Race and Swing

The racial discourse of the Swing Era was characterized by an antagonistic ambivalent relationship between racial tensions and socio-economic integration. Several aspects of 1930s America contributed to creating a setting which allowed Swing to function as an instrument in diminishing and liberating racial segregation, promoting cultural integration and shaping the formation of popular American culture. Contrary to this progressive effect that the Swing era had on transcending racial and class boundaries, the negative economic circumstances inflicted on society during the Swing Era by the Great Depression exacerbated racial tensions in the music business and society at large by creating heightened competition.

The adverse effects of enhanced competition created by the economic conditions during the Great depression were especially felt in the music business. A decreased economic base to draw from coupled with the end of the prohibition sent many musicians into unemployment. Crashing markets and declining economic opportunities made it increasingly difficult to make a living as a musician. During these times America experienced a heightened antagonism between white and black music artists. Racial tensions which were created under these conditions were not limited to the music business but expanded to all levels of society and economic sectors. The heightened competition created an uneven playing field between black and white musicians (The Swing Era). Artists stemming from privileged white middle-class back-rounds enjoyed broad acceptance by the American public, including in the racially more intolerant south, easier work conditions, higher compensation, and were generally not “forced to suffer from indignities of racism”, that even the most talented  African American musician could not evade (Gioia 133). Despite the restraints imposed on Black artists, their superior talent did not go unnoticed.  White jazz productions possessed “no vitality” and in that respect were inferior to black music, which was in the ascendant since the beginning of the swing era (Swing Changes 53). Simply put, what compensated black musicians for their opportunistic disadvantage due to their ethnic origins was their incredible talent (Swing Changes).

Competition creating racial tension was not only fueled by the economic difficulties at the time but also by the phenomena of Jazz Capitalism (Stewart). Increasing economic opportunity led to an increase in the number of white artists infiltrating the predominantly African American cultural creating of jazz and Swing (Stewart). A major contributor to the concept of Jazz Capitalism was the invention of the radio. This technological innovation induced a rapid geographical spread of music which transformed swing into a paradigm for popular music in America (Gioia 135, Swing Changes 54). More and more white musicians tapped in on the potential for economic profit which accompanied the transformation of swing from a predominantly black cultural creation into becoming the popular music of America. Jazz Capitalism led to the emergence of swing in a corporate setting and therefore required music artists to collaborate with talent agents, many of which were white and raised in privileged middle-class families, in order to realize their ambitions (Gioia 128).

 Contrary to the disintegration and creation of racial tension induced by economic transformations, the Swing era also permeabilized racial and class boundaries (Swing Changes 73). The harsh economic conditions of the Great Depression together with the corporate setting that the music industry found itself in during the Swing Era created a mutual dependency between white producers or talent agents and music artists thereby setting the stage for increased racial integration (Swing Changes 73). During the 1930s Swing “challenged the ironclad rigidity of the Depression-era racial segregation, crediting blacks with unique powers of spontaneous artistic creativity” (Swing Changes 53). Despite harsh economic conditions, the political and social landscape of 1930s America was introduced to left-leaning ideologies, American exceptionalism, freedom of expression and a domain of ethnic pluralism and socioeconomic opportunity (Swing Changes 73). This enabled Swing which “was in a fundamental sense an African American music” to become the American culture of choice. Interracial collaborations among musicians or between talent agents and music artists created an intertwining of cultures which was epitomized by the interactive nature of swing that created a bond between white dance audiences and black musicians. However, the infusion of mainstream America with black culture created a discourse between admiration of cultural creation and the threat of an emerging black population endangering personal socioeconomic standing within society. (Swing Changes 54) Nevertheless the Swing Era offered a major contribution to the development of establishing racial equality by exposing and intertwining mainstream white America with the beautiful and popular artistic creation of Jazz and Swing, which originated from African American culture and tradition. 

Blog 2

Chicago: The Jazz Capitol of the 1920s

“One of the supreme ironies of the history of New Orleans jazz, [where it originated], is that so much of it took place in Chicago” (Gioia 43). Chicago did not only make an unparalleled contribution to the evolution of jazz in absolute terms but it immediately follows the story line of jazz development with respect its chronological order. By the 1920s the jazz center had shifted from New Orleans to Chicago where many former New Orleans jazz legends continued their legacy far away from their native soil and transformed Chicago into the hub of contemporary and forward-looking jazz (Gioia 43).

