The U.S. state of New Jersey is located in the Northeastern United States and is part of the Mid-Atlantic region.
Official symbols New Jersey has no state song.
The square dance is "the American Folk Dance of the State of New Jersey".
Indigenous music
The Lenape people were the original inhabitants of present-day New Jersey and surrounding areas to the north, south, and west. Social tribal songs were often named for animals, other tribes or groups, and even food. These brief songs were performed in group dances. A significant amount of this part of Lenape culture was lost as Dutch and later British settlers moved into the region and pushed the Lenape west. Eventually, the U.S. Government forcibly removed the majority of the Lenape to Indian Territory, now Oklahoma.
Classical and operatic music The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, based at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, the New Jersey State Opera, The Baroque Orchestra of New Jersey, and the New Jersey Ballet are located in the Newark area. These groups regularly travel to different venues throughout the state to give performances.
The Cape May Music Festival is held each year at the Mid-Atlantic Center for Arts and Humanities in Cape May, New Jersey, featuring classical and chamber music. The South Orange Performing Arts Center in South Orange, New Jersey, features classical soloists and ensembles. Other classical music performing groups throughout New Jersey include The Bay-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, the Garden State Philharmonic, the Philharmonic of Southern New Jersey, and the Princeton Symphony Orchestra. These music groups perform throughout the state and present shows at universities, which serve as a home base for some of the groups.
American composer John Philip Sousa performed concerts on the lawn of the historic Congress Hall (Cape May hotel).
World-famous opera singer Frederica von Stade was born in Somerville, New Jersey. Acclaimed operatic tenor Michael Fabiano was born in Montclair and still resides in the state.
In 1796, William Dunlap of Perth Amboy wrote the first professional opera in the United States called, The Archers.
Folk and bluegrass music The Folk and Bluegrass scene in New Jersey consists of performances at festivals and small venues throughout the state, mostly in small cities and college towns with active music scenes. Some of these towns and cities include Montclair, Hoboken, New Brunswick, and Princeton.
One of the regions for early folk music in the colonial era is the Pine Barrens and shore regions of southern New Jersey. It was in the sandy, dense forests and small shore towns that the earliest settlers played musical elements from their home countries and sang stories of the new land they called home. Some examples ranged from Scots/Irish fiddle tunes to Yiddish and Lithuanian songs. In this region, stories and legends were sung, including the Jersey Devil.
Various workshops, music development institutions, and festivals throughout New Jersey have celebrated folk and bluegrass music for decades. The Folk Project has hosted many folk singers in recent years, including Richard Shindell, Bob Franke, and Odetta. The New Jersey Folk Festival is held every year at Rutgers University, celebrating a variety of artists, both nationally and locally known. Jim Murphy and The Pine Barons have been playing bluegrass at venues in southern New Jersey for over forty years. The Delaware Valley Bluegrass Festival takes place annually at the Salem County Fairgrounds in Woodstown, New Jersey. The Hurdy Gurdy Folk Music Club celebrates folk music in the northern part of the state. The Irish festival at the Jersey Shore celebrates Irish folk music every summer in Sea Girt.
John Dull, a Rutherford native, is a well-known folk artist who has worked with a wide variety of musicians in many genres. Progressive bluegrass band Railroad Earth hails from Stillwater, New Jersey. Hunterdon County, New Jersey native Sharon Van Etten is an acclaimed singer of folk and indie rock music, performing solo as well as with many other famous artists. David Grisman, born in Hackensack, is a celebrated mandolinist and Newgrass composer. Another highly respected New Jersey folk artist is Meg Baird. John Gorka, a leader of the New Folk movement, was born in Edison. New Jersey folk singer and activist Catherine Moon has released several critically acclaimed independent albums. Atlantic City native and folk singer Jim Albertson sings songs that tell stories of South Jersey. The variety of folk and bluegrass music reflects the cultural past of America and New Jersey, including stories of the state's diverse ethnic groups, as well as revivalist styles.
Jazz In the early 20th century, Newark was an important center for jazz innovation with other smaller New Jersey towns also providing talent. James P. Johnson of New Brunswick and other pioneers helped invent stride. Willie "The Lion" Smith, who grew up in Newark, played stride as well as other styles of jazz piano. Donald Lambert of Princeton was another famous jazz pianist. Jazz alto saxophonist Richie Cole grew up and began playing in Mercer County. Other famous New Jersey jazzmen include bandleader Count Basie, saxmen Hank Mobley, Wayne Shorter and James Moody, vocalist Babs Gonzales, trumpeter Woody Shaw of Newark, trumpeter Johnny Coles of Trenton, and trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie who lived in Englewood from 1965 until his death in 1993.
Newark was also the birthplace and home of the jazz singer Sarah Vaughan – one of jazz's most esteemed vocalists. Viola Wells, also known as "Miss Rhapsody," was a Newark native who began her career singing jazz, blues, and religious songs at clubs in Newark, and eventually throughout the United States and Europe. Bill Evans was born in Plainfield and attended North Plainfield High School. One of the more popular jazz venues in Newark in the first half of the Twentieth century was the Grand Hotel on West Market Street. Savoy Records, an early important jazz record label, was located in Newark. Casa Blanca on Broad Street and The Cadillac Club are just two of the many Newark live jazz venues that have showcased performers in the Twentieth century.
