Lesly Castro Zazueta

Periods 3,4

March 14, 2016

Word count: 1198

1920s Jazz Music

Johnny Depp once said, Music touches us emotionally, where words alone cant. In the

twenties American jazz did just that. The power of music goes far beyond our

imagination; it was and still is something used to lessen stress and any uncomfortable

emotions that need to be suppressed. In the 1920s commonly known as the Jazz Age, it

was an era of jazz, drugs, and violence. Jazz was strictly banned because of racism,

religious opposition, and its connection to Prohibition, however, this did not stop jazz

musicians from sharing their works of art.

Racial stereotypes associated with Jazz music by white Americans led to a white-

dominated music industry. African American culture was being faced with racism,

discrimination, and segregation, they have always found comfort and sense of peace in

their music. Although jazz was a collision between two cultures, it became a type of art

that was used mainly by African American slaves that utilized it to release the hard

tensions that was given to them by oppression. The white dominated society did not favor

how most African Americans alleviated their pains so most Africans were not able to

perform for people other than the black ethnicity. Many African musicians were then

boycotted. In The Social Effects of Jazz, Zola Philipp states how white jazz musicians

directed a commercial success while black jazz musicians were shadowed. Blacks were
basically locked out of it. Yet most white Jazz musicians did not have the improvisational

skills or originality that the black musicians displayed in their music (Philipp 6). Philipp

understands why white supremacy was the reason most African American musicians were

not able to be recognized due to discrimination over their appearance. She explains how

society had chose a white male or woman over a black American.

Jazz had somehow been symbolically linked to the civil rights movement, which

appealed to whites and blacks alive provided a culture in which the collective and the

individual were inextricable. Except with this hitch, they were judged by his ability alone

and not by race or any other irrelevant factors. Stanley Crouch writes, predicted the civil

rights movement more than any other art in America. Not only was Jazz structured

similarly to ideals of the civil rights movement but jazz musicians took up the cause

using their music to promote racial equality and social justice. An African American Jazz

musician, Louis Armstrong, performed a song called What did I do to be so Black and

Blue, lyrics included the phrase My only sin is the color of my skin. What did I do to be

so black and blue. Armstrong sang for his rights and for no racial discrimination among

the African Americans.

The discrimination against African Americans led to a fear brought on by white

Americans. Whites felt as though this form of music that allowed blacks to dance freely

and sing their sorrows away was driven by evil forces. Many people grew afraid of jazz

musicians because they believed it was associated by evil means because it was an art

that was controversial since it went against normalcy. American families then began to
feel a sense of hatred towards jazz music. Jelly Roll Morton, a Jazz composer, said on

Culture Shock, When my grandmother found out that I was playing Jazz music in one of

the sporting houses in the District, she told me I had disgraced the family and forbade me

to live at the house. She told me the devil's music would surely bring about my downfall

but I couldn't put it behind me. People were ridiculed for enjoying jazz music because of

its supposed connection to a world where people acted out of norm. They were

accustomed to a society that behaved a certain way and jazz changed that so many people

became hysterical.

In 1921, there was an outcry coming from religious leaders and music educators that Jazz

music had an evil influence on those who listened and played it. Some people felt that it

let to immoral dancing and others said it can cause permanent damage to your brain cells.

Jazz originally was the accompaniment of the voodoo dancer, that had a demoralizing

effect upon the human brain. The fear of the African influence of their sextinged

dancing thought to be wild and uncontrollable. It was true work of the devil, said one

of the Christian leaders. The white majority was afraid of the growing popularity Jazz

was getting. Thats why they began to gossip that it was associated with the devil and

seen as sinful.

The reason many people believed jazz had an affiliation with evil works was due to its

connection it had with the Prohibition Era. During Prohibition, alcoholic beverages were

discontinued as well as bars, however, it did not stop bootleggers from manufacturing and

distributing the illegal substance. They were able to make profits by creating speakeasies
which were secret bars. In these secret bars, jazz musicians were hired to perform while

flappers and their dates danced. Kyle Fisher wrote in the article Jazz/Swing music of the

American Prohibition, The atmosphere offered by Jazz to the party crowd at the time

was irresistible and soon speakeasies everywhere picked up on the trend and were

establishing Jazz as fun, exciting, and daring music. Fisher describes the aura that jazz

music gave to its audience. Customers responded as carefree characters which gave the

1920s the title of the Jazz Age.

Even though Prohibition had proved to be a failed experiment, it did benefit jazz music,

which still needed some help. In the speakeasies, of Chicago and New York, illegal due

to Prohibition, hundreds of jazz musicians found gigs (Weiner). These were perfect

places, as they had a good crowd who would dance, and they were rarely checked. While

it was illegal, sometimes the rules need to be bent for the progression of greater good, and

in this case, jazz. It certainly wasnt the best of circumstances, because most speakeasies

were owned by criminal gangs, like the Italian Mafia in New York, and Al Capones

Gang in Chicago (Al Capone). These gangs committed atrocious crimes, and were

ridiculed everywhere. These gangs and their crimes, however, led to overhauls of local

police and law enforcement agencies by the 1930s (Gaines and Miller 99). Prohibition

may not have been popular at the Jazz Age; it did lead to many needed changes in

American society. All of these changes had their place in the revolutionary Jazz Age.

When words fail, music speaks. (Hans Christian Andersen) some may think that Jazz is

simply random music, but history proves that there is more behind the funny sounds and
beats. The historical and musical impact of jazz on the nation is phenomenal. It broke

through a time of depression and poverty, and introduced a style of sound very different

from past traditional forms of music which lead to people's dislikes in Jazz. It helped

African Americans out of their prejudiced roles by making them famous historical

figures. Without Jazz, the world would truly not be the same.