什麼是爵士樂

在美國發展的音樂，通常結合即興作曲和切分節奏律動。雖然其確切的起源不詳，但主要是從19世紀末、20世紀初紐奧良的音樂文化發展成的一種混合體。爵士樂在特別加上藍調和繁拍（ragtime）的成分後，形成了和聲及節奏結構，便於即興作曲。音樂的社會功能在這種結合中扮演了重要角色：是用於跳舞或遊行？還是用於慶典或正式典禮？音樂是隨場合的不同來編制。樂器的演奏技巧結合了西方調性觀念並模仿人聲。路易斯阿姆斯壯跳脱原來以合奏為主的紐奧良爵士樂（參閲Dixieland）風格，成為第一個偉大的爵士樂獨奏者；此後，爵士樂變成個人透過即興演奏和作曲表現深厚功力的形式。在搖擺樂（1930年～1945?）時代，獨奏者在當時大小合奏團方面努力經營的成果出現了，艾靈頓公爵的音樂尤其表現了結合作曲和即興演奏的因素。1940年代中期，查理帕克開創了咆哮樂的複雜技巧，成為精緻搖擺樂的一種副產品：其激烈的節拍及和聲的複雜性不僅挑戰了表演者，也考驗了聽音樂的人。邁爾斯戴維斯在1950年代領導樂團建立了一種輕鬆唯美、詞句抒情的酷派爵士樂，後來加上調式和電子樂成分。科爾特蘭的音樂在1960年代開啟了爵士樂在各方面的探索嘗試，其中包括擴展咆哮樂的和絃進行法及實驗性的自由即興創作。

jazz

Music developed in the U.S. usually incorporating improvisation and syncopated rhythmic momentum. Though its specific origins are not known, the music developed principally as an amalgam in the late-19th- and early-20th-century musical culture of New Orleans. Elements of the blues and ragtime in particular combined to form harmonic and rhythmic structures upon which to improvise. Social functions of music played a role in this convergence: whether for dancing or marching, celebration or ceremony, music was tailored to suit the occasion. Instrumental technique combined Western tonal values with emulation of the human voice. Emerging from the collective routines of New Orleans jazz (see Dixieland), Louis Armstrong became the first great soloist in jazz; the music thereafter became primarily a vehicle for profoundly personal expression through improvisation and composition. Elaboration of the role of the soloist in both small and large ensembles occurred during the swing era, c. 1930-45, the music of Duke Ellington in particular demonstrating the combination of composed and improvised elements. In the mid-1940s Charlie Parker pioneered the technical complexities of bebop as an outgrowth of the refinement of swing: his extremes of tempo and harmonic sophistication challenged both performer and listener. Miles Davis led groups that established the relaxed aesthetic and lyrical phrasing that came to be known as cool jazz in the 1950s, later incorporating modal and electronic elements. John Coltrane's music explored many of the directions jazz would take in the 1960s, including the extension of bebop's chord progressions and experimental free improvisation.