Blog #3, 1930's-- The Disruptive Depression in Full Swing

From the early times of ragtime to its evolution seen in New Orleans to jazz, this musical style always held a certain tagline to it—a tagline associated with African America roots. Going back to examples such as the Congo Square reinforces the notion that it was not just a certain pattern of notes correlating a race but a representation of heritage and struggle of a people. Over time these traditions diffused into the white community, with transitions including Baptist Church songs to the style of Stride to bebop.

As we have seen over time, jazz transitioned in culture not just musically but geographically. From the late nineteenth century to the early 1930's, jazz migrated from New Orleans to Chicago, New York, and even Paris, spreading its influence across the world as "European participation in the jazz world was no longer merely as a passive, if receptive, audience…European jazz musicians had made enormous strides by the mid-1930s" (Gioia, 159). Through this migration, major influences in jazz transferred to a conspicuous blending of white and black ideologies.

Simultaneously through this process, the United States faced the Great Depression. This drastic economic crash created an instant free-for-all in regards to survival and competition in the music industry. With these new conditions subtly nullifying any former indication of segregation (in the music industry), the swing era of the 1930's established an “equal” playing field between whites and blacks who battled for respectability for high class in the low-culture music seen in jazz. “Equal” since, as Gioia stated, "it is important to acknowledge the advantages enjoyed by Goodman and other white jazz artists during the era. Unlike the black bandleaders, they were more readily accepted by mainstream America…" (Gioia, 133). This difference in success is seen with people like Benny Goodman and Chick Webb, who did not have to make sacrifices for fame compared to others who lived in a different light such as Duke Ellington, who needed Irving Mills to keep a white face on his publicity.

            From an anecdotal perspective, this acknowledgement can be easily viewed in the case of Charlie Black (ironically), who as a high school student went to view Louis Armstrong perform at ***Texas University—in the South. It is clear from the article, Black did not acknowledge blacks as equals until he was directly facing a true “genius” in the art of jazz. As traveling bands distributed themselves across America and into the South, Black epitomizes the perspective of many against black musicians in a market that whites now permeated themselves into.

            Between the advent of radio, broadcasting, and recording companies up to this point, it took time to transition to the corporate capitalistic system the music industry is seen as today. Because of the slow gap to proper record-keeping, the proper credit for new techniques, musical patterns, and theories is often contested when discussing this time period for jazz, as "the relationship between black American artists and white audiences and white patrons is surely more complex than most people think...it is always difficult to tell who is copying whom."

            With all of these new factors contributing to the now open conflicts between whites and blacks, while it is impossible to justify the means by which some responded the hinted integration the jazz industry proposed, one cannot deny that the characteristics surrounding the swing era was a disruptive movement that catalyzed the clash of race for the society of the time.

Commented on Morgan's blog. Found at http://blst14morganbrubaker.blogspot.com/

Blog #2, Big Apple Trumps Windy City

The Roaring Twenties transitioned the heart of jazz from Chicago to New York City just as the post-bellum movement from New Orleans to Chicago. I argue that from the early 1920’s to the end of the decade, New York City was the new geographical foundation of jazz in the United States.

Economically speaking, both Chicago and New York City offered relentless economic gain from the industry if you were capable of standing out. However, quickly after the transition to Chicago, there was nothing unique in the area that New York could not match or even overtake.  While Chicago musicians could “earn $40 per week or more during the years following World War I…” (Gioia, 72), New York had similar, if not more profitable establishments such as the Cotton Club. On top of this, it was impossible to compare the theater lifestyle formed in Broadway to anywhere else, which through shows like “Hot Chocolates” gave jazz an outpouring of mainstream audience to an elite upper class, spreading its recognition.

In terms of style, many claim that Chicagoans were largely impersonations of the New Orleans style, and that the “most significant thing about ‘Chicago style’ as exemplified in ‘Nobody’s Sweetheart’ is that it was not a style at all” (The Chicagoans, 162). The only consistent reference to unique tunes is Bix Beiderbecke; ironically though, Beiderbecke spent most of his time performing in New York City. The other common counterargument to this would be Louis Armstrong’s Chicago growth. While it’s difficult to argue against his musical growth taking place at the heart of Chicago, multiple attractions kept bringing him back to New York in order to spread it more effectively, including Fletcher Henderson’s band and the ”Hot Chocolates” pit band (he even resided there permanently later on).

New York, on the other hand, brought out numerous players indisputable in their exclusive contributions to jazz in this time— James P. Johnson, Willie “The Lion” Smith, Art Tatum, Duke Ellington, and of course “Fats” Waller, to name a few. Even for those who claimed both areas had their own style, it can be reasoned that, similar to the economic case, musically Chicago was no match for New York. As James P. Johnson said, “the people in New York were used to hearing good piano played in concerts and cafes. The ragtime player had to live up to that standard” (Gioia, 92). The European roots in New York propelled the jazz music to a greater technical level, further propelling its appreciation by mainstream audiences. It is clear jazz cultivates under a large melting pot of talent—few names are mentioned for Chicago; for New York, the list could keep on going.

Regardless of that argument, the man who I believe stood at the soul of New York jazz could be argued to be “Fats” Waller. Waller drove jazz’s mainstream fame through his Broadway performances of the stride style, and “did more than any of these players to bring the Harlem style to the attention of the broader American public” (Gioia, 94). He compiled historic songs epitomizing the New York style, including “Honeysuckle Rose” and “Aint Misbehavin.” He mastered the call-and-response African technique arguably better than anyone of the time.

While Chicago was a vital step in the transition from New Orleans to Chicago, jazz’s coronation into the worldly stage was seen in the core of Manhattan. Both areas formed the necessary cosmopolitan, dynamic culture required for the seedling of jazz to grow its roots, but it is a stretch to claim that Chicago had a larger effect than New York.

Commented on Addison's post.