City Legacy Magazine - Birthplace of the Big Bands, p.3

The race record phenomenon laid the foundation in 1921 for Black Swan, the first African-American owned record company in the United States. It was in the company’s office at 2289 Seventh Avenue in Manhattan that Fletcher Henderson found employment as the recording director and leader of the Black Swan pick-up orchestra, a move that eventually led to the rise of the big band sound.

DATES OF MUSICIANS
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE:

Louis Armstrong (1900-1971)

Eubie Blake (1883-1983)

Edward "Duke" Ellington (1899-1974)

Coleman Hawkins (1904-1969)

Fletcher Henderson (1897-1952)

Joe "King" Oliver (1885-1938)

Don Redman (1900-1964)

Noble Sissle (1889-1975)

Bessie Smith (1894-1937)

Mamie Smith (1883-1946)

Ethel Waters (1896-1977)

Big band music’s migratory development can be traced to the turn of the century, when American patriotism manifested itself in the popularity of brass bands and Sousa marches, and a syncopated style of piano playing called ragtime became the country’s first pop music craze. In the plentiful bars and bordellos of New Orleans, where African-American and Creole musicians entertained, a new style of music emerged, a style that incorporated the rhythmic elements of ragtime and the instrumentation of the brass band.

page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 >>

Printer Friendly Version

More Nonfiction