3. The Swing Era: the Great Depression, the Radio, and Some Unhealthy Competition.

     The 1930's swing era saw the introduction of new musicians and audiences to the jazz scene. In part due to segregation and distribution of wealth, swing jazz attracted predominantly white audiences, and the shift in mainstream musical taste popularized the genre and afforded jazz musicians new opportunities. Racial inequality was brought to the forefront by the vast wealth deficit brought about by the great depression, the rise of the radio, and direct competition between black and white jazz bands. The new parameters that defined jazz in the 30's had their advantages and disadvantages for the black jazz musician.

     The great depression was one of the driving forces behind the increase in white jazz musicians. When the United States fell into depression, black and white musicians were pitted against each other for the best gigs. Swing was an escape from the harsh reality of life in the great depression and was one of the few fields that was making money in-spite of the nation's monetary deficit (Stuart). In addition the disparities of race were highlighted by the rise in Communist sentiment. The great depression was viewed as a failure for capitalist society, and raising the lower class was popular among the new class of intelligentsia, a great proponent of black empowerment was John Hammond (Stowe, 61). This movement between the formerly rigid class structure lead to an increased awareness of racial distinctions.

     The introduction of radio as the predominate medium of musical dissemination in the 1930s caused a shift in the music industry. With this new national distribution of music, jazz saw a significant leap in popularity across the country (Gioia, 128). This also thrust a few key players into the spotlight, leaving behind the many smaller jazz acts that performed in the small clubs around metropolitan centers. Radio overshadowed record sales and put power into the hands of white executives that ran the stations. Music that played ran according to white taste and therefore favored white bands to broadcast. On the other hand, it allowed musicians to be heard and not seen, for some black musicians this presented a great boon, their music was appreciated with ought the racial stigma (Stuart).

     Lastly, the popularization of jazz music in the main stream lead white musicians to adopt the musical style, adapting swing to the white audiences for which they played. Competition arose between white and black bands, constantly in contention for the same gigs and opportunities. In 1937 the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem hosted a competition between Benny Goodman and Chick Webb to determine which band could swing better (Stuart). Despite overwhelmingly winning the match up, Webb never went on to success in the way that Goodman was able to. Goodman went on to play at Carnegie Hall the next year, and managed to take a step towards elevating jazz as a high art form worthy of scholarly attention (Stuart). This competition between black and white bands was spurred by what audiences were most interested in hearing and seeing. For the most part, that meant white swing bands over the more talented black bands. John Hammond, a renowned jazz patron and critic, accused Duke Ellington of mellowing his music to appease white audiences, white bands were blamed for stealing black arrangements, but black musicians were forced to deaden their sound (Stowe, 51).

(commented on Matt Hirning's blog post)