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What role does jazz play in The Great Gatsby?

Accepted Answer

The music of the jazz age (jazz) perfectly embodies much of what "The Great Gatsby" is about.  
Jay Gatsby and the other characters who live in the West Egg represent the new, young money. They are forging their own path and at times are throwing off the conventions of previous decades in order to make their money or be individuals during this time. These West Egg residents are carefree and risk takers. One such risk taker is Jay Gatsby himself. He made his money through illegal bootlegging, and doesn't think Daisy's marriage vows should stand in the way of his affections for her.  
Jay throws opulent, over the top parties in an effort to win her affections. Wild parties for people who are young, reckless, and recently into some new money need some kind of music to reflect all of that. Jazz fit that bill.  irst it was new. Second it was slightly rebellious because much of the time it was played and heard inside of "speakeasies" (illegal bars). Third, the music itself was quite individualistic. It supported improvisation and produced very distinctive styles and sounds within itself (Miles Davis for example).  
Fitzgerald could have left out any reference to music in the novel, but by including the jazz references, it allowed him to better encompass the feelings of the period and characters.

Answer

The 1920s, the period in which The Great Gatsby is set, were known as "the Roaring Twenties" and also as "the Jazz Age." Jazz was a popular musical form during the period and was known as an expressionistic form of music.
There are three direct references to jazz in the novel, all of which occur in scenes set at one of Gatsby's parties. The three references are quoted below.

A celebrated tenor had sung in Italian and a notorious contralto had sung in jazz and between the numbers people were doing "stunts" all over the garden, while happy vacuous bursts of laughter rose toward the summer sky.

In this first reference, the jazz music is playing at one of Gatsby's parties. Gatsby's parties are so popular in part because they are so extravagant and hedonistic. People flock to these parties because they provide an opportunity for free, unrestrained expression. Thus, as jazz music is an expressionistic art form, it is the perfect choice of music to reflect the nature of these parties.

When the "Jazz History of the World" was over girls were putting their heads on men's shoulders in a puppyish, convivial way, girls were swooning backward playfully into men's arms, even into groups knowing that some one would arrest their falls—but no one swooned backward on Gatsby and no French bob touched Gatsby's shoulder and no singing quartets were formed with Gatsby's head for one link.

In this quotation, the jazz music is again playing at one of Gatsby's parties. The significant part of this quotation is that when the music stops, Gatsby is conspicuously alone.
Jazz music was particularly popular in the 1920s because it was music that young people could dance to, and in The Great Gatsby, jazz music is associated with young people dancing together. The jazz music in this scene, therefore, represents togetherness and even coupling. The fact that Gatsby is left alone when the music stops points to the loneliness of his character.

The music had died down as the ceremony began and now a long cheer floated in at the window, followed by intermittent cries of "Yea—ea—ea!" and finally by a burst of jazz as the dancing began.

Jazz music, through dancing, is associated with togetherness and coupling, and it is also associated with youth, in large part because of its energy and vitality. Thus, the reference to jazz music in the quotation above highlights the fact that the cast of characters (Daisy and Jordan in this case) are no longer youthful because they are no longer where the music is but instead outside. In fact, immediately after the quotation above, Daisy says to Jordan: "We're getting old. . . . If we were young we'd rise and dance."
In summary, jazz music in The Great Gatsby serves three purposes. It serves as a fitting backdrop to highlight the liveliness and freedom of expression that characterize Gatsby's parties. It emphasizes Gastby's isolation in contrast to the other revelers when he is left alone and they are linked together. Thirdly, jazz music is used in the final example to signal the fact that Daisy and Jordan are losing the innocence and freedom of their youth.

Answer

Jazz represents the new, freer post–World War I world of the novel. Gatsby plays jazz at his huge, wild parties, showing that he is part of a new world in which the social classes mingle with each other freely. The opportunities this world affords have allowed Gatsby to climb to the top in terms of wealth and to open his doors to the entire world with his parties.
Jazz represents the freedom women now have to move around freely. Gatsby hopes this new freedom will one day bring Daisy through his door and to his parties, so they can reunite.
But the novel also shows that this jazzy, bright, free, and supposedly classless new world doesn't penetrate into the upper echelons of society. Daisy never comes to one of his parties. When she does come, it is only after she and Gatsby have reunited, and she comes with Tom, not on her own. She dislikes the party so intensely that Gatsby stops having them. The world of jazz, Fitzgeralds seems to be saying, only goes so far: the very wealthy are not going to allow it to disturb their closed world of snobbery and privilege.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

What role does jazz play in The Great Gatsby?

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