Welcome to the World of Jazz
This introduction is a resource guide of music, videos, and books from the different eras of the genre. Take a tour through the pages of each musical period or style, listed below, and select at least one performance from each style. Then check the complementary media or CD liner notes, as well as the books and videos supporting the music and the artists. If the music seems strange to your ear, set it aside. Continue to search sample and review until you find what you like. The more you listen, the more you will discover.

1. Jazz Roots in the Blues (Country and Urban)
2. Jazz from Traditional to Swing (New Orleans, Kansas City, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York)
3. The Age of Swing (Big Bands and Small Groups)
4. Be-Bop to Cool: An Evolution (East Coast and West Coast)
5. Evolution (The Free Movement and the Avant-Garde)
6. Women and the Jazz Challenge (Composers, Arrangers, Conductors, and Instrumentalists)
7. The Singers (The Women and the Men)
8. The Latin Tinge (Afro-Cuban to Brazilian)

I hope this exposure "jump starts" you on a journey through an important segment of American history, for jazz is a special musical language in the Afro-American tradition - a language that helps us to interpret and understand our lifestyle and environment.

May this experience lead you to new enjoyment, may you become a serious listener, and may you become a dedicated jazz supporter!

Sincerely,
Leigh Kamman

On to 1. Jazz Roots in the Blues (Country and Urban)

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