Preservation Hall
New Orleans, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

In the early 20th century, New Orleans was a melting pot of different cultures. Originally a French port to trade with Native Americans, it had seen an influx of Anglo-Americans moving West, African Americans emancipated from slavery, and immigrants from across the world. All the musical traditions of these various cultures combined in the Mississippi valley to form the first uniquely American form of music, Jazz. The earliest Jazz, hailing from the South, was known as Dixieland. This new style incorporated the tonal, harmonic, and structural components of the Blues with the syncopation and "ragging" bass/accompaniment patterns of ragtime, which was itself a synthesis of African and European music. Elements of African and Latin American percussion are present, as well as some of the style of traditional French and Italian folk music.