I'm not clear on what makes "Jazz" Jazz.

[Joel Hooks]

https://archive.org/details/jazz-a-la-carte-fox-trot-m.-r.-chittenden

[Trapdoor2]

Undefined in 1918 and remains so. Like Pron, "I know it when I see it." ;-)

The title phrase has been used in the genre quite a bit. Tunes, albums, compilations, etc.

[Trapdoor2]

Neat little tune, Joel. It appears to follow the 'early jazz' formula...tamer than the Original Dixieland Jass Band, of course.

The mp3 has a little bit of swing to it and is at 160bpm. It should be swung harder, but Musescore starts to get weird above about 70% swing. Hard for machines to swing at all. The pdf is Tab for the piece.

[Byron Thomas]

After going over the chords in the first section and the rhythms, I can feel the idea. As Trapdoor2 said, it swings similar to the earlier recorded jazz pieces. Especially measures 17 - 20. The dotted eighth notes followed by the sixteenth notes into the quarter note and quarter rest. I've heard something in recent time that uses that same rhythm to sound jazzy. The composer's music lends itself more to Jazz. The line "What's the use in feeling blue" fits the measure of which I speak. I will say that the slide on the bass string mimics the trombone very well. That slide would work great as a 2nd banjo accompaniment. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRQu8sCjmic&list=RDQRQu8sCjmic&...

[Joel Hooks]

Here is another by the same composer with a more typical style title:
https://archive.org/details/coontown-jazz-a-sloe-gin-schuffle-milto...

[Trapdoor2]

Another decent tune from Mr. Chittenden...though I feel the A part is the only thing holding it up. The TRIO needs some "jazzing up" of some sort. Here's Tab and mp3. Obviously, I've changed the title to "Moontown Jazz".

[Joel Hooks]

I'm finding this publisher, and his on aging/off again partner to be generally decent pieces.  

[Ethan Schwartz]

Here's another. While I don't have a good answer for what is and isn't jazz as of 2026 (does anybody?), jazz or blues (e.g., Grimshaw's "Banjo Blues" and several pieces by Weidt) in the classic banjo context seems to me to refer to a kind of post-ragtime style that features more chromatic/extended harmony.