The Influence Of Jazz Music In The 1920's

The 1920s were an age of culture, excitement, and great music. Many artists moved to different cities pursuing careers and creating life in a time of war and prohibition. The history of jazz dates back to the 1800s in African American slave culture and continues to grow and change to this current day and age. Jazz music not only created a major shift in the music industry, but it also had a major effect on culture as well.

The history of jazz music is very rich. In the early 1900s, New Orleans was one of the centers of music in America. The mix of genres could be heard and seen throughout the entire city of New Orleans. With a melting pot filled with opera, military marching bands, church music, blues, folk music, traditional African drumming,

and a mixture of dancing, jazz music was born (Peretti). However, the term “jazz” was not recognized much before the 1920’s and these musicians called this music ragtime (Scaruffi).
With the party and celebrating nature in New Orleans, music was always in demand. In 1898, when the US defeated Spain and the troops came home, they brought with them an array of brass instruments that were sold on the black market for a cheap profit. After a few years, brass bands were popping up all over New Orleans adopting an untraditional style and embracing syncopation, polyrhythms, and improvisation (Scaruffi).
In cities around the world, ethnicity was not widely embraced.

In New Orleans however, ethnicity was welcomed in every way. Although jazz music is known to be an Africa American tradition, diversity brought different musical styles and dance styles, which appealed to the natives due to their partying nature. In the late teens, jazz musicians began to move to Chicago to pursue the musical opportunities that were exploding during this era. Prohibition and speakeasy’s offered musicians job opportunities in small cabarets, dance halls, and ballrooms (Tyle). This is the time where some of the greatest jazz artists of all time were

recognized.
Jazz music in the 1920’s began to heavily impact the culture in America. This music started becoming an outlet on the dance floor. With its rowdy beat and uplifting nature, parents began prohibiting their children to listen to jazz and participate in the movement calling it “the devil’s music” (PBS.org).
As previously stated, the 1920’s were a foreground for change in culture.

Although it had originated in black culture, this is the time where the influence spread to all races and ethnicities. Jazz music began changing the way people were acting. The most shocking metamorphosis of culture was the nature of the women. In the 1920’s, women were expected to emulate class and grace, which quickly began to change. Flappers became popular in this time. A flapper is a woman who dresses and behaves boldly in an unconventional manner. These women smoked, drank, partied, danced, and behaved in scandalous ways. (Spivack). This really became embraced by the culture, but also angered the conventional traditionalists. Jazz dance also became popular due to its liveliness in nature and was often looked down upon by tradition as

well.
Many instruments in the jazz age began to change and adapt to the style that the music demanded. The main instruments used during this time were the trumpet, saxophone, piano, trombone, clarinet, banjo, double bass, drums, and cornet. The trumpets at this time used valves instead of crooks, which made it easier to control and much louder in nature. The trombone was new to the jazz movement considering it was used exclusively in classical music until 1910. Around this era, musicians established an “over the shoulder technique” which brought more life and passion to the instrument. The trombone also had bigger mouthpieces and was larger in size. The clarinet changed to a two-hole instrument from its previous eight holes and pads were invented to cover the holes to change the sound. The banjo was a new instrument to the jazz craze. It was originally used in the 1800s by minstrels and was then used in the 1920s and 1930s in jazz, country, bluegrass and folk music. There were three different types; 4-stringed, 5-stringed, and 6-stringed. This instrument was typically used as a backup instrument in jazz bands (“Progression of Jazz Instruments”)
To say that many legends came out of 1920s jazz movement would be an understatement. Many in particular are still recognized and praised to this day; the first being The Austin High Gang. The Austin High Gang was a group of high school students who were obsessed with the idea of jazz music. They loved everything about it. It all began when they were sitting outside their favorite ice cream parlor listening to music. They stumbled upon The New Orleans Rhythm Kings on the radio and from then on, they were hooked. They spent five hours listening to the music and enveloping the culture and rhythm (riverwalkjazz.stanford.edu). After this day, they knew they had to be a part of the jazz movement. The young boys couldn’t read or write music, however they borrowed instruments and spent every day perfecting them and learning how to play like the legends. They even stood outside of clubs and listened to their favorite groups play since they were under twenty-one and weren’t permitted to enter. Although they never recorded together, the boys known as the McPartland Brothers, Bud Freeman, Jim Lannigan and Frank Teschemacher became the most influential musicians of Chicago jazz music of the 1920s (riverwalkjazz.stanford.edu).
Another jazz legend goes by the name of Bix Beiderbecke. Beiderbecke grew up being a child prodigy picking out tunes on the piano at age 3 and teaching himself to play the cornet (Lion). He lived in a strict, traditional home with his mother and father who held him back from his true nature. Beiderbecke craved the freedom and excitement that jazz offered, but when his parents got wind of his newest endeavors, they shipped him off to military school (Lion). However, this did not stop him from his dreams. He got expelled from military school and became a full-time musician. His hard work paid off and he ended up moving from group to group becoming the star cornetist of The Wolverines. Through this experience, he learned different techniques from different styles of music, which improved his skills greatly. Unfortunately, Beiderbecke was a raging alcoholic, which deteriorated his health and caused him inability to perform. His demons eventually killed him when he was found dead by his rental agent in his apartment at age 28. He died from lobar pneumonia, which many historians attribute to the decline of his mental and physical health from alcoholism (Lion). Although his death was a tragedy, Biederbecke’s skills and love of music influenced the way jazz music was played. He developed a beautiful unorthodox style some describe as being a bell like tone and he achieved intensity through his unorthodox fingering of his instruments, which always lead to unique sounds (PBS.org). Legend Louis Armstrong, who was his greatest competitor, recognized Beiderbecke as what he described being “his kindred spirit” (PBS.org).