The Jazz Age

The Jazz Age 1. Music a. Introduction of Jazz i. Thought to be introduced in New Orleans. A. New Orleans was a port city, and therefore a cluster of different cultures gathered there, and because of this, musicians there heard and were exposed too many different types of music. b. What Jazz is made up of ii. Jazz is a medley of American Blues, European Classical, and South American beats and rhythms. iii. Jazz also focuses largely on improvisation. There is rarely any sheet music, and during solos jazz musicians just play what feels right and sounds good. c. What Jazz brought to society iv. Jazz added to the new found sophistication in the 1920’s. v. In the 1920’s, everyone seemed to have money to spare .Jazz commonly went along with wealth in the 1920’s. It was played at parties, high class restaurants, etc etc.. 2. General Jazz Age d. The Jazz age did not just include the actual jazz music, but it embodied a whole cultural change in America. e. Broadway was especially affected by the social change. vi. In the 1920’s, broadways theatrical ‘cousin’ was born, Vaudeville. Vaudeville was more ‘low brow’ theater, that contained mostly musicals. vii. During the 1920’s, theatrical productions per season doubled from the decade before, including hits like Sally and Na Na Nanette. viii. Also in the 1920’s, segregation of theaters was demolished and black actors began making their debuts on Vaudeville. Few made it all the way up to Broadway, but many were made famous on Vaudeville stages. ix. There were 70 to 80 Broadway stages. f. Changes in Art x. Surrealism and Art Deco became wildly popular in the 1920’s. B. Surrealism is a 20th-century literary and artistic movement that attempts to express the workings of the subconscious and is characterized by fantastic imagery and incongruous