Jazz

Born in Black New Orleans, jazz became America's first original art form and its gift to the world — the sound of improvisation, swing, and freedom.

Out of the blues, ragtime, and brass-band traditions of Black New Orleans, jazz emerged in the early 1900s and swept the world. Louis Armstrong made the soloist its hero; Duke Ellington made it a composer's art; Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald made the voice an instrument; and bebop and John Coltrane pushed it to the edge of the avant-garde. More than a genre, jazz is widely called America's first original art form — and it was created by Black Americans.

On the timeline

September 28, 1912
W.C. Handy's "Memphis Blues"
One of the first published blues compositions helps launch a new American art form.
November 1925
Louis Armstrong reinvents jazz
Armstrong's Hot Five recordings make the soloist the heart of jazz and reshape American music.

The web

Connections to other moments, systems, and investigations — the links rarely drawn together.

builds on·Thread
African Kingdoms & Heritage
Jazz grew from the rhythms, call-and-response, and blue notes carried across the Middle Passage from West Africa.