“The music called Jazz was born sometime around 1895 in New Orleans. It combined elements of Ragtime, marching band music and Blues. What differentiated Jazz from these earlier styles was the widespread use of improvisation, often by more than one player at a time.”
At The Red Hot Jazz Archive you can learn about Jazz before the 1930’s. When artists improvised the notes and made music with the starting point of a common song. The sections of this site are broken down to: Information, Bands, Films, Essays, Musicians, and Search.
Information – Here you will find some great suggested reading. You may want to see if your local library carries any of these titles so you can get swept away with Jazz.
Bands – I have to confess this is my favorite section. Here you can learn all about the bands that made Jazz exceptional from 1895 to 1929. You’ll find it is an alphabetized list of the bands. You can click on the band’s name to get more information. And you may even find a sample of one of their songs.
Films – here you can find jazz bands that managed to get a spot on film. A huge accomplishment for the time they lived in. Of course you’ll find Louis Armstrong here!
Essays – Here you can read essays on these groundbreaking performers from Billie Holiday to Duke Ellington to The Origins of Jazz. A lot of these are interesting reads. I spent some time here browsing and found myself better for it.
Musicians – This is where you will find what we would now consider the solo artists of their generation. Again you see when they played, get more information on them, and if you’re lucky a sound clip.
Search – This is the search engine for the site, and it even comes with some great tips to use it efficiently.
This is a terrific site dedicated to those with more than just a little talent!