What is Jazz?

I don't have much to add other than this was a great question with some excellent and thoughtful responses. Gives me hope in the future of the forums and its contributors. A nice change from "what is the best..." or Thing X vs Thing y

Everyone has their own definition of Jazz. There is probably some overlap in all definitions of Jazz but no two people's definitions are the same.

Jazz is a genre of music in which personalization and evolution are considered requirements of playing it, so we'll probably never be able to put an absolute definition on it.

Jazz is a word.
What people think it means varies so much that it's not hard to see why Duke Ellington and Miles Davis wouldn't touch it. One guy would say there's two kinds of music. The other thought the word jazz had become useless, (not worth using at all). There's a big difference between the process of developing musical awareness and the exercise of attempting to define a word like jazz.

It's all folk music because donkeys don't make music. I think Ray Charles said something along those lines.

While the term jazz does a have specific historical reference it has evolved into a marketing term of nebulous meaning. Record sellers have learned that music is more readily consumed when divided into neat little genres.

Out of all the jazz encyclopedia's I've read, I have never seen such "honest" and accurate descriptions of the word "jazz".

When I combine all of your post's, I have a better definition of jazz, than the musicians who make the music have given me. Someone a long time ago made it "hip" not to attempt to define "jazz", and succeeding musicians have followed in his footsteps.

Whether we realize it or not, this music is a very important part of our lives; and we are also an important part of one another's lives. When I say "we", I mean those of us who attempt honest and positive communications in all forums; especially this one.

Since we are "talking" about "music", why not let the music speak for us through the use of "Youtube". Express your concept of good jazz by selecting the best "youtube" that illustrate's what jazz is to you.