About
Jazz emerged in New Orleans in the early 20th century from the fusion of African American blues and ragtime with European harmonic traditions. Its defining characteristics — improvisation, syncopation, swing rhythms, and call-and-response — were revolutionary. Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, and John Coltrane are among its titans.
Jazz underwent numerous stylistic evolutions: New Orleans jazz, bebop (Parker/Gillespie), cool jazz (Miles Davis), hard bop, free jazz (Ornette Coleman), fusion, and contemporary jazz. Duke Ellington's orchestral compositions elevated jazz to the concert hall. Jazz has had enormous influence on rock, R&B, hip hop, and virtually all 20th-century popular music.
# Top 10 Jazz Music facts
- 1Louis Armstrong is credited with establishing jazz improvisation as a solo art form — previously it was collective
- 2Duke Ellington performed over 20,000 concerts in his career — composing 1,000+ pieces
- 3Jazz was called 'the devil's music' by early 20th-century religious leaders — and banned in some communities
Fascinating Facts
- ◆Louis Armstrong is credited with establishing jazz improvisation as a solo art form — previously it was collective
- ◆Duke Ellington performed over 20,000 concerts in his career — composing 1,000+ pieces
- ◆Jazz was called 'the devil's music' by early 20th-century religious leaders — and banned in some communities
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