In the early 1920's, African Americans were a great part of a cultural movement known as the Harlem Renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance was not a movement that was organized
-- it caught the country by surprise. The migration of African Americans to the North brought them to Harlem, a New York neighborhood. The Harlem Renaissance brought out powerful musical talent. Singers and musicians played an important role in this cultural inspiration, as well as writers, shopkeepers, painters, etc.Jazz, a type of music that was developed in this movement, was rooted in the musical tradition of American blacks. Most early jazz was played in small marching bands or by solo pianists. Around the beginning of the twentieth century, the jazz style emerged, centered in New Orleans. The most influential musician in New Orleans was King Oliver's second trumpeter, Louis Armstrong.
Blues is a type of music that deals with hardships of life and love. This type of music was typically self-accompanied by the singer on a harmonica or a guitar. Singers often worked with jazz bands or pianists. It paved the way for boogie-woogie music which later became known as rhythm and blues. Jazz and Blues were originally played in the South but rapidly began spreading to the North. Along with Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton helped pave the way for Duke Ellington, who was a talented band leaders and musician.
African-American women were also a
part of this movement. Talented singers such as Billie Holiday, Josephine Baker and Bessie Smith took their place in the
Jazz field and struggled with the barriers that men had already set up. Although the
Harlem Renaissance ended in the the 1930s, Jazz and Blues continued to be a part of music
history.
OTHER BLUES AND JAZZ MUSICIANS
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