Le Jazz Hot: How France Fell in Love with America's Music

When jazz arrived in France with American soldiers during World War I, it found not just an audience but a spiritual home. While America struggled with racial segregation and cultural prejudice against jazz, France embraced both the music and its creators with open arms. This acceptance transformed France into jazz's second homeland, nurturing the music through its evolution from hot jazz to bebop, from free jazz to contemporary fusion. The story of jazz in France is one of mutual transformation—jazz changed French music, and France profoundly influenced jazz's development.