Descrizione

Hardcover, 223 pages, ENG, 330 x 225 mm, book is in New state, with very fine pictures of the final resting places of Jazz legends, in colour and b/w, . ISBN 9789022993538. Jazz is an improvisational style of music influenced by West African rhythms and originated in the African American community of New Orleans from a cross-fertilization of ragtime, blues, folk and Negro spirituals. Originally, the word jazz meant a "highly energetic dance". Jazz was not widely accepted by the general public in the early years, mainly because this type of music was associated with loose morals and low social status. When white and mixed jazz orchestras such as Benny Goodman's began playing this music from the 1930s onward, it became an accepted form of entertainment for whites as well. The swing period that began then marked a peak in the popularity of jazz, largely due to the fact that jazz was then still exclusively dance music. As jazz evolved into more experimental musical forms from the 1950s, and due to the rise of exciting dance music such as rock and roll, sales of jazz records declined sharply. However, jazz has remained, and continues to renew itself. This article provides an overview of jazz history from ragtime and hot jazz to the fusion styles of the last decades