| Jazz is sometimes referred to as "America's classical | | | | Unlike previous forms of jazz, Be bop was not |
| music". It has become a diverse genre with its roots in | | | | designed for dancing but was seen more like an |
| native American and African music; in particular, the | | | | opportunity to showcase the musical expertise of the |
| blues, spirituals and rag time. Jazz first became a | | | | performers. Some of the great be bop recordings |
| defined music form in the early 1920 springing from the | | | | came about as the performers played off each other, |
| US cities of New Orleans and later Chicago. Early | | | | each striving for greater excellence and improvisation. |
| Jazz was characterized by traditional rhythms and | | | | One of the greatest recordings of this period was |
| melodies being taken and improvised upon, giving a | | | | "Jazz at Masey Hall" 1953 featuring Dizzy Gillespie and |
| combination of swing and syncopation. Early Jazz | | | | Charlie Parker amongst others, it is a very good |
| performers of note included Jelly Roll Morton, Fats | | | | example of live jazz music. In the 1960s Be bop |
| Domino, Bix Beiderbecke and Louis Armstrong. A good | | | | evolved into a form of "free jazz" with little if any |
| taste of this period can be gained by listening to | | | | adherence to conventional harmonies and chord |
| recordings of Louis Armstrong's Hot Fives and Hot | | | | structures. One of the best selling jazz recordings |
| Seven ensembles. | | | | which characterized this new form was "A Kind of |
| By the 1930 Jazz had spread out of its local bases in | | | | Blue" by Miles Davis. |
| South American and became more mainstream | | | | Alas many of the great jazz performers led tragic |
| attracting white musicians as well. One development of | | | | lives, a seemingly very high percentage died |
| Jazz was the big bands such as Ben Goodman and | | | | prematurely, inevitably from drug and alcohol misuse. |
| Glen Miller. Glen Millers big band became very | | | | Unfortunately many young performers came to |
| successful and popular, but offering little scope for | | | | associate drugs with being a successful jazz |
| improvisation jazz aficionados saw it as more of | | | | performer so jazz developed a strong reputation for |
| swing rather than real jazz. However other big bands | | | | association with narcotics. |
| such as Duke Ellington and Count Basie provided | | | | To play Jazz music successfully a classical |
| some of the all time great Jazz recordings. | | | | background is definitely an advantage. To be a |
| Whilst the Big Band led jazz in a more conventional | | | | successful jazz player you need to be able to learn |
| direction. The late 1930s and 1940s also saw jazz | | | | the chords and scales of the song. With this basic |
| develop in another direction through the creation of the | | | | structure you can then improvise around these chords |
| new "Be Bop" craze. Be Bop is epitomized by the | | | | to give the improvised or jazz effect. However to be |
| great musicians such as Charlie "Bird" Parker, Dizzy | | | | a great jazz musician a lot more is needed than formal |
| Gillespie, and Sonny Rollins. These musicians took Jazz | | | | training, successful improvisation is a difficult skill that |
| to new heights of improvisation, loosening the | | | | appears to come easily to a rare few. |
| adherence to harmony's and rigid chord structures. | | | | |