The Institute of Jazz Studies at the Newark campus of Rutgers University has the largest library of jazz and jazz related items in the world. The Newark Museum has annual summer jazz concert series featuring world known artists. Atlantic City, beginning in the 1920s, was a world-famous venue for jazz performers, as well as other music. The Paradise Club on Illinois Avenue was billed as the world's first nightclub and hosted a wide variety of famous artists. Since 1979, Newark has been home to WBGO, the only 24/7 jazz radio station in the New York/Jersey City/Newark metro area.
Other well known jazz instrumentalists from the Garden State include Max Weinberg, drummer for Bruce Springsteen, Leigh Howard Stevens, a marimba musician who re-invented the way the instrument is played by pioneering the "Musser-Stevens Grip, "Nick Lucas, Joe Pass, Jimmy Lyons, Larry Young, Steve Swallow, George Van Eps, Buster Williams, Tony Scott, Bucky Pizzarelli, John Pizzarelli, David S. Ware, Al Di Meola, and Steve Swell. Hundreds of jazz albums for Blue Note Records were recorded in Alfred Lion's home studio Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
The Jersey Shore Jazz & Blues Foundation (JSJBF) Festival ran annually in Red bank until 2004 when the local Chamber of Commerce turned it into a food festival. The JSJBF now runs free summer jazz and blues concerts along several shore towns. The Liberty Jazz Festival also occurs every year in Liberty State Park in Jersey City.
R&B Formed in 1964 in Jersey City, Kool & the Gang is well known for their Billboard Hot 100 #1 hit, "Celebration", as well as various other singles such as "Ladies Night" and "Get Down On It", and the band has won many awards throughout their career.
Blues is still rich in New Jersey, and is supported by two blues societies—North Jersey Blues Society (NJBS), and Jersey Shore Jazz & Blues Foundation (JSJBF).
The North Jersey Blues Society, a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, was founded to celebrate the heritage of blues music through the unity of fans, musicians, society members, venues, and business owners who will collaborate and promote the blues in Northern New Jersey. NJBS priorities include: Promoting the performance of local and national blues musicians in the Northern New Jersey; Offering blues artists and audiences artistic programming and venue opportunities; and Providing educational opportunities to increase awareness of blues music and art.
The Jersey Shore Jazz & Blues Foundation (JSJBF) not only organizes up to three free music festivals every summer, but it is also involved in the free weekly Sunday evening outdoor summer blues concerts in the West End section of Long Branch, and the monthly year-round blues venue in the Red Bank Woman's Club. Keb Mo, Kim Wilson, Popa Chubby and many others have played here. George Kerr produced "New Jersey Soul" groups such as the Whatnauts (from Baltimore) and the Escorts. Sylvia Robinson composed The Moments' big hit "Love on a Two Way Street". Paul Kyser produced Soul Generation and Jimmy Briscoe & the Little Beavers.
Hip-hop Hip hop group Sugar Hill Gang, artists behind one of the earliest major commercial hip-hop songs "Rapper's Delight" is from Englewood, New Jersey. Rapper Lauryn Hill, born in East Orange and raised in South Orange, has been noted as one of the best female rappers of all time by magazines like Billboard, winning the most Grammys of any female rapper. Hill's band, The Fugees, was formed in South Orange along with Wyclef Jean and Pras Michael. Rapper Redman was raised in Newark. Hip-hop trio Naughty by Nature originated in East Orange, New Jersey in 1987, under the group name the New Style. Rapper/Singer and Actress Queen Latifah was born in Newark, New Jersey, and grew up in nearby East Orange. Rapper and actor Ice-T was also born in Newark, and grew up in Summit, New Jersey. Rapper Apache was born in Jersey City. Rapper Coi Leray was raised in Hackensack. Rapper Fetty Wap, best known for his Billboard Hot 100 #2 single "Trap Queen", was born and raised in Paterson. Rapper/R&B artist Akon moved to Union City as a child, but had also lived and grew up in Newark and Jersey City.
House music See New Jersey house
EDM Electronic music group Cash Cash formed in 2008 releasing their hit song "Take Me Home" in 2013. The song peaked at No. 57 on the Billboard Hot 100. A collaboration with American singer P!nk earned the group a No. 1 on the Dance Club Songs chart from the song "Can We Pretend".
Rock Rock & roll and classic rock
Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons were rock and roll stars in the 1960s, scoring hits with "Sherry", "Big Girls Don't Cry", and "Walk Like a Man". The Shirelles, formed in Passaic, were a girl group popular in the early 1960s. Garage rock band the Doughboys formed in Plainfield in 1965; The Critters were also from Plainfield and formed in 1964; other New Jersey garage bands included Richard and the Young Lions from Newark, and the Myddle Class from Berkeley Heights. Figures of Light were a garage rock band formed in New Brunswick in 1970.
Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band became one of New Jersey's most successful rock groups with the release of their Born to Run album in 1975. Springsteen's friends and fellow Jersey Shore natives, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, also saw commercial success. Donald Fagen of Steely Dan was born in Passaic and grew up in South Brunswick. New Brunswick band Looking Glass scored a number one hit with "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)" in 1972.