| Jazz's use of rhythm is unique in that it is “syncopated”; that is, the rhythm is irregular. 爵士乐采用“切分”的演奏是很独特的；也就是说，节奏是不规则的。 Jazz is also polyrhythmic, which means many rhythms revolve around one basic one. 爵士乐也是多重节奏的，即多种节奏围绕一个基本节奏而进行。 Another musical genre created by African-Americans, the blues, has heavily influenced jazz as well as rock and roll. 非洲裔美国人所创的另一种音乐类型──蓝调，对爵士乐和摇滚乐都有深远的影响。 About one third of jazz is in blues form with twelve measures in a song and uses ---blue notes,” the flatted third, fifth, and seventh notes of the musical scale. 大约有三分之一的爵士乐采用蓝调形式，一首歌有12小节，使用“蓝音”，即把第三、五、七个音阶降半音（如Ｃ大调的Ｅ、Ｇ、Ｂ）。 Jazz has inspired everything from slang such as “cool” and “jazzy”; to dance styles such as tap and swing; to art forms such as filmmaking and beat poetry. 爵士乐激发了各种灵感，如：从俚语中的“酷”和“奔放”两个词，到舞蹈风格中的踢跶舞和摇摆舞（即兴爵士舞），以及电影制片和节拍诗等艺术形式。 Its dynamic nature and strong individual performers have also given rise to different branches of jazz. 爵士乐富有活力的性质和有很强感染力的个人表演者也导致了不同流派爵士乐的产生。 Early jazz was centered in New Orleans and had trumpeter Louis Armstrong as its first great soloist. 早期的爵士乐以新奥尔良为中心，并有出色的首席独奏者小号手路易斯·阿姆斯特朗。 The '30s and '40s saw jazz's sound grow more forceful and invigorating, inciting people to dance. 30和40年代的爵士乐的乐音变得更加强有力、更加振奋人心，把人们跳舞的情绪调动起来了。 |
