Dixieland

Dixieland is one of the earliest Jazz genres, developed in New Orleans, Louisiana in the 1910s.The name stems from the Original Dixieland Jazz Band who were one of the first Jazz ensembles to publish an official commercial recording in 1917, although the style had been around before then, being played in the backgrounds of bars, brothels, and cabarets. The name was retroactively applied to all Jazz ensembles who played in a similar style, including those of Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, Kid Ory, and King Oliver.

Since New Orleans was originally a French colony, as well as a major seaport to Cuba, the genre had a heavy influence from Cuban music, French music, as well as brass marching bands that were popular in the city at the time. The genre also takes influence from Ragtime and Country Blues - although unlike Ragtime, it was improvisational and experimentational, and unlike Blues, it wasn't rough and emotional but balanced and reserved.

The basic instrument ensemble for Dixieland jazz is trumpet, clarinet, and trombone. No one instrument dominates though, they all communicate and play their melodies in a counterpoint manner, a technique that came to Jazz through Cuban Contradanza, or Habanera, music. All three instruments improvise collectively instead of separately, a big distinction from later forms of Jazz.

As Dixieland grew in popularity in the 1920s, it began spread to other regions, most notably Chicago, due to it being a major transportation hub during the Prohibition-era. It eventually declined during the prime of the Swing-era in the 1930s.