Jazz+in+the+1920s

=Jazz Performers of the 1920s=

Jazz music of the 1920s gave the decade one of its most referred to monikers: “The Jazz Age”. Those ten years were a “golden” and youthful revolution of American culture. The radio was introduced and jazz became mainstream as World War One came to a close. The youth backfired against the “traditional American” with new styles of clothing, speech and dance including the Charleston and the Jitterbug. The new skimpy clothing included dresses that now were cut off at the knees and eccentric hairstyles. Dancing to the jazz was popular among flappers or women who expressed their freedom and immersed themselves in this new culture.
 * Introduction**

Jazz music from New Orleans was a swinging genre originating from African American roots. Although African Americans enjoyed less time on the radio their contribution to jazz was sensational. It was something so “hip” and new to this new rebellious generation that it became irresistible. The way its unique and syncopated beats contrasted the formal, classical music of Beethoven and Bach changed the very face of American culture and life. It can be compared to the strangeness and impact of rock in the 50’s or hip-hop and rap in the 90’s where new music sparked a new generation of expressionists. The impact of the Jazz era can be seen in many parts of our life nowadays. For example, it gave the opportunity for more white people to ignore racism and segregation and focus more on common traits they shared with black jazz musicians. A defining asset to the 1920s, Jazz has turned out to be one of the most lasting effects of this free-flowing era and its musician’s impact people to this day including Grammy Award winner Esperanza Spalding.


 * Legends:**

Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong was born on August 4th, 1901 to a poor African American family in New Orleans. He was nicknamed Satchmo by his friends and relatives because of his exaggerated, toothy smile. Armstrong had to grow up on the streets of New Orleans and as a youth worked many odd jobs to help support himself and his family. Later, he was sent to Jones Home for Colored Waifs for shooting a gun in a public place, thereby gaining the label of juvenile delinquent. This is where his love for music truly developed. He learned to play the cornet and was released a short time later. As soon as Louis got out, he began playing his music for money. As a child, Louis strived to be like hid idol, Joe “King” Oliver.
 * Louis Armstrong – Trumpeter **
 * Childhood/ Early Life **

 To begin, Armstrong started out as a street performer, earning a few pennies a day. Within a year Louis was playing at funerals and on steamboat excursions with his partner Fate Marble. By 1918, however, he had replaced his mentor/ hero King Oliver to in the Kid Ory band. In the 1920’s, Armstrong’s career began to take off. In 1922 he was asked to join a band of King Oliver’s in Chicago. In this band not only did he make a name for himself in Chicago, he also met his 1st wife, Lillian Hardin, who was a pianist in the band. After playing with Oliver’s Creole band till the end of 1923, Armstrong left the band to further pursue his personal goals career by moving to New York. There, he joined Fletcher Henderson’s band and recorded many songs with the band and blues artists. His most popular song recorded during that time was //St. Louis Blues// with Bessie Smith. After about a year, Armstrong moved back to Chicago and created a band known at first as the //Hot Five//, than later on the //Hot Seven//. This iconic band recorded some of Armstrong most memorable songs, and is what really got him nationally renowned. The originality of these songs highlighted his musical genius and creativity. Also they introduced a new style known as scat singing, where the songs’ rhythm and music were highlighted. The music of the //Hot Five// and //Hot Seven// even reached a bible like status for modern jazz artists, and are often referred to as the “Rosetta Stone of Jazz”. His popularity grew even larger in the 30’s with bands like Louis Armstrong and the Stompers, and Louis Armstrong & his Orchestra. He continued playing and even joined another extremely popular band known as the Louis Armstrong All-Stars, where he created even more amazing music for the rest of the world. That poor little New Orleans boy even toured the world, and created some of the greatest music ever recorded. Louis Armstrong eventually died on July 6th, 1971 in Queens, New York at the age of 69.
 * Career **

Louis Armstrong might have created one of the single greatest legacies of any musician in the history of the world. He revolutionized the world of Jazz with his musical genius and creativity, and by creating groups like the //Hot Seven,// gave a building block and inspiration for all future musicians. He gave us some of the most well known Jazz music of our time, with songs like “Ain’t Misbehavin”, “What a Beautiful World”, and “Hello, Dolly”. Armstrong not only affected the spread of jazz in the U.S., but he served as an international ambassador for it.
 * Legacy **

