Jazz is a musical genre that has been an important part of American culture for over a century. From its roots in the African American community to its global influence and popularity, jazz has been a major force in the world of music and beyond. Trivia questions about jazz can provide a fun and engaging way to test your knowledge and deepen your appreciation for this dynamic and diverse art form.
Whether you're a seasoned jazz aficionado or just starting to explore this exciting genre, jazz trivia questions offer a glimpse into the rich history and culture of jazz. From the classic performers and styles to the innovations and trends that have shaped the genre, these questions can challenge you on your knowledge of jazz history, theory, and performance.
36 Jazz Trivia Questions Ranked From Easiest to Hardest (Updated for 2024)
- Philadelphians might use what other word when referring to a submarine or hero sandwich? Legend has it that a jazz musician opened up a sandwich shop during the Great Depression with the slogan that you "had to be a hog" to eat one, inspiring the name.
Answer: Hoagie
- In one of his most famous songs, jazz legend Louis Armstrong sings about trees of green, red roses, skies of blue, and other colorful images that make him think to himself – “what a wonderful” WHAT?
Answer: World
- What Boston college, known for its study of jazz and other contemporary American music, has produced more Grammy-winners than any other school?
Answer: Berklee College of Music
- What is the United States national cultural center that opened in 1971 and is home to frequent performances of performance art including theater, dance, orchestras, jazz, and folk music?
Answer: The Kennedy Center
- Bill Clinton is quite the jazz musician. His talent for which instrument got him the nickname “The MTV President,” and is probably one of the less controversial facts about him (unless you have something against smooth riffs)?
Answer: Saxophone
- If you ran across an article about 3 jazz legends from the same family whose first names were Ellis, Wynton, and Branford, what would their last name most likely be?
Answer: Marsalis
- 1927 Film > 1975 Musical > 2002 Film. Behind Mexico City, what second most populous city in the Central Time Zone - I guess famous for “All That Jazz” - lends its name to an Oscar-winning movie?
Answer: Chicago
- Filmed in Cincinnati and with Don Cheadle as both director and star, the 2015 film "Miles Ahead" is a fictionalization of the life of what legendary jazz musician?
Answer: Miles Davis
- Singer and jazz legend Ella Fitzgerald made her debut performance at one of the very first infamous "Amateur Nights" at what Harlem theater in 1934?
Answer: The Apollo
- Gaining a love for music in the Little Burgundy community of Montréal, Oscar Peterson became a jazz legend known primarily for tickling what instrument?
Answer: Piano
- What is the name for the genre of American roots music that developed in the 1940s in the U.S. Appalachian region and derived its name from the band of Bill Monroe? Traditionally, this genre is only played on acoustic string instruments and has roots in traditional African-American blues and jazz.
Answer: Bluegrass
- Portland native Esperanza Spalding is a jazz virtuoso of the upright and electric versions of what stringed instrument also played by Flea and Stanley Clarke?
Answer: Bass
- Hoots the Owl is a jazzy saxophone-playing bird on what alliteratively named kids' TV show?
Answer: Sesame Street
- A historic house museum in the Queens neighborhood of Corona commemorates the life of what legendary jazz musician and trumpeter, who lived there for 28 years until his death in 1971?
Answer: Louis Armstrong
- Oxford's 2023 Word of the Year was "rizz," which means style, charm or attractiveness. The American Dialect Society's word of the 20th Century was also a 4-letter word that ended in two Z's. What genre-defining word was that?
Answer: Jazz
- Ron Swanson moonlights as a jazz saxophonist that performs under what name?
Answer: Duke Silver
- One of the most celebrated American musicians of all time, what "CC" man grew up in Baltimore, and later became a jazz singer, dancer, bandleader and actor? He mixed jazz and vaudeville during his career and led one of the U.S.'s most popular "big bands" from the early 1930s to the late 1940s.
Answer: Cab Calloway
- The final Sacramento Music Festival was held in 2017 after more than 40 years of being held annually on Memorial Day weekend. Attendance peaked in the 1980s with more than 80,000 attendees. At the time, the festival had what more-festive name?
Answer: Old Sacramento Dixieland Jazz Jubilee
- "Black Coffee" is the title track of the 1956 debut album by what jazz and pop singer famous for songs like "Fever" and "Hallelujah, I Love Him So?"
Answer: Peggy Lee
- A festival named for legendary Delaware musician Clifford Brown brings what genre of music to Wilmington's Rodney Square every June?
Answer: Jazz
- If you’re a fan of Ella Fitzgerald, Benny Goodman, and Miles Davis, which museum in Kansas City will be music to your ears?
Answer: Amerian Jazz Museum
- What jazzy singer behind the classic "Fever" lent her voice to human mother Darling in Lady and the Tramp, as well as the cats Si and Am?
Answer: Peggy Lee
- What world-renowned jazz saxophonist has a degree in accounting from the University of Washington?
Answer: Kenny G
- What musical form, a mixture of samba and jazz and exemplified by the song "The Girl from Ipanema," has a Portuguese name that means "new trend" in English?
Answer: Bossa Nova
- It was originally written and recorded by Jesse Harris, but after it was released as the first single from her debut album “Come Away With Me” (2002), the song “Don’t Know Why” became associated with which jazzy singer-songwriter and pianist?
Answer: Norah Jones
- Now located at 315 West 44th Street, what legendary "avian" NYC jazz club opened in its first incarnation in December 1949 on Broadway near 52nd Street?
Answer: Birdland
- Since it was founded in 1965, which Georgetown jazz nightclub has given a stage to the greats like Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett, Dizzy Gillespie, and Mary Wilson?
Answer: Blues Alley
- Which famous D.C. jazz club, whose interior partially resembles a cave, is now closed permanently but has been host to famous musicians such as John Coltrane, Duke Ellington, and Louis Armstrong?
Answer: Bohemian Caverns
- "Bird" and "Yardbird" were nicknames for what legendary American jazz saxophonist who reflected the nickname in the title of a 1946 work, "Ornithology?"
Answer: Charlie Parker
- William Anderson was an American jazz trumpeter most well-known for his lengthy stint as a member of Duke Ellington's orchestra. However, Anderson was rarely known by his birth name, instead frequently referred to by what jazz-appropriate mammalian nickname?
Answer: Cat
- What historic and "subterranean" jazz club at 11th Street and U Street NW, which hosted artists like Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Nina Simone, closed down in 2016?
Answer: Bohemian Caverns
- Kansas City native and legendary jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker earned what avian nickname while playing at KC's infamous Reno Club?
Answer: Yardbird
- Released in 1959, ‘Kind of Blue’ is the biggest selling album of which trumpet-playing jazz legend?
Answer: Miles Davis
- What singer, civil rights activist, and Stormy Weather actress learned music from jazz great Billy Strayhorn after moving to Pittsburgh when she was 18?
Answer: Lena Horne
- Considering J is worth 8, A is worth 1 and Z is worth 10, how many points is the word “Jazz” worth with a standard Scrabble set of tiles?
Answer: 19
- What Kansas City-born jazz saxophonist was influential in creating the style of jazz known as bebop?
Answer: Charlie Parker
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About the Author
Eli Robinson is the Chief Trivia Officer at Water Cooler Trivia. He was once in a Bruce Springsteen cover band called F Street Band.
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