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What is Jazz?


As a self proclaimed expert and "aficionado", I should know the answer to that question; but I don't, because the answer is too complex.

As one example; Inna posted that he didn't like jazz, and in his next post he raved about a piece of music that I considered to be jazz. In Inna's case I understood the contradiction, he doesn't like "hard bop".

On the other hand, Rok2id's definition of jazz is so narrow that many of my jazz records and CD's, would be considered to be something other than "jazz".

What is "jazz" to you and can you define it?
orpheus10
qdrone
1,039 posts
 
Well most jazz in it's live context is improvised so I will say "Jazz is when a musician takes the internal sound his soul is creating and emits it externaly whether by instrument or voice"
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uru975
684 posts
 
The inverse of Classical music. Classical music, for the most part, celebrates the ensemble, symphony, quartet, playing together and in harmony. Jazz celebrates the individual playing around a theme each individual having the opportunity to express themselves while maintaining a unified whole, again in general. There are exceptions to both.
frogman
7,430 posts
 
"If you have to ask what jazz is, you'll never know."- Louis Armstrong

"You blows who you is" - Louis Armstrong

"Hot can be cool & cool can be hot & each can be both. But hot or cool man, Jazz is Jazz." - Louis Armstrong

One of the many reasons Louis was the greatest jazz musician that ever lived.
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