What is jazz? It is exciting rhythms, pleasant live music that is constantly evolving and moving. No other genre is perhaps comparable to it, and it is impossible even for a beginner to mistake it for any other genre. The inventiveness, as well as the passion with which jazz compositions are filled, has no limits. And here’s the paradox – it’s easy to hear and recognize this extraordinary music, capable of expressing the full range of human feelings, from boundless joy to unbridled anger, but not so easy to describe in words. It is constantly evolving and diverse, and therefore the concepts and characteristics used today are already outdated in a year or two.
Jazz is a movement in music that emerged in the United States in the very early twentieth century. It closely intertwines the rhythms, ritual chants, and work songs of African Americans, as well as the harmonic component inherent in the music of white immigrants. In other words, it is an improvisational genre resulting from the blending of Western European and West African music.
What are the characteristics of jazz music?
The first and most important feature is improvisation. Musicians should be able to improvise both in the orchestra and solo. Another no less important feature is polyrhythm. Rhythmic freedom is perhaps the most important feature of jazz music. It is this independence that makes musicians feel weightless and constantly moving forward. Think of any jazz composition? It seems that the performers casually play a wonderful and pleasing to the ear melody, no strict frameworks, like in classical music, only a surprising lightness and relaxation. Of course, the jazz pieces, like the classical ones, have their own rules, however, due to the syncopated melodies and the special rhythm, which is called swing, and there is such an unusual feeling of freedom. What else is important for this trend? Of course the beat, that is, the regular pulsation.