The Origins of Jazz Music

Louis Armstrong once said, “If you have to ask what jazz is, you’ll never know.” The jazz legend has a point, as the uniqueness of the genre can hardly be explained except through listening. With some context into the origins of the music, however, it can perhaps be more greatly appreciated. Discussed in this episode: Some elements found within jazz music (improvisation, syncopation, swing, and dynamics), the components of European and African music found within jazz, cultural diversity in New Orleans as a recipe for the birth of jazz, and the role of the Jim Crow laws and racial segregation in the birth of jazz.

 

Further reading: Ted Gioia, "How to Listen to Jazz" (Basic Books, 2016).

 

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