What makes jazz different?

How does jazz differ from traditional classical music?

If traditional instrumental music is an elderly strait-laced aristocrat, holding his afternoon teacup with an extended pinky, jazz is a free-wheeling younger sibling who uses hipper idioms.

Robert Aguilar, music instructor for the Moorpark College jazz program, said the differences between the two are many. Traditional instrumental music is a European import, while jazz is an American creation influenced by its many cultures. Sheet music is called charts in the jazz vernacular, while it’s known as literature in traditional music circles. Jazz, at 100 years old, is new when compared to classical instrumental music, which dates back hundreds if not thousands of years.

Jazz defies strict classification. It’s an amalgamation of blues and other music genres and is influenced by several styles, including salsa, shuffle, mambo, swing and Latin.

Unlike traditional music, the rules for playing jazz are meant to be broken, Aguilar said, adding it’s the fastest-growing ensemble music played in American public schools.

—Michelle Knight