I heard jazz defined once as 5 guys playing 5 different songs at the same time. I love jazz. It makes my wife sleepy & she generally has good taste in music so I can't play it much around her.
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What is jazz???
- Thread starter carlosjrf
- Start date
well, first of all:
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ok joking aside, although Miles did say something along these lines (it's not about the notes you play, it's about the notes you don't play).
Others have said a lot of good stuff already, not sure if I can really add much, but, here we go. It is such a broad term that you can't really make a distinct definition of what it is. When you look up "what is jazz" you'll get stuff like "Jazz is a musical form derived from African American rhythms with a focus on improvisation and syncopation" which, is a limiting and narrow definition. That can apply to some earlier forms of jazz but doesn't really do the whole genre any justice. It's like trying to define what is pop, or what is rock? Hell, even trying to define a subset of rock or pop can get messy because you have to talk in generalizations and there are always exceptions. Rock and roll started with piano and saxophone as the main instruments and then eventually shifted towards guitars as the main instruments in the late 50s/early 60s. But what about a band like the Red Hot Chili Pipers that use bagpipes? Is it still rockin' even if they aren't playing electric guitars? A lot of these genres are a "you know when you hear it" kinda thing, even if it doesn't fit a specific definition. Louis Armstrong, when asked to define jazz, said "If you have to ask what jazz is, you'll never know."
Wikipedia says, "Jazz is characterized by swing and blue notes, complex chords, call and response vocals, polyrhythms and improvisation." which gets a little closer, but not every form will use all of these, and many more modern styles add other elements like rock, folk, afro-cuban beats, etc. And jazz isn't the only style to use these elements, too. In the early 20th century genres were very different from how we see them today. A lot of early rock n roll and proto rock n roll to me sounds very country and rockabilly compared to what my modern ears wants to call rock. In fact, genres like country & western were different styles that were lumped together by the charts and eventually they merged into one style. Same with R&B, rhythm music and blues music were different genres but got lumped together.
To me, I think of jazz as freedom of expression. If you look at how bebop started, it was created by the swing musicians that would jam at the clubs or in someone's apartment after playing the big band stuff. They were playing for themselves, not what the white audiences wanted, and it lead to a new form of jazz. (it's way more complex than that, with WW2 having a huge effect on the music industry with material rations making recording harder, and many musicians getting drafted, etc.)
Jazz is also evolution. Modern styles have their roots in more traditional jazz, but it is something that is ever changing as new styles are incorporated, or changes in technology leading to new sounds, etc.
Ok, so, to sum all of this up. Trying to define jazz is rather impossible, and the more modern styles can sound foreign to earlier music. But to me, jazz is an umbrella term to define music that has shared roots and elements with district rhythms, improvisation, and harmony, but is a broader form of expression and evolution that, when you hear it, you'll know
or something...
Link Removed
and
ok joking aside, although Miles did say something along these lines (it's not about the notes you play, it's about the notes you don't play).
Others have said a lot of good stuff already, not sure if I can really add much, but, here we go. It is such a broad term that you can't really make a distinct definition of what it is. When you look up "what is jazz" you'll get stuff like "Jazz is a musical form derived from African American rhythms with a focus on improvisation and syncopation" which, is a limiting and narrow definition. That can apply to some earlier forms of jazz but doesn't really do the whole genre any justice. It's like trying to define what is pop, or what is rock? Hell, even trying to define a subset of rock or pop can get messy because you have to talk in generalizations and there are always exceptions. Rock and roll started with piano and saxophone as the main instruments and then eventually shifted towards guitars as the main instruments in the late 50s/early 60s. But what about a band like the Red Hot Chili Pipers that use bagpipes? Is it still rockin' even if they aren't playing electric guitars? A lot of these genres are a "you know when you hear it" kinda thing, even if it doesn't fit a specific definition. Louis Armstrong, when asked to define jazz, said "If you have to ask what jazz is, you'll never know."
