Jazz

Jazz

A style of music characterized by improvisation, syncopation, and usually a regular or forceful rhythm. It emerged at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions.

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Jazz

Metre

Music; Jazz

A basic music term, but sometimes not fully understood. The organisation of the beats of time (or ground beat), moving at a certain rate (the tempo), into groupings which are heirarchical, that is, ...

Third stream

Music; Jazz

A term coined by Gunther Schuller in the early 50s. The supposed confluence of Jazz and classical music.

Front

Music; Jazz

'In front' means before the top, as an intro.

Rhythm section

Music; Jazz

The piano, bass and drums in a combo, those who play throughout the tune, behind the soloists. Might also include guitar or vibes, or there might be no piano.

Break

Music; Jazz

A transitional passage in which a soloist plays unaccompanied.

Bebop

Music; Jazz

The style of Jazz developed by young players in the early 40s, particularly Parker, Gillespie, Kenny Clarke, Charlie Christian and Bud Powell. Small groups were favored, and simple standard tunes or ...

Mode

Music; Jazz

An incarnation of a scale in which a certain note is taken as the root. Thus, each scale has as many different modes as it has different tones. In common usage, the major scale and the melodic minor ...