If you never have (or maybe if you haven’t in a while), go listen to “Autumn in New York” by Billie Holiday. The crackle of the worn vinyl in the background, the delicate piano scales and, of course, the unmistakable thin but silky warm voice of Holiday, will whisk you away to an old American jazz bar. Surrounded by dim lights strung loosely on the brick walls and others like yourself, you’ll sit mesmerised by the music that surrounds you. I assure you there is nothing like it. If you listen to nothing else today, take a minute to appreciate the wonders of this song and maybe before you know it, you’ll find yourself searching up “Best Jazz” playlists on YouTube, because I know that’s what I did.
I’m sure you are desperate to leave your house and wander the city and visit your friends and forget all about words like “lockdown” and “social distancing.” Maybe even reading those words makes you immediately grumpy. Well, that’s exactly how Americans felt in the early 1920s. World War I had just ended, and no one wanted anything more to do with it. All too resonant with us a century later, the Spanish Flu pandemic, which claimed even more lives than the war, had also only recently subsided. The only thing on every American’s mind was freedom. Finally, life was vital again, but people craved something new, something exciting and different. Something that could be shared with each other but was also profoundly personal and unique. And out of this ferment, jazz arose from the vibrant city of New Orleans, and the Roaring Twenties began.
In the diverse mix of people that was New Orleans at the time, African American and African-influenced musical styles like blues and ragtime mixed with other music types, and gradually jazz emerged as a distinct and remarkable blend of them all, one which flew through the following decades and danced teasingly in the face of tradition. It attracted people of all social classes who were not only drawn to the music, but also the enticingly sensuous and unpredictable culture that surrounded it. However, the rising popularity of jazz caused an uproar amongst those who opposed the social rebellions that it encouraged. This only made the movement more fascinating and the people that much more curious, because for the first time in America the culture of the minority became the desire of the majority. It was wonderful and it was new, and it was exactly what America needed.
But the dreadful inequality that plagued America did not make it easy for talented African American musicians, who were refused air time on the newly introduced radio stations and prohibited from recording studios. It was called “the Devil’s music” by the older generation and was banned in dozens of communities across the country. Despite the efforts to stop it, jazz grew inexorably and soon spread to every corner of America, evolving as it did so, picking up new rhythms from other music styles and producing iconic artists like Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington and too many more to list.
Jazz caused a revolution, not only in the music industry, but also in the American society. It challenged the social constructs of the time and paved the way on the journey to a better America. Bessie Smith, fought through it all, as being an African-American woman she faced prejudice on a daily that left her having to work much harder for recognition then other white, make jazz musicians. It was not until later that Smith and others like Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington (I highly recommend “September in the rain”) and Billie Holiday were truly recognised and respected for their brilliant talents. But, their dedication, perseverance and love for the music means that you can listen and enjoy it to this day. We should forever be thankful to the African American influences that birthed the wonder that is jazz, and the musicians in the later decades, who continued to fuel it as it evolved and grew, soaring through the American cities and later, the world.
In the 1920s, Americans were desperate for a new curiosity and now 100 years later, it’s only one click away. Hopefully, after reading this article you will find yourself sitting in an old American Jazz bar. Surrounded by dull lights strung loosely on the brick walls and others like yourself, you’ll sit mesmerised by the music that surrounds you.
(I’ve even put the link here)
Written by Natalie Strauch, 11WG
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