It is a form of music and dance that originated in the 20th century in the African American Communities. The term jazz derived from “jass” was first used to refer to music in Chicago in 1915. George Santayana had remarked, “It is veneer, rouge, aestheticism, art museums, new theatres, etc. that make America impotent. The good things are football, kindness, and jazz bands.” Jazz is a popular form of dance too which people practise to keep their bodies in perfect shape and stay fit.
Throughout its evolution during the 19th and the 20th century, jazz has always included American popular music. West African influence is very much evident in the use of blue notes, improvisation, polyrhythm’s, syncopation and swung note. In the words of Maxim Gorky, “What ‘jazz’ means to me is the worst kind of working conditions, the worst in cultural prejudice. The term ‘jazz’ has come to mean the abuse and exploitation of black musicians.”