Jazz

Count Basiewith hisorchestraandvocalistEthel Waters,in the movieStage Door Canteen,1943

Jazz
Stylistic origins	Blues folk marches ragtime classical music
Cultural origins	Late 19th-century United States
Typical instruments	Double bass drums guitar(typicallyelectric guitar) piano saxophone trumpet clarinet trombone vocals vibraphone Hammond organ harmonica .Injazz fusionof the 1970s,electric bass,electric pianoandsynthesizerwere common.
Derivative forms	Funk jump blues reggae rhythm and blues ska hip hop
Subgenres
Bebop Big band Free jazz Gypsy jazz Hard bop Latin jazz Mainstream jazz Soul jazz Stride piano Swing Traditional jazz

Jazzis a type ofmusicwhich was invented in theUnited States.Jazz music combinesAfrican-Americanmusic withEuropeanmusic. Jazz first became popular in the 1910s. Some common jazz instruments include thesaxophone,trumpet,guitar,piano,double bass,anddrums.

What is jazz?

It is difficult to give an exact definition for "jazz".A singer Nina Simone said, "Jazz is not just music, it is a way of life, it is a way of being, a way of thinking".But when we talk about jazz as music, one important part of jazz isimprovisation(improv), which means the person playing is making music up as they go along. If a jazz band is playing a song, the song may have several solos where one player will improvise while the rest of the band, except for the rhythm section (such as the piano, bass, or drums), does not play. Most jazz is very rhythmic, which is called "swing," and uses "blue" notes.Blue notes are notes that are played at a slightly different pitch from normal.

History

Benny Goodman,one of the first swingbig bandleaders to become widely popular.

Jazz began in the United States in the early 20th century. Jazz music was first based on the music of African slaves who were forced to work in the plantations of thesouthern United States.This includedcall and responsesongs, spirituals,chantsand blue notes. These characteristics are what developedblues,a sad song that slaves sung during their labor. These influences were indirect, through earlier musical forms such asragtime.

Jazz also has musical styles from European music, as well as the brass and stringed instruments and (sometimes) the use ofmusical notation.

There have been different types of jazz through time.New Orleansjazz began in the early 1910s. Dixieland jazz was also popular. In the 1930s, there wasswing jazz,which was also called big band jazz. In the 1940s,bebopbecame a major type of jazz, with fast songs andcomplexharmony.

Large jazz bands, which are calledbig bands,were also popular in the 1940s. Big bands usually have 5 saxophone players, 4 or 5 trumpet players, 4tromboneplayers, apianoplayer orguitarplayer, an acoustic bass player, a drummer, and sometimes a singer.

In the 1950s, there washard bopjazz. In the 1960s, there wasmodern jazzandfree jazz.In the 1970s,jazz fusionbegan to blend jazz music withrockmusic. Some jazz is still played with the same improv methods as it did at its beginning, except with modernelectronic instruments.

International Jazz Day

April 30 is an "International Jazz Day".Each year jazz concerts and educational events take place around the world. This is the day to increase understanding to jazz. The United Nations Education and Science Organization (UNESCO) also take part in this event.People celebrate the day, because they believe the history of jazz has something to do with peace, freedom and equality.

Other websites

• Jazz— A documentary movie byKen BurnsonPBS
• Free 1920s Jazz Collectionavailable for downloading atArchive.org
• Jazz Foundation of America
• Jazz at the Smithsonian Museum
• Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame website
• Smithsonian Jazz Oral History Program | National Museum of American History