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The Jazz.... What is it?

Jazz is a complex form of music with the number of performers at a time can be anything between two and twenty. They have a range in their style, size and instrumentation. Despite a range they are united by the three basic elements: improvisation, syncopation and blue notes.

Improvisation is the core idea of jazz music. It is when a player plays a note which is unwritten. This needs a great amount of skill and concentration. Players in a group must be aquainted with the style of others playing with him so that they're able to follow and support one another to make new and interesting parts that may or may not be played again.

Syncopation is shifting emphasis of a song's rhythm, or beat pattern, to weak or unaccented beats and notes. This appears in jazz when two rhythms are played against each other and the jazz gets its swing. This creates the feeling that makes listeners want to tap their feet or dance.

Blue notes occur when a musician plays or slides through a scale, flattening some of the notes (by playing them a half-step lower than expected). These are the dissonant, "bent" notes we hear in blues and jazz.

This wonderful art dates back to the 1800s and this is African-American music. The slaves gathered around the Congo Square in New Orleans and performed their traditional piece of music. This has later evolved into Jazz music of today.

The various types of Jazz Movements are:
NEW ORLEANS JAZZ, DIXIELAND, SWING, BOP, HARD BOP, COOL JAZZ, FUSION.

Now knowing a few things about the jazz music, listen to the top jazz albums and relish the swing and intricacies in it.........

Here are the albums you could get started with
  • Louis Armstrong, "Plays W.C. Handy" (Columbia - 1997 version)
  • Benny Goodman, "Sing, Sing, Sing" (Bluebird)
  • Billie Holiday, "The Quintessential, Vol. 5" (Columbia)
  • Count Basie, "The Atomic Mr. Basie" (Roulette)
  • Duke Ellington, "Uptown" (Columbia)
  • Charlie Parker, "Yardbird Suite" (Rhino)
  • Dizzy Gillespie, "At Newport" (Verve)
  • Dave Brubeck, "Time Out" (Columbia)
  • Miles Davis, "Kind of Blue" (Columbia)
  • John Coltrane, "My Favorite Things" (Atlantic)
  • Stan Getz, "Getz/Gilberto" (Verve)
  • Wes Montgomery, "The Incredible Jazz Guitar" (Original Jazz Classics)
  • Lee Morgan, "The Sidewinder" (Blue Note)
  • Weather Report, "Heavy Weather" (Columbia)
  • Wynton Marsalis, "Blue Interlude" (Columbia)
By: sakthi
Published: 01/05/08


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