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How did Jack Kerouac become interested in jazz?

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Portrait of Jack Kerouac, American novelist and poet, looking over his shoulder in a collared shirt, circa 1965. — Jack Kerouac American novelist and poet Jack Kerouac, c. 1965.

Jack Kerouac’s interest in jazz began during his time at the Horace Mann School, a preparatory school in New York City. He was introduced to the genre by his acquaintance Seymour Wyse.1

This early exposure to jazz became a profound influence on his later literary work. Kerouac was particularly inspired by bebop artists such as Thelonious Monk and Charlie Parker, whose musical style helped him develop a unique writing technique he termed "spontaneous bop prosody".2