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Somethin’ Else: Jazz Music and Culture

Ever since it first appeared in and around New Orleans in the early 20th century, jazz has profoundly impacted music and culture, both in America and around the world. Inspired mainly by blues and ragtime music, the genre reached its apogee in the 1920s, which is still affectionately remembered today as America’s ‘Jazz Age.’

From its birthplace in the American South, jazz quickly spread across the globe, giving rise to various unique styles and sub-genres. Jazz is typically characterized by a handful of distinctive musical elements, including improvisation, a reliance on polyrhythms, and the use of ‘blue’ notes.

All That Jazz

This website is devoted to jazz music and culture, from the genre’s earliest pioneers (such as Scot Joplin, Bessie Smith, and Jelly Roll Morton) to the experimental jazz musicians of the modern era.

Here, enthusiasts can read insightful essays and articles on a host of jazz-related topics, including in-depth biographies of groundbreaking artists and critical essays about the ‘Jazz culture’ they spawned.

Best of the Best

This website also features extensive lists of what are widely considered the best jazz albums of all time, from ‘Kind of Blue’ by Miles Davis to ‘Somethin’ Else’ by Cannonball Adderly.

Jazz lovers of all kinds, be they aspiring musicians or enraptured fans, should make it a point to bookmark this page, which is sure to satisfy all their cravings for everything and anything related to jazz.