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JazzJazz is a musical style that originated in the 19th-century American South. Its earliest form combined blues, a folk music that evolved from spirituals, and ragtime, a piano-based dance music, often featuring improvisation. As the Great Migration brought millions of Black Americans from the South into the North and Midwest, jazz began to spread, eventually growing into a national sensation. Its history through the 20th century included several significant changes that bred distinct subgenres. The 1920s and 1930s brought big band and swing, often played by large orchestras that followed rigid compositions, while the 1940s gave birth to bebop, which rebelled against those styles with complex, improvised melodies. The 1950s and 1960s yielded experiments with modal and free jazz, which continue to influence musicians of all stripes. Although jazz was once seen as an unserious, even dangerous, youth culture, it has since fallen out of popular culture and is often associated with the intellectual and avant-garde.Explore Jazz

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Watch Billie Holiday perform in 'The Sound of Jazz'The 1957 CBS special, part of its series "The Seven Lively Arts," was a landmark broadcast that brought some of jazz's biggest names—including Holiday, Thelonious Monk, and Count Basie—to a national audience. Watch Holiday offer a stirring rendition of "Fine and Mellow" below. Jazz Time with Jarvis X 'The Girl from Ipanema' is one of jazz's most popular songsThe song, written by Antônio Carlos Jobim, had already been recorded in Portuguese in 1962, but the version on "Getz/Gilberto" was sung in English by Astrud Gilberto, then an amateur who'd been chosen because she sang in the language better than her husband, João. The song helped propel the album's sales and is now considered a jazz standard. iTubeNL Hear 2 jazz pianists analyze 'Getz/Gilberto'The 1964 bossa nova classic won the Grammy for album of the year, a rare feat for a jazz record. According to jazz pianists Peter Martin and Adam Maness, that also makes it one of the last truly popular jazz albums. In this episode of their podcast "You'll Hear It," they break down the musicality of the songs in real time, offering technical insights into every quirk and nuance. You'll Hear It 'Jazz Samba' is considered the start of the American bossa nova crazeThe 1962 album by Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd was an unexpected hit, reaching the top of the Billboard album chart and receiving a Grammy nomination for album of the year. Its lead single, "Desafinado," won the Grammy for best jazz performance and is now considered one of the genre's classic tracks. Everything Jazz Bossa nova blends Brazilian samba and American jazzConceived by artists like Antônio Carlos Jobim in 1950s Rio de Janeiro, the music was seen as a more restrained, slower samba, which was Brazil's popular national music at the time. In addition, bossa nova was popular in the more middle-class, cosmopolitan neighborhoods of Rio de Janeiro and was influenced by American jazz artists like Miles Davis, giving it a more urbane, intellectual air. AllMusic Jazz built the template for hip-hopHip-hop was born out of obscure samples, including many that were taken from the annals of jazz. That style was especially popular in rap's early eras, with the subgenre "jazz rap" becoming an accurate descriptor for New York groups like A Tribe Called Quest and Gangstarr. You'll Hear It Some critics argue bebop and free jazz led to jazz's decline in popularityAlthough jazz was once a popular art form, it has largely been confined to the margins of pop culture, with many of the genre's current bestselling albums from previous decades. Some critics argue that this is because the music betrayed its position as dance music and focused instead on musical proficiency. CNN Sun Ra, a free jazz legend, claimed he was an angelSun Ra is one of jazz's most storied cult acts, with a career that spans multiple decades, dozens of hard-to-find self-released albums, and a sound that challenged even the most adventurous listeners. Ra, born Herman Blount, claimed to be from Saturn and once told an interviewer that "Star Wars" was "very accurate." The Guardian Free jazz embraced the avant-gardeOrnette Coleman's 1959 album "The Shape of Jazz to Come" abandoned traditional notions of melody and structure, inadvertently creating "free jazz," a subgenre that embraced absolute musical freedom and gained popularity in the countercultural 1960s. udiscovermusic Miles Davis' 'Kind of Blue' changed the genre by pioneering modal jazzDavis was an adept bebop trumpet player, but he grew tired of the style. With 1959's "Kind of Blue," he pioneered a new style of jazz, called modal jazz, that focused less on improvising on chord progressions and more on open, tone-based expression. Polyphonic Jazz provided a soundtrack for the Civil Rights MovementSongs like Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit," which