Welcome to the jazz portal
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues, ragtime, European harmony and African rhythmic rituals. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major form of musical expression in traditional and popular music. Jazz is characterized by swing and blue notes, complex chords, call and response vocals, polyrhythms and improvisation.
As jazz spread around the world, it drew on national, regional, and local musical cultures, which gave rise to different styles. New Orleans jazz began in the early 1910s, combining earlier brass band marches, French quadrilles, biguine, ragtime and blues with collective polyphonic improvisation. However, jazz did not begin as a single musical tradition in New Orleans or elsewhere. In the 1930s, arranged dance-oriented swing big bands, Kansas City jazz (a hard-swinging, bluesy, improvisational style), and gypsy jazz (a style that emphasized musette waltzes) were the prominent styles. Bebop emerged in the 1940s, shifting jazz from danceable popular music toward a more challenging "musician's music" which was played at faster tempos and used more chord-based improvisation. Cool jazz developed near the end of the 1940s, introducing calmer, smoother sounds and long, linear melodic lines.
The mid-1950s saw the emergence of hard bop, which introduced influences from rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues to small groups and particularly to saxophone and piano. Modal jazz developed in the late 1950s, using the mode, or musical scale, as the basis of musical structure and improvisation, as did free jazz, which explored playing without regular meter, beat and formal structures. Jazz-rock fusion appeared in the late 1960s and early 1970s, combining jazz improvisation with rock music's rhythms, electric instruments, and highly amplified stage sound. In the early 1980s, a commercial form of jazz fusion called smooth jazz became successful, garnering significant radio airplay. Other styles and genres abound in the 21st century, such as Latin and Afro-Cuban jazz. (Full article...)
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Did you know (auto-generated)
- ... that the jazz collective West Coast Get Down once recorded around 190 songs over the course of a month?
- ... that Japanese jazz cafés often require customers to be silent?
- ... that spiritual jazz originated in the 1960s, partially due to the civil rights movement?
- ... that jazz fusion and funk musician Mark Lettieri graduated with a degree in marketing?
- ... that Pittsburgh Panthers end Steve Jastrzembski was nicknamed "Jazz" because his teammates could not correctly pronounce his surname?
- ... that Tim Kinsella made most of the lyrics for Cap'n Jazz's only album, Shmap'n Shmazz, during his first experience with psilocybin mushrooms?
More did you know...
• ... that jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal's first live album At the Pershing: But Not for Me, recorded in 1958, has sold over one million copies? (Jamal pictured)
• ... that Cal Lampley formed the first all-black, 45-piece band, the US Navy B-1 Band, in the then white-only US Navy?
• ... that the Lincoln Theater (pictured) in Los Angeles was known as the "West Coast Apollo" and featured performances by jazz legends before being converted into a church?
• ... that musician David Rothenberg appears in a YouTube video playing jazz with cassini periodical cicadas, insects noted for their synchronized rhythm?
June/July 2011
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| This is a list of recognized content, updated weekly by JL-Bot (talk · contribs) (typically on Saturdays). There is no need to edit the list yourself. If an article is missing from the list, make sure it is tagged or categorized (e.g. Category:WikiProject Jazz articles) correctly and wait for the next update. See WP:RECOG for configuration options. |
Featured articles
- Agharta (album)
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- Bix Beiderbecke
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- Jay Pritzker Pavilion
- Ken "Snakehips" Johnson
- Miriam Makeba
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- Of Human Feelings
- Song of Innocence
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- Frank Zappa
Featured lists
- List of 1920s jazz standards
- List of 1930s jazz standards
- Billboard Latin Music Award for Latin Jazz Album of the Year
- Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album
- Grammy Award for Best Jazz Fusion Performance
- Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Female
- Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Male
- Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album
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Good articles
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- Max Geldray
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- Guitar (Sonny Sharrock album)
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- Jack Johnson (album)
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- The Return (Kamaal Williams album)
- Diane Schuur
- Horace Silver
- Frank Sinatra
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- Songs of Experience (David Axelrod album)
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- Sooner or Later (Madonna song)
- Soprano trombone
- The Stanley Clarke Band
- Stardust (1927 song)
- Supernova (Gonzalo Rubalcaba Trio album)
- Craig Taborn
- Takin' My Time
- Art Tatum
- Ten Freedom Summers
- Third Stone from the Sun
- The Tic Code
- Bobby Timmons
- To the Stars (album)
- Tone cluster
- Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga: Cheek to Cheek Live!
