jazz in the 20s
Ever since the beginnings of jazz in America at the turn of the twentieth century jazz was a music form that northerners were not exposed to because slavery, for the most part, took place in the south. And that is where jazz in America came from, the slaves. The focal point for jazz in the states became and remained New Orleans for the first part of the 1900s. This remained unchanged for about 20 years. But because Chicago was such a big stop for most of the traveling shows that originated in New Orleans the music started to move at a rapid pace. And Marshall Stearns specifically stated "the hypothetical peak of jazz intensity shifted from New Orleans to Chicago sometime before 1920"(Ostransky 63). And as I will discuss later, through a phenomenon known as the Harlem Renaissance, New York became another hub for the jazz culture. Because Chicago was an important center for railroad and shipping it attracted many transients and travelers (Ostransky 63). Many of these people were musicians, particularly piano players. As these people arrived in Chicago they realized that a hint of ragtime was there already. As a matter of fact it may have been introduced there as early as 1893 at The World's Fair (Ostransky, 67). At there f
The wages were low and the economics bad and a study showed that by 1927 48% of Harlem renters spent more than twice as much of their income on rent compared to similar city dwellers (Gioia, 96). it was re!al excitement there" (Ostransky, 75). Joe was a former New Orleans guy who was hired to do a show in Chicago. You hear about a lot of individuals but it could probably be said that the people that they were playing with helped them out. You would seldom see a black band playing downtown except for the most popular ones. The city was also a frequent stop of groups playing for the TOBA circuit (Theater Owners Booking Association). In the richer culture of Harlem people listened to it for enjoyment, but in the lower class of Harlem it was almost a joining force between the people. And if you were just that good, it didn't matter if you were black or white you could play where you wanted and you were almost assured to be wanted somewhere. With New York's social structure having very much to do with financial status where a band could and couldn't play simply depended on how good they were. Another version of the story says that Tom Brown's Band from Dixieland was brought to Chicago to replace a band there at the time called "Bill Johnson's Original Creole Orchestra. It was considered a great opportunity to go to Chicago if you were offered employment as a group. So in the twenties it seems to me that emphasis in jazz in Chicago was eventually put on the group. Johnson states: "The other sections of the country never developed the piano like the New York boys did. a whole lot of musicianers started leaving New Orleans for up North, mostly for Chicago.
Common topics in this essay:
James Johnson,
Harlem Harlem,
Lion Smith,
Black Migration,
,
Harlem Renaissance,
Renaissance York,
Plantation York's,
North Chicago,
York City,
orleans chicago,
late 20s,
johnson's original creole,
frequent stop,
bill johnson's,
johnson's original,
band playing,
harlem renaissance,
ostransky 67,
bill johnson's original,
chicago center,
band dixieland,
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Acceptance Essays
