Blog #3

 Race became explicitly talked about during the Swing Era partially due to the experiences of black musicians with discrimination in the music industry and partially because of larger forces in politics. One of the reasons Race became explicitly talked and written about during the 1930's was the new audience jazz attracted. They were younger, more liberal, and less inclined to accept the status quo of black segregation and oppression. The artists behind the Swing Era were more political as well. As black artists tried to capitalize on their music, they had faced obstacles from institutions biased against black ownership and success. Not only that, but they found themselves increasingly in competition with white bands, bringing interracial competition to the fore(Stewart). At the same time, black bands were empowered by their financial and cultural success. Their experiences abroad changed their perspective as well. While WW2 exposed Europe to jazz, it simultaneously exposed jazz artists to the racial attitudes of Europe, where segregation, at least, was not commonplace. Black artists were successful in Paris, establishing high class, non-segregated clubs.

Duke Ellington's entire persona was built around being classy. He was not content to be a second-class musician. His deal with Irving Mills, establishing Mills as his band's agent and partial owner, was hugely successful, making his band arguably the most successful of the early Swing Era. Mills brought the band regular gigs at the Cotton Club, a club usually reserved for white bands, a television show, . He made compromises with White institutions to reach his goals, and some, musicians and jazz critics alike, considered him to be unfaithful to his race and class, despite his origins in the upper middle class.(Stewart). John Hammond's highly politicized critiques of jazz music forced artists to acknowledge, or in the case of Duke Ellington, defend against his accusations (Swing Changes 100). Some of these white critics argued that jazz played by black musicians was superior to jazz played by white musicians.

The Market force created by the coexistence of radio, clubs, and professional gigs made segregation more incongruous. The Music itself is “invisible”, i.e., you cant tell a white band from a black band just from the sound. You don't have to segregate when you're on the radio, but then a concert, or work at a club comes by, and you have to segregate again. Black and white bands were increasingly in competition with each other for the best gigs. The “king of jazz”, Benny Goodman, a white musician, lost a “Battle of the Bands” to Chick Webb-by his own admission.The Bandleaders of the 1920's had been replaced largely by corporations who controlled the bands and whether or not they were successful and profitable (Swing Changes pg 103). Benny himself, wanting to retain his title, would begin hiring black musicians to play in his bands, and paying Fletcher Henderson for his arrangements. 

Race became explicitly talked about in the Swing Era due to the pressure of the new corporate management on bandleaders, who, maybe for the first time, were in direct competition with musicians of the opposite race. Critics with political agendas made race an issue, as well as the the larger forces of Swing's new, younger audience, and the cultural exchange that WW2 brought.

Blog #2

 The story of New York Jazz is the Story of Harlem. In the early 20th century, the Great Migration brought Jazz musicians from the south of the country to New York. Many of them settled in Harlem, a place described as “A promised land for a downtrodden race.” (Goia, pg 93). Harlem was home to an independent African American community, divided into a Harlem of dreams and aspirations, and another of economic realities. Out of this Harlem came a new style of Jazz, Stride Piano, one which flourished in the rent parties and underground economies of Harlem. This style descended from elements of jazz style mixed with the high technical standards of European piano. Several notable pianists made a name for themselves in the Harlem scene, Fats Waller, William “the Lion” Smith, and James P. Johnson among them. 
 Stride Piano in New York was just the prelude to the Swing era, however. Fletcher Henderson's band, with the help of Louis Armstrong, brought the swing style to New York. Duke Ellington is the best representation of the culture and state of New York Jazz at this time. Ellington was an exceptional performer, attaining great success despite the challenges he faced because of his race (Stewart). His musical style, described as “ creation of a musical landscape”, was unsurpassed in its ability to establish and maintain a musical mood. An expressive ability, at home in New York, the home of the writers and artists of the Harlem renaissance.