Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities
of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Jazz is characterized by swing and blue notes, complex chords, call
and response vocals, polyrhythms and improvisation.
Although jazz is
considered difficult to define, in part because it contains many
subgenres, improvisation is one of its defining elements. The centrality
of improvisation is attributed to the influence of earlier forms of music
such as blues.
