Jazz is a famous genre of music that has influenced musicians for many decades. It might not be as popular as it once was in a mainstream sense, but it’s still a very important musical style. In jazz music, improvisation is a key element and it has led to many people respecting the skill and creativity that jazz musicians possess. Keep reading to learn a little bit about the history of jazz music.
Jazz Is Unique
One thing to know when you’re looking at jazz is that it is a very unique genre of music. A great emphasis is placed on finding your own individual style as a player. Two players can sound completely different even when they’re playing the same instrument. Jazz musicians play songs in distinct styles and they also love to improvise solos and other little parts of songs.
A song that you’ve heard dozens of times can still be fresh when a jazz band plays it live. Jazz is basically an art form unto itself and this is why it is so respected by musicians everywhere. Some people have even referred to jazz as America’s classical music. It’s a genre that is capable of expressing a wide range of different emotions and the genre has so much variety when compared to most other genres of music.
How Jazz Developed
Jazz was developed in the United States during the very early twentieth century. New Orleans, in particular, was instrumental in the development of the jazz genre. This city had a very diverse population and different varieties of music were influencing each other. Eventually, other genres became intermingled with African-American music traditions and this led to the emergence of jazz.
In the beginning, jazz was just a music style that was meant to give people something to dance to. It evolved and became very popular, though. Soon enough, jazz records were being produced and people were going to see live jazz performances at local establishments. Many amazing musicians such as Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Charlie Parker helped the popularity of jazz to spread.
This music genre wasn’t something that stayed in America either. The popularity of jazz wound up spreading around the globe. Even today, people still appreciate the complexities of jazz music and it has influenced everything from progressive rock to metal and hip-hop music.