Blog #2: Chicago vs. New York City

After its origin in New Orleans, jazz started to diffuse into other metropolitan hubs of the United States. The two most notable incubators for jazz music following New Orleans were Chicago and New York City. It is not difficult to argue the case for Chicago's tremendous influence in the growth of jazz. Some of the most notable musician's in history performed extensively in Chicago, among them Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, and Jimmy Noone. Chicago produced a unique style that one author characterized as "a freely-expressed, romantic, 'anything goes' approach which ignored the unwritten laws and precepts of New Orleans style." (Chicagoans, page 159).

Despite the evolution which transpired in Chicago, New York City was simply more important to jazz in the 1920's. All of the action was happening in Harlem. During this time period, the borough was a paradox. Harlem represented an unprecedented environment for black Americans. Instead of operating on the fringes of a hostile society, blacks were able to form a strong community where creativity could flourish and people could produce works of literature, poetry, and music without relying on validation from the overbearing white society. However, while the hallmarks of a rich culture were forming, the grim economic realities of the era were plaguing the common man. For some, the only buffer between oneself and homeless was a bed he rented during the hours he was not working. Rather than hinder, this poverty boosted the popularity of jazz in Harlem. People would throw "rent parties" where dozens of people would pay a few quarters to squeeze into an apartment to listen to some of the most innovative jazz musicians of the day. The problem of next month's rent payment and the thirst for community entertainment were satisfied in one blow. Gioia sums up the paradox more cogently than I could hope to. "True, the Harlem Renaissance created an ideology, a cultural context for jazz. But the Harlem of rent parties and underground economics created music." (Gioia, ebook page 286).

The New York style of jazz was delivered via piano--Harlem stride piano. This style of playing was similar to ragtime playing, and from a technical standpoint, extremely complex and challenging. The most influential stride piano players was James P. Johnson. He was very aware of his function as a pianist in relation to the dancers with which he was performing. The typical form of ragtime involved returning to previous themes, and Johnson moved past this in "Carolina Shout". He "feeds the dancers' feet with a fresh rhythmic idea" ("James P. Johnson", page 33) and implements the call and response pattern, which would later attain near ubiquity in jazz pieces. Stride piano is considered the gap between ragtime and later jazz.