Jazz is considered one of America's great artistic inventions and has its roots in the African American communities of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Much of it developed in the American South and cities like New Orleans and Kansas City were, and remain instrumental in jazz cultura and lore. Many forms of modern msuic such as Blues, R&B, and perhaps most famously, Rock and Roll, are decendents Jazz. The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival remains the best known though many other jazz festivals are equally historically important such as the Newport Jazz Festivals.