While New Orleans is typically referred to as "the birthplace of jazz," its roots can be traced back to the music of native tribes in Africa. In the 1880s, those African music styles were mixed with Western European music to form the beginnings of what jazz is today. New Orleans was ground zero for this cultivation.
A group known as the Creoles played a large role in the formation of jazz. The Creoles came to Louisiana from the West Indies and injected elements of their Spanish culture into the music.
Jazz elements can be found in a number of genres that evolved in the late 1800s and early 1900s, such as ragtime and blues.
The style of jazz is characterized by improvisation and emotional expression through music. It involves a lot of polyrhythms (two or more independent rhythms sounding simultaneously) and syncopation (any rhythm that emphasizes a beat that is usually not emphasized).
Almost every instrument including brass, woodwinds, strings and percussion has a place in jazz music. A jazz ensemble could be made up of a full orchestra or consist of a simple trio typically including a brass or woodwind (trumpet, trombone, oboe, etc.) instrument, upright bass and a drummer. Jazz singers often sing in a traditional or swing style.
Jazz was a staple of the African-American community in America for many decades and is still alive today. Black musicians in cities including Memphis and Chicago embraced jazz and it soon became part of the culture of those towns among others, much the way that Motown became part of the Detroit's culture.
Jazz may never have become as popular as it did if not for a number of artists who took to form in the early days of its evolution. These artists included trumpeter Louis Armstrong, ensemble leader Joe "King" Oliver and singer Bessie Smith. They helped pave the way for jazz-style singers including Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Norah Jones and Michael Buble.