Race in the Swing Era

The subject of race in association with jazz had continually been a point of discussion.  The dialogues about race in jazz were controversial and polarizing, but they had not come to a forefront socially and culturally until the Swing Era came about.  With the move of jazz from New Orleans to Chicago, and then to New York, jazz became much more conventional.  It was no longer solely an installment in the hot, dance club world, but had come out into the vanguard. As a result of this widespread assimilation of a primarily black art form, there grew a sense of rivalry amidst the jazz musicians.  

According to lecture, “White and black musicians were in competition for financial rewards and cultural respect for mastery of the art form.”  The differences over race and culture in the Swing Era were defined by two performances, a competitive zeitgeist and racial theory (Stewart). Situations of competition tended to bring out racial consciousness.  There was more at stake, for example, the contest over who was the king of swing.  This competition highlighted differences and rewarded structure.

            The most shining moment of integration during this time was Benny Goodman’s performance at Carnegie Hall in 1938.   Benny’s small quartet was made up of his drummer Gene Krupa, black pianist Teddy Wilson, and black vibraphonist Lionel Hampton.  Benny Goodman was exalted and confirmed as king of jazz, and at the same time he stood for a moment of inclusiveness.  This garnered a pressure on inclusion even in the midst of a highly segregated society. 

Goodman’s situation was complex because he wanted to succeed himself, but he also profited from advancing a black creative form, so he maneuvered in order to include black performers in the frontlines, essentially breaking the color bar. As Gioia notes, “…Goodman used his preeminence to break through many barriers – of racial prejudice, of class distinctions, of snobbery and close-mindedness…” (138). 

An aspect of the racial tensions rising during the Swing Era was largely attributed to the upsurge of white jazz critics reviewing a black art form.  The jitterbug and the white jazz fan defined swing; as did the white jazz critic. “Another part of Swing integration was that black musicians were now open to criticism and comments by those who represented the white audience, especially the radical white audience that considered themselves the ‘true’ fans of jazz” (Stewart).

As lecture suggested, this racial tension was found in the artist vs. the critic.  Within this, the black artist was toted as a ‘representative’ of the race that was not as fortunate enough to have access to the economies of commercial jazz. However, this generalization and belittlement was particularly cutting because the jazz critics this debasement was issued by were all white.  According to Dr. Stewart, “swing became jazz as politics”, and along with it a popular, largely white, audience could now “critique Black jazz artists from a new subject position in American society and culture, that of the dedicated white enthusiast of black cultural production.”  Resulting from this politicized Swing Era, the discourse of race was brought to light.  

1920s Chi-Town Jazz

Professor Stewart’s revision to Samuel Johnson’s words on “genius” was to say that, “genius emerges when it finds it proper context, its proper environment, its proper audience.”  Chicago had all the right aspects, the proper context, environment, and audience, needed in order to reveal jazz genius.  This deeply segregated, robust city of industrialism, filled an “undifferentiated blackness”, is what caused the “Age of the Soloist” the “bearer of the most profound individuality, because it is an individuality tied to achieved in response to a community whose dynamism” made way for the soloist to emerge and redefine jazz (Stewart).

Chicago’s position as an extremely multi-ethnic and multi-racial city, as well as one of great modernism meant that immigrants made up a large portion of the city’s population.  This tension between whites and blacks led to riots and unrest, which in turn, taught that black population that they needed to be self-reliant.  In the wake of the riot, a commercial racial nationalism emerged, leading to black entrepreneurialism that laid economic ground for a market for consumer culture, as well as a thirst for American culture.  “This created an opportunity for jazz musicians, dancers, singers, and other performers to flourish in Chicago, using jazz as entertainment music”. So arose a distinctive black culture in Chicago that was defined by not only a lack of nostalgia, but also an ability “to take commercial culture and produce a unique musical form that was compelling” to blacks and whites alike (Stewart).

In lecture we listened to the Chicago style, and defined it as being characterized as a brash, sparkling, and upbeat trumpet, and a bluesy swinging rhythm section style of jazz. These factors combined made for a spectacular sound, which, in turn, lent itself very well to dancing.  This dance-ability allowed the shift from the hot, brothel-like jazz to the dance pavilions that became popular within the middle and working class.

According to Scaruffi, “Chicago jazz’s collective sound prevailed over individual sound.”  The influence of the free, big city spirit influenced much more improvisation by individual players.  Some main stayers in Chicago jazz included Joe Oliver’s band, Louis Armstrong, and Bix Beiderbecke.  As we talked about in lecture, the Chicago jazz scene was distinguished from others by the new sound emerging with Louis Armstrong: the soloist who swings the entire band.

Louis Armstrong’s unique and differentiating technique on the trumpet created a longer, slower, “blues-ier” sound.  His sound was defined by more sustained, powerful, long notes, and lyricism; very opposing to those of Joe Oliver’s band.  This rhythm was instrumental in the creation of the feeling of the slow drag of late night jazz dance hall that was so pervasive in Chicago at that time.  Just as it was said in lecture, these dance halls served as an open sanctuary for working class blacks to be entertained, and to perpetuate and recreate their culture; and Louis Armstrong’s sound made that possible. The great innovation of the 1920s, the emergence and eventual dominance of the soloist, all allowed for the emergence of a completely fresh take on jazz, found exclusively in Chicago.