What is the most important element in jazz?

Question

Anyone is welcomed to answer, but I appreciate expert opinions, especially. Thanks.

Answer 1

"It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing"

Answer 2

Why don't some of you answer the question the way it was asked?

The topic started asked what is the most important "element" in jazz.

The most important element in jazz is rhythm. Without a good sense of rhythm, one will find it difficult to improvise in a jazz setting or to even keep their place within the music.

Rhythm serves as the backbone and heartbeat of the music and if you are not in tune with that, you will not know how to express yourself through improvisation in jazz.

That's why there are classical musicians I have known who can learn a piano concerto and play the exact pitches and rhythms in a classical piece but once they have to play with a jazz band, they have difficulty keeping the beat because they do not have a true internal sense of rhythm and only are getting their rhythms from a page.

There are many musicians who can improvise but even if you can improvise and do not have a natural rhythm, then you are just playing aimless notes.

Because without rhythm, how can one keep the beat with a jazz band let alone improvise effectively?

Answer 3

The single most important element in jazz is the artists ability to know, recognize and interpret their own feelings and convert that into a musical expression with an instrument. Thousands have picked up an instrument and played it; few have ever really touched their listeners until they could express how they were feeling through tone, tune, inflection, key and approach. That's when the audience finds themselves pulled into the event and become mesmerized.

Answer 4

My understanding about jazz comes from my fiance just won, last Wednesday, 2nd place in the International Jazz Harp Competition in Salt Lake City, is that what makes Jazz, jazz in the improvisation. With a tie for second in rhythm and phrasing.

Jazz is about expressing the moment. As the great Miles Davis indicated many times. Miles said to his band members in a documentary, "Who else gets paid to rehearse on stage?" To express the moment, you have to master your instrument, be open to what is happening around you, and already have some ideas.

Where in rock, pop, and classical are pre-rehearsed and played as rehearsed, or as close to the rehearsed version as you can get. In jazz there is freedom to move away from what ever happened in previous rehearsals, if the moment indicates the need.

These are a short on my observations about jazz, which I have come to appreciate more over the last 2 years.

best of luck,
green terra

Answer 5

the first progression into jazz, was probably the chordal progression, combined with syncopation this gave it the feel, but the improvisation was quick to follow, it separated the style from all that went before. but you'll need to be more specific when it comes to separation jazz from other styles, do you mean early ragtime? the likes of scot joplin and stravinsky ( have a listen to ragtime, and ebony concherto) or maybe the Al boley or Paul whiteman stuff of the 20's the early big band swing era, then there's be-bop, and the cool school stuff of the 40's and 50's, not to mention the more progressive jazz that came with Wayne Shorter, and George Russell. All these styles have something that separates them from the other Music styles, and all are considered Jazz,

Answer 6

The most important element in jazz is the conductor. You always need the conductor. Without the conductor you are screwed. I know this because I'm in Jazz band, Marching band and Concert band. The conductor is like a police watching you what you will do next and do wrong. I'm a total band freak.

Answer 7

The most important element in jazz....that is a tough question. I would have to say Ella Fitzgerald. Well that's my "expert" opinion anyway.

Answer 8

No expert here, but I learned how to listen to Jazz from the expert Frank Werber listening to his collection as the great man nodded or closed his eyes and sighed. I go for note choice and phrasing

Answer 9

What makes it jazz and not something else?

I'm thinking the rhythms - generally, jazz rhythm isn't found in too many other places. In lay terms "the beat".

Improvisation is found in several genre, the instrumentation isn't unique, even some of the melodies are borrowed from other genre. It's not the chord structure because the same patterns are often found in other genre. I, IV, V7, I anyone?

The rhythm of jazz though is so unique that many classically trained musicians (especially flute and clarinet players) can't do it. [not picking on these - some flutists and clarinetists are fine jazz players but most are not]

Answer 10

Improvisation is the most important when the musician respect the measure and the rhythm.

Answer 11

The soul, creativity...what issues forth from the crux of the musician and his/her ability to express it in a way to reach anybody that puts an ear/heart to it. At that point it becomes art.