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    Jazz

    Jazz

    Jazz is a genre that emerged out of the late 19th century with its roots in blues and ragtime.

    The music originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. A port city on the Gulf of Mexico, people would come from all over the world to New Orleans to trade, socialise and share their music. Out of this musical melting pot came jazz.

    Since the ‘Jazz Age’ of the 1920s, jazz has become a major genre in musical expression, and its development has allowed for the rise of different breakout styles over the decades such as dixieland, swing, free jazz, cool jazz, and acid jazz.

    The etymology of the word ‘jazz’ can be traced back to the slang term, ‘jasm’ which was coined in the 1860s, meaning “pep, energy”.

    Instruments that had previously solely belonged to the classical genre, crossed over into the new genre of jazz, including the trumpet, clarinet, piano, and the relatively new woodwind instrument, the saxophone – invented in just 1846.

    Notable early jazz musicians include Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Scott Joplin, and King Oliver.

    Singers like Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday gave jazz a global stardom, and a political edge in a heavily racialised and divided America.

    Bebop, a fast tempo, complex sub-genre of jazz emerged from the 1940s, brought shining lights such as saxophone legends Charlie Parker and later, John Coltrane to the forefront of the genre.

    Jazz has gone on to influence multiple modern genres, including rock music, and a dual-genre, jazz-rock fusion, was a popular sound originating in the 1960s with musicians such as Miles Davis, Chick Corea, and Herbie Hancock leading the way.

    True to its history, jazz today remains that melting pot of genres, ranging from funk, latin, to, electronic and hip-hop. Young musicians working in the genre such as Esperanza Spalding, Nbuya Garcia, Jacob Collier, and Cory Henry, frequently genre-cross to create the unique and ever-changing sound world that is 21st century jazz.

    Did you know?

    Jazz and classical has a long history of genre crossing, with musicians such as George Gershwin and Duke Ellington composing jazz influenced concertos, and classical style jazz suites.

    View more

    Discover Jazz

    Doreen Ketchens is a legendary clarinet player

    Jazz virtuoso plays mind-blowing clarinet solo while casually playing in street band

    Harry Connick Jr audience claps

    Jazz pianist finds ingenious way to correct audience clapping on the wrong beat

    Opera and jazz fans among ‘happiest’ of music genres, study finds

    Opera and jazz fans among ‘happiest’ of music genres, study finds

    Exclusive
    Violinist Nicola Benedetti launches new three-tier project 'Baroque'

    Violinist Nicola Benedetti on what classical music could learn from jazz gigs

    Nicola Benedetti

    Most shared jazz features

    Did you know Jeff Goldblum is actually a world-class jazz pianist?

    Did you know Jeff Goldblum is actually a world-class jazz pianist?

    Jon Batiste, the singer, songwriter, pianist, composer and television personality taking the musical world by storm.

    Who is Jon Batiste, the Grammy-winning composer and pianist conquering the music world?

    When Gershwin’s ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ reverberated on 84 pianos in the 1984 Summer Olympics

    When Gershwin’s ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ reverberated on 84 pianos in the 1984 Summer Olympics

    Who is Toshiko Akiyoshi? Meet the Japanese pianist and composer who transformed jazz music

    Who is Toshiko Akiyoshi? Meet the Japanese pianist and composer who transformed jazz music

    Michelle Obama and Jon Batiste play a duet at the piano.

    Michelle Obama reveals piano skills in playful ‘Charlie Brown’ duet with Jon Batiste

    Videos

    Laufey, the genre-defying musician bringing classical and jazz music to Gen Z.

    Who is Laufey? The genre-defying singer-songwriter bringing classical and jazz to Gen Z

    Rare footage of George Gershwin playing ‘I Got Rhythm’ on piano unearthed

    Rare footage of George Gershwin playing ‘I Got Rhythm’ on piano unearthed

    Charlie Puth: piano major, Rachmaninov fan and jazz improvisor.

    Yes, Charlie Puth has perfect pitch. He’s also a piano major who loves Rachmaninov and jazz

    “Jazz On A Balcony” In Odesa Amid Russia's Invasion In Ukraine

    Odesa missile strike halts balcony concert at beloved Ukrainian jazz club

    Double bassist Charles Mingus in 1960

    Charles Mingus at 100: a legendary jazz musician with classical music roots

    Jamie Foxx voices music teacher Joe Gardner

    Pixar animation ‘Soul’: who composed the jazz music and how to stream the soundtrack

    Guitarist duets with his piano-playing cat

    Guitarist duets with piano-playing cat, and a soothing jazz masterpiece unfolds

    Baby trumpeter becomes star of jazz show

    Baby boy steals jazz show as he picks up mini trumpet and plays with buskers

    Boy on pogo stick adds percussion to a jazz trio’s street performance

    Boy hops on pogo stick, spontaneously adding percussion to busking jazz trio

    Exclusive
    Wynton Marsalis

    “Jazz anticipated this moment” – Wynton Marsalis on Black Lives Matter and the power of music

    Zoe Saldana apologises for playing Nina Simone in controversial biopic

    Zoe Saldana apologises for playing jazz icon Nina Simone in controversial biopic

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    Win tickets to see Ludovico Einaudi at the Royal Albert Hall with a hotel stay

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    The Vienna Symphony Orchestra’s performance of Johann Strauss II’s ‘The Beautiful Blue Danube’ was broadcast into space, in partnership with the European Space Agency.

    Strauss’ ‘Blue Danube’ waltz has been sent to space... and The Simpsons already predicted it

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    Physicists create ‘the world’s smallest violin’ using nanotechnology

    11 of the best LGBTQ+ community classical music ensembles around the world

    15 of the best LGBTQ+ classical music ensembles around the world

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    Resurfaced footage shows Pope Leo singing ‘Feliz Navidad’ with church band in Peru

    Videos

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    Scientific reconstruction reveals Beethoven’s ‘true’ face 200 years after his death

    Beethoven

    The Phoenician Scheme: Wes Anderson’s ingenious use of Stravinsky and other classical music

    New Wes Anderson film ‘The Phoenician Scheme’ is scored with Stravinsky’s music

    Hundreds of musicians protest Cardiff University’s proposed music school closure

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    Best classical music

    See more Best classical music

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    The 15 most famous tunes in classical music

    Best symphonies: Ludwig van Beethoven, Antonin Dvorak and Florence Price

    The 15 greatest symphonies of all time

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    A young Marin Alsop, Sir Simon Rattle, and Seiji Ozawa conduct their respective orchestras.

    The 25 greatest conductors of all time

    Hildegard von Bingen, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Edward Elgar among the greatest composers in classical music history.

    The 30 greatest classical music composers of all time

    More Periods and Genres

    See more More Periods and Genres

    Baroque

    Classical

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