**From Swing to Syncopation: Essential Music Picks for Every Jazz Dancer.**

The big band sound that launched a thousand dance crazes. Characterized by its driving four-beat rhythm and infectious energy, Swing music is the foundation of partnered jazz dancing.

• Jumpin' at the Woodside

  Count Basie and His Orchestra
  Lindy Hop
• Take the "A" Train

  Duke Ellington
  Lindy Hop
• Sing, Sing, Sing

  Benny Goodman
  Lindy Hop
• Flying Home

  Lionel Hampton
  Jitterbug

With faster tempos and complex harmonies, this era challenged dancers with intricate rhythms perfect for improvisation and solo jazz movements.

• Salt Peanuts

  Dizzy Gillespie
  Bebop
• Now's the Time

  Charlie Parker
  Bebop
• The Sidewinder

  Lee Morgan
  Solo Jazz
• Work Song

  Nat Adderley
  Solo Jazz

Infused with blues and gospel influences, this style brought a earthy, rhythmic grounding that's perfect for both sharp and smooth movements.

• Moanin'

  Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers
  Solo Jazz
• The Preacher

  Horace Silver
  Solo Jazz
• Watermelon Man

  Herbie Hancock
  Solo Jazz
• Dat Dere

  Bobby Timmons
  Solo Jazz

Where Afro-Cuban rhythms meet jazz harmony, creating infectious grooves that inspire fluid body movements and complex footwork.

• Oye Como Va

  Tito Puente
  Latin Jazz
• Spain

  Chick Corea
  Fusion
• Cantaloupe Island

  Herbie Hancock
  Fusion
• Black Magic Woman

  Santana
  Latin Jazz

Modern artists reinterpreting jazz traditions with influences from hip-hop, electronic, and global music, creating fresh soundscapes for today's jazz dancers.

• Virtual Insanity

  Jamiroquai
  Modern Jazz
• Chameleon

  Comet Is Coming
  Experimental
• Creeper

  Kamasi Washington
  Modern Jazz
• Lingus

  Snarky Puppy
  Fusion