Introduction
Towards the beginning of the twentieth century, a new art form known as Jazz, was cultivating in African American neighborhoods of New Orleans, Louisiana. As jazz grew in America, it began to take on new life forms by drawing on different cultures. The origins of jazz in New Orleans combine ragtime and blues with distinctive brass-bands, Kansas City jazz was more blues oriented and improvisational, Bebop sped up the tempos of the music in the early 1940s and Cool jazz slowed it back down at the end of the decade. Not only were there differences based on geographic region and decade, but also based on gender. As jazz was spreading geographically and growing in popularity, the Women’s Rights Movement was coming to an end. In 1920, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution granted women the right to vote. While women were certainly making strides forward in gaining respect in many aspects of American life, they were still struggling immensely to make names for themselves in music, particularly in jazz. Certainly some women were recognized for their contributions to jazz, such as Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Anita O’Day, but only because of their talent in singing. Female composers, bandleaders and instrumentalists did not attain the same notoriety as female singers, and certainly not the same notoriety as male jazz musicians. Despite the temporal proximity of the conclusion of the women’s rights movement and the establishment of jazz as a musical genre, women still faced extreme obstacles in their attempts to garner respect as musicians. Similarly, racial divides became evident through jazz music, particularly in the differences between jazz produced in the North and jazz produced in the South. In analyzing the thematic, lyrical, and tonal differences in music from distinct areas in the North and the South, we hope these various struggles, including racial divides and gender conflicts, will become clear. Feel free to navigate our project using the links below: