The Swing Era

It is thought by many that Fletcher Henderson’s band with Louis Armstrong was perhaps the first orchestra to really “swing.” Henderson really possessed the supreme ability and talent to produce swing in the 1920s, but because he was black-skinned in a segregated white world, there was limited access to work. This “race” issue had always been a discourse in American history, but it was during the “Swing Era” that race became explicit due to factors of interracial competition, the need for validity of jazz as music form, the bad economy, and the physical time frame.

            Beginning with the time frame—the “Swing Era” took place during 1930s, following the Great Depression and preceding the first World War. The Great Depression took a huge toll on the economy and the overall standard of living. Record sales dropped ninety-percent in a mere five years, and “record labels that focused on black music…were hit especially hard” (Gioia, 127). The radio was becoming the new Because of this fact, there was extreme competition between black and white jazz performers, who vied for both cultural respect and the monetary and professional rewards. So, the musicians were now playing not just a creative game, but an economic game as well.

            At the beginning of this time period, both black and white jazz musicians lacked high cultural respect, as jazz was not then seen as a legitimate art, or as “classy” (class lecture 2/14/13). Because of this, there was pressure for inclusion, even in a society that was segregated. Jazz was great for this though, because it by now had morphed into a dance-style of music, and dance applied to all races! Race was still a huge issue during these times, yet while there were definitely segregated clubs, such as the Cotton Club, there were non-segregated places that popped up as well—such as the Savoy. Here, the dialogic nature between the music performer and the dancers was apparent. The dancing drew diverse audiences, of all different skin colors. It started “social miscegenation”—i.e. the interbreeding of those of different racial types—because dance involves touch, and being personal, which directly relates to sex and sexual tension created via dancing (class lecture 2/14/13). The jazz and henceforth dancing was beginning to break down America’s segregation. 

            However, as great as dancing was for starting to break down racial barriers during the thirties, there were always racial issues still popping up. One such issue was the tension between the black jazz performer, Duke Ellington, and white jazz critic, John Hammond. John Hammond excessively criticized Ellington “for his racial insensitivity to the troubles of ‘his people’” (class lecture 2/14/13). However, this situation is ironic in a couple ways. For one, it was Ellington who played by the (white-man’s) rules and hired an agent to promote him, and he performed as a “black performer” in the segregated club called the Cotton Club (class 2/14/13). These were aggressive moves that he made, versus say Fletcher Henderson, who simply did not pursue a further career due to a segregation society, that allowed him to become famous and successful. However, these race issues were still very significant, and due to them, he also had to sacrifice a lot for the fame. These sacrifices Ellington made left a “racial residue” in his mouth, according to Professor Stewart, that can be seen through his song titles like “Black Beauty” and “Solitude” (class 2/12 and 2/14). So, we can see that this still was an internal and personal concern to Ellington, and additionally, “Hammond’s criticism is ironic, given that Ellington’s music of the 1930s was explicitly and self-consciously concern with African-American cultural expression” (Swing Changes 51). The titles mentioned prior perfectly example this. Racial issues were no longer swept into the background—they were being addressed front and center.

            The Swing Era of the 1930s fell at a poor economic time in the country. Especially with the struggles and competition that resulted, along with the already and strongly present segregation, musicians had a tough go during this time period. Whether is was race issues working on being solved, like through non-segregated dance halls and social miscegenation, or race issues highlighted in a negative way, like with Ellington and Hammond, the race issues were explicit. They were in-your-face as never before. It was hard because it was basically a catch-22 for African Americans—they could become famous in a “white man’s world” which meant playing by certain rules and being criticized, or do what they could as a black performer, but probably not go as far because of limited opportunity. Race affected everything. Because of this, these factors all contribute to race being explicit in the 1930s as never before.