This article explores the idea of jazz as a symbol of freedom, both in the United States and in Poland. In examining the historical and cultural contexts of both countries when jazz first appeared and gained prominence, the function of jazz as a proponent of the
ideology of freedom becomes clear. Through musical analysis, the development of both American and Polish jazz is broken down into devices and related to specific emotions and values that these musical elements suggest. It is through the introduction, growth, and development of the jazz idiom in each nation that it has become an essential musical genre within each culture and continues to stand for and symbolize freedom today.