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The Evolution of Jazz Music

The history of jazz plays out much like the music itself: surprising, hard to define, and difficult to fit into a linear format. Jazz is an American musical genre, originating in New Orleans during the early 19th century, specifically at Congo Square, an outdoor space where enslaved people gathered to sing, dance, and play music.

The music at Congo Square drew on many global influences. West Indies Caribbean music merged with African rhythms and church hymns from the American South. The brass marching bands playing throughout the Civil War also influenced musicians. After the Civil War ended in 1865, local musicians began to gather more frequently and move more freely throughout the South, spreading the music of Congo Square. Soon, Americans were describing the emerging genre as "ragtime."

Ragtime has its own story, as does blues music, which arrived in Louisiana near the turn of the century. The confluence of so many genres resulted in a wholly unique musical experience that would come to be known as jazz. Band leader Buddy Bolden came to prominence during this time and was later credited as "the first man of jazz." Sadly, no recorded music from Bolden exists in modern times, and Bolden's career came to a sudden end after he was hospitalized in 1907.

But Bolden had opened the doors. Over the following years, musicians like Bunk Johnson, Joe "King" Oliver, Sidney Bechet, and Freddie Keppard helped usher in the new genre. White musicians, including Papa Jack Laine and Nick LaRocca, soon joined these black and Creole performers.

New Orleans will forever be known as the birthplace of jazz, and many of the world's prominent brass bands and jazz performers still reside there. However, jazz began to spread rapidly throughout America during the Roaring Twenties. In addition to New Orleans, the American cities of Los Angeles, Baltimore, and New York City became hives of jazz activity. By 1938, jazz ensembles like the Benny Goodman Orchestra were performing in prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall. After reaching Denver, the genre began circulating throughout remote mining towns. By the end of the decade, jazz had made its way overseas.

Indeed, one of jazz's calling cards is the spirit of innovation and, more importantly, improvisation. Even when jazz players gather to play a standard like "All of Me" or "Autumn Leaves," they engage in improvisation, a musical practice during which performers spontaneously create solo pieces or backing parts. In other words, while the repeating chord progression of a jazz standard remains the same throughout, each performance of the song can feature completely new melodies and other surprises.

Even as jazz spread, the genre refused to be defined, spinning off in unexpected directions. Big band music, also known as jazz orchestra, is a more formalized and expansive take on jazz ensemble performances that dominated the scene until World War II. In contrast, jazz fusion is a blend of jazz, rock, and funk music that gained traction during the 1960s. Miles Davis's 1969 record In A Silent Way is often looked at as the originator of jazz fusion. Other unique subgenres of jazz include acid jazz, boss nova, and bebop, to name only a few.