who said jazz was america's classical music
Best Answer: Not to mention Chadwick, Diamond, Creston etc. etc. Or Still, Swanson, Hailstork etc if you want Afro-American roots. Jazzers call jazz America's classical music because they have an inferiority complex. Jazz grew up in a brothel, was a courting aid for the first 30 years or so of its existence, and then went recherche and arty (about the same time classical music did).