In the 1920’s there was a big influence of jazz music. Jazz music originated in New Orleans and over the years moved to Chicago, New York, and Kansas City, then eventually all over the country.
Some of the greatest musicians of the time were King Oliver, Louis Armstrong, Kid Ory, and Duke Ellington. They are the people that made the 1920’s known as the “Roaring Twenties”.
Joe “King” Oliver’s jazz band was the greatest and most popular of the early 1920’s. The band was originally from New Orleans. In the late 1920’s Oliver had made some poor decisions and eventually died as a nobody.
Edward “Kid” Ory was the first great trombonist, which were in high demand in the 1920’s. His band was started in New Orleans in 1912 and had many great jazz musicians such as King Oliver, Louis Armstrong, Johnny Dobbs, Sidney Bechet, just to name a few. He was also the leader of the first African American band to recorded jazz music.
Louis Armstrong had been the student of King Oliver and even though Oliver was the teacher Armstrong was by far the better soloist. Eventually Louis left for Broadway and became the best jazz soloist in Broadway; in the end Louis Armstrong was named the first “super star” of jazz.
The 1920’s is where Duke Ellington’s rise to fame began. Duke started his musical career in his home town of Washington DC. Later in life he moved to New York after excelling at several clubs he went on to perform at the Cotton Club. There they became famous for their Jungle Nights show and were given a permanent job there. Duke Ellington was also named the one of the most important composers of the 20th century.
I think that without jazz music we would have missed out on a huge cultural experience. We would also probably not have the style of music we have today. I am in band in high school and a lot of music that we have played has been influenced by jazz music. I can identify the most with Louis Armstrong because I am a trumpet player.
http://www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/tbacig/studproj/is3099/jazzcult/20sjazz/musicians.html
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Well done Paul!