"The lights grow brighter as the earth lurches away from the sun, and now the orchestra is playing yellow cocktail music, and the opera of voices pitches a key higher. Laughter is easier minute by minute, spilled with prodigality, tipped out at a cheerful word. The groups change more swiftly, swell with new arrivals, dissolve and form in the same breath; already there are wanderers, confident girls who weave here and there among the stouter and more stable, become for a sharp, joyous moment the centre of a group, and then, excited with triumph, glide on through the sea-change of faces and voices and color under the constantly changing light" (Fitzgerald 41).
The Great Gatsby portrays the Prohibition Era, or the Roaring Twenties, as a time of parties, wealth, extravagance, and drinks. A falseness permeated the entire society, with "introductions forgotten on the spot" and fake friends who simply took advantage of wealth to move up in society (41). Parties were casual, with friendly but often insubstantial conversations accompanied by calming Jazz music. The music both shaped and was shaped by the parties. The music swells with an influx of people and the repeated and often improvised sections of the music matched the polite conversations that took place. The cocktail music is upbeat and welcoming, with a comfort similar to the alcohol that everyone is consuming. Music very much reflects and creates the mood of the party; the specifics of each song will not be remembered by the partygoer after they leave, similar to how they will not recall the other people they met at the party. By not distracting from the main party, the music creates a mood while not calling attention to itself. Even when the atmosphere is threatened by a "gypsy...
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...Put the Sin in Syncopation?" Ladies Home Journal (1921): 16-34. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. .
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York, NY: Scribner, 1996. Print.
Kellner, Bruce. "The Cotton Club." Pop Culture Universe: Icons, Idols, Ideas. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 7 May 2014.
Savran, David. "The Search for America's Soul: Theatre in the Jazz Age." Theatre Journal 58.3 (2006): 459,476,546. ProQuest. Web. 5 May 2014.
"Speakeasies, Flappers & Red Hot Jazz: Music of the Prohibition." Riverwalk Jazz - Stanford University Libraries. Stanford University, 2005. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.
"Swing Music in the 1930s (Overview)." Pop Culture Universe: Icons, Idols, Ideas. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 7 May 2014.
Young, William H. and Nancy K. Young. "Swing Music and Dance." Pop Culture Universe: Icons, Idols, Ideas. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 7 May 2014.
Swing, the predecessor of bop, was big, sweet, and hot. The performers were big bands, fronted by a charismatic bandleader, yet the success of a piece depended mostly on the unity of the ensemble as a whole, rather than on the showcasing of prodigious individuals. The requisite instrument was the saxophone, which was often smooth and mellifluous. Songs were old favorites, or simple jazz standards, that had been arranged to suit a large ensemble. Swing bands played in large venues, such as ballrooms, and to large audiences, who seized the opportunity to not just tap their toes, but to "jump, jive, and wail." The swing era became the most popular form of jazz, as it catered to audiences as a form of social and interactive entertainment.
By the 1930’s the movement had shifted yet again and began to incorporate larger bands in what came to be known as “swing.” Broadcast radio was also an important factor by this time, giving swing music a far-reaching national influence. The size of the bands had a standardizing ...
The United States and our government has been shaped entirely from its past. We have learned right from wrong, what has worked and what has failed. The 1920s was a time in our country where the government created a law that upset the people. This decade is often referred to as The Roaring 20’s, The Jazz Age, The Prohibition Era, The Cocktail Era, etc. All these names perfectly describe this time, but it was also a time to learn from the mistake of creating a law that prohibited alcohol. This law played such a huge role in the decade, and has been forever remembered. The Great Gatsby is a romance novel that also hints on the time of prohibition. F. Scott Fitzgerald talked greatly about alcohol and the part it took in The Roaring 20 's. Though
“His relaxed phrasing was a major change from the staccato style of the early 20’s and helped to set the stage for the Swing Era” (“Life & Legacy”). And as such a prominent artist, and in particular, jazz artist, Armstrong did not only change the perception of jazz and swing, but the views on African Americans and their culture. Armstrong and the Harlem Renaissance reflected black history and culture, and it became popular, even in white communities and clubs. Jazz as a whole genre helped further society’s views through the universal language of music, where any ethnicity could partake in it. And the revolution of jazz was lead by the stylings of Louis Armstrong. The duration of the jazz and swing era, lasting decades past the 1920s, symbolized the civil rights movement directly through the lyrics, sounds, and artists
The 1920s were greatly influenced by prohibition. The prohibition law restricted the manufacturing, consumption, transportation, and sale of alcohol. The law was put into effect to lower the crime and corruption rates in the United States in the 1920s. It was also said to reduce social problems and lower taxes. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald examines the negative repercussions of prohibition on the economy, characters in the Great Gatsby, and on the different social classes of the 1920s.
