Musical Terms – Jazz Music

"Jazz is an open ended music designed for open minds." - Anonymous

Jazz is another style of music that hadn’t been clearly defined because of the various influences of different musical traditions since its evolution. However, its stylistic roots can be traced to the blend of early styles, the Blues, Folks and Ragtime –the earliest musical style that originated in the United States in 1800’s. Jazz’s cultural origin was generally recognized in the early 1910’s in New Orleans. Its early development was mainly attributed to the coming together of African folk music and European classical music traditions.

Jazz is among America’s notable cultural achievements that have spread throughout the world. This type of music turned out as a music legacy that has continued to unite people through the expression of passion, freedom, emotion and life experiences. This music is generally characterized by strong rhythms but, this genre could vary as musicians can have varying interpretations of the music. Today, jazz musicians use saxophone, piano, trumpet, bass and drums (to name few) to create a beautiful melody to this music.

Since its birth in the early 20^th century, jazz morphed into a variety of subgenres and styles. The music dictionary will walk you through from the time of its birth. Let’s take a closer look at how some genre was formed and their contribution to the jazz music that we now love today.

Dixieland (1920’s)

Dixieland, also known as New Orleans Jazz, Hot Jazz or Early Jazz was probably derived from the first original Dixieland Jazz Band – a New Orleans Group who spread the popularity of jazz music to Chicago, New York to California. The instrumentation ensemble used in Dixieland jazz-style includes trumpet, trombone, clarinet, and the saxophone, while banjo, string bass piano, drums are played for the rhythm section.

The Big Band (1930’s – 1940’s)

During this era of Great Depression, the big band ensemble brought relief to the American homes with their swing jazz music. The rise of the Big Band, which consisted of 10 players or more, made jazz music so popular that catapulted Ellington’s, Basie’s, Goodman’s, and Herman’s music as well as music legends Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra,  Joe Williams and Bing Crosby to superstardom in their time.

Bebop (1940’s – 1950’s)

Unlike the Big Band ensemble that consisted of 10 players or more, Bebop came as a completely different style. It featured four to six players that played jazz music characterized by a combination of melodies, structure and irregular length of phrases which made this music interesting to listeners. This style was eventually considered as among the modern subgenres of jazz in the 1960’s.

Free Jazz (1960’s)

Free jazz is a radical departure from the previous styles. This extreme approach to jazz music attempted to infuse new sounds from non-Western music traditions such as the music of Asia and what was considered the “Avante Garde” music. Free Jazz was described as experimental and challenging to many listeners. Change in pitch and tone quality characterized the innovation. Massive changes were attempted by this era’s musicians.

Jazz Fusion (1970’s)

Jazz Fusion, also called Jazz-rock characterizes the fusion of the energy and new rhythms of Rock music. Fusion musicians improvised jazz music by mixing funk and R&B along with the amplification and effects of electronic instruments such as synthesizer, electric guitar, electric bass electronically-processed woodwind and brass instruments and more of percussion, while the rhythm section used a series of syncopated repeated notes to produce beats.

Acid Jazz (1980’s)

Acid jazz is actually a term used to refer to a wide range of music. From the elements of jazz to funk and hip-hop, musicians focused more on instrumental music rather than the lyrics. It is not widely recognized as a subgenre of the mainstream jazz because it did not came from traditional origins, unlike other members of the genre.

Nu Jazz (1990’s)

It is sometimes called electronic jazz, neo jazz, jazztronica, electro jazz. Nu jazz is a term used to refer to the blending of jazz elements with a range of musical styles. Funk, electronic dance music, soul and the combination of free music are the main innovations in this grouping of music styles in the 90’s.

As Paul Whiteman, the king of Jazz once said “Jazz tickles your muscles, symphonies stretch your soul”.  It is indeed the music of every soul. For more information on the above terms, simply toggle to our music dictionary page.

iMusic Dictionary is the most comprehensive online music dictionary. Introduces extensive information about of jazz music, rhythms, bands and etc.