Music of the Harlem Renaissance: Jazz
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No aspect of the Harlem Renaissance shaped America and the entire world as much as jazz. Jazz ignored many musical conventions with its syncopated rhythms and improvised instrumental solos. Jazz combines complex African rhythms and European harmonic structure. Thousands of city dwellers flocked night after night to see the same performers. Harlem's Cotton Club boasted the talents of Duke Ellington. Singers such as Bessie Smith and Billie Holiday popularized blues and jazz vocals. Louis Armstrong drew huge audiences as white Americans as well as African Americans caught jazz fever.
Step 1: Observe
- Fusion means mixture. How is jazz a "fusion" genre of music?
- Was jazz limited to people living in Harlem? Why or why not?
- Listen to each song below. Describe what you hear. What does jazz sound like?
“After You’ve Gone” ~ Bessie Smith (1927)
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Nicknamed The Empress of the Blues, Smith was the most popular female blues singer of the 1920s and 1930s. She is often regarded as one of the greatest singers of her era and, along with Louis Armstrong, a major influence on other jazz vocalists.
“Knee Drops” ~ Louis Armstrong & His Hot 5 (1928)
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Louis Armstrong was an American jazz trumpeter, singer, and one of the pivotal and most influential figures in jazz music. Coming to prominence in the 1920s as an "inventive" trumpet and cornet player, Armstrong was a foundational influence in jazz, shifting the focus of the music from collective improvisation to solo performance.
“It Don’t Mean A Thing (If It Ain’t Got that Swing)” ~ Duke Ellington (1931)
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Duke Ellington was an American composer, pianist and bandleader of jazz orchestras. He led his orchestra from 1923 until his death, his career spanning over 50 years. "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" is a 1931 composition by Duke Ellington, with lyrics by Irving Mills, now accepted as a jazz standard, characterized by jazz historians as legendary and a prophetic [visionary] piece.
Step 2: Reflect
- Once you listened to all three songs, what do the songs have in common? What is unique about each artist?
- Which song do you like the most? Why?
- Who would be interested in hearing music like this? Why do you think so?