The Slide Into Swing
The mid-late 1920s was called the "Swing Era" and was a period when jazz really took off in its development. The reaction it got from both African Americans and Whites was revolutionary.
During the swing era, alcohol was banned from bars and clubs everywhere. This was called The Prohibition, which occurred throughout the period from 1919 until 1933. When Black musicians played in White nightclubs, the bartenders would secretly sell liquor. This made jazz seem wild, rich, and revolutionary.
These events were known as kiekies, where everyone would go to drink and play jazz all night. They became scenes of vice and fun. Called the “Roaring Twenties,” this was the boom time when the economy was doing very well. The center location for Ragtime was in Chicago. When people consumed alcohol secretly in clubs and bars, the risk made it exciting and enticing.
Jazz in the 1920s through the 1930s was something fresh, never before imagined. It defied all laws of ordinary music and seemed almost naughty at times. Jazz contained much improvisation, but once it was composed into fine pieces, jazz made a run for popularity. In the late 1930s to early 1940s, drums were added, which gave jazz that solid thud and steady background rhythm.
In the time of the swing era, big bands became popular and their leaders and soloists became famous. Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington led the way for a surge in African American influential music.
The most important effect the swing era had on jazz was that it made jazz more popular. Radio broadcasts help spread the word of jazz to an even wider audience. As swing and jazz grew in popularity, so did the African American spirit, a spirit that would eventually lead to a movement of civil rights.
During the swing era, alcohol was banned from bars and clubs everywhere. This was called The Prohibition, which occurred throughout the period from 1919 until 1933. When Black musicians played in White nightclubs, the bartenders would secretly sell liquor. This made jazz seem wild, rich, and revolutionary.
These events were known as kiekies, where everyone would go to drink and play jazz all night. They became scenes of vice and fun. Called the “Roaring Twenties,” this was the boom time when the economy was doing very well. The center location for Ragtime was in Chicago. When people consumed alcohol secretly in clubs and bars, the risk made it exciting and enticing.
Jazz in the 1920s through the 1930s was something fresh, never before imagined. It defied all laws of ordinary music and seemed almost naughty at times. Jazz contained much improvisation, but once it was composed into fine pieces, jazz made a run for popularity. In the late 1930s to early 1940s, drums were added, which gave jazz that solid thud and steady background rhythm.
In the time of the swing era, big bands became popular and their leaders and soloists became famous. Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington led the way for a surge in African American influential music.
The most important effect the swing era had on jazz was that it made jazz more popular. Radio broadcasts help spread the word of jazz to an even wider audience. As swing and jazz grew in popularity, so did the African American spirit, a spirit that would eventually lead to a movement of civil rights.