英语课程计划-International Jazz Day（在线收听）

International Jazz Day is usually celebrated each year on May 23. It is one day of the year when people around the world can celebrate this great music form. Jazz started in the USA and is America's only indigenous art form. Music lovers and musicians around the globe go to concerts, hold celebrations, or simply get together and listen to their favourite jazz artists. International Jazz Day was started in 1991 by jazz musician and bandleader D. Michael Denny. He was on the Board of Directors of the New Jersey Jazz Society. His aim was for a global day of appreciation for jazz. His idea worked. It is now backed by the United Nations Jazz Society. This sponsors jazz workshops and encourages musicians to make a living from their music.

Jazz originated at the beginning of the 20th century in the Southern United States. It is a combination of African and European music styles. It has a strong influence from West African traditional music. One expert said jazz differed from European music because it has "a special relationship to time, defined as 'swing' [and] a spontaneity and vitality of musical production in which improvisation plays a role". It is unclear exactly where the word “jazz” came from. Many believe it was California slang to refer to the new music black musicians were playing in Chicago around 1915. The new music quickly grew into a wide variety of styles and a cultural phenomenon. Today we have genres that include acid jazz and jazz funk. Jazz even influences hip-hop.