Objectives:

After reviewing this topic, you will be able to:

• Describe the fundamentals of Jazz
• Identify the major and general characteristics of Jazz
• Describe the process/art of Improvisation
• Recognize the importance of Jazz standards

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What is Jazz?

• etymology of “jazz:”
• • likely derived from the word “jasm”
    • used colloquially in the first part of the 20th Century to mean “pep” or “vitality”
  • possibly from the French chassé
    • sashay; a dance step
  • the jasmine scent
  • slang term for sex (spurious)
• first printed usage in 1913 by a San Francisco-based sports writer, E.T. “Scoop” Gleeson, who learned it from another sports writer, William “Spike” Slattery:
  • “Everybody has come back full of the old ‘jazz.’”
• by 1917, it was used to describe bands and music

• Jazz is a paradox:
  • Jazz borne out of slavery
• Jazz was the great uniter
  • integration was hastened by Jazz
• America’s single, distinct contribution to the Western music landscape
• Not defined by a single style:
  • Dixieland, Swing, Bop, Cool Jazz, Hard Bop, Free Jazz, Latin, Fusion
  • often not designated in music
  • usually attributed to the performer and/or composer
• Process or product or performer
• In short, the term “Jazz” is ambiguous
  • To musicians, Jazz is a language used to convey ideas and emotion
  • Just like any language, it must be learned and experienced
  • Also like any language, it is used to communicate with others
• Marsalis on the language of Jazz
• Like the Romantic languages, you need not be fluent in the language to appreciate it
  • the more you know, the more you’ll appreciate it
• Flexible
  • no set number of performers
  • no set instruments
• As opposed to other genres, it can be played anywhere:
  • large concert halls
  • nightclubs
  • street corners

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