Blog #3 - Racial Discourse During the Swing Era

The transformative social impact and dissemination of popular American culture across Europe, brought about after the first world war, had changed the African-American mindset regarding opportunity, creativity, and acceptance. After black musicians travelled to Paris for the regimental band's recruitment mission, they found that there was no segregation there and that they were more appreciated by the French who equated them to the status of celebrities. This was a sharp contrast to what they were used to back in the United States (Lecture 2/5/15). This experience would serve to later kick in the near future during the Swing Era when the music takes on the ability to “move” on rhythm in a similar way that jazz begins to move big with the emergence of a national market, coupled with the advent of the radio and record players. The Swing Era (1930s) was set on the grim backdrop of The Great Depression which made some people re-evaluate the economics of capitalism (Gioia 448 [ebook]). Interestingly, the Soviet Union was flourishing at this point in time and communism was being discussed by some as a political alternative in the United States. During this time of instability, people sought radical alternatives and new ideas, such as communism, racial equality, and jazz in spite of it being “low-cultured” because of its association with brothels, mobsters, etc. It was in some sense, a form of rebellion of the middle-class, white youth and more and more white musicians started their own jazz bands to benefit off the growing popularity. Indeed, the 1930s not only saw musical battles and competitions in black spaces, but also a “battle of the bands” in mainstream musical media. However, jazz did not become legitimized until after Benny Goodman performed in Carnegie Hall (1938) where the call and response element both figuratively and literally wins out over passive musical appreciation (Lecture 2/12/15). Because of the instability of ideological norms regarding capitalism and the hegemonic roles of white people, and the rise of jazz as a national market, there was an emergence of jazz critics in the late 1920s or early 1930s who became the arbiters of the music and the musicians and critiqued the racial inequalities that came with its production. After all, black musicians such as Duke Ellington watered down the true black elements of New Orleans jazz to cater to the white audience, for which he was strongly critiqued. People wanted to hear music performed by black musicians such as Fletcher Henderson and thus, successful white musicians such as Benny Goodman hired Fletcher to write arrangements for him. One such major critic was John Hammond, who was a white, privileged radical who promoted the black musicians he saw as authentic, ironically mimicking the white patronage of black music which he condemned so harshly in his articles (Gioia 374 [ebook]). Ironically, most of the radicals or progressivists were the most privileged of the people and held high ranks in their society. They were changed by the prevalent jazz movement that had spoke to them on a deeper level for which they were willing to devote their creative and literary efforts on. And of course, this instigated a rippling effect of even further interest in jazz and the inequality of its distribution as a strange yet widespread art force. 

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Commented on Austin’s blog

I really like the certain points you make in your blog regarding the advent of the radio and how it spread a wave of authentically sounding African-American jazz in demand. And also how you mention that the critics wanted to relay the key messages of Swing, which I understand as the movement towards liberty. Great job!

Blog 2 - Chicago or New York?

By 1925, New York eclipsed Chicago in terms of the Arts. New York was the more important city to the growth of jazz because of the larger capitalization and the bigger audience. In 1900, 60,000 blacks lived in New York, and by 1920 that number went up to 150,000, clearly illustrating the great migration or diaspora it attracted to itself. It became the major sanctuary for black musicians, in spite of the fact that they were solely used for the entertainment of a white audience when it came to grand revues. It may have been another form of slavery, but to an emerging modern jazz over arduous, backbreaking labor of Southern slavery. From the smaller African-American dance revues to the bigger and glamorous, gangster-run nightclubs such as The Cotton Club, New York provided Jazz the means to evolve into a more polished and appealing form of art by giving it a larger stage backed with much more money. The Harlem Renaissance of New York was responsible for allowing jazz to go mainstream via Broadway musicals and big night clubs, and was also responsible for making jazz more of a performative art by embellishing it with acting, tap-dancing, dance routines, cabaret, fashion, etc. And not to mention the huge flock of artists who later created artwork inspired by their experiences of these shows (Gioia 390-2 [ebook]). 

A new aesthetic emerged of light brown/mulatto women as erotic, dance performers, sprouted from the hidden desire of white people to learn about the exotic. There was a distinct New York style of jazz which had a lot more edginess and was played with energy and frenetics. There was a split, however, in the styles of New York jazz–one that was in dialogue with the black migrants from the South, represented by James P. Johnson’s music, and another that was in dialogue with the white audiences, such as Fletcher Henderson’s music (Henderson 115). Although there was a side of Harlem where black culture and intellectual life flourished to boost optimism, there was another more depressing side as well, reflected by the harsh economics of the slum-life. The underside of Harlem, however, helped to foster of jazz via rent parties and other underground, all-black revues (Gioia 370-4 [ebook]). The New York Revues in some sense validated the reality of the lives of poor, black people and served as a beacon of hope. 

Duke Ellington and Fletcher Henderson were among the people responsible for the emergence of the big band/jazz orchestra and refining jazz, so that it catered to white people by removing the chaotic elements of the New Orleans style (Gioia 419, 425 [ebook]). James P. Johnson, an incredible jazz musician and composer, along with Willie “The Lion” and Fats Waller created something new from the urban crucible of New York–a ragtime scene before the arrival of Louis Armstrong and other artists (Gioia 388-9 [ebook]). As is apparent, there is no single musician who can adequately represent the culture and music of New York because of the many styles and splits. However, it is clear that all the big musicians travelled to New York to capitalize and express their art and culture to a much bigger audience, which makes it more important than Chicago in the development of jazz.


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Commented on Hawken Ritter's Blog (it didn't publish after I submitted my comment, so it's below)

I really like your thesis statement in which you state that the racial tensions between black musicians and white patrons contributed to a new and developing relationship that was essential in the progression of the jazz. It’s a good thesis because it points out the silver lining of the grim situation and you do well to support it throughout your blog by providing solid examples like the Broadway musicals/Revues, improved economic incentives, and mainstream opportunity. Great job!