'I invented jazz in 1902,' said Jelly Roll Morton. He was in the right place at the right time -- New Orleans at the turn of the century -- so in a sense his claim is as good as anyone else's; but jazz actually evolved from a complex variety of sources, in which French and Spanish influences are as vital as those of blues, ragtime, spiritual and the American popular song. Like its near-contemporary sibling cinema, jazz is both an art-form almost exactly of the twentieth century and one which seems to be the new world's gift to the old.

The word jazz itself did not begin to appear in print until around 1915 and was only gradually and grudgingly admitted into polite society: The Language of Jazz explores the fascinating vocabulary which has grown up around it. Entries include words unique to jazz (bebop, Dixieland, ragtime); ordinary words with specific jazz meanings (cool, jam, stride); musical terms adopted by jazz (bar, rhythm, swing); instruments particularly associated with jazz (alto, clarinet, trombone); nicknames of outstanding musicians (Bird, Duke, Satchmo); place-names linked to movements in jazz (Chicago, Harlem, Storyville), specialist record labels (Dial, Okeh, Savoy) and notable venues (Birdland, Cotton Club, Minton's).
    
In a lively and provocative introduction, Neil Powell argues that the great era of jazz lies between the early 1920s (before which it still consisted of various formative elements) and the late 1970s (after which it began to merge inextricably with other musical forms). He suggests that 'jazz' will eventually describe a major musical style of the mid-twentieth century, rather as 'baroque' describes one of the early eighteenth century. The book will delight jazz lovers and provide for the unconverted a witty, informative tour of the subject.