


Whiteman’s band does not play true Jazz but the so-called symphonic Jazz. Paul Whiteman and his Band record the classic “Whispering” in New York City.Thus, Bop will begin in about twenty years. They will be raised in an era that will allow them to rebel. The young future Bop players are being born. This year marks the beginning of an age of great interest in black arts and music (Jazz).This will eventually be the cause of the shift of Jazz from Chicago to New York. The cabaret business begins in New York.In time, the cellars of New York City will become riddled with speakeasies providing numerous opportunities for Jazz musicians. Somebody discovers that the New York brownstone basement (being narrow and running from the main street to back alley) is well suited to use as a speakeasy.Over forty prominent New Orleans Jazzmen have moved to Chicago.This kicks off the Classic Blues craze of the 1920s. The first recorded Blues appears when Mamie Smith records Crazy Blues.Prohibition indirectly helped the cause and image of Jazz. However, women were very likely to drink in speakeasies. For example, before prohibition, few, if any women drank in bars. In many respects, prohibition had the opposite of its intended effect. The 18th Amendment was ratified on January 29th, 1919, having been approved by 36 states, and went into effect as Federal law on January 29th, 1920. The “Volstead Act,” the popular name for the National Prohibition Act, passed Congress over President Woodrow Wilson’s veto on October 28th, 1919 and established the legal definition of intoxicating liquor and provided for enforcement of Prohibition.Bandleader Paul Whiteman leaves San Francisco for Atlantic City.The Original Dixieland Jazz Band visits England and triggers interest in the new music.Christian will be influenced by Lonnie Johnson, Eddie Lang, and Django Reinhardt. Innovative guitarist Charlie Christian is born in Dallas, Texas.Wright plunges a penknife into Europe’s neck. They have words because Wright thinks that Europe is treating him unfairly. On May 9, in Boston, Europe is confronted in his dressing room by Herbert Wright (one of his men).Infantry “Hell Fighters” Band released recordings within weeks of the men’s return from the war. James Reese Europe and his band known as the 369th U.S.More than ten of these are soldiers still in uniform. In this year, 70 blacks are killed by KKK mobs.After years of lynching and other mistreatment of blacks by whites, the NAACP promotes the slogan “The new Negro has no fear.” This type of thinking will further the cause of Jazz.Treaty of Versailles signed on June 28th, 1919.Irving Berlin’s 1st musical “Watch Your Step” opened on Broadway.The first traffic light in the nation was installed in Cleveland Ohio on August 5th.This spread Jazz beyond New Orleans and ultimately to Chicago and New York. Storyville was shut down during World War I, sending the Jazz musicians up the Mississippi River in search of employment.

Louis Blues”, the first commercial blues to be published. He turns them down and misses the chance to be the first Jazz performer to record because he is afraid that his style will be copied. This occurred for three reasons: 1) appealed to whites, 2) solved problems understanding, playing and notating the Blues 3) established harmonies and a form for band members to work with. Eventually, a 12 bar form based on the 1-4-5 chord progression (what we know as the Blues today) will become standard. Up until now the Blues form varied between 13.5 and 15 bars to suit the lyrics or the mood of the performer. There is a major impetus around this time for the Europeanization of the Blues.Midway Gardens, Chicago IL, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright opens.Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo.
