Which city was more important to jazz in the 1920s--Chicago or New York? What role did the particular social, economic, and racial conditions of that city play in creating the cultural conditions for jazz to triumph in that city? Was there a Chicago or New York style of jazz (depending on which of the two cities you choose)? If so, what was it, who played it, and what distinguished it from other styles? Whose (band or individual) art best represents the culture and community of the city you choose? Why? Please provide references.
Chicago was a city of interest to many African American jazz musicians after the decline of Storyville. The Great Migration brought. influx of millions of Blacks from the rural South to the urban and bustling cities of the North. This included artists such as Joe Oliver and, following him, Louis Armstrong. In 1914, the “largest exodus began” of African Americans to the North due to the South “lagging behind the rest of the country in its move toward industrialization” (The City, 95). The move was mainly into large cities; the availability of higher paying jobs made the North a land of promise to Blacks. Jazz musicians, such as Oliver and Armstrong, found more promising pay in Chicago than they had in New Orleans.
A Black culture came to form in the midst of Caucasian population. Compared to their fellow European immigrant neighbors in laboring parts of the city, African Americans were more willing to “[participate] in mainstream cultural life” (Cohen, 147). This brought their culture to the foreground, unlike Europeans whose culture for the most part melded into that of white middle class society.
Of course, one of the most important musicians to bring jazz influence to Chicago was Louis Armstrong. At the time, he may have been “neglected by the general public, but [was] amply recognized by the musical community” (Gioia, 94). His move to Chicago and his opportunity to perform in the Lincoln Gardens with fellow jazz cornetist Joe Oliver served as more of a sponsorship to his career than did working in the red light district of Storyville. The city was a place that offered Armstrong with higher pay and a chance to spread his music to a more industrially advanced area.
Armstrong also met his wife, Lil Hardin, in King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band, whose “aspirations for his career...were responsible for his break with Oliver and his decision to join Fletcher Henderson” (Gioia, 101). She was also responsible for his return to Chicago in 1925 to start his recordings of the Hot Fives and Sevens. Indeed, it was the Windy City that brought these two renowned musicians together and furthermore bring Armstrong’s influence to jazz in the United States. It is fair to say, with the offer of a true living that Chicago made with money available to musicians, the careers of jazz musicians such as Armstrong germinated in this city.
It seems that Chicago and New York jazz were similar in many aspects, such as by creating a nightlife for both black and white citizens. However, Chicago jazz seemed to put less of an emphasis on big band music. King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band had 9 members, whereas Fletcher Henderson’s contained 69. The smaller bands consequentially contained fewer players on each instrument, so there was more of an emphasis on the communication between individuals and their sounds. The way smaller jazz bands, such as King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band, performed in the Lincoln Gardens differed from how New York jazz was performed. King Oliver’s Jazz Band best demonstrates the communication between the art and the community of Chicago. The influential figures in the band, such as Armstrong, Lil Hardin, and Oliver, found the true beginnings of their careers as jazz musicians in the Windy City.
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