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Jazz music.... the original American musical art form. Its the joys of an oppressed people, its the tears of a nation, its the contemplation of a world in need of a moment to just ....chill.

What is jazz music? Syncopation and dancing rhythms, soft voices as instruments of peace and comfort, blaring horns, screaming out for all to hear and acknowledge. Words of love and respect for man, for woman, for life. Melodies that beg to be the center of attention, to be repeated over and over again in your head. Performers who allow their hearts, souls and bodies to guide them through the desert in search of the elusive spring of thirst quenching perfection.

A melding of sounds and instruments, cultures and concepts, jazz is what each person that engages in making the music come alive needs for it to be.... each era in the history of jazz has brought forth a new and distinct interpretation of the world at the time of that era's birth.

Dixieland, Swing, Bop, Fusion, Straight Ahead, Smooth.... and all the sub genres in between, tell us a tale of life in these United States and beyond. This musical form is probably the only form that transcends boundaries in a manner that maintains its fundamental structure.

Jazz in Latin countries is still jazz, with the drum simply playing a different rhythm.
Jazz in Germany transcends Eurocentric constructs about how a note should be played.
Jazz in Japanese lilts quietly yet firmly with native instruments, clearly a unique experience.

Even here, in America, jazz has been blended more by the thoughts and minds of hip hop artists and country crooners and all else who recognize quality in sound.

Purists complain that this "uniquely American" art form has been tainted, but as the blues have been, by those who may or may not fully appreciate what goes into mixing up a batch of jazz. Well, ok... not everyone SHOULD be picking up horns or tinkling the ivories, but the experience overall is still distinguishable form "lesser" musical forms. This is a good thing. As long as purists exist, the music will exist, so fear not the usurpers to the throne.

What is jazz music? Jazz music is life, performed in a 4 beat, A flat, with horn on top, piano in the middle,and bass on the bottom. Jazz is indescribable.

Learn more about this author, C.S. Stone.
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