#2

Blog #2

            Jazz in the 1920s presented a curious confliction in social cultural values in the United States. On one hand, America was still a very much segregated society, with a very low ceiling and few occupational options for African Americans. However, there was a large demand for black performers. It created an odd situation where black culture is acceptable, and even valued, by American society as long as it occurs on stage, but it is still disapproved of and hated in day to day life. For Jazz to gain mainstream success it would need to overcome this barrier. It did this in Chicago.

            In the early 1920s, Chicago was a rough, booming city run by the larger than life mob boss Al Capone. Everything was a business, and nothing went down without the mob getting a cut. It didn’t matter if you were black, Italian, jewish, or german, as long as you had cash, paid your respects to the mob, and were tough enough to stay afloat, you could rise to success in Chicago. This environment allowed for blacks to gain a degree of disposable income. They may have endured backbreaking labor all week, but come Friday night they had a bit of extra cash in their pockets and they wanted to spend it and have a good time. This is the moment where jazz musicians could take the stage and earn a livelihood performing. The mob caught on to this. Nothing happened in Chicago without the mob getting a cut and they quickly capitalized on these performers and their audience, bringing the top performers out of the underbelly of the city and into prestigious clubs. There were many negatives to the mob running the Chicago jazz scene. For one, jazz musicians were forced into binding contracts that limited their occupational freedom both legally and with the threat of mob violence hanging over their head, and as money talks they began catering to a predominantly white audience (Travis, 44-45). But with this change, also included more room for growth. Blacks could make a better living performing jazz than just about any other occupational alternative. This allowed for more musicians to enter the scene and for more of them to devote their time to their craft. This was the moment Jazz entered the mainstream. Jazz may have been born in New Orleans, but in Chicago it grew up.

            You can feel this sense of maturity in the music as well. New Orleans jazz is light, uplifting, and whimsical. Chicago Jazz is fast, “snappy,” “modern,” and almost arrogant in the way the ensemble components compete with one another in an attempt to emerge as a distinct voice (The Chicagoans, 162). This seems very much reflective of the attitude of the cities. Jazz emerged in New Orleans because it was a city that was intensely passionate about music as a form of expression, but in Chicago it I all about money, and the musicians that moved to play there had to become savvy businessmen in order to survive.