At the December 14 meeting of the Retired Men’s Association, Hollister Sturges introduced the speaker, RMA member Tim Brooks. Tim is the author of nine books on media history, including Lost Sounds: Blacks and the Birth of the Recording Industry: 1890-1919, which lays the groundwork for this era, and The Blackface Minstrel Show in Mass Media: 20th Century Performances on Radio, Records, Film and Television. His books have won many awards, including the American Book Award and the ASCAP Deems Taylor Award for best book on music. He has also produced a number of reissue CDs, is a three-time Grammy nominee, and won a Grammy Award for Best Historical Reissue for the companion CD to Lost Sounds. He is the current president of the Association for Recorded Sound Collections, a national organization of recording scholars and archivists.
Tim explained that at one time African-Americans had been mostly barred from the stage. Their first widespread exposure to white audiences was when they staged their own minstrel shows in the late 1800s. Black ragtime music broke through in the 1890’s, but it was performed primarily by white musicians. The rich music of Black Americans had not gone completely unnoticed, however. Famed Czech composer Antonin Dvorak observed in 1893, “In the Negro melodies of America I discover all that is needed for a great and noble school of music.”
In 1915, African-American artist Freddie Keppard was asked to record a jazz record, but he declined to do so, fearing that other musicians would steal his music. Shortly thereafter, in 1917, the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, a white group, recorded the first jazz record, and it became a huge hit. Up to this time three companies had controlled the recording industry because of their patents, and they had little interest in promoting African-American music. When those patents expired, new recording companies emerged (some of which focused on Black music) and the opportunities for African-American musicians exploded. During the 1920s jazz recordings were made by both Black and white artists, and African-American culture became part of the mainstream in America. Before long, several genres of jazz were widely available.
One genre was Dixieland jazz, which typically involved an ensemble of five to seven musicians, featuring a trumpet, a clarinet, and a trombone. Some of this music was played by whites, such as Ted Lewis. But African-American artists such as Louis Armstrong and Jelly Roll Morton had a large impact.
Another genre was commercial dance band jazz. These bands, which were quite large, played African-American-style music, but the musicians were generally white. Paul Whiteman, a white bandleader who became known as the King of Jazz, played the most prominent role. In 1924 he staged an elaborate concert at New York’s Aeolian Hall that featured George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” a “symphonic jazz” piece that Whiteman had commissioned. Sophisticated big band jazz was another variant, with Duke Ellington and Fletcher Henderson perhaps being the leading practitioners.
Boogie-woogie, a mix of jazz and blues, was first popularized by Pinetop Smith, whose untimely death in a barroom fight limited his contributions. This style became very popular in the late 1930’s and 1940’s, being embraced by white performers such as Tommy Dorsey and the Andrews Sisters.
Jazz, an African-American creation, was thus embraced by and performed by both races. The leading jazz personalities of the 1920’s included both Black (e.g., Fats Waller) and white (e.g., Ted Lewis) musicians. And many songs sung by singers of both races were identified with jazz, including “Sweet Georgia Brown” and “Stardust.”
Meanwhile, blues music was evolving in parallel with jazz. The first hit blues record by a black performer was released in 1920, “Crazy Blues” written by Perry Bradford and performed by Mamie Smith and Her Jazz Hounds. Soon thereafter several genres of blues appeared, including delta blues, urban blues, and country blues.
By the 1930’s, jazz and blues had become a core part of American music, and over time they would continue to evolve into forms at the heart of American music. Roughly speaking, jazz evolved into big band swing, which spawned bebop, which led to the smooth jazz of the 1950’s. The blues, in turn, led to jump blues and jive, which evolved into rhythm & blues, which gave birth to rock-and-roll. Thus, African-American music, which first gained widespread exposure in the 1920’s, has become part of the mainstream of American culture.
The talk included many recorded examples, and was followed by a lively Q&A session. To see the full presentation, go to https://greenwichrma.org/, cursor to “Speakers” and click on “Speaker Videos.”
Note: The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speaker. They are not intended to represent the views of the RMA or its members.
The next RMA speaker presentation is titled “Issues on Greenwich Land Use,” by Patrick LaRow and Margarita Alban. Mr. LaRow is town planner, and Ms. Alban is chair of the Planning and Zoning Commission for the Town of Greenwich. Town Planning and the Planning and Zoning Commission together are responsible for the preparation of long-range plans for the most desirable development and use of the land within the Town of Greenwich and the enforcement of its land use regulations.
In their presentation, Patrick and Margarita will discuss the principal issues that are impacting Greenwich land use and their outlook for the future. This will include an assessment of the likely influences that economic, social and political trends may have on current regulations.
Patrick LaRow was named town planner of Greenwich effective January 1st of this year. He has been with the Planning and Zoning Department since 2007 and served as deputy director since 2017. Patrick has expertise in municipal and regional planning and land use policy.
Patrick is a graduate of the University of Albany, SUNY with a masters in Regional Planning and The University of Buffalo with a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Design/Architecture.
Margarita Alban is chair of the Planning and Zoning Commission of Greenwich. She has masters degrees in both management and accounting. She spent her career at ExxonMobil in their U.S. and International Divisions with experience in finance, construction, sales and public affairs.
Margarita joined the Planning and Zoning Commission in 2006 and became its chair in 2018.
RMA speaker presentations are presented to the public as a community service at no cost to in-person or Zoom attendees, regardless of gender. The RMA urges all eligible individuals to consider becoming a member of our great organization, and thereby enjoy all the available fellowship, volunteer, and community service opportunities which the RMA offers to its members. For further information, go to www.greenwichrma.org, or contact our membership chairman (mailto:members@greenwichrma.org).