portrayed the grim brutality of lynching, and John Coltrane's "Alabama," which was modeled on the rhythm of a speech by Martin Luther King Jr., were the backbeat of the movement. Carnegie Hall The GI Bill helped expand formal jazz educationBerklee School of Music (then known as the Schillinger House) and a program at the University of North Texas (then known as Texas State University) established academia's earliest jazz programs in 1945. The GI Bill provided World War II veterans with educational funding, which helped the programs proliferate: By the end of the 1960s, there were 450 college jazz ensembles. NPR Jazz's popularity inspired a moral panicWhen jazz exploded in the 1920s, some believed the music's sudden popularity was the sign of a rotten nation, with one 1920 address at the University of Wisconsin proclaiming, "We are in deadly fear of the Jazz Devil, the demon which is consuming the country." Often, the connections were racialized, with columnists and preachers suggesting that jazz's Black artists were attempting to degrade white America. History Today Jazz was an integral part of the Harlem RenaissanceThe Great Migration transformed New York City's Harlem neighborhood into the epicenter of Black American art, with artists such as Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Bessie Smith regularly performing. The music not only provided the backbeat to the cultural scene—it often influenced it, with Harlem Renaissance poets, in particular, inspired by jazz's approach to rhythm and improvisation. TheCollector 'Livery Stable Blues' was the first jazz recording and helped popularize the genreThe 1917 song by the Original Dixieland Jass Band was the first jazz recording to be issued and put the New Orleans sound on the national stage, along with inspiring several soundalikes. peppopb The Great Migration spread jazz to various parts of the countryThe large-scale migration of Black Americans looking to escape Jim Crow laws in the South began in 1915 and helped bring New Orleans music to other parts of the country, including Chicago, New York, Kansas City, Detroit, and Los Angeles. Jazz.org Jelly Roll Morton claimed he invented jazz, though experts disagreeThe pianist and arranger was one of the genre's biggest names in the early 20th century, though very few believed him when he claimed he had invented the music in 1902. One of his biggest contributions to the genre was a 1938 session with ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax, who recorded nearly 8 hours of music and stories that have become an essential part of the music's history. itsRemco Buddy Bolden assembled the first jazz ensembleThe New Orleans cornetist was a legend in the city, sometimes referred to as "king," for his electrifying performances, which captivated local dance halls by blending ragtime, blues, and gospel music. Unfortunately, recording technology was limited at the time, so there are no recordings of Bolden, though the song "Buddy Bolden's Blues" remains a standard to this day. NewOrleansJazz NHP Jazz brought together ragtime and bluesRagtime was a popular music genre that blended African-American spirituals, European folk songs, and military marches. Blues, brought to New Orleans by free Black people seeking opportunities, allowed musicians to play within basic standards. Jazz combined both forms by merging the syncopated, dance-friendly sounds of ragtime with the soulful, brass-instrumental style of the blues. PBS New Orleans' Congo Square birthed what would become jazzThe city's enslaved people congregated in the city square on Sundays, bringing together the musical traditions of their disparate cultures through drum circles, communal dancing, and call-and-response singing. The rhythmic style that evolved in the area would eventually give rise to ragtime and, subsequently, jazz. Smithsonian Folkways Jazz improvisations are often based on well-known standardsSimilar to blues, folk, and country music, jazz relies on a shared tradition of common songs that its artists learn, cover, and rework in their own unique ways. Jazz musicians are often able to easily improvise with other musicians because they share a knowledge of the songs and their languages. Jazz Standards Jazz musicians use different melodic approaches to produce improvised performancesWhile jazz musicians are known for their improvisational skills, they rely on years of training and a complex understanding of compositions to inform their improvised solos, using a song's structure and chords to make their in-the-moment choices. Although jazz artists could, in theory, play whatever they wanted, musicians often employ common melodic approaches—such as scalar improvisation and arpeggios—to generate solos. Musical U Jazz improvisation isn't entirely spontaneousWhile jazz musicians are known for their improvisational skills, they rely on years of training and a complex understanding of compositions to inform their improvised solos, using a song's structure and chords to