History of Jazz in Timeline

Jazz, born in late 19th/early 20th century New Orleans, emerged from a blend of blues, ragtime, European harmony, and African rhythms. Marked by swing, blue notes, complex chords, call-and-response, polyrhythms, and improvisation, it gained prominence during the 1920s Jazz Age. It's considered a major musical expression form.

1904: Jelly Roll Morton Tours With Vaudeville Shows

Beginning in 1904, Afro-Creole pianist Jelly Roll Morton toured with vaudeville shows to southern cities, Chicago, and New York City.

1905: Jelly Roll Morton Composes "Jelly Roll Blues"

In 1905, Jelly Roll Morton composed "Jelly Roll Blues".

1906: Buddy Bolden's Impact on Rhythmic Patterns

From 1895 to 1906, cornetist Buddy Bolden played in New Orleans, and his band is credited with creating the big four: the first syncopated bass drum pattern to deviate from the standard on-the-beat march.

1909: Publication of Joplin's "Solace"

In 1909, Joplin's "Solace" was published. It is generally considered to be in the habanera genre.

1912: Improvisation of Melody Lines

Around 1912, when the four-string banjo and saxophone came in, musicians in Ohio and elsewhere in the mid-west began to improvise the melody line, but the harmony and rhythm remained unchanged.

1912: Benefit Concert at Carnegie Hall by James Reese Europe's Clef Club Orchestra

In 1912, James Reese Europe's symphonic Clef Club orchestra in New York City played a benefit concert at Carnegie Hall.

1912: Earliest Written Record of "Jazz"

In 1912, the earliest written record of the word "jazz" appeared in an article in the Los Angeles Times. A minor league baseball pitcher used the term 'jazz ball' to describe a pitch that wobbles and is difficult to handle.

1912: Publication of "Memphis Blues" Sheet Music

In 1912, the publication of W.C. Handy's "Memphis Blues" sheet music introduced the 12-bar blues to the world.

Memphis Blues Band

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1914: Jazz Goes International

In 1914, Jazz became international when the Creole Band with cornettist Freddie Keppard performed the first ever jazz concert outside the United States, at the Pantages Playhouse Theatre in Winnipeg, Canada.

1915: "Jelly Roll Blues" Publication

In 1915, Jelly Roll Morton's "Jelly Roll Blues" became the first jazz arrangement in print when it was published.

1915: Word "Jazz" Used in Musical Context

In 1915, the word "jazz" was first documented in a musical context in the Chicago Daily Tribune.

November 14, 1916: First Documented Use of "Jazz" in New Orleans

On November 14, 1916, the term "jazz" appeared in a musical context in New Orleans for the first time, in a Times-Picayune article about "jas bands".

1917: Storyville Shut Down

In 1917, Storyville in New Orleans, a district where many jazz musicians performed, was shut down by the U.S. government.

1917: First Jazz Recordings

In 1917, the Original Dixieland Jass Band made the music's first recordings, and their "Livery Stable Blues" became the earliest released jazz record.

February 1918: James Reese Europe's "Hellfighters" in Europe

In February 1918, during World War I, James Reese Europe's "Hellfighters" infantry band took ragtime to Europe, then on their return recorded Dixieland standards including "Darktown Strutters' Ball".

1918: Paul Whiteman's Success in San Francisco

In 1918, Paul Whiteman and his orchestra became a hit in San Francisco.

1919: The Original Dixieland Jazz Band Tour of Britain

British jazz began with a tour by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band in 1919.

1919: Kid Ory's Original Creole Jazz Band in San Francisco and Los Angeles

In 1919, Kid Ory's Original Creole Jazz Band of musicians from New Orleans began playing in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

1919: Ragtime Influence

In Ohio and elsewhere in the mid-west, the major influence was ragtime, until about 1919.

1920: Start of Prohibition in the United States

In 1920, Prohibition in the United States began, banning the sale of alcoholic drinks and leading to the rise of speakeasies as venues for the "Jazz Age".

1922: Kid Ory's Band Makes Recordings

In 1922, Kid Ory's Original Creole Jazz Band became the first black jazz band of New Orleans origin to make recordings.

