Jazz Age (19th Century)

Aniruddh Sharma and Somdatta Bhattacharya (Mentor), Cultural Studies

Jazz was the single most discussed musical genre of the United States during the 1920s, coming
to represent the decade as a whole. The Jazz Age evoked rapid mechanisation and the frivolous
good life of America's more high-rolling citizens, as much as it did a particular genre of music.
From the very beginning, jazz has been about freedom, movement and individual expression. For
American modernist composers, increased pluralism expanded the repertory of available sound
sources, and their diverse thinking became a vital component in shaping modernism in the New
World. It also appeared to be one of the most effective ways in which American composers might
gain long-desired acceptance in Western Europe. Its break from musical tradition and emphasis on
improvisation and innovation set it up as the backdrop to cultural changes, and it influences
international culture today. During the 1920s, jazz music provided the motivation and opportunity
for many women to reach beyond the traditional sex role designated to them by society. For the
first time in history, the culture of a minority became the desire of the majority through jazz.
Now, we will discuss on the birth of jazz, jazz poetry and its affect on communities in the 19th
century.