Elements of Jazz: From Cakewalks to Fusion

By: Bill Messenger, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Bill Messenger

Jazz is a uniquely American art form, one of America's great contributions to not only musical culture, but world culture, with each generation of musicians applying new levels of creativity that take the music in unexpected directions that defy definition, category, and stagnation.

Now you can learn the basics and history of this intoxicating genre in an eight-lecture series that is as free-flowing and original as the art form itself. You'll follow the evolution of jazz from its beginnings in the music and dancing of the antebellum plantations to its morphing into many shapes as its greatest innovators gave us ragtime, the blues, the swing music of the big band era, boogie-woogie, and big band blues.

You'll follow the rise of modern jazz in all of its many forms, including bebop, cool, modal, free, and fusion jazz. And you'll learn how the course of jazz was changed by key technological innovations, such as the invention of the microphone, which allowed smaller-voiced singers like Bing Crosby or Mel Torme to share a limelight once reserved for the bigger voices of stars like Bessie Smith or Al Jolson.

Beginning the story on those antebellum plantations, Professor Messenger reveals how the "cakewalks" of slave culture gave birth to a dance craze at the end of the 19th century that was ignorant of its own humble roots. And he explores the irony of the minstrel shows, which derived from Southern beliefs of black cultural inferiority yet eventually spawned a musical industry that African-American musicians would dominate for decades to come.

As a bonus, the lectures are also very entertaining, with Professor Messenger frequently turning to his piano to illustrate his musical points, often with the help of guest artists.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©1995 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)1995 The Great Courses

Great, but video is probably greater.

A very nice survey of jazz history by an accomplished and very capable performer. Unfortunately, references to visuals, and too little time spent on modern jazz detract from the lecture series. It would have benefited from being longer and being in video form.

A good complement to more comprehensive treatments

The virtue of this lecture series is that Messenger illustrates his points at the piano, sometimes with guest musicians.

pretty solid

Bill is fantastic! I'll check out more from him. Wish there was more depth to the 'curriculum' however. It's a very light endeavor.

Fabulous overview

Great voice, wonderful mix of music, music history, and anecdote, the Elements of Jazz have been covered and have left me wanting for more! Highly recommend for anyone with a love and interest for jazz. A+.

Could also be called “How to Love Your Piano”

As a jazz enthusiast, this is what you want to know about the music. Additionally, there is very little name dropping, making the lessons stand on their own.

No more confusion about Jazz on to Fusion!

Jazz has been the music of my choice from my earliest memories. The way it progressed and evolved is fascinating. Some of the Modern Jazz seems out of bounds from traditional Jazz. There is so much to choose from; I do and am never disappointed.

“Life is a lot like jazz. it's best when ...

“Life is a lot like jazz... it's best when you improvise.” George Gershwin


1. Plantation Beginnings
2. The Rise and Fall of Ragtime
3. The Jazz Age
4. Blues
5. The Swing Era
6. Boogie, Big Band Blues and Bop
7. Modern Jazz
8. The ABC’s of Jazz Improvisation

I really enjoyed this class as I have always liked Ragtime and Dixieland Bands and as I grew I, loved going to a place in Portland, Oregon called Jazz de Opus where they would have a trio playing or just some classic records that the owner had. Alas, it is no longer in existence so I have to listen at home. Disneyland introduced me to the Dixieland music because they always had a great band playing at one of their restaurants near Frontierland.

Professor Bill Messenger is a musician who opened for Bill Haley and the Comets, played with Cass Elliott and many other musicians over the years before becoming a professor for The Peabody Institute.

Each class is forty-five minutes in length. Prof. Messenger always includes many musical examples, played by him or guests or sometimes pre-recorded. The class is lively and easy for a non-musical person to follow along.

Every class flows by so fast that I began looking for examples of music he talked about so I could continue my education. The only Jazz variant I wasn’t wild about was fusion, which from some of the examples he played seemed just like a lot of noise. No beat, no rhythm and no blues.

I highly recommend this class for anyone that wants to learn more about Jazz and the different versions it has undergone. The Professor makes his class fun and begging for more.

Topics in Jazz and Related Genres

I thought this was an excellent introduction to jazz and related genres. I felt it started slow, but fairly soon into the recording I was hooked. The lecturer is one of the better Great Courses professors; I enjoyed listening to him. Contrary to one of the other reviewers, I thought this one was perfect on audio. I never had any confusion because this wasn’t in video form. And I find I make much more progress on Great Courses that are in audio since I’m not tethered to the TV.

I’m surprised to see the negative reviews, because I really enjoyed this. I’m sure it is aimed at a listener like me who lacks a deep knowledge of jazz and jazz history. Given the length, it was more a sampler of topics in jazz history, including ragtime, blues, and swing. I think some of the negative reviewers may have been looking for a comprehensive survey.

Bill Messenger - über talent

Wow. What a pianist and what a natural, friendly insightful lecturer. Messenger makes sense of that whole evolution of African drums to ragtime time to big band to contemporary jazz. And he plays so many pieces as examples. I wish there were more Bill Messenger lectures. This one will probably get four or five listenings over the next year or two.

jazz make more sense now

I've enjoyed jazz all my life. After listening to this course (twice) I understand the historic progression, movements, sub-genres, how they influenced each other and what was to follow.