Jazz

Let’s not beat around the bush -- it’s tough to summarize a musical genre that defies definition.We can say this much: jazz was invented in America but descended from Africa.   It is said to have originated in New Orleans – specifically, in the horn-and-drum-playing bands that would accompany funeral processions through the city -- around the turn of the 20th century.  Since then, jazz has steadily morphed and spun off one subgenre after another, from swing to big band to bebop to hard bop to fusion to smooth jazz and the list goes on.  Wikipedia calls it “a blend of African American…