Difference Between Jazz and Blues

Jazz and blues are musical genres or styles that can also be considered as two distinct American musical traditions. They are related to each other most likely due to the fact that they originated in the southern United States. The confusion in discerning the two genres may be due to the numerous mixes of music that artists make these days. Difference Between Jazz and Blues

JAZZ  Difference Between Jazz and Blues

Hailing from New Orleans, jazz was known as “jass,” but then the two “ss” were changed to “zz”, and it came to mean “cool.” During the latter part of the 19th century, jazz took shape in various marching bands. His style at that time was marked by the use of the saxophone, piano, cornet and trombone.

The area with the greatest preference for jazz since its inception has moved north to Chicago and New York. There is an interracial mix in jazz, many of the people from the North embraced this music, making it very popular across the country. Contrary to the popularity of jazz, blues had a pocketed penetration in Texas and Chicago. And so the latter musical genre found its own range of followers for making it the most urban style of music before the rock ‘n’ roll revolution of the 1950s.

BLUES

Originally from southern Mississippi, the first blues on record occurred in the 1920s. At that time, soloists stood out, as opposed to the ensembles that abounded in jazz. Although the blues has grown a lot since then to use intricate bands, the early solitas only used a slide guitar as their main musical instrument.

In short, jazz was more instrumental compared to blues, which was mostly vocal.

As for the featured artists, the pioneering jazz album came from Edward Ory with the Orquesta Criolla. Other prominent and popular jazz musicians on the scene were George Lewis and Louis Armstrong. However, it wasn’t until the 1960s that jazz icons such as John Coltrane and Miles Davis became exceedingly notable hits. On the other hand, Blind Lemon Jefferson and Robert Johnson were the front-line supporters of the blues. BB King with his electric blues also became a highly influential figure for modern day blues musicians.

Key differences

• Jazz originated in New Orleans, while blues emerged in Mississippi.
• Jazz was and still is more popular than blues.
• Blues is more vocal, while jazz is more instrumental.

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