Ostlere, Hilary. “Taming The Musical.” Dance Magazine 73.12 (1999): 84. Expanded Academic ASAP. Westfield State College Library, MA. 15 April 2005.
Carringer, Robert L.. The Jazz singer. Madison: Published for the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research by the University of Wisconsin Press, 1979. Print.
Koenig, Karl. "Something About Ragtime." Jazz in Print (1859-1929): An Anthology of Early Source Readings in Jazz History. New York: Pendragon, 2002. 97-98. Print.
The 1920’s through 1940’s were incredibly influential years for America, as this was the first period when the commonwealth could partake in entertainment and leisure activities. Although these years had great impact on all of entertainment,the jazz rebirth of the Swing Era was the dominant cultural overtake in the 20th century. The Swing Era impacted America predominantly through its new found discovery as a social commodity, its reimagination of music, and the effect it had on the people who played it.
The Jazz Age was also a response to the First World War and to Edith Wharton’s “Old New York”. We see the youth generation of America disenchanted with the nation’s leaders following World War I, believing that, “the delicacy and pettiness of the older generation… led to the most horrible war in human history”. This way of thinking led to a new mood, “one composed of a new toughness of mind, a fresh repudiation of the Victorian ethic, and a very deep distrust of the rhetorical flourishes of the successful economic and political leaders”. Therefore the younger generation in the 1920s chose to rebel against the leaders of the older generation in the only way they knew how—expressing themselves through partying and acting out against the old Victorian guidelines for socie...
American Theatre: History, Context, Form. Edinburgh: Edinburgh Univ, 2011. Print. Scott, Freda L. "Black Drama and the Harlem Renaissance."
Jazz is an American genre that developed from ragtime and blues in the early twentieth century in urban areas of the U.S. This genre is characterized by strong, prominent meter, improvisation, distinctive tone colors, and performance techniques. The development of Jazz made a postive, lasting impact after World War One ended. It became a way of bringing young people together. Jazz became the basis for most social dance music and provided one of the first opportunities for public integration. Subcultures like the gangs of New York and Chicago encouraged the subjugation of the black artists to the white man’s economic and social power, often resulting in gang leaders having complete control over
Jazz and “boogie-woogie” of the Thirties moved popular music away from the light entertainment of the publishing houses toward a more exciting and dance oriented style that made the swing era a golden age. As the bigger bands died out and the star singers again grabbed the spot light the songwriters again found their services in demand. Without jazz driving it and Americans rebuilding their lives and starting baby booms people were too busy to waste time dancing. Popular music turned back to light sentimental songs and cute novelty music song by polished voices and backed by sweetly generic instrumentals.
jazz/) Works Cited:.. Andrews, John. The. a. The adage of the adage of the adage of the adage of the adage of What bebop means to jazz history. A review of Scott Devine’s book “The Birth of the Bebop: A Social and Musical History.”
The Roaring Twenties is considered to be a time of excessive celebration and immense corruption. The novel, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a criticism of American society and its values during this era of history. This criticism is first apparent in the people who go to Gatsby's parties. They get absurdly drunk, do not know who their host is and are rude by excessively gossiping about him. This commentary is also shown in the corruption of the police. Gatsby is able to pay off the police so that the activities going on at his home will go unnoticed and so that he may behave as he wishes. This criticism is finally shown in the corruption of friendship and love, the simple fact being that there is none. People use Gatsby and then throw him away. Fitzgerald's criticism of American society and its values during this time period is first shown in the behaviour of people at Gatsby's parties.