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The greatest American invention.
It's about the notes you *don't* play.
A genre of music few white people can handle.
A revolutionary musical genre birthed in New Orleans in the early 20th Century by black. Jazz arose from the folk and spiritual music traditions of freed slaves in the Mississippi Delta, and is the patriarch of blues, R&B, Rock & Roll, and all contemporary popular music.
You hear a lot of Jazz around Christmastime
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Syncopated and harmonically complex form of music originating from America during the early 20th century.
Styles include Be-Bop, Swing, Dixieland, Fusion, Free jazz etc.
One of the precursors to Funk, others include Blues and Soul . Funk of course gave way to more contempary forms of music like rap and techno.
Jazz is characterised by improvisation where musicians express themselves through their instruments.
Man, check out this Jazz. It kicks arse.
You should hear Miles Davis. He sure can play Jazz.
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Style of music that originally was for people to dance to, feel good music rebelling against the austere old classical style. Eventually a bunch of bitter hipsters turned it into an expression of elitism, and it lost major popularity outside "intellectuals" and conservatories. When it was institutionalized, and every suburban white boy could be the next coltrane, it became as calculated and elitist as the classical music it was supposed to rebel against. True jazz stirs both thoughts and emotions (and can be, *gasp* FUN), don't mistake anything else for it.
"oh my god, that Jazz song is in 17/4 timing-- it must be good" - overheard at many a concert
"Thelonious Monk is incredible, complex when he wants to be, simple when he wants to be, unconventional yet always putting the mood first" - me
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A great form of music spawning other great forms of music. Usually involves horns, mixed meter, more then 3 chords per song, and improv.
Miles Davis, Buddy Rich
You're stuck on an island with Osama Bin Laden, Saddam, and Kenny G. you have a gun with 2 bullets. what do you do?
Shoot Kenny G twice!
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Technical (boring) definition: Jazz is a now-unpopular genre of music, encompassing several distinct styles, developed for the most part by black men in American cities over the course of the 20th century. Jazz in general is characterized by the following:
-improvised solos (though they can also be written out beforehand, and, especially when recorded, are often somewhat planned out)
-a rhythm section consisting of bass, drums, piano and sometimes guitar
-syncopation
-bass lines which are improvised to fit the chords, usually with one note on every downbeat, and which rarely, if ever, stop
-an uneven style of playing eighth notes so that the downbeat lasts roughly twice as long as the upbeat (this is known as "swing" eight notes)
-extended chords (7th, 9th, 11th, and 13th chords) as pioneered by 19th century composers in the classical "impressionist" movement
-4/4 time
-the common lack of vocals
-2 common song forms: the traditional 32-bar AABA song form, and the 12-bar blues form
Colloquial (less boring) definitions:
“Jazz,” originally a noun used mainly in Harlem in the beginning of the 20th century to mean “sexual intercourse,” is also used as a verb in the phrase “to jazz (something) up,” meaning to add style, individuality, soul, or passion to something.
"If haven't figured it out by now, you'll never know."
-Louis Armstrong
"The say music speaks louder than words, so I'll just let the music speak for itself."
-Charlie Parker
Your place looks like you just moved in; you should jazz it up.
Kenny G is an insult to jazz.
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The only 'black' Transformer, turned into a car fit for pimpin'.
Jazz was the second coolest Transformer, second only to Optimus Prime
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