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The Influence Of Jazz In The 1920's

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The era of the Roaring Twenties, was a time of great societal change. For nearly the first half of the twentieth century, from about 1915 to 1955, jazz was the dominant form of popular dance music in the United States. Jazz originated in major cities throughout the U.S. at the turn of the 20th century, primarily in the decade of 1920. Many of these changes were greatly influenced by jazz music. During this time, the country was coming out of World War I and the attitude of most people was dismal. Dance and music clubs became tremendously popular in an effort to improve the quality of life for many people. Jazz’s influence on America could be described as a positive for cultural diversions. This new genre of sound paved a way for artists to express their feelings, but also different types of music were created and jazz began to spread around the US. …show more content…

Around 1931, the Black bands, led by such greats as Duke Ellington and Fletcher Henderson, began to develop the Swing style which would not formally appear for another two years which included “one such dance called the jitterbug”(“Jazz”). Simply put, they began to change the make-up of the band, and the time of the pieces. Additionally, in the 1930s, artists took a dynamic twist and made jazz more emotional and spiritual. Artists created jazz music that described hardships in the south which was called the blues. In the up rise of jazz, “Handy became one of the first people to transcribe and publish sheet music about the blues” (Madison). Another genre or style of music is known as the underground music “Bebop”. Bebop reflected the anger black musicians felt over the rewards and benefits reaped by white big bands from swing developed by blacks. Artists would perform with their backs to the audience. They developed “Scat,” a type of crazy syllable

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