Beginning of Essay
The first jazz was played in the early 20th century. The work chants and folk music of black Americans are among the sources of jazz, which reflects the rhythms and expressions of West African song. Ragtime, an Afro-American music that first appeared in the 1890s, ....

Middle of Essay
.... King Oliver. The first jazz record was made in 1917 by a New Orleans band the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, made up of white musicians who copied black styles. The New Orleans musicians discovered that audiences were eager for their music in the cities of the North and the Midwest. In the 1920s Chicago became the second major jazz center. White Chicago youths, such as tenor saxophonist Bud Freeman and clarinetist Benny Goodman, were excited by the New Orleans masters including the thrilling Louis Armstrong, who played in King Oliver's band. The third major jazz center was New York City, and it became the most important. In New York, pianists such ....