where did jazz originate

Jazz originated in New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th to early 20th centuries. It developed as a melting pot of diverse musical influences, primarily from African American communities, blending African rhythms, Caribbean music, European harmonies, blues, and spirituals. New Orleans' unique cultural diversity, including gatherings of enslaved and freed people playing music at places like Congo Square, created the social and musical conditions that allowed jazz to form. The city’s vibrant mix of ethnic groups and traditions, along with the presence of brass bands and church music, shaped jazz into the genre recognized today. Jazz gained wider recognition in the 1920s but its roots trace back decades earlier in New Orleans.