When asked to define jazz, both Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington independently responded that the only real dividing line between music is "good or bad." Jazz is the good kind of music. Born in New Orleans and nurtured by almost every region of the US and the globe, jazz originally combined African rhythm, European harmony, and the blues.
Armstrong, an improvisational genius, defines the solo virtuoso in jazz, while Ellington stands as the quintessential bandleader/composer who balanced group interplay and personal expression. Jazz informed the swing era, the smaller bop groups and vocal stars of the 1950s and '60s, Latin and global jazz, '70s fusion, European improvisation, various avant-garde scenes, modern neo-bop and more.