 Joe “King” Oliver was born on May 11th, 1885 in Abend, Louisiana to a poor family of sharecroppers. As a child he started out as a trombonist, but quickly changed instruments, becoming a cornettist in his early career. Oliver started his career in 1907 bands named //The Eagle Band,// and the //Onward Brass Band,// but his success didn’t start coming until he joined Kid Ory’s Band in 1917. In 1919, he moved with Kid Ory to Chicago and joined //Bill Johnson’s the Original Creole Orchestra.// By this time he had been highly acclaimed for his to perform tricky, clever techniques with his horn to change the sound, and had also become Louis Armstrong’s mentor and father figure. Oliver not only taught Armstrong the best techniques of how to play, he also gave him his first cornet. After playing with them and spending some time in California, the King left the band and moved back to Chicago. There he started his own band in 1922, //Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band ,// and played on the Southside of Chicago. Oliver eventually asked Armstrong to join the band, and they became very popular until Armstrong’s departure in 1924. This caused the band to break up and the King started playing with “Jelly Roll” Morton. Later in 1925, Oliver became the leader of //Dave Peyton’s Band,// which was later re-named //Dixie Synocopators.// They played together for four years, played first in Chicago (they left Chicago because a fire had destroyed the café they played at) than in 1929 in New York. While in New York, Oliver rejected a life-changing offer to play at the Cotton Club in Harlem, which turned out to be a HUGE mistake. He stopped playing because of health problems with his mouth and left the band. The King’s last recording was in 1931, and afterwards he moved to Georgia where he spent the rest of his days working at a pool hall. Joe Oliver eventually died in 1938 without any money, basically forgotten.
 * Joseph ‘King’ Oliver - Corneter **
 * Career **

 Joe “the King” Oliver’s legacy was his creative and clever ways of using his cornet and his creativeness with musical rhythm. Also his playing in Chicago not only exposed Louis Armstrong to the world, it also popularized and truly defined New Orleans style jazz. Although he was often shadowed by the genius of Armstrong, they still loved each other and Oliver was one of the key reasons for Armstrong’s popularity and exposure.
 *  Legacy **

 Leon Bix Beiderbecke was born on March 10th, 1903 in Davenport, Iowa. Unlike many of the jazz artist’s of the time, Bix was born into a white, middle class family,. His family was strict and uptight, and even though he could play the piano, he was forced to constrain his dream of playing the cornet as a Jazz musician. Despite this, however, he taught himself how to play the cornet by the age of 15. In 1921, his parents sent him to military school to shape him up, but by 1922 he had slacked off and gotten kicked out. Afterwards, Bix worked for his father in Davenport for a little while before deciding to pursue a musical career in Chicago.
 * Bix Beiderbecke - Corneter **
 * Childhood **

 In 1923, Bix Joined the first band of his career called the //Wolverine Orchestra// and played with them for about a year. He recorded his first few songs with them and quickly earned the reputation as a very talented up and coming musician. By the end of 1924, Bix was offered a spot //on Jean Goldkettes Orchestra// but was quickly kicked out because he was a poor music reader. Despite all this, Bix continued to play and quickly rose to the top by playing solo, and sometimes with other Jazz artists. By August of 1925, he was asked to join //Frankie Trumbauer’s Orchestra.// There he shined and again caught the attention of //Jean Goldkettes Orchestra.// He was once again offered a spot in the band because of sheer talent. While in Goldkettes, Bix tried to re-master the piano and created one of his most celebrated piano pieces, known as //In the Mist//. After playing with them for about a year, Bix and Trumbauer attracted a lot of attention, and were asked to join the prestigious //Paul Whiteman’s Band,// where Bix enjoyed his highest level of success and wealth. By the end of 1929, he was acclaimed and respected by not only white jazz artists, but by black ones as well. Despite being at the peak of his glory, he suffered from alcohol abuse. Bix was sent to live in Davenport to recover and was expected to come back and rejoin the band, but it never happened. Bix did however move to New York after partially recovering, only to fall under alcohol’s evil spell once again. However, he did continue to record cornet and piano music, but died on August 6th, 1931 in Long Island, New York, at the tender age of 28.
 * Career **

 Leon Bix Beiderbecke is considered by many jazz musicians to have one of the most unique and interesting playing styles ever. He helped modernize jazz with his rhythm and playing style, and has inspired new jazz artists since his death. Sadly, he wasn’t so popular among the crowds until after his death, when he gained fame as a symbol of the era due to a movie and novel which were created in his honor. Bix also was one of the first jazz artists that was respected by both black and white musicians. Louis Armstrong admired him greatly and even refused to record a track Bix had created because he believed it was perfect. This kind of respect allowed acceptance of both black and white races to bond over jazz music, independent of the artist’s race or color.
 * Legacy **

