What is Jazz?

Dictionary Definitions
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary
defines jazz:

The American Heritage Dictionary

defines jazz:

1 a : American music developed

especially from ragtime and blues
and characterized by propulsive
syncopated rhythms, polyphonic
ensemble playing, varying degrees
of improvisation, and often
deliberate distortions of pitch and
timbre b : popular dance music
influenced by jazz and played in a
loud rhythmic manner.

1. A kind of native American music

first played extemporaneously by
Negro bands in Southern towns at
the turn of the century and in most
styles having a strong but flexible
rhythmic understructure with solo
and ensemble improvisations on
basic tunes and chord patterns ,
and, in more recent styles, a highly
sophisticated harmonic idiom.

Dictionary Definitions
The New Harvard Dictionary of Music uses over four pages
to explain the term "Jazz."
It begins:
An ecclectic, expanding collection of 20th-century styles,
principally instrumental and of black American creation.
Swing and improvisation are essential to several styles, but
only an emphasis on characteristic timbres spans all musics
called jazz, whether functional or artistic, popular or esoteric,
instrumental or vocal, improvised or composed, "hot" or
"cool."
Jazz intertwines with other genres. ....

Dictionary Definitions
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians begins its
treatment of "Jazz" with:
The term conveys different, though related, meanings:
1) a musical tradition rooted in performing conventions that were
introduced and developed early in the 20th century by African
Americans;
2) a set of attitudes and assumptions brought to music-making,
chief among them the notion of performance as a fluid creative
process involving improvisation; and
3) a style characterized by syncopation, melodic and harmonic
elements derived from the blues, cyclical formal structures, and a
supple rhythmic approach to phrasing known as swing.

What is Jazz?

There are many books written about jazz; Billboard Magazine publishes jazz
charts ranking the popularity of jazz albums and individual performances; there
are numerous courses concerning jazz at this college and many others.
It would seem that defining the term jazz should be a simple project.
In reality, it is not.

The New Grove definition hints at part of the problem. Jazz is a

developing art form. It is changing! As such, a definition which includes
the essence of one style or set of styles leaves out other styles which are
generally considered jazz.

Of course, there is not even agreement on what music is jazz.

Gridley, Maxham, and Hoff ("Three
Approaches to Defining Jazz" MQ
73/4(1989): 513-531) write:
There has long been a reluctance
among musicians and purist fans to
include within the jazz category any
watered-down variants of a style that
derives from the jazz tradition. This was
why distinctions were made between
swing bands and sweet bands during
the 1940s. Count Basie fit the former
category, and Glenn Miller fit the latter,
for instance. During the 1990s, the
same distinctions could be made
between saxophonists Michael Brecker
and Kenny G.

So what is jazz?
In examining, the definitions here and elsewhere and reflecting on the music we
are going to study, there are a few things which most styles of jazz share. One
might even venture to say that all styles have at least some of these aspects:
Part of a musical tradition that has its roots in America combining aspects of
European and Western African music.
Improvisation. Improvised music is performed and composed at the same time.
Generally, only parts of a jazz performance are improvised. The amount and
degree of improvisation can vary considerably between styles.
Swing feel - this may be as difficult to define as jazz itself. The beat is not
divided into equal parts--generally, the first eighth note in an eighth-note pair is a
bit longer than the second (in 4/4 time).
An abundance of syncopated rhythms.
Instrumental emphasis. Most styles of jazz have an instrumental focus centering
on the following intruments: piano/keyboard, bass, drum set, saxophone,
trombone, trumpet, and guitar. Vocalists and other instruments are found in jazz,
but most styles do not center on these sound sources.