1924: Bix Beiderbecke Forms The Wolverines

In 1924, Bix Beiderbecke formed The Wolverines.

1924: Louis Armstrong Joins Fletcher Henderson's Band

In 1924, Louis Armstrong joined the Fletcher Henderson dance band for a year as featured soloist. That year, Guy Lombardo formed his orchestra, specializing in "the Sweetest music this side of Heaven". Armstrong's solos were a significant factor in making jazz a true 20th-century language.

1924: Premiere of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue

In 1924, Paul Whiteman commissioned George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, which was premiered by his orchestra.

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1926: Fred Elizalde on the BBC

In 1926, Fred Elizalde and His Cambridge Undergraduates began broadcasting on the BBC, marking the start of jazz's importance in dance orchestras and the rise of jazz instrumentalists in Britain.

1927: Duke Ellington Opens at the Cotton Club

In 1927, Duke Ellington opened at the Cotton Club in Harlem.

1928: Earl Hines Opens in The Grand Terrace Cafe

In 1928, Earl Hines opened in The Grand Terrace Cafe in Chicago.

1933: End of Prohibition in the United States

In 1933, Prohibition in the United States ended, which had banned the sale of alcoholic drinks and created a vibrant "Jazz Age" in speakeasies.

1934: Quintette du Hot Club de France Begins

In 1934, the Quintette du Hot Club de France began playing, marking the full swing of this style in France. Their music combined African-American jazz with symphonic styles.

1937: Founding of The International Sweethearts of Rhythm

In 1937, The International Sweethearts of Rhythm was founded. It was a popular all-female band that became the first all-female integrated band in the U.S.

1938: Benny Goodman's Concert at Carnegie Hall

In 1938, Benny Goodman's jazz concert at Carnegie Hall was the first jazz concert ever to be played there. It was considered by Bruce Eder as the single most important jazz or popular music concert in history.

1938: Morton's Recordings for the Library of Congress

In 1938, Jelly Roll Morton made a series of recordings for the Library of Congress, demonstrating the difference between ragtime and jazz.

1942: World War II Impacts Jazz

In 1942, World War II began to significantly impact jazz music. Conscription reduced available musicians, shellac shortages limited record production, rubber shortages hindered touring, and a musicians' union recording ban restricted music distribution.

1942: Charlie Parker's Harmonic Development

In early 1942, while performing "Cherokee" at Clark Monroe's Uptown House in New York, Charlie Parker experienced a breakthrough in harmonic development. Parker found that by using the higher intervals of a chord as a melody line and backing them with appropriately related changes, he could play the music he had been hearing, bringing it to life.

1943: Earl Hines Band Plays Modern Harmonies

In 1943, Gunther Schuller heard Earl Hines' band, which included Bird and other great musicians, playing flatted fifth chords, modern harmonies, substitutions, and Dizzy Gillespie runs. Schuller noted that this was later recognized as the beginning of 'bop' and modern jazz.

1943: "Tanga" Establishes Clave in Jazz

In 1943, the first original jazz piece overtly based in clave, "Tanga", was composed by Mario Bauza and recorded by Machito and his Afro-Cubans in New York City, beginning as a spontaneous descarga with jazz solos.

1944: Continued Impact of World War II on Jazz

By 1944, the effects of World War II continued to present difficulties for the big-band format of jazz music due to shortages of resources and restrictions on travel and recording.

1945: The International Sweethearts of Rhythm tour Europe

In 1945, The International Sweethearts of Rhythm became the first all-female integrated band to travel with the USO, touring Europe.

1947: "Manteca" Establishes Clave Rhythmically

In 1947, Dizzy Gillespie and Chano Pozo collaborated to produce "Manteca," the first jazz standard to be rhythmically based on clave. Pozo composed the A section and introduction, while Gillespie wrote the bridge, giving "Manteca" a typical jazz harmonic structure.

1953: Hard Bop Develops

Hard bop began developing in 1953 as an extension of bebop, incorporating influences from blues, rhythm and blues, and gospel, particularly in saxophone and piano playing.

