Blog 3

Jazz has its roots deeply rooted in African American culture that perpetuated throughout New Orleans in the late 1800s and early 1900s. As with any art form, an evolution of jazz occurred as it gained popularity and spread out of the condensed neighborhoods of Storyville and into the big cities in the North. With this progression of jazz music, jazz began to take on many different forms ranging from blues, ragtime, to the prominent swing era of the 1930s. One aspect of jazz that never changed though was its deep correlation to racial tensions. Yet, it wasn’t until the 1930s that the topic of race was explicitly discussed.

Prior to the 1920s, jazz was primarily performed in nightclubs and speakeasies. However, a technological invention was created during the ‘20s that would change the face of the music industry, the radio. Although the radio was important in the spread of the sound of jazz into American homes, the “change was hardly a positive one for most jazz players.” (Gioia, 127) No longer was there a need for many musicians as “a single bad could now entertain countless listeners through the magic of radio.” (Gioia, 127) With an economic downfall for many musicians perpetuated by not only the radio but the depression, big bands no longer were a luxury but became the norm. This push toward large bands was a major aspect of swing music.

With the radio came a soaring popularity for jazz music, primarily swing, which “characterized the popular culture of the 1930’s.” One aspect that made the radio unique was that the “airways were not strictly segregated.” (Shomer) If was not possible to distinguish between a black and white musician. Yet, many radio programmers used racial stereotypes of the day to market jazz to a wider audience, “labeling jazz as jungle music to suggest a kind of mysterious, erotic aspect.” (Shomer) Additionally, many of the radio stations were controlled by white men so many African American musicians suffered. Even black station owners office faced much adversity “to establish and maintain stations in a less than welcoming white nation.” (Shomer)

            Segregation was not a place for jazz music however as many of the best jazz musicians were black. This was evident in the efforts of the proclaimed king of swing, Benny Goodman. Goodman saw music outside of racial divide and appreciated a musician for the music they were able to produce. This led him to add members to his band such as Charlie Christian and Fletcher Henderson. The move to integrate an interracial band was a big step for Goodman. This move was met with mixed opinions at the time as some were quoted “the Negro has exceptional musical ability but unfortunately for him, there are social overtones involved which, although he is not to blame, still work against him.” Although music was supposed to contain no racial barriers, the underlying prejudice in American culture perpetuated the divide. Only did the integration of black and white bands and there increased popularity did the racial divide begin to subside, even if it was minimal.

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