More About Jazz
1895 - present

The blues is a sad style of jazz, born out of the suffering of the African American people.  It became the basis for jazz music.  Slaves in the cotton fields would sing sad songs about whatever it was that made them sad, or blue.   A good blues singer does not stay too close to the notes--he or she may slide around the notes to add to the sad feeling.  Many of the greatest blues singers are women, such as Billie Holiday. 

As we learned earlier, jazz was born around 1895 in the southern states and is considered America's most important contributions to world music.  It combines the tonal system of Europe with the rhythms of Africa. 

Most jazz tunes are improvised--or made up--as the performer plays.  How the musician plays is often more important than what the musician plays.  In fact, it's almost impossible to write down a jazz tune. 

Jazz is full of misplaced rhythms.  This is called syncopation.   Some famous jazz composers and musicians include Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Fats Waller, and Dizzy Gillespi.  Jazz also influenced such composers as George Gershwin and the French composer Maurice Ravel.