The folk songs and plantation dance music of black Americans have much to say about the early jazz. These types of music came about all the way through the Southern United States at some point in the eighteen hundreds.

Ragtime, a musical technique that influenced early jazz, emerged from the St. Louis, Missouri, area in the late 1890's. It rapidly became the most popular music style in the United States. Ragtime was a vigorous and syncopated assortment of music, primarily for the piano, that give emphasis to a formal composition.

A conventional jazz band would consist of a front line of a trumpet, trombone and clarinet or the saxophone, and a rhythm section of drums, a bass, a piano, and often times a guitar or banjo. The blues is a type of music that has always been an imperative part of jazz. The blues was especially widespread in the American South. Its mournful scale and uncomplicated repeated harmonies helped shape the character of jazz. Jazz instrumentalists have long exploited the blues as a vehicle for improvisation.

Completely developed jazz music in all probability started off in New Orleans at the commencement of the nineteen hundredths. New Orleans style jazz came forward from the city's own musical customs of band music for black funeral processions and street parades. Today, this kind of jazz is occasionally known as classic jazz, traditional jazz, or Dixieland jazz. New Orleans was the musical home of the first distinguished players and originators of jazz. Jazz soon broaden from New Orleans to the other parts of the country.

The 1920's have been called the golden age of jazz it the jazz age. Commercial radio stations, which first appeared in the 1920's, featured live performances by the growing number of jazz musicians. New Orleans, Memphis, St. Louis, Kansas City, Chicago, Detroit, and The City of New York were all significant centers of jazz.

A group of Midwest youths developed a type of improvisation and arrangement that became known as Chicago style jazz. While in The City of New York, a musician named as James P. Johnson popularized a musical style from ragtime which is known as stride piano. In stride piano, the left hand plays alternating notes single notes and chords that move up and down the scale the scale while the right hand plays solo melodies, accompanying rhythms, and interesting chordal passages. Johnson strongly influenced other jazz pianists.

Fletcher Henderson was the first most important figure in big band jazz. In 1923, he became the first leader to arrange a jazz band into sections of brass, reed, and rhythm instruments. His arranger, Don Redman, was the first to master the modus operandi of scoring music for big bands.

Many people think that jazz is the music of the elite and well-established people. But, if you look into the roots of jazz, you will see the opposite. Jazz is an art of expression in the form of music. Jazz music is the fundamental music in human life.

Jazz tradition evolved from the lifestyle of black community in America who has been oppressed. Initially, the tradition began from the influence of tribal drums and gospel music, blues and field hollers (the shouts of cultivators). Its birth process has demonstrated that jazz was closely related to the life defense and expression of human life.

The interesting thing from jazz music was that the origin of the word "jazz" was derived from a vulgar term used for sexual acts. Most of rhythms in jazz were ever associated with the brothels and the women with an unfortunate reputation.

Then, in the journey of jazz, it eventually became an art form of jazz music, both in the specific composition and improvisation, which reflected the spontaneous melodies. Jazz musicians usually expressed their feelings that were uneasily explained because this music should be felt within the heart.

Jazz legend began in New Orleans and grew into the Mississippi River, Memphis, St. Louis, and finally Chicago. Of course, jazz was influenced by music in New Orleans, African tribal drums and the structure of European-style music. Jazz background could not be separated from the facts in which jazz was influenced by a variety of music such as spiritual music, cakewalks, ragtime and blues.

One of jazz legends who was believed was the legend around 1891. An owner of hair shaving shop in New Orleans, named Buddy Bolden blew his cornet and the time became the beginning of jazz music as a new breakthrough in the music world. Half a century later, American jazz music gave many contributions to the world of music. Jazz was also studied at university, and eventually became a serious music and was calculated by the world of music.

Jazz as a popular art began to spread to almost all of American society in the 1920s (known as the Jazz Age). Jazz was more widespread in the swing era in the late 1930s and it peaked in the late 1950s as a modern jazz. In the early 20s and 30s, "jazz" has become a common word.

The influence and development of blues music could not be left when discussing jazz music in the early years of its development. Expressions that shined when playing the blues were in line with the style of jazz. The ability to play the blues music became the standard for all jazz musicians, especially to be used in improvisation.

Blues music itself, which was originated from the southern region, had a very broad history. Blues players usually used guitar, piano, and harmonica, or played together in a group who played his own musical instruments.