As a specific stylistic term, Jazz Blues can refer either to a) a blues artist who employs more advanced harmonies and/or rhythms which break out of traditional, straightforward blues patterns; or b) to a jazz artist who keeps his harmonies and/or rhythms relatively simple, making the music more visceral and emotional than intellectual or sophisticated.

As a specific stylistic term, Jazz Blues can refer either to a) a blues artist who employs more advanced harmonies and/or rhythms which break out of traditional, straightforward blues patterns; or b) to a jazz artist who keeps his harmonies and/or rhythms relatively simple, making the music more visceral and emotional than intellectual or sophisticated. The results might sound more like one side of the equation with a touch of the other mixed in, or even approach R&B. Blues and jazz were rooted in the same African-American musical traditions in the first place, and they have always intersected enough that an absolute dividing line has never been a reasonable (or, to many listeners and musicians, desirable) proposition.