In some way jazz feels intuitive. As a musical form that I've heard all my life the way in which jazz is presented has become like a language I recognize. Jazz can be at once the most difficult and most simple of musical forms. An artist needs to know his instrument and his music well, because the essence of jazz is the ability to extemporize and yet not wander to far from the familiar. If, for example, "Mary Had a Little Lamb" is played on any instrument exactly as it is written, the jazz artist can play all the notes and chording adjacent to the recognized tune. In this way, the artist pays homage to the music while still being able to explore it.
Jazz doesn't come from out of thin air. The serious musician learns his music stylings from classical form. Most jazz is based on a form that is actually quite similar to the sonata allegro form from classical theory: an optional introduction, the exposition or theme (possibly repeated), the development section, and the recapitulation, possibly followed by a coda (Cone, 1968).
The introduction, if present, sets the tone for the piece; the exposition is the main melody; the development section is where the composer extends the ideas of the exposition; the recapitulation is a restatement of the theme; and the coda is an ending.
In jazz terms, these sections of a piece would be called the intro, the head, the solo section, the head out, and possibly a coda or tag ending. The intro establishes the mood; the head is the main melody; the solo section is where the soloists improvise on the melody and/or chord progression of the tune; the head out is a restatement of the theme; and the coda or tag is an ending. This is storytelling in musical form. The kind of story being told resonates differently in each person. The jazz styles I most appreciate are Be-bop and Fusion.
The birth of Be-bop in the 1940's is
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