This month, the month of February, is officially observed and celebrated as Black History Month. It is also known as the African-American History Month - the time when we remember and celebrate the history and the accomplishments of numerous African Americans who are recognized in various fields. Jazz is one of those accomplishments that are widely recognized and appreciated by people all over the world. It has greatly impacted people and music since the 1920s and it continues to do so today.
The genre of jazz blossomed in the 1920s, after when the era of Civil War (1861-1865) and the era of Reconstruction (1865-1877) ended. During this time period, African Americans who had previously been enslaved were still treated horribly with inequality and racism. Many of those who were living in the South of the United States moved to the North, searching for a better life for themselves and for their family. This moving from the South to the North, which continued for about 50 years, is called the Great Migration. It led the African Americans who gathered in the North to begin the Harlem Renaissance in the city of Harlem, Manhattan, New York. The Harlem Renaissance was “a blossoming (c. 1918-37) of African American culture, particularly in the creative arts, and the most influential movement in African American literary history” (Britannica). One of the pioneers and the most well-known African American musicians of this time period is Louis Armstrong. He and his music inspired and influenced other African American artists of the Harlem Renaissance.
Louis Armstrong was a jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and a singer. He was born in 1901 in New Orleans, Louisiana to a couple suffering from poverty. His family did not last long because his father abandoned his family and his mother did not take care of him. Instead of his parents, he was raised by his grandmother and he had to quit school in 5th grade in order to support himself. In 1912, he was sent to the Colored Waif’s Home for Boys because he got arrested by a police officer for firing his stepfather’s gun in the air during a New Year’s Eve celebration. Interestingly, his love for music began there. While staying there, he was given music lessons and taught how to play the cornet, which is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet. After being released from that place in 1914, he sought to begin his career as a musician as he worked to support himself.
Despite his unfortunate conditions, with the mentorship of Joe “King” Oliver, Armstrong continued to grow as a musician and got to join a band in Chicago in 1922. His musical career expanded as he joined Fletcher Henderson’s Orchestra and recorded multiple solos with the jazz orchestra. In 1925, he formed a band named Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five. He became well-known for his solo recordings and for his songs such as “La Vie En Rose” and “What a Wonderful World” which are still greatly loved and listened to by people. Moreover, Armstrong became famous for his rhythmic style called swing and became the first African American jazz musician to write an autobiography and to host a nationally sponsored radio show.
Just like Louis Armstrong did, numerous African American artists such as Langston Hughes, Nina Simone, Earl Hines, Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington and Bessie Smith left their mark. They have led the way to begin the era of African American artistic and cultural bloom in the United States of America. By doing so, they showed the world that they are talented intellectual beings who deserve to be treated as full human beings when the others were telling them otherwise. Their music continues to impact people all over the world and their legacy remains for us to celebrate.
Sources
Hutchison, George. (2019, August 19). “Harlem Renaissance.” Retrieved from
https://www.britannica.com/event/Harlem-Renaissance-American-literature-and-art
History.com Editors. (2021, January 21). “Harlem Renaissance.” Retrieved from
https://www.history.com/topics/roaring-twenties/harlem-renaissance
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.