In 1976, Nat Hentoff, the celebrated American columnist, historian, novelist and music critic wrote a book defining jazz by gathering quotes from a host of musicians who were famous for their contributions to this elusive art. The book is entitled Jazz Is and it is as good an attempt as you will find to describe the immense scope of the music.
Jazz has been called the one truly American art form, and there is no doubt that the music originated there and it is there where it has its greatest representation.
And just as McDonald’s and Coca-Cola have spread from America to every corner of the globe, so has jazz music taken root in virtually every country. It is the musicians’ music and its footprint can be recognised on every continent with clubs and educational institutions, concerts and festivals dedicated to jazz performance.
It is the most documented of all modern music, coming of age at the turn of the 20th century and fuelling the development of the recording industry as well as radio, film, television, and now social media.
There is a rich archive of print - countless newspaper and magazine articles, reviews, biographies, and a ton of books analysing its complexities and its influence on modern culture. Anyone wanting to learn about this great tradition need only ask Google or YouTube, and the algorithms will do the rest.