make their in-the-moment choices. A Passion 4 Jazz Wynton Marsalis believes syncopation is part of jazz's American characterThe trumpeter argues that jazz's approach to syncopation is part of an American tradition that offers the unexpected, citing Jonas Salk, Mark Twain, and fusion cuisine as parallels. Harvard University A lot of jazz relies on syncopationThe style is when a musician plays a rhythm on the opposite side of the beat. That means notes are played on the "upbeats," or the spaces between the main beats of a musical bar. The effect is music that can sound unpredictable, even if it's been carefully constructed. David Bennett The word 'jazz' evolved from slang for 'energy'Linguists believe the word came from "jasm," which referred to vitality. Its earliest known appearance in print dates back to 1912, referring to a baseball pitcher's curveball. It began being used to describe music a few years later. WBGO The best jazz albums of all timeDiving into the history of jazz can be intimidating, but this list is a helpful guide, highlighting the best of the best, with titanic recordings from Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck, Alice Coltrane, Oscar Peterson, and more. Jazz Fuel See a timeline of jazz's historyJazz began in 19th-century New Orleans, though its roots go back even further. This timeline situates the music's evolution alongside American and world history, offering an illuminating exploration of the genre. Jazz in America Jazz legend Louis Armstrong was once the honorary king of the Zulu kreweThe historically Black krewe invited Armstrong to lead their parade in 1949. The invitation fulfilled a lifelong dream for the musician, who grew up in New Orleans. "After that," he told Time magazine in advance of the parade, "I'll be ready to die." PBS Hughes' 'Black Nativity' reworked the Christmas story through jazz improvisationAlthough he’s primarily known as a poet, Langston Hughes was also a popular playwright. One of his most inventive works is the 1961 stage show “Black Nativity,” which told the story of Christ’s birth with an all-Black cast. Hughes’ original script encourages improvisation, calling on his love of jazz, and includes 27 songs. The Conversation Langston Hughes performed with Muddy Waters at the Newport Jazz FestHughes became involved with the Rhode Island music festival in 1956, sensing an opportunity to introduce the predominantly white audience to Black culture. In 1960, he helped book Muddy Waters for a blues session that featured the music alongside Hughes' poetic explanation of its history. The final song of the set, "Goodbye Newport Blues," found Waters' pianist singing lyrics Hughes had written earlier that day. Muddy Waters Read a Langston Hughes poem on 'Jazz as Communication'The essay, delivered in 1956 at the Newport Jazz Festival, offers a poetic take on defining jazz, suggesting that it is the root of both literature and music. “Jazz is a great big sea,” he says. “It washes up all kinds of fish and shells and spume and waves with a steady old beat, or off-beat.” Poetry Foundation Hughes recorded an album with jazz legend Charles Mingus1958’s “The Weary Blues” features Hughes reciting poems over jazz. The back half of the album is accompanied by bassist Charles Mingus and his ensemble, just a year before Mingus would release his landmark record “Mingus Ah Um.” Langston Hughes Watch Langston Hughes perform with a jazz quintetIn 1958, Hughes performed with a jazz group on a Vancouver television show before appearing at the University of British Columbia. Hughes reads "Hey!" from his 1927 collection "Fine Clothes to the Jew" before performing 1925's "The Weary Blues." vanalogue Hughes' poems brought blues and jazz to poetryPoets like Walt Whitman and Claude McKay inspired Hughes, but he was also enamored with blues and jazz music. The styles informed the way he structured his verses, with Hughes employing repetition and rhythm in ways similar to the standard 12-bar blues form and playing with meter in a way that recalled the improvisation of jazz. Poets.org Western swing merged country with jazzFor as long as country music has been set to record, its artists have experimented with the genre’s boundaries. Look no further than this track from 1946, Bob Wills’ “Roly Poly.” The song is a classic example of Western swing, a country subgenre that blended country and jazz. Bob Wills The legendary jazz beef of Miles Davis and Wynton MarsalisMiles Davis might be the most recognizable name in jazz history, renowned for his landmark albums "Kind of Blue" and "Bitches Brew," and his unceasing artistic experimentation. By the 1980s, however, Davis was a pariah in jazz circles, causing him to set his sights on the poster child for the genre's purists: the much younger Wynton Marsalis. This overview of the rivalry by journalist James Kaplan details the origins—and the apex—of this now legendary beef. Literary Hub 'Steamboat Willie' was inspired by 'The Jazz Singer'Walt Disney was mesmerized by Al Jolson's "The