Hello,

One place I would start looking for the roots of American music is with Carl Sandburg's "American Songbag" - where you might see American folk music evolving into something unique. And Alan Lomax's catalog of recordings.

This isn't really an area of expertise for me, but I used to make the same statement about jazz. Then I began to think about the "why" of it. Why is jazz the only truly American art form? What qualities allow you to make that claim? It's a useful claim if you're trying to get funding for a music education program that includes jazz studies. Or to keep a program from slashing those programs! But I don't think the arguments I've heard really hold up under examination. I'd love to hear more though...

I'll say this much - there is probably no music as much fun to argue about as jazz! And I wish I had the chops to play it the right way!

Chuck