3. Why can a song be classified into more than one category?
The jazz styles are also classified according to time and location.
• Ragtime was the most popular form of jazz. It started in the late 1800s and included heavy use of the piano. It was a little different from the other jazz styles because it was formally composed, rather than improvised. Check out 'Shoe Tickler Rag' and 'The Maple Leaf Rag'.
• New Orleans jazz started in that city and focused on collective improvisation.
• Chicago jazz is where the swing really started swinging. It's characterized by a fast hip-swerving rhythm fronted by a solo sax improvisation.
• Bebop is all about nonsensical syllables that are more percussive than literary (like the Bill Cosby memes). Bebop came after the swing era and around the start of WW II.