- Lennie Tristano
- Until the Quiet Comes
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- Amy Winehouse
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Did you know? articles
- 75 (album)
- 500 Club
- 500 Miles High
- 1924 in jazz
- Loretta Ables Sayre
- Dianna Agron
- Annette A. Aguilar
- Akokan (album)
- Album covers of Blue Note Records
- Joey Alexander
- Arclight (album)
- Are You Going with Me?
- Leo Arnaud
- At the Pershing: But Not for Me
- At World's Edge
- Ayers Rock (band)
- Backatown
- BadBadNotGood
- Ballad
- Butch Ballard
- Bill Barber (musician)
- Danny Barcelona
- Earl Belcher
- Graeme Bell
- Dennis Berry
- Big Neighborhood
- Black Focus
- Blood on the Floor (Turnage)
- Erin Bode
- Bohemian Embassy
- Bop City
- Bossa Nova U.S.A.
- Boston Hotel Buckminster
- Brazilian Dreams
- Breaking It Up!
- Karen Briggs (musician)
- Roy Brooks
- Burnt Sugar (band)
- Yvonne Busch
- Chris Byars
- Ozzie Cadena
- California Jazz Conservatory
- The Cannonball Adderley Quintet in San Francisco
- Centipede (band)
- Doc Cheatham
- Cheek to Cheek (album)
- Chucho's Steps
- Claudia Quintet
- Club Harlem
- Coin Coin Chapter Four: Memphis
- John Coltrane Home
- Ivan Conti
- Louis Cottrell Jr.
- Countdown—Time in Outer Space
- Mackay Davashe
- Jackie Davis
- Katy de la Cruz
- Chuck Deardorf
- Debo Band
- Dena DeRose
- Desfado
- Dirty Hands, Dirty Face
- Diversi
- Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree (with Anyone Else but Me)
- Duke Ellington at Fargo, 1940 Live
- Dunbar Hotel
- Big Joe Duskin
- Geoff Eales
- Eastwood After Hours: Live at Carnegie Hall
- Echo (Dave Burrell album)
- Effortless Mastery
- Feminist Improvising Group
- First Course
- Mircea Florian (musician)
- Bobby Floyd (musician)
- For the First Time (Black Country, New Road album)
- Frank Sinatra Christmas Collection
- Éva Gauthier
- Tino di Geraldo
- Julia Gerity
- Grace's Little Belmont
- Jimmy Greene
- Groovin' High
- Bobbye Hall
- Marion Harris
- Harris Theater (Chicago)
- Have Ya Got Any Gum, Chum?
