Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Periods 3,4
Johnny Depp once said, Music touches us emotionally, where words alone cant. In the
twenties American jazz did just that. The power of music goes far beyond our
imagination; it was and still is something used to lessen stress and any uncomfortable
emotions that need to be suppressed. In the 1920s commonly known as the Jazz Age, it
was an era of jazz, drugs, and violence. Jazz was strictly banned because of racism,
religious opposition, and its connection to Prohibition, however, this did not stop jazz
Racial stereotypes associated with Jazz music by white Americans led to a white-
dominated music industry. African American culture was being faced with racism,
discrimination, and segregation, they have always found comfort and sense of peace in
their music. Although jazz was a collision between two cultures, it became a type of art
that was used mainly by African American slaves that utilized it to release the hard
tensions that was given to them by oppression. The white dominated society did not favor
how most African Americans alleviated their pains so most Africans were not able to
perform for people other than the black ethnicity. Many African musicians were then
boycotted. In The Social Effects of Jazz, Zola Philipp states how white jazz musicians
directed a commercial success while black jazz musicians were shadowed. Blacks were
basically locked out of it. Yet most white Jazz musicians did not have the improvisational
skills or originality that the black musicians displayed in their music (Philipp 6). Philipp
understands why white supremacy was the reason most African American musicians were
not able to be recognized due to discrimination over their appearance. She explains how
Jazz had somehow been symbolically linked to the civil rights movement, which
appealed to whites and blacks alive provided a culture in which the collective and the
individual were inextricable. Except with this hitch, they were judged by his ability alone
and not by race or any other irrelevant factors. Stanley Crouch writes, predicted the civil
rights movement more than any other art in America. Not only was Jazz structured
similarly to ideals of the civil rights movement but jazz musicians took up the cause
using their music to promote racial equality and social justice. An African American Jazz
musician, Louis Armstrong, performed a song called What did I do to be so Black and
Blue, lyrics included the phrase My only sin is the color of my skin. What did I do to be
so black and blue. Armstrong sang for his rights and for no racial discrimination among
Americans. Whites felt as though this form of music that allowed blacks to dance freely
and sing their sorrows away was driven by evil forces. Many people grew afraid of jazz
musicians because they believed it was associated by evil means because it was an art
that was controversial since it went against normalcy. American families then began to
feel a sense of hatred towards jazz music. Jelly Roll Morton, a Jazz composer, said on
Culture Shock, When my grandmother found out that I was playing Jazz music in one of
the sporting houses in the District, she told me I had disgraced the family and forbade me
to live at the house. She told me the devil's music would surely bring about my downfall
but I couldn't put it behind me. People were ridiculed for enjoying jazz music because of
its supposed connection to a world where people acted out of norm. They were
accustomed to a society that behaved a certain way and jazz changed that so many people
became hysterical.
In 1921, there was an outcry coming from religious leaders and music educators that Jazz
music had an evil influence on those who listened and played it. Some people felt that it
let to immoral dancing and others said it can cause permanent damage to your brain cells.
Jazz originally was the accompaniment of the voodoo dancer, that had a demoralizing
effect upon the human brain. The fear of the African influence of their sextinged
dancing thought to be wild and uncontrollable. It was true work of the devil, said one
of the Christian leaders. The white majority was afraid of the growing popularity Jazz
was getting. Thats why they began to gossip that it was associated with the devil and
seen as sinful.
The reason many people believed jazz had an affiliation with evil works was due to its
connection it had with the Prohibition Era. During Prohibition, alcoholic beverages were
discontinued as well as bars, however, it did not stop bootleggers from manufacturing and
distributing the illegal substance. They were able to make profits by creating speakeasies
which were secret bars. In these secret bars, jazz musicians were hired to perform while
flappers and their dates danced. Kyle Fisher wrote in the article Jazz/Swing music of the
American Prohibition, The atmosphere offered by Jazz to the party crowd at the time
was irresistible and soon speakeasies everywhere picked up on the trend and were
establishing Jazz as fun, exciting, and daring music. Fisher describes the aura that jazz
music gave to its audience. Customers responded as carefree characters which gave the
Even though Prohibition had proved to be a failed experiment, it did benefit jazz music,
which still needed some help. In the speakeasies, of Chicago and New York, illegal due
to Prohibition, hundreds of jazz musicians found gigs (Weiner). These were perfect
places, as they had a good crowd who would dance, and they were rarely checked. While
it was illegal, sometimes the rules need to be bent for the progression of greater good, and
in this case, jazz. It certainly wasnt the best of circumstances, because most speakeasies
were owned by criminal gangs, like the Italian Mafia in New York, and Al Capones
Gang in Chicago (Al Capone). These gangs committed atrocious crimes, and were
ridiculed everywhere. These gangs and their crimes, however, led to overhauls of local
police and law enforcement agencies by the 1930s (Gaines and Miller 99). Prohibition
may not have been popular at the Jazz Age; it did lead to many needed changes in
American society. All of these changes had their place in the revolutionary Jazz Age.
When words fail, music speaks. (Hans Christian Andersen) some may think that Jazz is
simply random music, but history proves that there is more behind the funny sounds and
beats. The historical and musical impact of jazz on the nation is phenomenal. It broke
through a time of depression and poverty, and introduced a style of sound very different
from past traditional forms of music which lead to people's dislikes in Jazz. It helped
African Americans out of their prejudiced roles by making them famous historical
figures. Without Jazz, the world would truly not be the same.