The History of Jazz by Isabel Baba

1. Early Jazz

1.1. New Orleans

1.1.1. Musical Characteristics: Jazz began to emerge as part of a broad musical revolution encompassing ragtime, blues, spirituals, marches, and it reflected the profound contributions of people of African heritage to this new and distinctly American music

1.1.2. Performers/Composers: Wynton Marsalis, Charles "Buddy" Bolden, Louis Daniel Armstrong

1.1.3. Recordings

1.2. Chicago

1.2.1. Musical Characteristics: Its artists and influence inspired a new generation of music; modern rock, pop, alternative music and more all have roots in Chicago jazz and owe much to its founders.

1.2.2. Performers/Composers; Tony Jackson, Freddie Keppard, Manuel Perez

1.2.3. Recordings

2. Bebop

2.1. Musical Characteristics: Developed in the mid-1940s which featured songs characterized by a fast tempo, complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerous changes of key, instrumental virtuosity, and improvisation.

2.2. Performers/Composers: Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie

2.3. Recordings

3. Swing

3.1. Musical Characteristics: The name swing came from the 'swing feel' where the emphasis is on the off-beat or weaker pulse in the music. Swing bands had soloists who would improvise over the melody.

3.2. Performers/Composers: Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman

3.3. Recordings

4. Blues

4.1. Musical Characteristics: The Blues originated on Southern plantations in the 19th century. It incorporated spirituals, work songs, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads.

4.2. Performers/Composers B.B King, Buddy Guy, Robert Johnson

5. Ragtime

5.1. Musical Characteristics: It's a musical genre which enjoyed its peak between 1897 and 1918.It has a 'ragged' rhythm and found its characteristic expression in formally structured piano compositions.

5.2. Performers/Composers: Scott Joplin, Jelly Roll Morton

6. Brassbands

6.1. Musical Characteristics: The Brass band movement of the British Isles began as an effort to provide the working class a social and cultural outlet.

6.2. Performers/Composers; Eric Ball, Edwrd Gregson, Elgar Howarth