- The Hazel Scott Show
- Cornelis Hazevoet
- Duke Henderson
- Gwyneth Herbert
- Here We Go Again: Celebrating the Genius of Ray Charles
- Here We Go Again (Ray Charles song)
- Carl Hogan
- Elmo Hope
- Hot 8 Brass Band
- House of Waters
- Ilse Huizinga
- Luděk Hulan
- Lloyd Hunter
- I.G.Y. (What a Beautiful World)
- Hasaan Ibn Ali
- In Your Own Sweet Way
- In for a Penny, In for a Pound
- Infinity (K-Space album)
- International Sweethearts of Rhythm
- Paul Jackson (bassist)
- Jay Pritzker Pavilion
- Jazz (word)
- Jazz kissa
- Jivin' in Be-Bop
- Joel Ross (vibraphonist)
- John Jorgenson Quintet
- Johnny's Theme
- Jumpin' at the Woodside
- Hans Otto Jung
- Murray Kane
- Wynton Kelly
- Sibongile Khumalo
- Kenneth Kilgore
- Live at Fillmore West
- Grace Knight
- Pannonica de Koenigswarter
- Cal Lampley
- Last Chance Disco
- Latin Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz/Jazz Album
- Laufey (singer)
- Booker T. Laury
- The Legendary Buster Smith
- Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music
- Mark Lettieri
- Mel Lewis
- Liaisons: Re-Imagining Sondheim from the Piano
- LifeTimes
- Lincoln Theater (Los Angeles)
- Livery Stable Blues
- Wendell Logan
- Love Devotion Surrender
- Clyde Lucas
- Alex Machacek
- Machito
- Dennis Mackrel
- Major thirds tuning
- Miriam Makeba
- Mannenberg
- Wingy Manone
- Dodo Marmarosa
- Onzy Matthews
- Rob Mazurek
- The Meeting (Art Ensemble of Chicago album)
- Megitza
- Brad Mehldau
- Melbourne Jazz Co-operative
- Melomani
- Helen Merrill
- Ron Miles
- Roscoe Mitchell
- Térez Montcalm
- Moody 4B
- Moondog (1969 album)
- Big Chief Russell Moore
- Moten Swing
- Don Moye
- The Muffins
- My Fair Lady (Shelly Manne album)
- Never Can Say Goodbye: The Music of Michael Jackson
- Nine Million Bicycles
- Johnny Noble
- Noise in music
- Charlie Nothing
- Now Is the Time (Jeff Lorber Fusion album)
- Ogunde (song)
- Eva Olmerová
- The Orckestra
- The Original Salty Dogs Jazz Band
- Orthotonics
- Ory's Creole Trombone
- Out of the Ordinary Festival
- P53 (album)
- P53 (band)
- Panamericana Suite
- Papa Celestin's Golden Wedding
- Paradise Club (Atlantic City, New Jersey)
- Johnny Parker (jazz pianist)
- Ioan Gyuri Pascu
- Ralph Patt
- Vincent Peirani
- Ernst-Ludwig Petrowsky
- Pico and Sepulveda
- Richie Powell
- Andrés Prado
- Lewis Pragasam
- Vlasta Průchová
- Quartet San Francisco
- Queenie Pie
- Don Randi
- The Real Ambassadors
- Reduta Jazz Club
- Rosetta Reitz
- Maurice Rocco
- Wolfram Röhrig
- Walter Roland
- David Rothenberg
- Jan Rychlík
- Same as You
- Irene Scruggs
- Robert Searight
- See See Rider
- Mátyás Seiber
- Dani Siciliano
- Frank Sinatra
- Sincerity Is Scary
- Judi Singh
- Jiří Šlitr
- Slon (album)
- Smalls Jazz Club
- Solo (Gonzalo Rubalcaba album)
- The Songs for the One
- Sounding Point
- Source (album)
- Carmen Souza
- Space Jazz
- Esperanza Spalding
- Pinetop Sparks
- Spiritual jazz
- Squirrel Nut Zippers
- The Stanley Clarke Band
- Stardust (1927 song)
- Stars Fell on Alabama
- Statue of Billie Holiday
- Harry Stein (communist)
- Strange Liberation
- Dira Sugandi
- Supernova (Gonzalo Rubalcaba Trio album)
- Supper Time
- Craig Taborn
- A Time for Love (Arturo Sandoval album)
- To the Stars (album)
- To the One
- Tony Bennett at the Talk of the Town
- Tony Sings the Great Hits of Today!
- Nat Towles
- Jiří Traxler
- Jeff Tyzik
- Urbanus (album)
- Van Lingle Mungo (song)
- Karel Velebný
- Nilüfer Verdi
- Ronnie Verrell
- Mose Vinson
- WEIB
- Wanda Warska
- We Say Mabuhay
- Bob Weinstock
- Fritz Weiss
- West Coast Get Down
- Herb Wiedoeft
- Gary Williams (singer)
- Anna Mae Winburn
- Windward Passages
- Michael Wollny
- Wonder Gardens
- Herb Wong
- World's Fair (album)
- Worth Waiting For
- Howard Wyeth
- Your Mother's Son-In-Law
- Your Songs
- Zodiac Suite
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