What is your opinion on the debate as to whether or not jazz is primarily African American or European American?

Music is a cultural fusion and evolution of ideas different cultures and civilizations, no one ethnic group owns any kind of music because the fact is there are a lot of rhythm influences from African culture but there is also some harmonic classical music influence from European culture. It is essentially a fusion of the two, and just because one culture my have been trademarked with a certain technique doesn't mean there the only ones to use it. All kinds of different musical styles overlap between cultures therefore it is basically impossible to specifically credit one culture with a whole genre.

My opinion is that jazz is primarily African American. It is because a number of the improvisations of jazz are related to the music style of African Americans even though the instruments of jazz are European in origin. A lot of people are easy to think that jazz is primarily European American since jazz which uses instruments are from Europe in origin, but I firmly believe that the style of music follows the origin and not the instruments. Therefore, I choose that Jazz is primarily African American as a lot of the improvisations of jazz music are similar or same to the music style of African Americans.