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How Did Jazz Influence African American Popular Culture

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The post-war 1920s was the era of prohibition, gangsters, speakeasies, flappers, big band music, and the Harlem Renaissance. It’s here we see the evolution of jazz into an important part of American popular culture. As the primitive jazz sound originating in New Orleans becomes diversified, we see the rise of Chicago style, stride piano, The Charleston, new distinctions of “Hot” and “Sweet”, and most notably, jazz begins to swing, reflecting the vibrancy and creativity of the era. African Americans could finally see the possibility of the great American promise, and a cultural rebirth was underway. After years of the Klan trying to crush their spirit and aspirations, “the new negro” would abandon any hope of help from white America and look …show more content…

Jazz grew, morals loosened, and dancing became huge; a cultural backlash to what was viewed as a ridiculous law. Jazz represented high times; the spirit of the age and music of the people (film). It’s growing appeal now penetrating every echelon of society, black and white alike. African American status is elevated with the popularity of jazz, and for the first time in American’s history, that which was previously considered "bottom-culture" has risen up and become a highly-desirable and sought-after commodity in society. (purple page) Despite its popularity integration was still a long way off. Black and white bands could not play side by side in any clubs. Whites could go to black clubs, but blacks weren’t welcome in white clubs. Musicians, however, had respect for each other and white musicians sometime would come to blacks clubs after closing to play with black musicians. Musicians didn’t care about color, only how you sound (film). While discrimination and racism were commonplace in the music industry, the music played by black jazz performers was finding appreciation among many white music fans, helping to create a foothold that African Americans would use to advance civil rights in the decades to

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Throughout America's history, African Americans suffered racism, bias, including constant scolding during the 19th century. Nevertheless, perspectives shifted distinctly, when the American Dream surged through hearts of the previously shunned race, migrating in mass numbers, known as The Great Migration. With the traveling immigrants, they brought about Jazz to liven up the dull streets with legendary names such as Louis Armstrong, and Duke Ellington. Their new sounds caught thousands of people’s attention, improving the African American race to new confidence as never before. As a result, their legacy not only established new grounds for African Americans but also contributed to America’s modern swing to the sounds of Jazz.

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This paper is all about how the Renaissance shaped African American culture. In this paper you will read about famous black people of that time, special events that occurred and more. The 1920’s period was known as the Harlem Renaissance. This was a time where black people and white people discovered the uniqueness of art, culture, society. From 1918 to the mid 1930s talent began to expand with the new culture of the blacks in the Harlem community.

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Even though culture was booming everywhere during the 1920’s, nowhere was more exuberant than Harlem. The huge social, cultural, and artistic explosion in Harlem was called “The Harlem Renaissance” or “The New Negro Movement.” This movement’s main cause was to create a new black identity, to show blacks that they should be proud to be black. This movement gave light to many poets, authors, such as Langston Hughes, and gave birth to new styles of art such as Jazz. Jazz was described as “the essence of black music.”

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Playing to audiences of all races. During the depression, big jazz bands gave an upbeat and lively beat for dancing. People often danced to it to forget the

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Jazz music has spread around the world. It has drawn on national and regional musical cultures. Jazz has been the most important social factor that black musicians were able to record the blues, gospel and more. These musicians lived through inequality and many discovered their freedom in jazz. It became African Americans freedom because jazz

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Feel the smooth jazz notes go through your body and straight into your feet, and before you know it you’re dancing in a dimly lit speakeasy while the colorful band plays a lively tune. Your date, a flapper, is smoking and drinking right next to you, along with important political leaders of your city. The room is full of promise, and devoid of concern, alcohol is illegal to everybody, yet everybody is drinking. Your back out onto the dance floor, and dancing the night away spending your time doing something perfectly illegal. That is what a normal weekend night consisted of for most adults during the era called The Jazz Age, more commonly referred to as the Roaring Twenties.

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During the late 1900’s, an aesthetic movement known as primitivism integrated itself into Modern art. African and Pacific Island motifs, fetishes, and design elements were adopted into the work of Modern artists, such as Pablo Picasso and Henri Moore.19 The rise in popularity of these primitive inspired artworks helped to influence Black Americans in investigating and reconnecting with their own cultural heritage.20 One of the concerns facing Black Americans was how to merge the heritage of their ancestors with being an American. Through music, the Blues evolved from African tribal songs to songs workers would sing while laboring in the fields before and after slavery. When Black American migrated north, the Blues transformed into Jazz

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The book details how Scott Joplin, the son of recently freed slaves, revolutionized American music. He “began pushing the limits” of ragtime, steering it “in a new direction, cross-pollinating with other musical genres” (210). According to the book, Joplin “provided some broad shoulders for future generations to climb aboard” (209). This statement proves true not only for Miles Davis but for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar himself; he learned from Miles Davis, and by extension, Scott Joplin and jazz, “how to be cool, or at least to think [he] was cool” (239). He also acknowledges the history of jazz as “like a musical slideshow of four hundred years of everything that black people have had to endure and overcome and celebrate” (240).

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Some of them included Duke Ellington, Fletcher Henderson, and Jimmy Lunceford. Interestingly enough, because of the popularity of the music, African Americans were able to produce music and bring it into white society for them to listen to. These African American musicians also influenced many of the white musicians as well. White jazz musicians had taken inspiration from black jazz music for many years, but because of swing, they became even more deeply devoted to integrating this music to blacks and whites. Benny Goodman was one of these white musicians.

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In the 1920s the African American was starting in earnest to place his or her stamp on American culture as a whole. It is in the era the seeds of revolution were planted that would bear fruit in the Civil Rights era of the mid 20th century. As the African Americans in New Orleans did make jazz the African Americans in New York and Chicago made Jazz what it is today and it helped many people see that what they live in is not what the have to stay

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Despite Jazz being formed out of two cultures, the issues of social stratification and racial identity never had to be addressed in early jazz history. But as Jazz grew in popularity in a prewar 1930s America, the issue of racism started to form. As Jazz prospered within the economy and as a musical style, it’s roots revealed it’s racial identity. Jazz emerged from the music used formerly to entertain slaves and was a tool of rebellion against the white man, Jazz’z roots were very much embedded in slave culture. As free slaves moved north, they brought their Jazz influence to parts of the country such as Chicago and New York.

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The Jazz Age was influential era of music, dance, flappers, and wild partying that forever changed America’s culture and normalcy for women.

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The Jazz Age of America happened in the 1920s, begun by the end of the Great Depression. The richer classes in America lived an American Dream of wealth, freedom, and never-ending entertainment. This sometimes led to corruption from people seeking more money, more fun, more love, and more. The Great Gatsby is a prime example of this phenomenon. F. Scott Fitzergald’s

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In life, there are few things as organic as jazz music. With its raw sound and scrappy roots, one cannot help but feel life head-on whilst witnessing players produce such a sound right before their eyes. Its origins and arch are a product of the United States’ national culture and identity. Jazz exists not only as a deeply rooted form of art but as a cultural marker, particularly during its commercial peak in the first half of the 20th century. Its impact transcends borders, and it is one of the most beloved musical genres worldwide.

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For African Americans, jazz music, has always had a political undercurrent. Slave songs spoke of the “Israelites” enslaved by the Egyptians, such as in Go Down Moses, symbolising their own yearning for freedom. However, it took time for the assertion of the political message to develop in a more discernible way. Jazz’s status as a form of entertainment had effectively subdued the message for many years, because of the ostracisation of those involved and because of the early popularity of the white swing bands. The majority of jazz musicians were not political activists, rarely explicitly political in their work, however, they often expressed their political ideals, sometimes more subtley other times more overtly through their music.

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