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| 828 Encyclopædia Britannica articles, from the full 32 volume encyclopedia |
| > | jazz
musical form, often improvisational, developed by African Americans and influenced by both European harmonic structure and African rhythms. It was developed partially from ragtime and blues and is often characterized by syncopated rhythms, polyphonic ensemble playing, varying degrees of improvisation, often deliberate deviations of pitch, and the use of original timbres. |
| > | jazz-rock
popular musical form in which modern jazz improvisation is accompanied by the bass lines, drumming styles, and instrumentation of rock music, with a strong emphasis on electronic instruments and dance rhythms. |
| > | jazz dance
any dance to jazz accompaniments, composed of a profusion of forms. Jazz dance paralleled the birth and spread of jazz itself from roots in black American society and was popularized in ballrooms by the big bands of the swing era (1930s and '40s). It radically altered the style of American and European stage and social dance in the 20th century. The term is sometimes ...
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| > | free jazz
an approach to jazz improvisation that emerged during the late 1950s, reached its height in the '60s, and remained a major development in jazz thereafter. |
| > | cool jazz
a style of jazz that emerged in the United States during the late 1940s. The term cool derives from what journalists perceived as an understated or subdued feeling in the music of Miles Davis, The Modern Jazz Quartet, Gerry Mulligan, Lennie Tristano, and others. Tone colours tended toward pastels, vibratos were slow or nonexistent, and drummers played softer and less ...
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| 248 Student Encyclopedia Britannica articles, specially written for elementary and high school students |
| jazz
In the early decades of the 20th century the word jazz was used to mean most kinds of American popular and dance music. Since the 1920s, however, jazz has usually signified a tradition in Afro-American music that began as a folk music in the South and developed gradually into a sophisticated modern art. While classical and rock music have often borrowed features of ...
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| Jazz Age
After World War I Americans enjoyed a period of economic growth that produced a popular faith in lasting peace and prosperity. The austerity of the war gave way to a general relaxation of standards, which had a profound effect on the social, sexual, and cultural values of Americans. A new feminism arose after women gained the right to vote in 1920, and the advent of ...
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| Early Jazz
from the jazz article
According to legend, the first improvising jazz musician was the cornetist Buddy Bolden, leader of a band in New Orleans. The first jazz bands were usually made up of one or two cornet players who played the principal melodies, a clarinetist and trombonist who improvised countermelodies, and a rhythm section (piano, banjo, string bass or tuba, and drums) to accompany the ...
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| Jazz Band
from the band article
A jazz band is made up of two distinct groups: a rhythm section most often consisting of drums, string bass (or tuba), guitar (or banjo), and piano or a selection of these; and a melody section most often consisting of trumpets, trombones, clarinets, and saxophones. Early New Orleans jazz bands were marching bands that played for parades, funerals, picnics, and announcing ...
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| The Influence of Jazz
from the music, classical article
The type of music most widely recognized as American—jazz—was born at the beginning of the 20th century. Because it was primarily improvised music, jazz did not lend itself to written arrangements.
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| 344 web sites, chosen by Britannica editors for our Internet Guide |
| > | Jazz
PBS
Companion resource for this film by Ken Burns. Includes a history of the development of jazz, audio samples, biographies of significant artists, and an introduction to the basic elements of music. Specially selected site for specific black history topics.
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| > | Jazz Scene
Publication covering jazz in Adelaide, South Australia. Features club dates, news, CD and book reviews, and festival and jazz radio program listings.
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| > | Jazz Kids
PBS
Information on Jazz. Features an interactive timeline, tracing the development of this form of music across the world, and a teachers' guide.
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| > | What is Jazz?
Audio recordings of a lecture series by jazz pianist and educator Dr. Billy Taylor at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
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| > | Institute of Jazz Studies
Rutgers University
Basic information on and program schedule from one of the world's foremost jazz archive and research facilities, with short biographical profiles of personnel.
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| 2 video and media |
| > | Jazz: Origin of the Word( 00:44)
The word 'jazz' originally had a sexual meaning.
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| > | Louis Armstrong: An Introduction(1:47)
Known as the gentle giant of jazz, Louis Armstrong was well loved for his inimitable musical style.
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100 magazine articles, from a collection of more than 300,000 articles provided by EBSCO
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