The origin of the word jazz has resulted in considerable research, and its history is well documented. It is believed to be related to jasm, a slang term dating back to 1860 meaning 'pep, energy'. The earliest written … See more

Jazz and race
For some African Americans, jazz has drawn attention to African-American contributions to … See more

From 1920 to 1933, Prohibition in the United States banned the sale of alcoholic drinks, resulting in illicit speakeasies which became lively venues of the "Jazz Age", hosting popular … See more

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Improvisation
Although jazz is considered difficult to define, in part because it contains many subgenres, See more

Jazz originated in the late-19th to early-20th century. It developed out of many forms of music, including blues, spirituals, hymns See more

The outbreak of World War II marked a turning point for jazz. The swing-era jazz of the previous decade had challenged other popular music as being representative of … See more