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Kréyol djaz (Creole jazz) is a modern Caribbean jazz movement rooted in the French Antilles that blends the rhythmic DNA of Guadeloupe and Martinique with contemporary jazz language. It fuses gwo ka and bèlè drum traditions, the buoyant swing of biguine and mazurka, and post-bop/modal harmony, often carried by piano- or sax-led ensembles. The result is music that grooves with unmistakably Antillean cadences while embracing the improvisational freedom and harmonic richness of jazz. Performances alternate between lyrical, song-form pieces sung in Creole and instrumental vehicles with head–solos–head structures, all propelled by hybrid drum-set/ka-percussion patterns and supple bass lines.

Cadence rampa (often shortened to “kadans”) is a dance-oriented form of modern méringue from Haiti. Popularized by saxophonist Webert Sicot in the early 1960s, it shares the same modern méringue foundation as compas (konpa), but emphasizes a driving "rampa" groove, horn-led riffs, and Cuban-style piano and percussion patterns. The style sits in 4/4 with a steady, danceable bass “tumbao,” cowbell/hi‑hat timeline, and interlocking guitar/piano montunos. Harmonies are typically diatonic with bright major keys and jazzy extensions, while arrangements spotlight catchy horn hooks and call‑and‑response vocals in Haitian Creole. Cadence rampa spread quickly through the Francophone Caribbean, where “kadans” became a generic term for this Haitian modern méringue and a springboard for later Antillean dance styles.