Ska is a genre of music that came from Jamaica around the 1950s. The style was created when people living in the Caribbean attempted to recreate the R&B from New Orleans that they heard over the radio. The heavy beat which emphasizes the upbeats defines this style, and also defines styles that followed such as rocksteady and Reggae. The history of Ska can be divided into 3 waves: The first being the original creators, the second wave when the music reached Britian and gained a more Punk flavor, and the 3rd wave where Ska expanded even more.
Ska-Jazz is a variation on this. It's takes the strong beat of Ska and combines it with the melodic themes of Jazz. Something a Ska-Jazz band would do is play a John Coltrane melody with the ska beat. This subgenre came from the 3rd wave of Ska, but lacks the punk flavoring most Ska of the wave had. Also (according to my saxophone teacher) Ska bands have the best names, such as the Squirrel Nut Zippers and Reel Big Fish.
Freddie Reiter is a musician who plays this kind of music with his band the New York Ska-Jazz Ensemble, and previously, The Toasters. Many difficulties come from creating a band that combines musical styles. His band comes more from an origin of Jazz than for Ska, so it's difficult to keep a modern jazz flavor with a classic Ska theme as to not turn away people who like Ska in it's basic form. The balance of keeping all fans happy is very delicate.
Here's an interesting interview on Freddie Reiter if you guys are curious.
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