**Duke Ellington – Pianist and Composer**

Duke Ellington was born on April 29th 1899 to two piano players in Washington, DC. At the age of seven or eight Ellington started taking piano lessons but skipped most of them for many years until he snuck into a poolroom and gained more respect for the instrument and the music. Ellington went to an arts school and left early for music he had become a professional performer at the age of 17.
 * Early Days**

Ellington kicked off his career by forming "Duke's Serenaders" in 1919. Four years later he had settled down in Harlem and started playing with the sextet the "Washingtonians" (including drummer Sonny Greer) that he would soon take over. When an opportunity arose at the Cotton Club in Harlem in 1927, Duke was right there and during the next two years he would make some of his signature recordings that would include Bubber Miley's trumpetering and he would stay at the club through the end of the 1920's. The Duke continued riting masterpieces until his death in 1974.
 * Career**

Ellington was considered worldwide as a legend of contemporary music when he died in '74. He has been called by many "one of jazz music's most important composers", composing many standards including "Moon Indigo" and "Sophisticated Lady". The twentieth century's emblimatic composer will be remembered for his composing, piano playing, and bandleading for years to come.
 * Legacy**

Born October 20th, 1890, Jelly Roll Morton's father abandoned him when he was young and his mother died a few years later, leaving him to be passed around by his family. As a youngster, music was already in him; he beat pots and pans as well as playing the guitar and the banjo before settling on piano at age ten. He soon started playing in brothels and the "Red Light District" and was kicked out of his grandmother's house. Morton's abnormal childhood led to him being ridiculed by some as well as remembered as "a real character whose spirit shines brightly through history."
 * Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton – Pianist, Composer, and Arranger**
 * Childhood**

Out on the streets, Morton took up jobs as a card shark, pool shark, and pimp to add to his minimal income from playing the piano. At the age of 14 in 1904 Morton hit the road, traveling around the gulf coast and evolving his already broadly-influenced playing style. His travels would bring him to New York and Chicago, where he kicked off his composing career in 1917 with numbers like "Jelly Roll" Blues. Sometime during his first years traveling, he renamed himself "Jelly Roll" because of his reputation as a ladies man.
 * Early Career and Travels**

After his East/Gulf coast adventure, Morton spent five years playing with pickup bands in California before returning to Chicago to make recordings that included solo piano pieces and duets with corneter King Oliver in 1924. In 1926-1927 he recorded with varying lineups of Morton's Red Hot Peppers featuring Kid Ory and the Dodds brothers. Beginning in 1928 Jelly Roll spent time in New York, with a new edition of the Peppers that included Bubber Miley, Red Allen, and Zutty Singleton. Around 1930 people started to consider Morton's music "old-fashioned" and he would achieve little success at regaining momentum before his ambiguous death in poverty at the age of fifty on July 10th, 1941.
 * Career**

Some ridicule Jelly Roll Morton for his questionable line of professions when he tried to make ends meet in his early days. Others remember him for his strong character and spirit. Everyone, however, remembers Morton as one of New Orleans' most sensational pianists and entertainers.
 * Legacy**

Warren Dodds was born on Chirstmas Eve in New Orleans in 1898. He aquired the nickname baby at a young age to prevent confusion within the family between his and his father's names. His brother Johnny, six years older, took up the clarinet and Baby got jelous. He decided to play the drums. He put together a kit with sticks out of household items as well as working until he could afford to buy a set of his own.
 * Warren ‘Baby’ Dodds - Drummer**
 * Childhood**

Dodds eventually started taking lessons where he learned the rudiments of drumming. He set himself appart by applying them to both his feet and his hands. Baby learned to read music, and would soon be playing street parades. Through watching drummers in New Orleans, Warren developed a memorable press roll that began on the backbeat and "ultimately evolved into the standard jazz ride-cymbal pattern" used by almost every great jazz drummer to follow him. Dodds' innovative ways of playing and new ideas have been used for many generations. For this and other reasons many consider him "The Grandfather of Jazz Drumming".
 * Personal Playing**

