Race and Swing in the 1930s

Without a doubt, jazz music until the 1920s was an almost entirely Black movement. Jazz music was looked down upon by most white Americans throughout this period, and the genre was even criticized by some black intellectuals involved in the Harlem Renaissance. Something changed, however, in the 30s in which whites in the US became enthralled with the emerging style of swing. Suddenly, swing became acceptable in the mainstream, and those credited with it's creation (talented black jazz musicians) actually found it more difficult to find success.
The Great Depression was in full effect in the 30s; disposable income was lower than ever, record sales were down, and artists needed to find new ways to distribute their music. This led to a certain "economic game" in which other musicians needed to actively find ways to profit off their music as well as prevent other musicians from profiting. This differed from the previous decades which more emphasized the "creative game" (Professor Stewart, "Swing Changes" lecture). The radio presented this opportunity to distribute music, as millions of American households now owned at least one. Professor Stewart mentioned that the radio presented a way for blacks to reach larger audiences because listeners could not "hear color" through the radio, preventing listeners from having a bias before actually judging the music(Swing Changes lecture). One master of this economic game was Duke Ellington. Duke was able to overcome the difficulties for black Jazz musicians in ways that even the greats like Fletcher Henderson and Louis Armstrong were not. Ellington hired Irving Mills, a Jewish agent that helped him book gigs, get radio appearances and raise his profile. Mills advised Ellington on what would sell and in turn got a part of the profits. Ellington was extremely successful and was an inspiration to many black Americans. His success did not come without criticism however. John Hammond, a wealthy white music critic, attacked Ellington for selling out to the white audience and "his lack of sensitivity to the troubles of his people," a notion at which Ellington found "laughable"("Swing Changes" lecture). Ellington insulted Hammond for attempting to declare that he understood what the African American struggle was like in urban America, considering Hammond had never struggled financially in his life.
One of the more popular White musicians at the time, Benny Goodman, actually helped to break down racial barriers in the genre. His performance in 1938 at Carnegie Hall was groundbreaking in two ways. It not only showed that Jazz could survive as an acceptable and "high class" form of music, but also defied segregation by his inclusion of 3 black members in his band. Goodman also battled one of Harlem's premier swing musicians, Chick Webb, at the Savoy club in 1937. Goodman, the so-called "King of Swing", lost handily to Webb and he had no problem admitting it. Unfortunately, This did little to dissuade the general public from discrimination of black musicians. One of Goodman's best-selling recordings, "One O'clock Jump," was actually a tune of Count Basie's, a popular black musician at the time. Goodman's recording far outsold Basie's, despite Goodman going out of his way to credit Basie during broadcasts. This reflected an innate bias against black jazz musicians by consumers in the industry ("Swing Changes" 130).
Jazz, previously considered "barbaric" and primitive, was suddenly accepted into "higher class" society as an acceptable genre of music with the introduction of swing style. With whites now invested in the music, black musicians found it tougher to reach new audiences as racism was still rampant throughout the country. Some found a way to win this new "economic game", while others quickly faded away. Race would continue to be an issue in the genre for years to come.

Chicago Jazz

The next major hubs of jazz in America showed up around the 1920s. The 20s saw an explosion of African American immigrants in the north, which became known as the Great Migration. Blacks escaped the tough Jim Crow laws in the south for the Northern part of the country; particularly New York and Chicago. Both developed distinct styles of jazz, but Chicago's jazz scene was, in my opinion, far more important to the history of Jazz.

Chicago
The 1920s became known as the Jazz Age because the genre started to explode in popularity during the decade. This was aided by the emergence of jazz in the Windy City.  Jazz spread like wildflower within Chicago, in part due to the segregation in the city. The south side of Chicago consisted of mostly black individual, whereas the north side was mostly a white area. Because the black community was heavily concentrated in one area, a distinct culture began to emerge. An idea of a "black economy" gained ground because the residents felt that the money they spend on groceries and other purchases would circulate within the community and would be the "glue to hold what was a new and fragile world together" (Cohen 148). This "black economy" was vital to the development of jazz, as the community would often visit local nightclubs and bars to hear the latest sounds in the genre.

Although the idea eventually failed, it led to an increase of black nationalism in the area, further increasing the popularity of jazz. Blacks did not reject mainstream culture, but rather embraced it, and put their own creative spin on it. This setting led to a sort of dialogue between the jazz artists of Chicago and the inhabitants, similar to Bakhtins dialogic theory. New immigrants to the city enjoyed hearing a bit of southern New Orleans style, and the artists took that sound and innovated upon it. In return, jazz also shaped the culture of Chicago. Nightclubs and bars emphasized entertainment, and throughout "the roaring twenties" people lived to party. While a jazz culture certainly existed in Harlem, with stride piano and rent parties, the artists just weren't as innovative and lively as in Chicago.

This dialogue shaped jazz in the city into what became known as "Chicago Style". Compared to New Orleans, Gioia notes that in Chicago "a certain restless energy begins to reverberate in the music"(75). In addition, horns move out of the background and begin to take center stage. Vocals also became more prominent. There was more of a focus on the individual rather than the ensemble. You can see these new alterations in much of Louis Armstrong's work. A brilliant trumpeter and one of the most talented jazz musicians in history, Armstrong epitomizes Chicago Style. Armstrong's career took off with King Oliver and his band. Other big players in the Chicago scene included Bix Beiderbicke, a talented white cornet player, and Fats Waller. Without Chicago and Louis Armstrong's career, it is unlikely that the music would have taken off like it did. Harlem was crucial to the development of Jazz, but the sound may never have taken off without the jazz explosion in Chicago. Chicago laid the groundwork for what would be the newest spin on the genre in the coming years.