Jazz is a hybrid type of music that grew out of black folk music such as blues, and ragtime
music created by composers like Scott Joplin. New Orleans was the main place where jazz
was played at first, but many musicians joined the migration to northern cities to where there
was better pay. At first, more conservative musicians didn't like jazz, which was a very new
and spontaneous music style, where the musicians often made up variations on a melody as
they went along. But as jazz took over in Harlem, it began to capture the spirit of the times, very
fast moving yet leisurely. Black musical theater was also popular at the time, in the form of
vaudeville shows. Jazz became respectable at last, even for white people, with the writing of
Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. White people began to flock to black jazz clubs in Harlem like
the famed Cotton Club. With prohibition underway, a lot of these clubs doubled as
speakeasies. Extraordinarily talented musicians like trumpet player Louis "Satchmo"
Armstrong wowed audiences with new techniques. Armstrong was nicknamed "Satchmo"
because his mouth puffed up so much that he was at first christened "Satchel Mouth" , which
was then shortened to "Satchmo". Edward Kennedy Ellington was nicknamed Duke because
of his poised attitude and gentlemanly manners. Duke tried new techniques in pieces such
as Mood Indigo, Take the A Train, and Black and Tan fantasy.

Blues grew out of slave laments sung by slaves going back through history. Throughout the
Harlem Renaissance, it was generally known as a less sophisticated and more low-class
form of music, but no one really seemed to care, judging from how popular it was. Soul-filled
voices like that of Bessie Smith dominated the field. Smith had a rough childhood, like many
of the blues singers, and used her past to make her laments sound real. Many singers of the
Harlem Renaissance had humble beginnings, and got their starts much by chance. Ethel
Waters, a famous singer of the time, was discovered at an amateur talent night, and took off
from there. Waters was known for her more sophisticated style, with a clear soprano voice
and long, dangly earrings. Waters was also a star in one of the other fields of music,
vaudeville revues, which involved singing and dancing. Vaudeville's high energy was what got
a lot of the nation hooked on Harlem music. Groups like the "Ten Ebony Steppers" danced
and sang musical theater style. Most of the Harlem performers had natural talent and not a
whole lot of training-most of it came from the spirit.

Many Harlem artists, like writers, were the first to create art using African American culture,
traditional objects, and religion. Styles of art during the Harlem Renaissance included
sculpture, murals, and painted works. Many black artists of the time were given funding by the
Harmon Foundation a group of patrons who were gave money and recognition to black
artists. However, many black artists felt the need for their own organization, because the
Harmon Foundation made them feel beholden and not taken seriously. Aaron Douglas,
hailed as the father of black art, created a four-panel mural showing the history of African
Americans from slavery in the South to Industrialism in the North. Palmer Hayden, another
very famous black artist was criticized for his caricature style and not painting wealthy, happy
pictures of African Americans. He was also noted for combining Western and black cultural
items in a still life. Augusta Savage was famous for her unique but true-to-life sculptures,
such as Lift Every Voice, which portrays an African American choir forming a harp with a boy at
the front offering the gift of music to the world. Augusta Savage was also famous for sharing
her art with others. Savage opened a studio where she taught sculpture, and also was the
second president of the Harlem Artists Guild. Also, she started the Harlem Community Art
Center, where she taught serious artists, as well as providing education and recreation for
over a thousand Harlem resident

Works Cited:

www.rhino.com/blackhistory/ photo2.html

www.corcoran.org/collection/ browse_results.asp?Dept_ID=1

Hardy, P. .Stephen and Hardy, Sheila Jackson, Extaordinary People of the Harlem Renaissance. New York, New York: Children's Press, 2000
Benson, Kathleen and Haskins, James, Great Journeys: Out of the Darkness. Tarrytown, NY: Benchmark Books, 2000
Haskins, Jim The Harlem Renaissance. Brookfield, Connecticut: The Millbrook Press, Inc, 1996.