jazz music

Jazz spans a range of music from ragtime to the present day-a period of over 100 years-and has proved to be very difficult to define. Attempts have been made to define jazz from the perspective of other musical traditions-using the point of view of European music history or African music for example-but critic Joachim Berendt argues that its terms of reference and its definition should be broader.Berendt defines jazz as a "form of art musicwhich originated in the United States through the Confrontation of blacks with European music" and argues that it differs from European music in that jazz has a "special relationship to time defined as 'swing'", involves "a spontaneity and vitality of musical production in roomates improvisation plays a role "and contains a" sonority and manner of phrasing roomates mirror the individuality of the performing jazz musician ".

A broader definition that encompasses all of the Radically different eras of jazz has been proposed by Travis Jackson: he states that it is music that includes qualities such as swing, improvising, group interaction, developing an 'individual voice', and being open to different possibilities.An musical overview of the discussion on definitions is provided by Krin Gabbard, who argues that "jazz is a construct" that, while artificial, still is useful to designate "a number of musics with enough in common to be understood as part of a coherent tradition ". In contrast to the Efforts of commentators and enthusiasts of certain types of jazz, who have argued for narrower definitions that exclude other types, the musicians Often Themselves are reluctant to define the music they play. Duke Ellington summed up this perspective by saying, "It's all music".
Importance of improvisation

Considered While jazz is difficult to define, improvisation is consistently Regarded as being one of its key elements. The centrality of improvisation in jazz is Attributed to its presence in Influential Earlier forms of music: the earlyblues, a form of folk music roomates arose in part from the work songs and field hollers of the African-American workers on plantations. These were commonly structured around a repetitive call-and-response pattern, but early blues was also highly improvisational. Although European classical music has been said to be a composer's medium in roomates the performer is sometimes granted discretion over interpretation, ornamentation and Accompaniment, the performer's primary goal is to play a composition as it was written. In contrast, jazz is Often Characterized as the product of group creativity, interaction, and collaboration, that places varying degrees of value on the Contributions of composer (if there is one) and performers. Summarizing the difference, pianist Earl Hines remarked in a 1975 movie that,
... when I was playing classical music I would not dare get away from what I was reading. If you've noticed, all of the symphonic musicians, they have played some of those classical tunes for years but they would not vary from one note-and every time they play they have to have the music. So that's why for some classical musicians, it's very difficult for them to try to learn how to play jazz.
In jazz, therefore, the skilled performer will interpret a tune in very individual ways, never playing the same composition exactly the same way twice. Depending upon the performer's mood and personal experience, interactions with other musicians, or even members of the audience, a jazz musician may alter melodies, harmonies or time signature at will. The importance of improvisation has led some critics to suggest that even Duke Ellington's music was not jazz, Because It was arranged and orchestrated.On the other hand, the piano solo "transformative versions" of Ellington Compositions by Earl Hines were described by Ben Ratliff, The New York Times jazz critic, as being "as good an example of the jazz process as anything out there".
The approach to improvisation has developed enormously over the history of the music. In early New Orleans and Dixieland jazz, performers took turns playing the melody, while others improvised countermelodies. By swingera, big bands were coming to rely more on arranged music: arrangementswere either written or learned by ear and memorized, while individual soloists would improvise within these arrangements. Later, in bebop the focus shifted back towards small groups and minimal arrangements; the melody (known as the "head") would be stated Briefly at the start and end of a piece, but the core of the performance would be the series of improvisations . Later styles of jazz such asmodal abandoned the strict notion of a chord progression, allowing the individual musicians to improvise even more freely within the context of a given scale or mode. In many forms of jazz a soloist is Often supported by arhythm section that accompanies the soloist by playing chords and rhythms that outline the song structure and complement the soloist. In avant-gardeand free jazz idioms, the separation of soloist and band is reduced, and there is license, or even a requirement, for the abandoning of chords, scales, and rhythmic meters.
Debates

Forms of jazz that are commercially oriented or influenced by popular music have been Criticized since at least the Emergence of bebop. According to Bruce Johnson, there has always been a "tension between jazz as a commercial music and an art form." Traditional jazz enthusiasts have dismissed bebop, free jazz, the 1970s jazz fusion era, and much else as periods of debasement of the music and betrayals of the tradition; the alternative viewpoint is that jazz is Able to absorb and transform Influences from diverse musical styles, and that, by avoiding the creation of 'norms', other newer hotel, avant-garde forms of jazz will be free to emerge .
Another debate that Gained a lot of attention at the birth of jazz was how it would Affect the appearance of African-Americans, in particular, who were a part of it. To some African-Americans, jazz has Highlighting their contribution to American society and helped bring attention to black history and culture, but for others, the music and the term 'jazz' are reminders of "an oppressive and racist society and restrictions on their artistic visions ".