jazz
Bebop's broader category
Jazz is a genre of American music originating in the early twentieth century, characterized by improvisation, syncopated rhythms, and complex harmonies.
It emerged from Black communities in New Orleans, blending African musical traditions with blues and ragtime.
Beyond music, jazz can mean liveliness or excitement, and all that jazz dismisses accompanying details as unimportant: romance, flowers, and all that jazz.
To jazz something up is to make it more interesting or lively.
Reed instrument, brass body
- trumpetValved brass wind instrument
- pianoKeyed percussion instrument
- double bassLargest bowed string instrument
- drumsStruck membrane instruments
trombone · clarinet · vibraphone · guitar · upright bass · brushes · mute · hi-hat
Performance by one
- spontaneousArising without external cause
- riffRepeated musical phrase
- scatImprovised vocal jazz
- jamCooked fruit spread
ad-lib · interplay · phrasing · variation · exploration · dynamics · motif · trading
Improvised vocal jazz
- Billie Holiday"Strange Fruit" vocalist
- croonerSoft-voiced romantic vocalist
- torch songSentimental song of longing
- phrasingManner of expressing something
Ella Fitzgerald · Sarah Vaughan · vibrato · standards · Nina Simone · vocalese · improvised · Louis Armstrong
Large jazz ensemble
- Count BasieKansas City bandleader
- Lindy HopSwing dance from Harlem
- CharlestonSouthern Atlantic port city
- syncopationStressed unexpected beats
Duke Ellington · Benny Goodman · danceable · upbeat · brass section · bandleader · jitterbug · ballroom
Louisiana's largest city
- DixielandEarly New Orleans jazz
- ragtimeSyncopated piano genre
- Louis ArmstrongPioneering jazz trumpeter, singer
- speakeasyIllicit liquor establishment
Harlem · Cotton Club · Roaring Twenties · marching band · second line · Jelly Roll Morton · riverboat · prohibition
- West CoastAmerica's sunset shore
- laid-backCalm and unhurried
- understatedDeliberately minimized in expression
- modalPertaining to form
Chet Baker · restrained · cerebral · vibraphone · airy · Stan Getz · lyrical · sophisticated
Bebop alto saxophone innovator
- improvisationSpontaneous, unplanned creation
- virtuosityExceptional technical skill
- complexHaving many interconnected parts
- fast tempoRapid musical pace
Dizzy Gillespie · Thelonious Monk · angular · harmonic · dissonance · uptempo · chromatic · reharmonization
Blending African and Cuban
- bossa novaLyrical Brazilian jazz-samba blend
- claveLatin music's rhythmic spine
- Tito PuenteLatin jazz percussionist icon
- congasTall Afro-Cuban drums
timbales · mambo · salsa · Dizzy Gillespie · Stan Getz · percussion · syncopated · samba
- Weather ReportSeminal jazz fusion ensemble
- electricPowered by current
- synthesizerElectronic sound-generating instrument
- rockSolid earthen material
funk · experimental · distortion · wah-wah · crossover · progressive · electric bass · amplified
Alternating musical exchange
- bent notesPitches altered mid-sound
- soulfulExpressing deep emotion
- melancholySubdued, lasting sadness
- wailingProlonged mournful crying
blue notes · shuffle · emotional · raw · expressive · torch song · slow burn · minor key
saxophone
Reed instrument, brass body
- trumpetValved brass wind instrument
- pianoKeyed percussion instrument
- double bassLargest bowed string instrument
drums · trombone · clarinet · vibraphone · guitar · upright bass · brushes · mute · hi-hat · ride cymbal
solo
Performance by one
- spontaneousArising without external cause
- riffRepeated musical phrase
- scatImprovised vocal jazz
jam · ad-lib · interplay · phrasing · variation · exploration · dynamics · motif · trading · licks
scat
Improvised vocal jazz
- Billie Holiday"Strange Fruit" vocalist
- croonerSoft-voiced romantic vocalist
- torch songSentimental song of longing
Ella Fitzgerald · Sarah Vaughan · phrasing · vibrato · standards · Nina Simone · vocalese · improvised · Louis Armstrong
big band
Large jazz ensemble
- Count BasieKansas City bandleader
- Lindy HopSwing dance from Harlem
- CharlestonSouthern Atlantic port city
Duke Ellington · Benny Goodman · syncopation · danceable · upbeat · brass section · bandleader · jitterbug · ballroom · arrangements
New Orleans
Louisiana's largest city
- DixielandEarly New Orleans jazz
- ragtimeSyncopated piano genre
- Louis ArmstrongPioneering jazz trumpeter, singer
speakeasy · Harlem · Cotton Club · Roaring Twenties · marching band · second line · Jelly Roll Morton · riverboat · prohibition · flapper
Miles Davis
- West CoastAmerica's sunset shore
- laid-backCalm and unhurried
- understatedDeliberately minimized in expression
Chet Baker · modal · restrained · cerebral · vibraphone · airy · Stan Getz · lyrical · sophisticated · intimate
Charlie Parker
Bebop alto saxophone innovator
- improvisationSpontaneous, unplanned creation
- virtuosityExceptional technical skill
- complexHaving many interconnected parts
Dizzy Gillespie · Thelonious Monk · fast tempo · angular · harmonic · dissonance · uptempo · chromatic · reharmonization · hipster
Afro-Cuban
Blending African and Cuban
- bossa novaLyrical Brazilian jazz-samba blend
- claveLatin music's rhythmic spine
- Tito PuenteLatin jazz percussionist icon
congas · timbales · mambo · salsa · Dizzy Gillespie · Stan Getz · percussion · syncopated · samba · rumba
Herbie Hancock
- Weather ReportSeminal jazz fusion ensemble
- electricPowered by current
- synthesizerElectronic sound-generating instrument
rock · funk · experimental · distortion · wah-wah · crossover · progressive · electric bass · amplified
call-and-response
Alternating musical exchange
- bent notesPitches altered mid-sound
- soulfulExpressing deep emotion
- melancholySubdued, lasting sadness
wailing · blue notes · shuffle · emotional · raw · expressive · torch song · slow burn · minor key · heartache
- cultural artsart, music, dance, theater, opera
- danceballet, breaking, folk dances, b-boying, folk dance
- genresaction, comedy, detective fiction, fantasy, horror
- musicmusic, song, songs, singing, singer
- music genresblues, pop, rock, classical, rock music
- pastimeshobbies, amusement, puzzles, cards, crafting
jazzclassical music
Western orchestral tradition
classical · baroque · chamber music · opera · Gregorian chant
jazzrigidity
State of being unbending
conformity · stuffiness · stiffness · formality · convention
jazzsubstance
Physical material with mass
sense · truth · facts · sensibleness · reasonableness
- jazz ensembleGroup performing improvised music
- jazz bandImprovisational musical ensemble
- jazzed upMade more lively
- jazz handsShowy spread-finger gesture
- jazz upMake livelier or showier
- jazz clubLive improvisational music establishment
jazzy, jazzed, jazzes, jazzing, jazzier, jazzman, jazziness, jazziest, jazzmen