Many of the greatest blues singers are women, such as Billie Holiday. As we learned earlier, jazz was born around 1895 in the southern states and is considered America's most important contributions to world music. It combines the tonal system of Europe with the rhythms of Africa. How the musician plays is often more important than what the musician plays. In fact, it's almost impossible to write down a jazz tune.
Jazz is full of misplaced rhythms.
This is called syncopation . Some famous jazz composers and musicians include Duke Ellington , Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Fats Waller, and Dizzy Gillespi. Jazz also influenced such composers as George Gershwin and the French composer Maurice Ravel. If you have comments or questions please e-mail Principal Lana Tuemmler Ed.