Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was... born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th century American popular music. Its West African pedigree is evident in its use of blue notes, improvisation, polyrhythms, syncopation, and the swung note. As the music has developed and spread around the world it has drawn on many different national, regional and local musical cultures giving rise, since its early 20th century American beginnings, to many distinctive styles. . Among these styles are New Orleans jazz, dating from the early 1910s, big band swing and Kansas City jazz from the 1930s, and on through bebop from the mid-1940s to cool jazz, modal, hard bop, free jazz, fusion and Latin jazz in various forms. Late in the century it was influencing significant strains of new forms like electronic dance and rap. In a 1988 interview, trombonist J.J. Johnson said, "Jazz is restless. It won't stay put and it never will".
more