The Darktown Strutters Ball, released in 1917, and written by Alberta Hunter, was one of the more popular songs during the era known as the Harlem renaissance. It was a great period for African Americans, but it was also a great period for new types of music. The blues was a musical form that stemmed from the post-civil war started in the south and slowly moved north. Jazz and blues were the music that was heard in Harlem’s nightlife. (Renaissance and Music, para. 1) Because of people like Louis Armstrong, Ceril Mack, or Eva Jessye Jazz and blues were able to blossom with several instruments and subgenres. The following information will be about how jazz started, those people's contributions, and the instruments/subgenres.
Jazz is a music that is still around today, and it was started over 100 years ago around New Orleans. Because New Orleans is a port city, Jazz and blues could be heard by many. People were going from here to there which allowed for the clash of ethnic cultures. The blues were started before Jazz, it came from work songs, field hollers, minstrel show music, ragtime, church music, and folk music. (Blues, para. 5) Unlike Jazz, the blues were first
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(Open Ears: Eva Jessye and the Harlem Renaissance, para 1) Eva was a talented musician, at a young age, she was a singer, choir director, composer, actor, teacher, and poet. “Eva lead a choir that was one of the top gospel, folk, and spiritual groups of the time…Known as ‘Original Dixie Jubilee Singers’ but they later changed the name to “Eva Jessye Choir”. (Open Ears: Eva Jessye and the Harlem Renaissance, para 2) To have your choir as a black woman during the early 1920s was a feat that should not be dismissed. She belonged to two groups that were disseminated during this time, women and African Americans. Without people like her, the renaissance wouldn’t have meant much, she was one of the few who was willing to risk for the