Jazz Age facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Part of the Roaring Twenties |
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King & Carter Jazzing Orchestra in 1921, Houston, Texas
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| Date | 1920s–1930s |
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| Location | United States |
| Participants | Jazz musicians and fans |
| Outcome | Increased popularity of jazz music in the United States |
The Jazz Age was a special time in the 1920s and early 1930s. During this period, jazz music and dance became super popular across the United States. Jazz started in New Orleans, mostly from the culture of African Americans. It played a huge part in changing how people lived and had fun.
The Jazz Age is often talked about with the Roaring Twenties. In the U.S., it also happened at the same time as the Prohibition Era. This was when alcohol was illegal. A big reason jazz spread so fast was because radios became common in homes everywhere. The Jazz Age was also closely linked to the new youth culture that was growing. This exciting movement even helped start jazz in Europe.
Contents
The Start of the Jazz Age
People were already using the phrase jazz age before 1920. In 1922, an American writer named F. Scott Fitzgerald made the term even more famous. He did this by publishing his collection of short stories called Tales of the Jazz Age.
How Jazz Music Grew
Jazz music really took off in the 1920s.
Early Jazz Sounds
From 1919, Kid Ory's Original Creole Jazz Band played in California. In 1922, they became the first Black jazz band from New Orleans to make recordings. That same year, Bessie Smith, a very famous blues singer, made her first recording. Meanwhile, Chicago became a main center for a new style called "Hot Jazz".
Louis Armstrong's Influence
In 1924, Louis Armstrong joined the Fletcher Henderson dance band. He was a featured soloist, meaning he played special parts on his own. Armstrong was amazing at the New Orleans style. But he also helped create a new way of playing jazz. This new style focused more on planned music and solo players.
Armstrong's solos were very important. They helped make jazz a truly modern music style. After leaving Henderson's band, Armstrong started his own group called the Hot Five. In this band, he made scat singing popular. This is a type of singing where you use sounds instead of words.
Big Bands and New Styles
Jelly Roll Morton recorded with the New Orleans Rhythm Kings. This was an early time when Black and white musicians worked together. Later, in 1926, he formed his Red Hot Peppers.
There was also a big demand for jazzy dance music played by white orchestras. Bands like Paul Whiteman's orchestra were very popular. In 1924, Whiteman asked George Gershwin to write Rhapsody in Blue. Whiteman's Orchestra played it first. Many people felt this song captured the spirit of the Jazz Age.
By the mid-1920s, Paul Whiteman was the most popular bandleader in the U.S. Other important big bands included Fletcher Henderson's band and Duke Ellington's band. Ellington's band played at the famous Cotton Club in New York starting in 1927. These bands greatly influenced the development of swing jazz. By 1930, the old New Orleans jazz style was less common. Jazz had become a worldwide music.
Many musicians learned to play from family members. Some, like Pops Foster, even learned on instruments they made themselves.
Swing Music Takes Over
The 1930s were all about popular swing big bands. In these bands, some solo players became as famous as the band leaders. Important leaders included Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, and Glenn Miller. Swing music had a big group sound. But it also gave individual musicians a chance to play their own solos. These solos could be very complex and important music.
Over time, rules about racial segregation in America started to change. White bandleaders began to hire Black musicians. Black bandleaders also hired white musicians. For example, in the mid-1930s, Benny Goodman hired Black musicians like pianist Teddy Wilson and vibraphonist Lionel Hampton.
How Radio Helped Jazz Spread
Radio broadcasts helped jazz spread quickly across the country in the 1930s. Radio was like a "sound factory." It allowed millions of people to hear music for free. This was especially true for people who couldn't go to expensive clubs in big cities.
These radio shows came from clubs in major cities like New York and Chicago. There were two main types of live music on the radio. One was "potter palm," which was concert music played by amateur musicians. The other was big band dance music. This was played by professionals from nightclubs and dance halls.
At first, jazz artists like Louis Armstrong didn't get much radio time. Most stations preferred to play music by white American jazz singers. However, in cities like Chicago and New York, Black jazz music was played more often. Big-band jazz, like that of James Reese Europe and Fletcher Henderson, attracted many radio listeners.
Jazz and Society
Jazz music had a big impact on young people and women in the 1920s.
Youth Culture and Jazz
Young people in the 1920s used jazz to push back against older traditions. This youth rebellion included new fashions like flapper dresses. It also meant women smoking cigarettes in public and listening to radio concerts. Dances like the Charleston, which came from African Americans, suddenly became very popular with young people.
Women's New Role
The 1920s was a time of big change for women. Women had just won the right to vote with the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920. The "flapper" style showed a new, free-spirited woman. Women started to have a bigger role in society and culture. After World War I, more women worked outside the home. This opened up many new social and entertainment options for them. Ideas about equality were very popular.
The 1920s saw many famous women musicians. Bessie Smith was one of them. She was not only a great singer but also an African-American woman. She became one of the most respected singers of all time. She inspired later artists like Billie Holiday.
Lovie Austin was a bandleader and piano player in Chicago during the 1920s. She and Lil Hardin Armstrong are often called two of the best female jazz piano players of that time. Lil Hardin Armstrong played piano in Louis Armstrong's famous Hot Five band.
Later, in the 1930s and 1940s, more women jazz singers became famous. Ella Fitzgerald became one of the most popular female jazz singers for over 50 years. She worked with all the jazz greats, like Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman. These women worked hard to make their names known in music. They helped open the door for many more women artists.
Jazz and White American Culture
Jazz music was created by African Americans. But it changed to become more accepted by middle-class white Americans. Some people who didn't like jazz thought it was music made by people without training. White performers helped make jazz music popular across America. Even though jazz was adopted by the white middle class, it helped mix African American traditions with white society.
Jazz in Europe
Only a few American jazz records were released in Europe at first. So, European jazz got many of its ideas from American artists who visited Europe. These included James Reese Europe and Paul Whiteman. Their live shows made Europeans very interested in jazz. They were also interested in all things American, which seemed exciting during Europe's tough economic times. A unique European jazz style started to appear during this period between the World Wars.
British jazz began when the Original Dixieland Jazz Band toured in 1919. In 1926, Fred Elizalde and His Cambridge Undergraduates started playing on the BBC radio. After that, jazz became a key part of many leading dance orchestras. Many jazz musicians became famous.
A distinct European jazz style fully emerged in France with the Quintette du Hot Club de France. This group started in 1934. Much of this French jazz mixed African-American jazz with the classical music styles that French musicians knew well. Belgian guitarist Django Reinhardt made gypsy jazz popular. This was a mix of 1930s American swing, French dance hall music, and Eastern European folk music.
Jazz and Classical Music
As jazz grew, some American elites preferred classical music. They hoped jazz would not become too popular. However, jazz did influence some classical composers, like George Gershwin.
