What is Jazz?   What are they really doing onstage?

  This music we call Jazz,  has its roots in American history.  It is an ever changing art-form, which is created just for the listener, at that moment of time.  Each band member will “solo” on the song, but  in doing so, will be creating his own melody to go along with the original structure of the song that is being played.  As the audience is thinking of the tune, they are listening to a Jazz solo being played which is not the familiar melody,  but rather something  close to it.  The result is a new variation of the song.. every time.    The rest of the musicians will “back them up”, until it is their turn to do the same thing. This is the typical jazz format.  There are different combinations of instruments at one time throughout the piece, depending on the arrangement being played.  Sometimes, there is no set arrangement, and all the musicians will watch and listen, as not to get in the way of each other, but to blend, and give the soloist the  proper chord  foundation for their solo.  It is important to realize that we all are playing according to a set of  musical “rules”, that is , following the chord structure of the song being played, and being careful not to “step on the toes” of the soloist.   This format is universal to all experienced musicians, and is strictly followed, in this type of music.   The result from the listeners,  perspective,  is a blend of instruments, and solos that appear to be well rehearsed.   The incredible thing about Jazz is,  that a lot of it is not rehearsed , or written out completely.  Every performance will have a freshness and every solo will be different, each time that tune is played. Even from the same musicians.  A lot of the time, some of  the musicians will never have played together, but because of their talent and experience of playing Jazz , it will sound like they have worked together for many years.  This is why we refer to Jazz as truly, an American Art form.