Nice question sopescott. The argument about the origin of jazz will linger on for a long time. But the first documented jazz form is the ragtime or dixieland jazz, and this was first heard on the streets of New Orleans in Louisiana USA.
But Pre jazz time has shown to evolve from the slaves who worked on the farm lands. As we know the slaves were from Africa, predominantly west Africa. Their drumming, echoing, hand clapping and call and response pattern was syncopative in nature (the backbone of jazz is syncopation). Therefore it can be said that the elements of jazz originated from the African slaves. Ragtime was stereotyped as "black" music, because of its origin.
Why i think it is hard for Africans to embrace jazz music is because jazz has evolved and evolved and evolved. It has evolved so much, that it is no longer recognizable to the originators, which is true for any art form. Well, this evolution of jazz music, is it go or bad? that is up for debate. And also we must note that the influences of western music on us has played a big part in lessening jazz appreciation in West Africa.
But elements of jazz can still be seen in the church setting especially hand clapping and the call and response, when the LEAD sings a line and the crowd responds.

With more Air time i think jazz will kick back into the system. And i can tell you, it is a nice industry to invest in.

well if anyone has questions or comments i would love to entertain them. let's sharpen ourselves

peace

Wow, I was surprised to find out that I got replies to my topic. It is nice to know that people in Nairaland appreciate jazz music. It is important to not that "smooth jazz" is a watered down form of jazz as the PURISTS would say, but it has the largest market appeal (thats how kenny G got rich). I have a large collection of Yanni Cd's, and I must say that he is amazing, but he is classified as a NEW AGE artist due to the symphonic influences on his tracks. A guy who is giving him a run for his money is DAVID LANZ. David's album "the good life" is a killer. David Benoit (another smooth jazz artist) is one of the hottest pianist in the jazz genre.
I stayed in several cities in Nigeria, and listened to the stations there, and jazz was played approximately for an hour a week. If jazz Cd's are easily available and affordable, I would advocate that this genre be given more air time as it is a soothing form of music, it is essential for introspect and retrospect, and it is very artistic in nature, I mean very very artistic.
I have listened to kunle ajayi's music, and I think he is extraordinary, maybe some improvements on the production quality. Mike aremu is also a killer. I have listened to HIGHLIFE and I think it reminiscent of the early 60's new Orleans jazz.
Why the interest in jazz? Well, I am studying it as a course in Louisiana State University, and I would love to see its growth on a wide scale in Nigeria.
Feel free to enlighten me with what is going on in this field in Nigeria and the way forward.

peace

I am a new member to the site, I found the site when I was trying to get some information on Kunle Ajayi. I was impressed to realize that "smooth Jazz" is growing steadily in Nigeria. I am a big lover of "smooth jazz" and I would like to see this music genre grow in Nigeria.

One major set back is the acquisition of jazz materials (CDs, DVDs, text). This problem could be minimized, thanks to the ultimate power of the internet. It take only a few clicks and you are in a world of music like never before. The Internet has opened me to smooth jazz stars such as Dave Koz, Peter White, Marc antione, Rick braun, Alexander zonjic (My favorite man) etc. I buy my jazz cds online from bmgmusic.com and columbiahouse.com.

I am fortunate to reside in the United States which makes buying such materials easy. But it costs nothing to stream "smooth jazz or Easy jazz" online. Yahoo.com provides that option: when you click on the radio link, go to 'jazz', and click 'smooth jazz', and relax while you savor the great music.

I have used "smooth" to describe the jazz style and that is because jazz comes in different styles, and smooth jazz is more accessible to me. Traditional jazz is very technical which makes it hard for a new convert to understand, that is why I recommend smooth jazz. So join me and lets make jazz alive in Nigeria.

Jazz Growth USA.