Jazz: A Permanent Fixture in American Culture Essay -- Music

The cities were where the jobs were located as well as the promise of a more exciting lifestyle. This urbanization allowed people exposure to other cultures, including their music. A large number of African Americans were included in this urban migration. They were moving from the rural south to northern cities and bringing with them a type of music that was different from anything the white northern youth had ever heard before. It was not the music of their parents and they embraced it. This music strayed away from classic forms, rejecting the chromatic scale and instead choosing discordant sounds (Samuel). The cities offered numerous opportunities to experience jazz. They were full of nightclubs and roadhouses which specialized in jazz music and stimulated artistic development, racial pride, and a sense of community (The American Republic). Advancements in technology also facilitated the spread of jazz music into mainstream society. Modern appliances allowed for people to have more free time. They filled this free time with entertainment. More disposable income also allowed for the purchase of phonograph records which brought jazz to areas where no bands performed. The radio was also important to the dissemination of jazz. Unlike many clubs, which were still segregated, radio was not. While many African American station owners struggled to survive in a white society they eventually managed to bring jazz music into the homes of both white and black households (Burns). Jazz music gave rise to several subcultures during the 1920’s. One of the most well-known being the flapper. The flapper represented the changing role of women in the post war society. Women during this time wanted greater independence. They entered the workfo... ...id, Keith. PBS: 2001, Film Carney, Courtney P. â€Å"Jazz and the Cultural Transformation of America in the 1920’s.† Diss. Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, 2003. Clegg, Stewart. "If People are Strange, Does Organization Make us Normal?." The Sage Handbook of New Approaches to Organization Studies. Comp. David Barry. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2008. Print. Music That Scared America: The Early Days of Jazz. Irvine, CA: Humanities out there in the Santa Ana Partnership, 2006 Nichols, Kathleen L. Jazz Age Culture. 11 Aug. 2008. Pittsburgh State University. 11 Apr. 2011 . Samuel, D. (2007). American Expatriates in the 1920s: Why Paris? Speakeasies, Flappers & Red Hot Jazz: Music of the Prohibition. n.d. Riverwalk Jazz. 11 Apr. 2011 . The Jazz Age. n.d. Trail End State Historical Site. 11 Apr. 2011 . [ return to top ]