Jazz

Although Jazz was not born out of the Harlem Renaissance, it was the first true American music. The musical form was so influential that the era of the 1920s is often referred to as the Jazz Age. Born in the Deep South, Jazz was thought to have originated from the musical traditions brought by slaves from West Africa combined with western musical instruments and techniques.

Jazz, as a musical style, is easy to recognize but hard to define. Jazz has elements of different genres of music but is most noted for its improvisations. By the 1920s, there were several different types of Jazz, including Dixieland that originated in New Orleans. Famous Jazz musicians included Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington. Jazz also influenced composers such as Cole Porter and the Gershwin Brothers who composed Rhapsody in Blue and the Jazz opera Porgy and Bess.

The 1920s was a time of increased consumer buying. People were purchasing new automobiles and household appliances through various means of financing. The new mode of individual transportation changed society by making the population more mobile and able to live greater distances from their jobs.

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