During the Great migration between 1916 and 1919 nearly half a million African Americans left the South to seek more tolerant communities in the North, such as Chicago. This vast population shift encompassed the whole spectrum of society ranging from doctors, lawyers and merchants to manual laborers and musicians all of which shared the common ambition to seek a better life in cities that provided a larger economic base to draw from. Greater economic vertical mobility and opportunistic financial stability were among the driving factors in the creation of the New Orleans jazz diaspora and its success in Chicago (Stewart). The closure of the Storyville red light district in 1917 provided the necessary contrast of the discrepancy in economic opportunity between Chicago and New Orleans.  For this reason many of the New Orleans Jazz legends migrated to Chicago searching for increased personal freedom and tolerance which provided hope for long-desired horizontal racial integration within a multi-cultural society. The large metropolitan setting of Chicago delivered a more tolerant white audience, which was more receptive of African American jazz, allowing jazz musicians to be seen as serious cultural performers while acknowledging the cultural value of jazz in vitalizing communities and allowing jazz artists to live the romantic notion of self-expression which many of them were deprived of in the racially divided south. The mass culture present in Chicago became in the hands of black artists a way of turning African American vulnerability and dependence on mainstream society into a demand for respect (Cohen 156).

The appeal of the Great Migration during which jazz musicians gravitated toward Chicago was amplified by the social setting characterized by a more progressive society and economic opportunity. In addition to increased racial tolerance and a greater audience Chicago was one of the few cities that managed to maintain a vibrant nightlife throughout the years of Prohibition. Organized crime and mobsters collaborated with politicians to ensure that the Prohibition did not jeopardize the lucrative business of night clubs and dance halls in the “wet city” (Cohen 155). Furthermore the zoning ordinances in Chicago which separated the white middle class neighborhoods from the “vice district” managed to avoid an uproar of the former against the pulsating social scene, which was inevitable for the success of jazz in Chicago (Cohen 155). The indirect support for jazz through organized crime by creating the essential atmosphere of enthusiasm for celebration and music paired with direct contracting of jazz musicians to play at their night clubs catapulted jazz over interracial boundaries. White audiences were listening to black artists perform while white jazz artists were inspired and collaborated with black jazz artist from the New Orleans school of jazz (The Chicagoans).

The coincidence of the invention of the radio and the migration of many of the most prominent jazz musicians to the city of Chicago created a setting that projected jazz to unparalleled fame and popularity, thereby facilitating the emergence of Chicago’s reputation as being the jazz capitol of the 20s (Cohen 155). Jazz legends such as Louis Armstrong returned to Chicago in 1925. Leaving behind the Henderson group in New York, Armstrong infused the jazz culture with his novel improvisational style of the soloist which diverged from the ensemble improvisation style of the classic New Orleans style (Cohen 156; Gioia 57, 60). Some of greatest jazz recordings of all time were produced in Chicago in a collaboration between Armstrong and Earl Hines who was “responsible for pushing the jazz piano beyond limiting horizontal structures of ragtime and into a more versatile and linear approach” (Gioia 61). Other significant figures of the Chicago jazz scene included Jimmy Noone who worked together with Hines on the famous Apex Club recordings producing “crisp clarinet-piano dialogues [which] would stand unsurpassed until Benny Goodman and Teddy Wilson” (Gioia 62). The racially diverse jazz culture of Chicago also included several white jazz musicians and bands that, inspired by the New Orleans legends, contributed their own unique style. The Austin High School Gang or Leon ‘Bix’ Beiderbecke expanded the diversity of jazz by emphasizing a “self-expressed, romantic, anything-goes approach which ignored the unwritten laws and precepts of the New Orleans style” (The Chicagoans 159).

The interracial mixture and diverse cultural setting of Chicago created its own unique style which carried on too influence future generations of musicians throughout the entire nation. The divergence of improvisation to a soloist centered approach was a novel element in jazz as the New Orleans style was built upon ensemble improvisation (Gioia 57, 60). For the first time in history the jazz was “pure and simple, freed from both the shadow of ragtime and the dictates of dance music” (Gioia 63).  The jazz created in Chicago was not just the music of a time and place - it was a timeless style of performance, a way of life, thus making it one of the most significant contributors to Jazz History and Chicago deserving of the title “Jazz Capitol of the 20’s” (Gioia 71).

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References:

T. Gioia “The History of Jazz”. Oxford University Press. Second Edition 2011

L. Cohen “Making a New Deal: Industrial Workers in Chicago, 1919-1939”. 

“The Chicagoans”

Commented on Chase Racich’s Blog