The Era of Jazz continued to expand as America stepped into the the 1920s. With the first World War in the rearview mirror, the new decade offered a positive outlook for the country. This age of flappers and speakeasies was accompanied by the evolution of jazz and its creators as a commonplace among the American people. As briefly mentioned in my last post, the genre of jazz music, especially in the 1920s, is most notably associated with a certain illustrious artist: Louis Armstrong. As previously mentioned, Armstrong had a major impact on the contemporary style of jazz that emerged during this time.
In the 1920s, Louis Armstrong and his trumpet began to expand his horizons and played with a variety of musical groups. One precedent set by Armstrong was the introduction of the instrumental solo, which ultimately revolutionized the genre of jazz music as a whole. As pbs.org states, “Prior to his arrival, jazz music was played either in highly orchestrated arrangements or in a more loosely structured “Dixieland”-type ensemble
in which no one musician soloed for any extended period.” Armstrong’s popularity began to flourish as he became highly sought after by musicians in the Chicago and New York areas. Because of this, many other artists began to model their style off of his. Two of the most well-known groups that Armstrong was a part of during this time period was “The Hot Five” and “The Hot Seven,” which both included Kid Ory as mentioned in the last post.
A second extremely talented, and personal favorite artist of mine who’s career sparked during this period was Duke Ellington. Ellington was born on April 29, 1899 and was raised by by two musically inclined parents in Washington D.C. As a skilled piano player, Duke began to perform in Broadway night clubs as a bandleader. Ellington’s style was categorized as “jungle style” as the differing and exotic sounds of his 10-
piece ensemble were very unique. By 1927, Ellington and his group had a modest fan base and achieved a gig at Harlem’s famous “Cotton Club.” According to PBS, “This proved to be a major turning point in Ellington’s career, providing him with access to larger audiences through radio and recordings.”
The 1920s proved that music was beginning to become a major part of everyday life. Stars such as Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington would come to be household names and extend their legacies into the mid and later portions of the century. Personally, listening to jazz is almost a guilty pleasure of mine. As most of my friends listen to rap (which I listen to a lot as well), they rarely tend to extend their horizons and listen to what other genres have to offer. After taking History of Jazz in high school, which I mentioned in my last post, I acquired a taste for jazz. I actually have two playlists dedicated to jazz music on my Spotify (appropriately titled Gatsby). To end my post for this week, my favorite song from the 1920s is titled “Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue” by Gene Austin from 1925.
Works Cited
“Duke Ellington.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 31 Mar. 2020, www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/duke-ellington-about-duke-ellington/586/.
“Louis Armstrong |Louis Armstrong Biography.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 25 June 2020, www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/louis-armstrong-about-louis-armstrong/528/.
The Roaring 20s really was a break from routine for america. The newly generated rebellious, innovative, and freegoing public proved the mutual relationship between musical culture and social culture. Furthermore, this decade goes to show that it takes one trendsetter to create an entire movement. When no one else had broken away from the traditions of music, Louis Armstrong displayed a bold new style. Although musical style is not always as radically changed as in this moment, the style of music is constantly evolving, seemingly according to society’s attitude. the twenties, for example, was a time of economic prosperity until the Great Depression in 1929, so creativity and enthusiasm was peaking – as it was in music. All together, music is an entire realm entwined in history, and could definitely be studied just like any other social, political, and economic historical evolution in this way. I loved this read!
In terms of fashion and music I really like the 1920s. It was a time that highly Influenced the rest of the 90s and even up to today. I’ve heard many people talk about how they hoped the 2020s would be like the 1920s but with all thats going on i Don’t think people have those Same dreams anymore. Even though this genre (electro swing) Doesn’t really have anything to do with the 1920s Specifically, (it is a mix of jazz and other genres) I really like to listen to electro swing.