The American musical art form jazz emerges in New Orleans around the advent of the 20th century. Jazz blends elements from varied traditions, including African and African American, religious ...

Samba, which was strongly influenced by African music, originated in Rio de Janeiro about 100 years ago Bossa nova, the focus of this hour, is basically a fusing of the harmonic vocabulary from jazz ...

Enslaved people would sing work songs while working the plantations and religious spirituals in church. Combined with the African rhythms, these musical styles were the foundation of blues. The ...

Saxophone virtuoso Charlie Parker, left, brought Miles Davis, right, into his bebop band in the 1940s, Davis’s first professional job The Original Dixieland Jazz band, pictured in 1917 ...

Photographers were inspired by the cool sensibilities of jazz musicians as they practiced their craft. Learn more about jazz and the birth of cool in the National Portrait Gallery's online exhibition ...