1. The arrival of the jazz genre did not come overnight. It was an offshoot of
the music of African slaves who migrated to America. As music is
considered a therapeutic outlet for human feelings, the Africans used music
to recall their nostalgic past in their home country as well as to voice out
their sentiments on their desperate condition at that time. Since then, these
melancholy beginnings have evolved into various more upbeat jazz forms
which the world has adopted and incorporated into other contemporary
styles.
RAGTIME
Ragtime is an American popular musical style mainly for piano, originating
in the Afro American communities in St. Louis and New Orleans. Its style
was said to be a modification of the “marching mode” made popular by John
Philip Sousa, where the effect is generated by an internally syncopated
melodic line pitted against a rhythmically straightforward bass line. Its music
is written unlike jazz which is mainly improvised, and contains regular
meters and clear phrases, with an alternation of low bass or bass octaves and
chords.
Foremost exponents of ragtime were Jelly Roll Morton who was an
American ragtime and early jazz pianist and composed Frog I More Rag.
Scott Joplin, who also composed the popular Maple Leaf Rag, Solace, and
The Entertainer. Joplin is also known as the “King of Ragtime.” Ragtime
also influenced a number of classical composers, among them Erik Satie,
Claude Debussy, and Igor Stravinsky, who injected ragtime rhythmic
elements in their compositions.
BIG BAND
The term ‘Big Band” refers to a large ensemble form originating in the
United States in the mid 1920’s closely associated with the Swing Era with
jazz elements. Relying heavily on percussion (drums), wind, rhythm section
(guitar, piano, double bass, vibes), and brass instruments (saxophones), with
a lyrical string section (violins and other string instruments) to accompany a
lyrical melody.
A standard big band 17-piece instrumentation consists of the following
musical instruments percussion, brass, and woodwind instruments: five
saxophones (most often two altos, two tenors, and one baritone), four
trumpets, four trombones (often including one bass trombone), and a four-
piece rhythm section (composed of drums, acoustic bass or electric bass,
piano and guitar). Some big bands use additional instruments. Big band
music originated in the United States and is associated with jazz and the
swing.
Among the great big bands were the Glenn Miller Orchestra (A String of
Pearls, Moonlight Serenade, In The Mood, American Patrol, and Smoke Gets
in Your Eyes); the Count Basie Orchestra (April in Paris); and the Benny
Goodman Orchestra (Sing, Sing, Sing); while some solo signers such as Cab
Calloway (Minnie the Moocher) Doris Day (Stardust, I’m in the Mood for
Love); Roy Eldridge, and others also collaborated with big bands.
BEBOP
Bebop or bop is a musical style of modern jazz which is characterized by a
fast tempo, instrumental virtuosity, and improvisation that emerged during
World War II. The speed of the harmony, melody, and rhythm resulted in a
heavy performance where the instrumental sound became more tense and
free. Its main exponents were trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, alto sax player
Charlie Parker, drummers Max Roach and Roy Haynes, pianists Bud Powell
and Thelonius Monk; guitarist Charlie Christian; tenor sax players Dexter
Gordon and Sonny Rollins, who was also a composer; and trombonist JJ
Johnson.
JAZZ ROCK
Jazz rock is the music of 1960’s and 1970’s bands that inserted jazz elements
into rock music. A synonym for “jazz fusion,” jazz rock is a mix of funk and
R&B (“rhythm and blues”) rhythms, where the music used amplification and
electronic effects, complex time signatures, and extended instrumental
compositions with lengthy improvisations in the jazz style. Popular
singer/songwriters Joni Mitchell, Tim Buckley, and Van Morrison were
among those who adopted the jazz rock style.
Some popular groups that emerged using the above music styles were the
following:
● Grateful Dead
● Cream
● Blood, Sweat, and Tears
● Santana
● Traffic
● Chicago
● Steely Dan
● Soft Machine
● Hatfield and the North
JAZZ MUSIC