1954: Hard Bop Coalesces

By 1954, hard bop had coalesced, developing partly in response to the vogue for cool jazz in the early 1950s and paralleling the rise of rhythm and blues. Some elements of the genre were simplified from their bebop roots.

1954: Miles Davis Introduces Hard Bop at Newport Jazz Festival

In 1954, Miles Davis's performance of "Walkin'" at the Newport Jazz Festival introduced hard bop to the jazz world. This performance marked the beginning of a new era in jazz.

1955: Hard Bop Becomes Prevalent

From 1955, hard bop was prevalent within jazz for about a decade and has remained highly influential on mainstream jazz.

1957: Mary Lou Williams converted to Catholicism

In 1957, Mary Lou Williams converted to Catholicism, and proceeded to compose three masses in the jazz idiom. One was composed in 1968 to honor the recently assassinated Martin Luther King Jr. and the third was commissioned by a pontifical commission.

1957: Release of "A Blowin' Session"

In 1957, the album A Blowin' Session was released, featuring Coltrane, Johnny Griffin, Mobley, and Morgan. The album is considered to be a high point of the hard bop era.

1959: Mongo Santamaria Records "Afro Blue"

In 1959, Cuban percussionist Mongo Santamaria first recorded his composition "Afro Blue," which was the first jazz standard built upon a typical African three-against-two (3:2) cross-rhythm, or hemiola.

1959: Kind of Blue Introduces Modal Jazz

In 1959, Miles Davis introduced modal jazz to the greater jazz world with the album Kind of Blue, which became the best-selling jazz album of all time. The album was composed as a series of modal sketches, in contrast to Davis's earlier work with hard bop.

1959: Cal Tjader Performs "A Night in Tunisia"

In 1959, on a live recording, Cal Tjader and pianist Vince Guaraldi played "A Night in Tunisia", with Guaraldi soloing through the entire form over an authentic mambo.

1959: Film Black Orpheus achieves popularity

In 1959, the film Black Orpheus and João Gilberto's initial releases achieved significant popularity in Latin America. This popularity spread to North America, influencing American jazz musicians and popularizing the Bossa Nova style.

1960: Coltrane Signs with Impulse! Records

In 1960, John Coltrane signed with Impulse! Records, turning it into "the house that Trane built" and championing many younger free jazz musicians.

1960: John Coltrane's "Giant Steps" released

In 1960, John Coltrane's "Giant Steps" was released, showcasing harmonic complexity comparable to advanced 20th-century art music. The piece, with its 26 chords per 16 bars, could be played using only three pentatonic scales. Coltrane had studied Nicolas Slonimsky's Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns, which contains material virtually identical to portions of "Giant Steps".

Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns for Guitar

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November 1961: Coltrane at the Village Vanguard

In November 1961, John Coltrane played a gig at the Village Vanguard, which resulted in the classic Chasin' the 'Trane. The album was initially panned as "anti-jazz" but has since become a highly regarded recording.

1962: Dizzy Gillespie's "Night in Tunisia" released

In 1962, Dizzy Gillespie's song "Night in Tunisia" was released. It was sampled by Gang Starr in 1988 for their debut single "Words I Manifest",.

1963: John Coltrane Covers "Afro Blue"

In 1963, John Coltrane covered "Afro Blue", inverting the metric hierarchy and interpreting the tune as a 4 jazz waltz with duple cross-beats superimposed (2:3). He also expanded the harmonic structure of the song.

1963: Getz/Gilberto album leads to a worldwide boom

In 1963, the album Getz/Gilberto and numerous recordings by jazz performers such as Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra led to a worldwide boom and entrenchment of the Bossa Nova style as a lasting influence in world music.

1964: "October Revolution in Jazz" Festival

In 1964, Bill Dixon organized the 4-day "October Revolution in Jazz" in Manhattan, which was the first free jazz festival.

June 1965: Coltrane Records Ascension

In June 1965, John Coltrane and 10 other musicians recorded Ascension, a 40-minute-long piece that included adventurous solos and collective improvisation, sparking controversy.

