Please tell me all about JAZZ Music.

What sort of music is jazz?
Why is JAZZ so different then other music?
Which chords and scales are use in jazz?
How to improvise in jazz?

Thank you for answers!!

Anze

Jazz is like musical olympics, you improvise through a series of key changes, I'll get a little more in detail later, gotta run.......

It seems like your questions go from hardest to easiest, but I will go in order.
1. Basically, Jazz is music derived from a mix of of afro-american blues and western classical music, but it has evolved into a very different beast. If you want to listen to some of the ways jazz has changed, listen to some Louis armstrong (preferably with Ella Fitzgerald), then some early Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, then some John Coltrane (Giant Steps), Later Miles (Bitches Brew), Kenny Barron, Keith Jarret. YOu can see that Jazz changes and can be quite hard to define.
What makes jazz different I believe is the way Jazz is a blend between bluesy, "soul" and classical intellect. Good Jazz appeals to the head, the heart, and the groin, not always in that order. Musically, one of the things taht characterises most jazz is improvisation. Improv in jazz is a lot different from most blues or rock solos, in which a soloist will use one scale over a set key. In jazz, soloists will usually improvise over each chord that is played, using scales from all different keys.
Common scales used in jazz are the mjor scale and its modes, the melodic minor scale and its modes, the diminished scale, and the whole-tone scale.
Roughly, to improvise in jazz, a soloist will look at the chord changes and work out what scales sound good over each chord, and see how to navigate melodic lines through the different scales. Of course, a good jazz player doesn't have to keep working out goood scales, he or she can automatically see what scales will work, and play notes from those scales. The more advanced they are, the more they can simply play any note they want, as long as it sounds good, but getting to the stage where you can simply pick notes is very, very difficult.

Jazz is mainly harmnized using 7th, 9th, 11th, & 13th chords. The harmonies are constructed mainly from the major and minor (3 forms) scales. All of your questions require complex answers and I tip my hat to Bardsley for offering an excellent response.

I'll give you the names of some great jazz guitarists to look into, many of them who are living have great websites that you can check out for answers to your questions;

Jimmy Bruno (www.jimmybruno.com / I highly reccomend it)
Pat Martino Joe Pass Wes Montgomery John Scofield
Mike Stern George Benson Barney Kessel Larry Carlton

just to name a few

There are a number of jazz guitarists including Wes Montgomery, Django Reinhardt, Les Paul, Charlie Christian, those who have changed our lives forever. Just like any other type of music, jazz is a feeling inside your soul. And history has shown (regardeless on what's going on in the mainstream) that there are still many musicians today who are very passionate about the music they create, and how it represents their overall personality. Yes Jazz music has changed over the past several decades, but there have been so many musicians wh have taken this style of music to a new level. One of the most fascinating musicians of our time was Django Reinhardt. What made this man so special was his level of persistence. After such a terrible accident, where lost the use of his fingers on his left hand, he proceeded as a guitarist, vcreating a new innovative style with whatever he had left.

This man proved that his love for jazz music was never ending and that it came from asomewhere within. As a musician, you should do whatever it takes to discover your true talents, and what style of music represents who you are.

-Joseph