Jazz is a type of music from America and it is over 100 years old. It started in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Jazz is a mix of music from America, Europe, and Africa. Important parts of jazz are making music on the spot (this is called improvisation), using complex musical notes (these are called chords), and using instruments like the saxophone, trumpet, and piano.

The city of New Orleans played a big part in making jazz popular. In this city, different people mixed together and this led to a mix of different types of music like ragtime, marches, and blues. At first, people mostly used jazz for dancing, but after the first recordings of jazz were made in 1917, the music became popular and grew quickly.

Many great musicians like Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, and Miles Davis helped jazz to grow. Jazz changed into different styles like traditional jazz, swing, bebop, cool jazz, and jazz-rock, among others. At the same time, jazz spread from America to many parts of the world, and today you can find jazz musicians and jazz festivals in many countries.

Jazz is a beautiful form of art, and some people think of it as "America's traditional music" because it shows the national character and culture. In a way, it acts like a musical mirror, showing who and what Americans were in their own view at different times in their growth.