June 1965: Recordings of The John Coltrane Quartet Plays, Living Space and Transition

In June 1965, The John Coltrane Quartet recorded The John Coltrane Quartet Plays, Living Space and Transition, showcasing an increasing freedom and abstract playing within the quartet.

July 1965: New Thing at Newport Recording

In July 1965, the John Coltrane quartet recorded New Thing at Newport, a live album showcasing the group's evolving sound and increasing freedom of expression.

August 1965: Sun Ship Recording

In August 1965, Sun Ship was recorded by the John Coltrane Quartet, further demonstrating the band's increasing freedom and avant-garde direction.

September 1965: Pharoah Sanders Joins Coltrane's Band

In September 1965, Pharoah Sanders joined John Coltrane's band. Sanders' use of over-blowing created a constant screaming and screeching in the altissimo range of the instrument.

September 1965: First Meditations Recording

In September 1965, the John Coltrane Quartet recorded First Meditations, adding to the collection of recordings that captured the group's evolving style and abstract approach to jazz.

1965: Duke Ellington wrote A Concert of Sacred Music

In 1965, Duke Ellington wrote A Concert of Sacred Music. It was the first of three Sacred Concerts written prior to his death in 1974.

1965: Joe Henderson plays pentatonic lick on "African Queen"

In 1965, Joe Henderson played a pentatonic lick over blues changes on Horace Silver's "African Queen". The minor pentatonic scale is often used in blues improvisation, and like a blues scale, a minor pentatonic scale can be played over all of the chords in a blues.

1965: Vince Guaraldi released "Jazz Mass"

In 1965, Vince Guaraldi released "Jazz Mass" (Fantasy Records).

1965: Hard Bop's Peak

In 1965, hard bop influence began to decline due to the emergence of other styles such as jazz fusion, but has again become influential following the Young Lions Movement and the emergence of neo-bop.

1966: Joe Masters recorded "Jazz Mass" for Columbia Records

In 1966, Joe Masters recorded "Jazz Mass" for Columbia Records. The recording featured a jazz ensemble joined by soloists and choir using the English text of the Roman Catholic Mass.

1967: Jazz and rock begin to combine

Around 1967, the worlds of jazz and rock began to trade ideas and combine forces. This occurred as rock became more creative, its musicianship improved, and some in the jazz world became bored with hard bop and didn't want to play strictly avant-garde music.

1967: Wayne Shorter's "Footprints" uses African 8 cross-rhythm

In 1967, Wayne Shorter's "Footprints" became the first jazz standard by a non-Latino to use an overt African 8 cross-rhythm. On Miles Davis' Miles Smiles version, the bass switches to a 4 tresillo figure at 2:20, accessing African rhythmic structures through swing sensibilities.

1968: Duke Ellington wrote Second Sacred Concert

In 1968, Duke Ellington wrote the Second Sacred Concert. It was the second of three Sacred Concerts written prior to his death in 1974.

1968: Mary Lou Williams composed a jazz mass to honor Martin Luther King Jr.

In 1968, Mary Lou Williams composed a jazz mass to honor the recently assassinated Martin Luther King Jr.. It was one of the three masses in the jazz idiom she composed after her conversion to Catholicism in 1957.

1968: Influences of James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, and Sly and the Family Stone

In 1968, Miles Davis was influenced by James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, and Sly and the Family Stone, particularly their hit record, "Dance to the Music". This led to a desire to make jazz more like rock, influencing the recording of "In a Silent Way" where Davis instructed everyone to play off of that inspiration.

1969: Miles Davis embraces electric instruments with In a Silent Way

In 1969, Miles Davis fully embraced the electric instrument approach to jazz with In a Silent Way, considered his first fusion album. The quiet, static album, composed of two side-long suites edited heavily by producer Teo Macero, would be influential to the development of ambient music.

1969: The Tony Williams Lifetime release Emergency!

In 1969, members that contributed to Miles Davis' "In a Silent Way" joined organist Larry Young to create the fusion album "Emergency!" by The Tony Williams Lifetime.