Jazz Singer" and the way it used synchronized sound, which synced film with audio. He replicated that effect in “Steamboat Willie," producing the first animated film to do so. Library of Congress Coltrane's 'Giant Steps' pushed the limits of jazzThe saxophonist's 1960 recording features chord progressions that have become known as the "Coltrane Changes." Improvising over them is remarkably difficult and has become a rite of passage for jazz musicians. Vox The Beat Generation was a 'beaten down', jazz-influenced American literary movementThe movement, which rose to prominence in the 1950s, was primarily composed of poets challenging orthodoxies of post-war American literature and society. Figurehead Allen Ginsberg and his long poem "Howl" represented a rallying cry for a burgeoning counterculture. Academy of American Poets 'The Jazz Singer,' the first film with synchronized sound, changed HollywoodMovies changed forever in 1927, when Warner Bros. released "The Jazz Singer," the first feature film with integrated dialogue. Based on a Broadway musical, the movie starred Al Jolson as the son of a Jewish cantor who wants to be a popular singer. Alt Film Guide Days after her release from prison, Billie Holiday sold out Carnegie HallThe jazz icon was released early from federal prison on good behavior. Following her arrest, she was effectively prohibited from performing in New York's nightclubs, but she realized she could still perform, so long as it was in a venue that hadn't been deemed a "cabaret." The solution? The famous Carnegie Hall. The show sold out within a week, and the venue became a regular stop for Holiday, who performed there 22 times. WNYC After her arrest, a technicality made it harder for Holiday to performThe Cabaret Identification Card was required for all performers in New York nightclubs that served liquor. After her arrest and yearlong imprisonment, the New York Police Department revoked Billie Holiday's card, making it extremely difficult for her to earn money. The video features contemporary jazz musician Christian McBride breaking down the history of cabaret cards and how the ban affected Holiday. Jazz Night in America Watch Billie Holiday's screen debut in 1935's 'Symphony in Black'The singer appeared alongside Duke Ellington in Paramount's "Symphony in Black," a musical short released by Paramount Pictures in September 1935, when Holiday was just 20 years old. Jazz Improvisers 'Getz/Gilberto' is considered bossa nova's peakThe 1964 album, featuring the American saxophonist Stan Getz and the Brazilian guitarist João Gilberto, along with accompaniment from Antônio Carlos Jobim, was a massive hit and won the Grammy for album of the year in 1965. In time, it'd become one of the bestselling jazz albums of all time. Jazz Fuel Guitarist Charlie Byrd brought bossa nova to the US after a government-sponsored tourThe Mutual and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961, also known as the Fulbright–Hays Act, sought to spread understanding through education and cultural exchanges. Its passage led to a government-sponsored music tour of South America featuring jazz guitarist Charlie Byrd. In Brazil, Byrd was introduced to the music of João Gilberto and returned to the United States eager to incorporate bossa nova into his own music. All About Jazz Sun Ra and his band operated a grocery store in PhiladelphiaRa arrived in Philadelphia in 1968, settling into a home in the city's Germantown neighborhood with his band, the Arkestra, where they would practice for hours on end. The ban also operated a grocery store called Pahroah's Den, which sold produce, candy, and Sun Ra records. You can see scenes from the store, along with several astonishing performances, in the 1980 documentary "A Joyful Noise." The Jazz Library Miles Davis' landmark 'Kind of Blue' was recorded in just 9 hoursThe album is one of jazz's best-known recordings and is often listed among the greatest albums of all time, of any genre. Despite its monumental impact, it was recorded in two sessions for just a few thousand dollars. Jazzwise Bebop's freedom inspired the Beat GenerationThe jazz style took off in the 1940s, mesmerizing listeners with its wild, improvised solos. It had a particular impact on the writers of the Beat Generation, including Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, who saw in bebop's freedom a model for what they could achieve through the written word. Beat writers like Lawrence Ferlighetti and Kenneth Rexroth even incorporated live jazz in their poetry readings. Literary Kicks The Boswell Sisters were the precursors to the American girl groupThe jazz trio, popular in the ‘20s and ‘30s, doesn’t share much in common with the sounds of the well-known pop-oriented girl groups, but the sisters’ prominence in a male-dominated industry provided an early example for later groups. Check out their appearance in the 1932 film “The Big Broadcast,” performing the song “Crazy People.” Olivier Cotton

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