To recap, I last discussed the importance of Classical Music as a precursor to the Modern Era of music. Jumping forward about a century, the first decade-specific post I will cover is the 1910s. In and time associated with the Great War or World War I, music of the period was most likely enjoyed as an escape from the harsh reality of the world revolving around listeners. Although I personally am not too well versed in my 1910s music history, I did in fact take an elective my sophomore year of high school titled “History of Jazz,” so I’ll do my absolute best to recall what I can from that class!
1918 Image of Kid Ory (left) and Louis Armstrong (right)
One of the most prominent names that comes to mind when discussing jazz is Louis Armstrong, but how did he come to be one of jazz’s giants? In 1913, Louis Armstrong began to learn to play the cornet after he was sent to live in a juvenile delinquency center. In 1918, bandleader Kid Ory gave Armstrong his first major opportunity when Ory’s star cornet player, left the band. Little did Ory know, he would spark the fuse that would ultimately change the history of jazz forever. I will touch more on Armstrong in later posts.
In order to understand the roots of jazz, it is important to know the two sub-genres that compose it: ragtime and the blues. Ragtime music consisted of an upbeat tempo, typically
Portrait of Scott Joplin
featuring a piano. One of the most well-known composers of this time period was Scott Joplin, an African-American composer who was termed the “King of Ragtime,” having famous songs such as “The Entertainer” and “The Maple Leaf Rag.” On the other hand, the Blues was another genre which was popular among the African-American community in the early 20th century. However, unlike ragtime, the blues were slower and more lyrical in essence. The blues, as one usually associates the color blue with, could be described as melancholy or emotional. Popular instruments associated with this genre consisted of the guitar and harmonica.
Although the history of jazz consists of much more (an entire semester’s worth of information!), I think it’s important to understand how and when jazz started to come to fruition. It is a common theme for genres to emerge from preexisting genres as clearly seen with jazz. This will not be the only post regarding jazz, as it dominated throughout the early to mid 20th century, evolving greatly between the decades. Finally, my favorite song from the 1910s has to be the live performance of “Swanee” sung by Al Jolson from Rhapsody in Blue, a musical from 1919 by George Gershwin. This song was introduced to me in the class I took before History of Jazz, History of Broadway! Also to note, I never chose either of these classes in high school, I was simply placed in them because of open spots in my schedule. However, I live by “everything happens for a reason” and I thoroughly enjoyed my time in both classes because I was able to learn something new in two areas of music that I had never really been interested in before.
This reminds me of APUSH when we learned about the Harlem Renaissance. The flourishing of African culture in this jazz age was a huge part of collecting the black community together in cultural pride – something they were denied during this time period. In another class, we were discussing how being literate, understanding science, and flourishing in art was a historically crucial step in being accepted as a human, rather than a property. Together, we can deduce that music has brought a sense of equality and understanding among cultures in times of arbitrary prejudice and injustice. Awesome post!
So if jazz was the combination of The blues and ragtime music, how exactly did they mix? What parts of each genre were used in the creation of this new genre? Its interesting to think about that there could be an entirely new genre of music that Utilizes the other or different parts of Ragtime and the blues! who knows it may have already been invented! I really enjoyed learning about the history of jazz and i can’t wait for more!
The history of jazz has always amazed me. Learning about the soul and lifestyle of musicians back in the day always piqued my interest. I remember growing up and going over my grandmother’s house she would have Louis Armstrong’s records on repeat. I felt as if I grew up listening to jazz. So reading your post and learning about the history of someone who I admire was very touching.