Wikipedia says, "Jazz is characterized by swing and blue notes, complex chords, call and response vocals, polyrhythms and improvisation." which gets a little closer, but not every form will use all of these, and many more modern styles add other elements like rock, folk, afro-cuban beats, etc. And jazz isn't the only style to use these elements, too. In the early 20th century genres were very different from how we see them today. A lot of early rock n roll and proto rock n roll to me sounds very country and rockabilly compared to what my modern ears wants to call rock. In fact, genres like country & western were different styles that were lumped together by the charts and eventually they merged into one style. Same with R&B, rhythm music and blues music were different genres but got lumped together.
To me, I think of jazz as freedom of expression. If you look at how bebop started, it was created by the swing musicians that would jam at the clubs or in someone's apartment after playing the big band stuff. They were playing for themselves, not what the white audiences wanted, and it lead to a new form of jazz. (it's way more complex than that, with WW2 having a huge effect on the music industry with material rations making recording harder, and many musicians getting drafted, etc.)
Jazz is also evolution. Modern styles have their roots in more traditional jazz, but it is something that is ever changing as new styles are incorporated, or changes in technology leading to new sounds, etc.
Ok, so, to sum all of this up. Trying to define jazz is rather impossible, and the more modern styles can sound foreign to earlier music. But to me, jazz is an umbrella term to define music that has shared roots and elements with district rhythms, improvisation, and harmony, but is a broader form of expression and evolution that, when you hear it, you'll know
or something...
I think the term has largely lost meaning or become so diverse that people talking about it may disagree just because of their definitions not matching. We can look at Jazz and it's older cousin Ragtime and draw some conclusions about what Jazz originally was but it has branched out so much it is pretty hard to define anymore.
This is new and not classic jazz canon, but check out the recent Julian Lage album, A View With A Room. Jorge Roeder on bass.
it's all jazz! jazz doesn't need words/lyrics, but if there's any improvisational 'dialog' going on between the players: it just might be jazz...even if it doesn't sound like "jazz" to you!
As a genre of music, it's the style originated in New Orleans in black communities and broadly expended from there. The Wikipedia entry is pretty good.
The reason jazz endures as a medium for music education, though, is that it is a complete expression and utilization of both the art and the mathematics of music. To understand jazz is to understand how music works at basic levels. Any kind.
It is not possible to be a complete musician without some understanding of jazz.
The reason jazz endures as a medium for music education, though, is that it is a complete expression and utilization of both the art and the mathematics of music. To understand jazz is to understand how music works at basic levels. Any kind.
It is not possible to be a complete musician without some understanding of jazz.
I have nothing more to add except for this amazing jazz performance featuring Anthony Jackson:
Jazz has just as many, if not more "sub-genres" in it than rock. And its history is over twice as long as rock's history.
That said, most people think "standards" or free-form when the word "jazz" pops up, but there are other kinds as well. My favorites are smooth jazz, jazz-funk, soul-jazz, post-fusion, and nu-jazz. They tend to be a bit more linear than other types of jazz, but they're under the "jazz" hypernym just because they don't really fit anywhere else.
That said, most people think "standards" or free-form when the word "jazz" pops up, but there are other kinds as well. My favorites are smooth jazz, jazz-funk, soul-jazz, post-fusion, and nu-jazz. They tend to be a bit more linear than other types of jazz, but they're under the "jazz" hypernym just because they don't really fit anywhere else.
+1. If I have to recommend where to start, I would pick Pops - Louis Armstrong. If he wasn't 1st, no matter - his name will turn up soon enough. Exchange Jazz for Rock 'n Roll, & I'd start with Chuck Berry. More similarities between Jazz & RnR than you may initially expect - both are based on the Blues. "Kind of Blue" is a good choice, too.
+1 on Ken Burn's "Jazz", perhaps a more enthusiastic endorsement. The early episodes, about the early history of Jazz, are its strength, & a large # of the critiques of the documentary are focused on the later Post-Bebop parts. Still an excellent place to start & to get ideas of what to put next on your playlists.
