JAZZ, all that can be considered true and confusing at the same time. A mixture of tone notes, ideas, phrasings, adventures, and stories that transcend even the wisest of men and leave them asking for more. Many people think of the genre as something that you hear at a fancy restaurant where the cheapest plate is a plate of steamed broccoli and lettuce that is worth $40. Others think about it as a lifestyle where you spend your early morning hours listening to jazz vinyl records on an old turntable from the 70's and your late late nights at smokey jazz bars wearing tight pants, glossy sunglasses and snapping your fingers to the beat while smoking a pack of fancy cigarettes.
Yeah, that used to be the case back in the day, but in all reality, there is a lot (and I do mean a whole heck of a lot) more to the jazz phenomenon than meets the eye. Jazz and its influences surround our everyday lives. Untitled Unmastered or To Pimp A Butterfly sound familiar? Yep, that's jazz. Or what about Vulfpeck, Hiatus Kaiyote, or Thundercat? Right again, jazz roots. Or what about Parliament, Jimi Hendrix, or Bob Marley? Again, all had roots in jazz. So whats the big deal here, is jazz here to take over the world or something? Well, it already kind of has. Jazz, and all of its derivatives, is a musical style that is very free forming. Some describe it as the fusion between classical and modern music. Jazz can be traced from African slave roots in New Orleans, from the very passionate Gospel music that flowed through all of the Mississippi River. In the beginning, much of Jazz was played live, and existed only through those mediums. As technology advanced, record companies began to capture more of the jazz that was emerging as a result of accessible tech being offered to musicians. Artists like Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong and others began to set the standards of jazz to come for ages. Soon after, more and more artists began to establish their mark on the timeless genre. Artists like Frank Sinatra, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Theolonious Monk, Wes Montgomery, Duke Ellington, among many, many others, have popularized the genre bringing in more and more dynamics, ideas, range, concepts, and studies of the genre.
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Now, jazz is an all expanding genre that never seems to be at its limit. Styles from afro-latin jazz to hip-hop, free jazz, dixieland, and even soul, disco, funk all have that jazz. So, next time you say all that jazz, remember, it really is all that jazz.
