It is very difficult to define exactly what jazz is
because of the many different sub-genres ranging from its ragtime waltzes to many of the modern fusion pieces of today. The
subject of which has been debated for a very long time, but from a non-musical perspective we can define jazz
as a musical art form, which originated at the beginning of the 20th century, in African American communities,
in the Southern United States.
From a more musical perspective however, jazz is perhaps seen as
the freedom of speech within music. With its improvisations, driving rhythm sections and catchy melodies, jazz is simply spontaneous
music that comes from the heart.
But, how did the very thing we now call Jazz come about?
Where did it come from? How did it become the very thing it is today?
These are all questions that can be answered by analysing Jazz's roots,
its history, and the musicians who made this most defining genre of music a great and well known one. Further more, the creation of Jazz by African Americans was one of the most
important musical achievements of the twentieth centuury as its influence can be seen within all kinds of popular music.