That's not far off. Both burst on the scene in about the same time, & both took a deeper look into our long-standing perceptions of time (Einstein & the static ether, Jazz & 4/4 time). Similar ideas were percolating in other Arts at the turn of Century, including Painting & Dance (esp. Isadora Duncan).
A type of music of African American origin characterized by improvisation, syncopation, and usually a regular or forceful rhythm, emerging at the beginning of the 20th century. Brass and woodwind instruments and piano are particularly associated with jazz, although guitar and occasionally violin are also used; styles include Dixieland, swing, bebop, and free jazz.
"a mix of folk, jazz, blues, and pop"
"a mix of folk, jazz, blues, and pop"
Jazz started as background music for brothels.
...became dance music.
...became a vehicle for the display of virtuosic improvisation, complex harmony, and highly organized composition.
...became a signifier of being "cool".
...became a blend of influences of rhythms and melodies from around the world.
...became a means of expressing the desire for freedom from racial discrimination.
...became a mix of new sounds from the fusing of electric instruments and rock and soul music.
...became background music again (this time for soccer moms sipping lattes at Starbucks)
...became dance music again
...is becoming something else right now
ad infinitum
...became dance music.
...became a vehicle for the display of virtuosic improvisation, complex harmony, and highly organized composition.
...became a signifier of being "cool".
...became a blend of influences of rhythms and melodies from around the world.
...became a means of expressing the desire for freedom from racial discrimination.
...became a mix of new sounds from the fusing of electric instruments and rock and soul music.
...became background music again (this time for soccer moms sipping lattes at Starbucks)
...became dance music again
...is becoming something else right now
ad infinitum
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I did and here is what the bot said:
what is jazz?
Jazz is a genre of music that originated in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is characterized by its improvisational style, swing rhythms, and use of syncopated rhythms and blue notes. Jazz has its roots in African American musical traditions, including blues, ragtime, and spirituals, as well as in European musical traditions such as classical music and marches.
Jazz has evolved over time and has incorporated elements from other musical genres, such as rock, funk, and Latin music. There are many different subgenres of jazz, including bebop, cool jazz, fusion, free jazz, and many others.
Jazz is known for its virtuosity and improvisation, with musicians often taking solos and playing off each other in a live setting. Jazz has had a significant cultural impact, influencing not only other genres of music but also dance, literature, and art.
Jazz is a genre of music that originated in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is characterized by its improvisational style, swing rhythms, and use of syncopated rhythms and blue notes. Jazz has its roots in African American musical traditions, including blues, ragtime, and spirituals, as well as in European musical traditions such as classical music and marches.
Jazz has evolved over time and has incorporated elements from other musical genres, such as rock, funk, and Latin music. There are many different subgenres of jazz, including bebop, cool jazz, fusion, free jazz, and many others.
Jazz is known for its virtuosity and improvisation, with musicians often taking solos and playing off each other in a live setting. Jazz has had a significant cultural impact, influencing not only other genres of music but also dance, literature, and art.
Throw in my 2 cents.
Jazz is improvised music within the realm of music theory. (Songs never played the same way twice.)
Jazz is improvised music within the realm of music theory. (Songs never played the same way twice.)
- There's no such thing as a wrong note. - Art Tatum
- There are no wrong notes in jazz: only notes in the wrong places. -Miles Davis
- It's not the note you play that's the wrong note - it's the note you play afterwards that makes it right or wrong. - Miles Davis
- To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong. -Joseph Chilton Pearce
- There are no mistakes in jazz - you are always a semitone from salvation! - church joke
- There are no wrong notes; some are just more right than others. – Thelonius Monk
- "Do not fear mistakes. There are none. - Miles Davis
- "There are no wrong notes, only wrong resolutions" "I think of all harmony as an expansion and a return to the tonic."— Bill Evans
- There are no wrong notes on the piano, just better choices.—Thelonious Monk
- I played the wrong, wrong notes.—Thelonious Monk
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