EVAN CARAVELLI/The Arizona Daily Wildcat Wynton Marsalis performs with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra in Centennial Hall Jan. 20.

What do heavy metal, country and hip-hop have in common? Answer: None of these styles of music would exist without the creativity and innovations of black musicians.

"Within American popular music, African-American music has been the most influential element and the aspect that seems to keep it changing throughout its history," said Brian Moon, UA adjunct instructor of music.

From ragtime, minstrel and Dixieland, to jazz, rock 'n' roll, hip-hop and even country, black people have fused Anglo musical styles and instruments with African for centuries and created what can only be described as American.

"James Brown is the root of soul music and R&B. And then you have Little Richard who was practically the architect of rock 'n' roll. And then you have Louie Armstrong who came up with the first really organized solo," said Clifford Adams Jr., former trombonist of the '70s group Kool & the Gang.

"As far as bebop and really modern music, Charlie Parker is really one of the architects of that. Between Charlie Parker and Dizzy (Gillespie), they really set the tone and everybody else followed. Miles (Davis) and all of them."

Black musicians are also influenced and inspired by the music created by people of other cultures.

Wynton Marsalis, arguably the greatest jazz trumpeter alive today, listens to a lot more than jazz.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning musician said he enjoys tango music, Brazilian music, samba, American fiddle music, classical music from all eras, flamenco and music from other parts of the world, just as long as the music consists of real instruments.

"I like to hear musicians play live too," he said. "I get to hear musicians play all the time."

Though he has dabbled in other music forms besides jazz, Marsalis said he does not compare to some of the artists he admires and does not desire to come close to them.

"It's hard to be sophisticated in other people's music," he said. "I like to see how the musics are related, but I don't like to be like a jack of all trades."

Before Marsalis became the living legend he is today, he was a rookie who looked to more mature musicians for guidance and support. One of those mentors included Clifford Adams Jr.

"Wynton used to come to the gig with his sneakers on. Now he's wearing dress shoes and two-thousand-dollar Armani suits and things like that," Adams said. "But, at the time, he was a young guy and up and coming. And from there, that's where he started off into his own career and the rest is ancient history."

Adams' own history includes collaborating with several artists, such as Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Patti Labelle and others. Though Adams performed with Kool & the Gang for 28 years, he said jazz is his original and true love.

"I'm a musician first," he said. "I respect and enjoy art and music. And of course, all my ties in the music that I'm most closely associated with is African descendent music. And that's what I love. But I listen to everything, even country."

Adams, who has studied and performed music longer than most popular black artists have been alive, strongly believes that it is important for young musicians to incorporate the old school methodologies of writing and performing music.

"When I grew up, (music) was inundated with great writers and great writing and great musicians and songs," he said. "And now, it's more rap."

Adams admits he does not like much of the synthetic programming that popular artists tend to favor nowadays, but every once in a while, his sons will play him tracks that he really enjoys.

"There are things being integrated in rap that I'm really starting to like now," Adams said. "This last year, has brought a lot of things that I really dig as far as incorporating real music into the music. So, I'm hopeful that the young kids get back to the music."

OutKast, Ludacris, Faith Evans, Jill Scott and Erykah Badu, Brian McKnight and Usher are a few that made Adams' list.

Wendy Theodore, assistant professor of African-American studies, said she loves black music, particularly jazz, because of her interest in its historical significance.

"I like that it's funky and black," she said. "It's absolutely critical because it's an African American art form. We should cherish it."

Jazz is one of the major cornerstones of modern music, but Theodore said she does not think it plays as large a role for audiences as it should because of the historical stereotypes of jazz.

"I think it gets divorced from other musical forms because it has been starkly associated with people of ill repute," she said.

Because many of the African Americans who performed and listened to jazz came from urban cities, jazz was easily associated with gin jams, prostitution and drug use. But jazz is still nonetheless deserving of respect today by people of all generations.

Now that it's Black History Month, people - black and non-black - will be celebrating the countless African Americans who've helped shape American culture through inventions, literature, music and several other contributions.

"I am an avid supporter of Black History Month, but I'm an avid supporter of it for African American youth," Wendy Theodore said. "I think the focus on learning their history and culture, the politics and social achievements and the contributions of African Americans is important."

Wynton Marsalis sees Black History Month in a completely different light.

"I don't believe in Black History Month, really," he said. "I don't distinguish between Black History Month and any other month. I'm always trying to learn some more about black heritage."

When people think of basketball or rap music, they usually immediately think of black people. (Even black people do that.)

However, Wendy Theodore thinks that people rely too heavily on the media's portrayals of blacks, rather than trying to discover black people of everyday life.

As a music historian, Brian Moon specializes in American music "broadly," and has taught courses about jazz, classical, folk and rock 'n' roll.

"I'm very conscious as a white person who is very into African American musical traditions," he said. "My decision to become a musician is tied to singing African-American choral music."

Likewise, Moon believes it is especially important for non-blacks, particularly college students, to become more aware about black culture through studying black history.

"I grew up in the South, and I saw a lot of racism," Moon said. "It's unfair to generalize, but I don't believe that enough students are still aware of how much racism is still an influence in their society. And a chance to look at the history and sort of expose the wounds and say, 'Hey, look, this is where we've been and here and the reality is that we're still not too far down the road from this,' I think it's important."

To encourage interest, Moon said music and literature by blacks are two of the best tools.

"Mainstream audiences might not be interested in a talk about civil rights court cases, but they would be interested in a talk about issues of rock 'n' roll or Ray Charles," he said.

"I think it's a great hook to get people into the subjects. And as you look at the subject more, you try to understand the music and its history, you have to wrestle with the culture surrounding it and, in doing that, you become more aware of the history."