Straight-ahead jazz is a term used to refer to a widely accepted style of jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 music playing that can be thought of as roughly encompassing the period between bebop

Bebop

Bebop differed drastically from the straightforward compositions of the swing era, and was instead characterized by fast tempos, asymmetrical phrasing, intricate melodies, and rhythm sections that expanded on their role as tempo-keepers...

 and the 1960s styles of Wayne Shorter

Wayne Shorter

Wayne Shorter is an American jazz saxophonist and composer.He is generally acknowledged to be jazz's greatest living composer, and many of his compositions have become standards...

 and Herbie Hancock

Herbie Hancock

Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...

. This style of jazz is considered the lingua franca

Lingua franca

A lingua franca is a language systematically used to make communication possible between people not sharing a mother tongue, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both mother tongues.-Characteristics:"Lingua franca" is a functionally defined term, independent of the linguistic...

 of jam sessions

Jam Sessions

Jam Sessions is a guitar simulation software title and music game for the Nintendo DS based on the Japan-only title Sing & Play DS Guitar M-06 originally developed by Plato. It was brought to North America and Europe, courtesy of Ubisoft...

, and can usually be contrasted with smooth jazz

Smooth jazz

Smooth jazz is a genre of music that grew out of jazz fusion and is influenced by R&B, funk, rock, and pop music styles ....

.

As imprecise as the term is as used by jazz musicians, it can be loosely characterized by the following:

• A walking bass
• A swing 4/4 time signature
  Time signature
  The time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....
  
   in the drums
• In the piano
  Piano
  The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
  
  , syncopated chords
  Chord (music)
  A chord in music is any harmonic set of two–three or more notes that is heard as if sounding simultaneously. These need not actually be played together: arpeggios and broken chords may for many practical and theoretical purposes be understood as chords...
  
   in the left hand, and melodic, mostly single-note soloing in the right hand
• A head
  Head (music)
  In its broadest sense, the head of a piece of music is its main theme, particularly in jazz, where the term takes on a more specific set of connotations. In other types of music, "head" may refer to the first or most prominent section of a song...
  
   followed by a solo by each melody instrument, and sometimes drums and bass, followed by a reprise of the head

However, many Latin rhythms are also sufficiently well-established to be considered straight-ahead. See also jazz waltz

Jazz waltz

A Jazz waltz is a waltz in jazz style, thus played in a syncopated 3/4, 6/4, or 6/8 time signature, occasionally also in 5/4. Frequently a feeling of swing is created in the accompaniment by anticipating the second beat or third beat by a quaver...

.