"It is America's music – born out of a million American negotiations: between having and not having; between happy and sad, country and city; between black and white and men and women; between the Old Africa and the Old Europe – which could only have happened in an entirely new...

Hugh Arkinson May 6, 2004 BAMS 306 Jazz: The American Heritage From the beat of ragtime syncopation to soaring gospel choirs mixed with call-and-response vocalizations and the moody blues, jazz has become a much-loved form of music worldwide. Since it came out of the South ...

What is Jazz? According to the dictionary, jazz is defined as, "A kind of syncopated, highly rhythmic music originated by Southern blacks in the late 19th century" ("Jazz" 232). But, everyone should at least agree that jazz is the mother of all music, and is referred to as ...