1970: Williams's Emergency! suggested the promise of a new musical language

According to jazz writer Stuart Nicholson, albums such as Williams's Emergency! suggested the potential of evolving into something that might eventually define itself as a wholly independent genre quite apart from the sound and conventions of anything that had gone before in 1970.

1971: Weather Report released its debut album

In 1971, Weather Report's self-titled electronic and psychedelic debut album caused a sensation in the jazz world. The album opened with the avant-garde piece "Milky Way", and DownBeat described the album as "music beyond category", and awarded it Album of the Year in the magazine's polls that year.

1972: Miles Davis's On the Corner album released

In 1972, Miles Davis released On the Corner, marking his foray into jazz-funk. Davis claimed it was an attempt to reconnect with the young black audience. The album featured a rock and funk influence along with Indian and Cuban percussion, creating a multi-layered soundscape and culminating the musique concrète approach explored since the late 1960s.

1973: Duke Ellington wrote Third Sacred Concert

In 1973, Duke Ellington wrote the Third Sacred Concert. It was the third of three Sacred Concerts written prior to his death in 1974.

1974: Gonzalez Brothers Join Eddie Palmieri

From 1974 to 1976, the Gonzalez brothers, Jerry and Andy, were members of Eddie Palmieri's experimental salsa group. Palmieri's innovations, along with the Gonzalez brothers, led to an Afro-Cuban jazz renaissance in New York City.

1974: Duke Ellington writes three Sacred Concerts prior to his death

Prior to his death in 1974, Duke Ellington wrote three Sacred Concerts in response to contacts from Grace Cathedral in San Francisco: 1965 – A Concert of Sacred Music; 1968 – Second Sacred Concert; 1973 – Third Sacred Concert.

1975: Davis's Agharta suggested the promise of a new musical language

According to jazz writer Stuart Nicholson, albums such as Davis's Agharta suggested the potential of evolving into something that might eventually define itself as a wholly independent genre quite apart from the sound and conventions of anything that had gone before in 1975.

1975: Mary Lou Williams's jazz mass performed at St Patrick's Cathedral

In 1975, Mary Lou Williams's jazz mass, commissioned by a pontifical commission, was performed once at St Patrick's Cathedral in New York City. However, the Catholic Church has not embraced jazz as appropriate for worship.

1976: Gonzalez Brothers in Palmieri's Group

1976: Irakere's "Chékere-son" introduced a new style

In 1976, Irakere's "Chékere-son" introduced a style of "Cubanized" bebop-flavored horn lines. This departed from the angular guajeo-based lines common in Cuban popular music and Latin jazz at the time. The song was based on Charlie Parker's "Billie's Bounce", and fused clave and bebop horn lines, changing Cuban Jazz.

1980: Common Practice in Jazz Arrangements

By 1980, jazz arrangements with a Latin A section and a swung B section, where all choruses are swung during solos, became common practice with many Latin tunes of the jazz standard repertoire.

1983: Keith Jarrett established his 'Standards Trio'

In 1983, pianist Keith Jarrett established his 'Standards Trio'.

1986: John Zorn released Spy vs. Spy album and Last Exit recorded their first album

In 1986, John Zorn released the Spy vs. Spy album, incorporating speed and dissonance from punk rock into free jazz. In the same year, Last Exit, consisting of Sonny Sharrock, Peter Brötzmann, Bill Laswell, and Ronald Shannon Jackson, recorded their first album, blending thrash and free jazz. These developments marked the origins of jazzcore.

September 23, 1987: House passes bill defining jazz as national treasure

On September 23, 1987, the United States House of Representatives passed a bill defining jazz as a unique form of American music and a rare and valuable national American treasure.

November 4, 1987: Senate passes bill defining jazz as national treasure

On November 4, 1987, the United States Senate passed a bill defining jazz as a unique form of American music and a rare and valuable national American treasure.

1988: Gang Starr releases "Words I Manifest"

In 1988, Gang Starr released the debut single "Words I Manifest", which sampled Dizzy Gillespie's 1962 "Night in Tunisia", and Stetsasonic released "Talkin' All That Jazz", which sampled Lonnie Liston Smith.