Baby's early playing in New Orleans included parade performances and a brief stint with his brother Johnny in Kid Ory's band but eventually left due to embarrasment about his poor playing. He played in Fate Marable's riverboat band between 1918 and 1921 where he had the opportunity to collaborate with great players like Louis Armstrong and Pops Foster. In 1921 King Oliver offered Dodds a spot in his group then based in San Francisco that soon moved to Chicago where Dodds remained for the rest of his career. After leaving Oliver's Creole Jazz Band he also collaborated with the likes of Jelly Roll Morton, Sidney Bechet, and Miff Mole.
 * Career**

The grandfather of jazz drumming died in 1959 aftter being partially paralyzed by strokes ten years earlier. His playing and soloist style is well remembered in the drumming world and has been passed on through it's influence on such drummers as Max Roach and Gene Krupa.
 * Legacy**


 * Pianist and composer George Gershwin was cut from the list of legends due to his mix of genres.**
 * Legendary trombonist Edward ‘Kid’ Ory was left off this list of legends because although he played all over in the 1920s, the heart of his career came in the 1910s.**


 * Other Notable Performers:**

**Drums:** Ben Pollack
 * Arthur ‘Zutty’ Singleton **

Irving Berlin (Songwriter) Eubie Blake (Composer) Lillian Hardin (Vocals, Arranger) Fletcher Henderson (Arranger, Bandleader) Jack Hylton (Bandleader) James P. Johnson (Composer) Clarence 'Pine Top' Smith (Vocals) Thomas 'Fats' Waller (Vocals, Composer) Sam Wooding (Arranger, Bandleader)
 * Piano:**

Irving Berlin is often called one of the greatest songwriters in American history.

Sidney Bechet – (Soprano Sax, Clarinet) Garvin Bushell (Clarinet, Bassoon) Johnny Dodds (Clarinet) Bud Freeman (Tenor Sax, Clarinet) Edmund Hall (Clarinet) Coleman Hawkins (Tenor Sax) George Lewis (Clarinet, Alto Sax) Jimmie Noone (Clarinet) Don Redman (Alto Sax, Clarinet, Vocals, Composer, Arranger) Frankie 'Tram' Trumbauer (Alto Sax)
 * Saxophone/Clarinet/Bassoon:**

Master improvisationalist Sidney Bechet often played leads designed and reserved for trumpets.

**Strings:** Eddie Condon (Banjo, Guitar) George ‘Pops’ Foster (Bass) Eddie Lang (Guitar) Johnny St. Cyr (Guitar, Banjo) Joe Venuti - Violin Paul Whiteman (Violin, Bandleader)

Eddie Lang studied violin for 11 years before becoming a proffesional guitarist in the mid 1920's.

**Trumpet:**

Henry ‘Red’ Allen Tommy Ladnier (Cornet) Jimmy McPartland James ‘Bubber’ Miley Ernest 'Punch' Miller (Cornet) Sam Morgan Cladys 'Jabbo' Smith

Red Allen played with his father's band as a teenager in the 20's.

Josephine Baker (Dancer) Noble Sissle (Composer, Bandleader)
 * Vocals: **

Noble Sissle was a popular male vocalist.

Irving ‘ Miff’ Mole (Trombone) Red Nichols (Cornet)
 * Others:**

Miff Mole was one of few leading trombonists in the 20s.


 * Parentheses indicate specified or additional instruments

---<http://www.biography.com/articles/King-Oliver-9428210&h=28893>. ---<http://www.essortment.com/louis-armstrong-biography-20468.html&h=28893>. ---<<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 32px;">http://www.parabrisas.com/d_beiderbeckeb.php&h=28893>. <span style="background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-origin: initial; color: black; line-height: 24pt;">---Drozdowski, Ted, Howard Mandel, and John Scofield. //The Billboard Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz & Blues//. New York: Billboard, 2005. Print. <span style="background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-origin: initial; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24pt;">// ---DRUMMERWORLD - The World of Drummers and Drums //. Web. 02 Feb. 2011. <http://www.drummerworld.com/>. <span style="background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-origin: initial; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24pt;">// ---The Red Hot Jazz Archive //. Web. 02 Feb. 2011. [].

---"Warren "Baby" Dodds." //PAS.org Home//. Web. 03 Feb. 2011. []. ---"Duke Ellington Biography." //Buy Electric Guitar & New Musical Instruments on Sale for Cheap - ActiveMusician//. Web. 08 Feb. 2011. []. ---//Wikipedia//. Web. 11 Feb. 2011. []. (Pictures Only) ---<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 32px;">Lopez, Alex J. "Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton." Ed. Sean Glass. Web. 13 Feb. 2011. [].