Racial Discourse and the Swing Era

            The rise of radio gave swing popularity and moved it into the mainstream. Because of this increased exposure, jazz accumulated more fans and critics. The 1930s were also nicknamed the "Swing Era." 

            It is important to note that although jazz music was receiving more attention, most jazz critics were of white descent. For Duke Ellington, this relationship between jazz musicians and their critics was “laughable” (Lecture 2/14/2013). According to Dr. Stewart, a combination of empathy and criticism (criticality) was missing from the jazz criticism. Jazz magazines increased in number with Down Beat, in particular, considered to have played the biggest role in shaping “critical and popular opinion on jazz” (“Swing Changes” 74). The jazz critics approached the music from a detached point of view, without taking into consideration the economic and other factors the musicians had to take into account. In addition, “Swing Changes” argues that the difficulty in the jazz critics’ task lay in the need to present swing as an “African-American music” (54). Although many critics encouraged integration, racism and segregation were the norm in the 1930s.

            John Hammond is one of the biggest jazz critics of the Swing Era. He made himself the “arbiter of African-American musical authenticity” (“Swing Changes” 52) through consistently getting his critiques published and promoting musicians who grew to become successful and famous, such as Benny Goodman, Fletcher Henderson, and Count Basie. Hammond famously criticized Duke Ellington’s lack of support for black culture, which he attributed to Ellington’s desire of “commercial success” (Lecture 2/14/2013). However, these comments did not faze Ellington, which he shrugged off as “laughable.”

            Because of the left leaning of the white jazz critics, the genre was cemented as a “democratic music” and “product of the people” (“Swing Changes,” 53). Some jazz musicians, such as Duke Ellington were suspected of having Communist sympathies, along with the critics who wrote about them in jazz magazines — particularly John Hammond, whom the FBI also investigated. The Communist bond with certain black political and cultural groups against fascism — the Popular Front — also contributed to this image of jazz.

            The combination of radio and jazz magazine publication resulted in explicit racial discourse during the 1930s. In addition, the relationship between the music industry and jazz musicians asked for exoticized “otherness” (“Swing Changes” 124). This is why Hammond accused Ellington for “tolerating racial indignities” — because Ellington agreed to add “jungle” effects to his music in order to appease the music industry.

Chicago's Importance to Jazz Music

                During the 1920s, jazz music moved beyond New Orleans and into Chicago and Harlem, where each location added its unique socioeconomic influences. Between the two cities, Chicago stands out as the most important jazz city of the 1920s, because it is where jazz music grew beyond its New Orleans roots and became a popular, cultural phenomenon.

                Jazz moved out of brothels and into dance halls in Chicago, due to the rise of mob-controlled speakeasies in Chicago's South Side (in response to Prohibition). Chicago developed its own style of jazz during this period: more upbeat, individualistic, rapid, and danceable (Lecture 1/31/2013). Furthermore, the industrialized city was full of factory workers were able to let loose after work, which made the dance halls high in demand.

                Louis Armstrong is the figurehead of both the Chicago jazz scene, in addition to being the most famous figure of jazz. Armstrong is the iconic jazz soloist whose skills as a cornet and trumpet player were highly recognized and admired by jazz lovers. Gioia goes as far as to call him an “unofficial ambassador for jazz” (Gioia, 69). Armstrong's soloist style fits in with Chicago's culture as a industrialized and capitalistic city. 

                It is important to note that white appropriation of jazz music occurred especially in Chicago. In “Chicagoans,” Humphrey Lyttleton describes how the Austin High School Gang — comprised solely of white musicians — imitated the music of Armstrong, King Oliver, and other black musicians. However, Lyttleton argues that the Gang “got it all wrong” (Lyttleton, 154) with their imitation. Although the Gang had extraordinary passion for jazz, they lacked rhythmic talent; yet they had an easier time making recordings, because they were not black.

                Lyttleton’s views on the Austin High School Gang reflect the tense race relations in Chicago during the 1920s. Bahktin’s theory of how the audience affects art can be seen in the evolution that occurs within jazz as a response to white appropriation and especially the mob bosses, whom Travis calls the “jazz slave masters” (Travis, 49). Although the mob bosses paid the black musicians, they had ultimate control over the music and exoticized black culture with jungle imagery and female dancers. 

                Unlike Chicago, the Harlem jazz scene had different struggles with race relations. During the 1920s, Harlem was not a slum. The Harlem Renaissance — a highbrow black cultural renaissance of sorts — divided Harlem into two cities (Lecture 2/7/2013): ‘high-culture’ Harlem, with the Renaissance poets and artists and ‘low-culture’ Harlem, with all the jazz musicians. In Harlem, the jazz musicians had rent parties, in which musicians performed at people’s apartments in order to raise money to pay rent. Bahktin’s theory can also be applied to Harlem, where the community and art had a mutually-influential relationship: The musicians played pieces that rent-party audiences would enjoy and the style of music played would affect the audience’s mood and response.

                Harlem’s jazz scene also differs from Chicago’s in terms of musical style. In Harlem, ragtime and stride styles were popular due to the accessibility of pianos. Rent parties encouraged a direct response from the community, rather than music critics. James P. Johnson and his fellow “piano ticklers” (Lyttleton, 23) needed audience approval in order to make money. As a result, they improvised pieces that were appealing to the public at the time. For example, ‘ragging’ European classical music led to the creation of Johnson’s stride style.

                Despite Harlem’s contributions to jazz, Chicago played a more important role for jazz in the 1920s. Chicago is the location where jazz soloists emerged (most importantly Louis Armstrong). It was also the location of tenser race relations, and is more representative of white appropriation of jazz.