What to Listen to and Watch for When Enjoying Jazz

In a Count Basie performance of the “Basie Boogie,” the musician's fingers fly across the piano keys as if they are doing the dance themselves. Saxophone, clarinet and string soloists add their own voices to the sway of the movement. The drummer's rhythmic downbeats dance in time.


The United States has now snapped its fingers to the syncopated heartbeat of jazz for more than a century. As a music genre, it is a uniquely American invention that began in Louisiana and diffused to different parts of the country, and later, the world. “Since jazz first emerged, it has radically changed, from a localized music for accompanying dances in New Orleans to an international art form with many styles and dialects,” says John Edward Hasse, curator of American music at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Since its origins, ongoing reinvention has been a defining feature of jazz. As the reach and form of jazz continues to evolve, so too does the relationship it has with its audience.
Today, jazz can be heard across myriad platforms including recordings, radio and online. Its influence is also pervasive in modern-day melodies of pop, rock, hip-hop, rap and bluegrass music. Given its accessibility, jazz is an art form that “can be gratifying without deep knowledge of its underlying structure,” states Discover Jazz, a book that Hasse co-edited along with Tad Lathrop. However, for those interested in developing a keener ear for various elements of the genre, here are some guidelines.