1989: Gang Starr's debut LP released

In 1989, Gang Starr's debut LP No More Mr. Nice Guy was released.

1990: Gang Starr release "Jazz Thing"

In 1990, Gang Starr released the track "Jazz Thing", which sampled Charlie Parker and Ramsey Lewis.

1991: A Tribe Called Quest release The Low End Theory

In 1991, A Tribe Called Quest released The Low End Theory, an album which incorporated jazz influences.

1992: Miles Davis's final album Doo-Bop released

In 1992, Miles Davis's final album Doo-Bop was released posthumously. This album was based on hip-hop beats and collaborations with producer Easy Mo Bee, marking a significant fusion of jazz and hip-hop.

1992: Pete Rock & CL Smooth debut Mecca and the Soul Brother

In 1992, Rap duo Pete Rock & CL Smooth incorporated jazz influences on their debut album Mecca and the Soul Brother.

1993: Guru's Jazzmatazz series began

In 1993, Rapper Guru's Jazzmatazz series began, using jazz musicians during the studio recordings.

1994: Herbie Hancock released the album Dis Is da Drum

In 1994, Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis's ex-bandmate, released the album Dis Is da Drum. This album absorbed hip-hop influences, demonstrating the genre's growing impact on jazz.

1998: Lalo Schiffrin released "Jazz Mass in Concert"

In 1998, Lalo Schiffrin released "Jazz Mass in Concert" (Aleph Records, UPC 0651702632725).

2000: Mark Gridley's Jazz Styles: History and Analysis

In 2000, Mark Gridley's Jazz Styles: History and Analysis still referred to a bossa nova bass line as a "Latin bass figure", reflecting a lack of distinction between Cuban and Brazilian elements in jazz understanding.

Jazz Styles: History and Analysis (10th Edition)

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2001: Ken Burns's documentary Jazz premiered on PBS

In 2001, Ken Burns's documentary Jazz premiered on PBS, featuring Wynton Marsalis and other experts. The documentary received criticism for its limited representation of non-American traditions and US developments in the last quarter of the 20th century.

2010: Extreme reharmonization became a trend in jazz

In the 2010s, an internet-aided trend of extreme reharmonization emerged in jazz. Supergroup Snarky Puppy adopted this trend, and YouTube phenomenon Jacob Collier gained recognition for his musical abilities.

2013: Angelo Versace examines sacred jazz in doctoral dissertation

In 2013, Angelo Versace examined the development of sacred jazz in the 1950s in a doctoral dissertation, using musicology and history. He noted the combination of black gospel music and jazz, creating "sacred jazz," separated from secular jazz by religious intent.

2013: Versace cited Ike Sturm and Deanna Witkowski as contemporary exemplars

In 2013, Versace cited bassist Ike Sturm and New York composer Deanna Witkowski as contemporary exemplars of sacred and liturgical jazz.

2015: Kendrick Lamar released To Pimp a Butterfly and Kamasi Washington released The Epic

In 2015, Kendrick Lamar released his third studio album, To Pimp a Butterfly, which featured prominent contemporary jazz artists. Also in 2015, saxophonist Kamasi Washington released his nearly three-hour long debut, The Epic, which featured hip-hop inspired beats and R&B vocal interludes.

2015: James Taylor composed "The Rochester Mass"

In 2015, jazz organist James Taylor composed "The Rochester Mass" (Cherry Red Records).

2016: Wynton Marsalis releases "Abyssinian Mass"

In 2016, Wynton Marsalis released "Abyssinian Mass" (Blueengine Records), a recent example of sacred and liturgical music performed and recorded by prominent jazz composers and musicians.

2018: Will Todd recorded "Jazz Missa Brevis"

In 2018, classical composer Will Todd recorded his "Jazz Missa Brevis" with a jazz ensemble, soloists and the St Martin's Voices on a Signum Records release, "Passion Music/Jazz Missa Brevis" also released as "Mass in Blue".