Punk jazz describes the amalgamation of elements of the jazz tradition (usually free jazz and jazz fusion of the 1960s and 1970s) with the instrumentation or conceptual heritage of punk rock (typically the more experimental and dissonant strains, such as No Wave and hardcore). John Zorn, James Chance and the Contortions, Lounge Lizards, Laughing Clowns and Zymosis are notable examples of punk jazz artists.

Patti Smith, who (unsuccessfully) sought out collaboration with Ornette Coleman, and Television, also developed a sinuous, improvisatory strain of punk, indebted to jazz.Lol Coxhill also recorded with The Damned. In Maine, The Same Band styled itself as a punk-jazz band, and was active from 1977-1980.

The relaxation of orthodoxy concurrent with post-punk in London and New York City led to a new appreciation for jazz. In London, the Pop Group began to mix free jazz, along with dub reggae, into their brand of punk rock. In NYC, No Wave took direct inspiration from both free jazz and punk. Examples of this style include Lydia Lunch's Queen of Siam, the work of James Chance and the Contortions, who mixed soul with free jazz and punk, Gray, and the Lounge Lizards, who were the first group to call themselves "punk jazz". Bill Laswell would become an important figure in punk jazz (in addition to his influence in dance-punk, dub and other genres) with his group Material, which mixed funk-jazz with punk, while another of his groups, Massacre, added an improvisational quality to aggressive rock music. Laswell would go on to take part in Last Exit and Pain Killer.James Blood Ulmer, who applied Coleman's harmolodic style to guitar, also sought out links to No Wave.

Punk or punks may refer to:

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in black communities in the Southern United States.

It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. Its African pedigree is evident in its use of blue notes, improvisation, polyrhythms, syncopation and the swung note. From its early development until the present day jazz has also incorporated music from American popular music.

As the music has developed and spread around the world it has drawn on many different national, regional and local musical cultures giving rise, since its early 20th century American beginnings, to many distinctive styles: New Orleans jazz dating from the early 1910s, big band swing, Kansas City jazz and Gypsy jazz from the 1930s and 1940s, bebop from the mid-1940s and on down through West Coast jazz, cool jazz, avant-garde jazz, Afro-Cuban jazz, modal jazz, free jazz, Latin jazz in various forms, soul jazz, jazz fusion and jazz rock, smooth jazz, jazz-funk, punk jazz, acid jazz, ethno jazz, jazz rap, cyber jazz, Indo jazz, M-Base, nu jazz, urban jazz and other ways of playing the music.

John Francis Anthony Pastorius III (December 1, 1951 – September 21, 1987), known as Jaco Pastorius, was an American jazz musician, composer, and electric bass player.

His playing style was noteworthy for containing intricate solos in the higher register and for the "singing" quality he achieved on the fretless bass. His innovations also included the use of harmonics. Pastorius suffered from mental illness including a substance-related disorder, and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 1982. He died in 1987 at age 35 following a violent altercation at a Fort Lauderdale bar.

Pastorius was inducted into the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame in 1988, one of only six bassists to be so honored (and the only electric bass guitarist). He is one of the most influential electric bass players of all time.

John Francis Pastorius III was born December 1, 1951 in Norristown, Pennsylvania to Jack Pastorius (big band singer and drummer) and Stephanie Katherine Haapala Pastorius, the first of their three children, Jaco Pastorius was of Finnish, German, Swedish and Irish ancestry.

Pharrell Williams (born April 5, 1973), commonly known simply as Pharrell, is an American rapper, singer, record producer, composer, and fashion designer. Williams and Chad Hugo make up the record production duo The Neptunes, producing hip hop and R&B music. He is also the lead vocalist and drummer of hip-hop band N.E.R.D, which he formed with Hugo and childhood friend Shay Haley. He released his first single "Frontin'" in 2003 and followed up with his first album In My Mind in 2006.

As part of The Neptunes, Williams has produced numerous hit singles for various musicians. The two have earned three Grammy Awards amongst ten nominations. He is also the co-founder of the clothing brands Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream Clothing. He is a member of the supergroup V.A. Playaz with Fam-Lay, Clipse, Skillz, Missy Elliott, and Timbaland & Magoo.

Pharrell Williams was born on April 5, 1973, in Virginia Beach, Virginia, the eldest of three sons of Carolyn, a teacher, and Pharaoh Williams, a handyman. He met Chad Hugo in a seventh-grade summer band camp where Williams played the keyboards and drums and Hugo played tenor saxophone. They were also both members of a marching band; Williams played the snare drum while Chad was student conductor. With Hugo, Williams attended Princess Anne High School where they played in the school band; there he got the name Skateboard P.