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The Scale Steppers, Chicago 1921 (15)
Jazz is a fundamental type of music that is enjoyed everywhere. Jazz is taught in schools, is performed in concert halls, bars, and clubs, and is one of the most amazing and exciting forms of music to ever be played.
Jazz music really started in the early to mid 1800s when slaves would sing folk and religious songs on plantations. White people tried to copy these songs and perform them, and this was called Minstrelsy. During the Civil War, many of these folk songs were rewritten and published.
In the late 1800s, blues began to develop. In 1895, Ragtime was invented. This was a new kind of music with syncopated rythms that was played for entertainment. By about 1910, it was the most popular type of music in America. Ragtime and Blues began to meld together to form the earliest music that we really think of as jazz today.
Between 1910 and 1920, a jazz form that was a combination of black and creole music became popluar in New Orleans. By the 1920s, New Orleans jazz was famous.
In the 1930s, swing and big band music became pop musi
c. The fast tempos and excitement soon led to Bebop of the 1940s which then evolved into the Hard bop and cool jazz of the 1950s. Bosa Nova and other Latin forms of jazz were also popular.
During the next 20 years, funk and rock joined to create fusion. In the 1980s, the contemporary age began. Some argue that hip-hop is today's jazz.
There are many different styles of jazz that are still popular today, including:
Ragtime
Swing/Big Band
Bebop
Latin
Jazz instruments can also be different from normal band or orchestra instruments. Many instruments are used in other types of ensembles, but some are very imaginative. Check them out here.
Some jazz terms may be hard to understand if you aren't familiar with jazz. Definitions here.
In the past, there have been controversies dealing with jazz, jazz musicians, and the people who listen to jazz. Learn about them here.