When I think of the 20s, The Great Gatsby immediately comes to mind: its opulent parties, flapper dresses, and jovial music. With the increased popularity of the gramophone and radio, in addition to high morale after the carnage of WWI and the exponential economic growth in America, celebration was in order. Hence, the dissemination of jazz culture.
New Orleans. The birthplace of a new form of music, an amalgamation of styles from Europe and Africa. Jazz is built on improvisation; watching the musicians synchronize on the spot and play with the different dynamics between instruments can be magical. The most popular musicians during this period were Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington – both amazingly talented.
There is Jazz, and there is White Jazz. Jazz was started by African Americans, before being appropriated and becoming what is referred to as White Jazz. This differentiation is important, for it not only marks the differences in the music itself, but also shows the blatant racism prevalent at the time. The majority of speakeasies were divided into two categories, either for whites or blacks only (there were also a small amount of clubs inclusive of both ethnicities, called “Black and Tan” clubs). Due to their popularity, African American jazz musicians were often requested to perform in white clubs – the only people of colour being the musicians themselves.
Jazz proliferated not only as a music genre, but as a full blown cultural movement, for many reasons. For starters, the youth longed to party and make up for time lost during the war. Jazz was a catalyst for the carefree attitude desired by the young generation and with the radio, people could listen to jazz wherever they wanted – they didn’t have to go to a club. In addition, major racism forced many jazz musicians to flee New Orleans in the early 1920s, with most settling in Chicago (making the city a jazz capital); this led to the widespread popularity of the music genre.
In 1919, the Volstead Act was passed in USA, banning alcoholic beverages as a whole. With these prohibitions, speakeasies began popping up; they were clubs and bars in which alcohol would be served illegally. It was in these speakeasies that jazz and new dances – the Charleston, Foxtrot, Shimmy etc. – flourished together.
Sources:
https://www.history.com/topics/roaring-twenties/roaring-twenties-history
http://www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/tbacig/studproj/is3099/jazzcult/20sjazz/upriver.html