Christopher Wilkinson
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- March 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781617031687
- eISBN:
- 9781617031694
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781617031687.003.0006
- Subject:
- Music, History, American
This chapter examines the history of the arrival of big band jazz bands in West Virginia during the period from 1929 to 1933, and discusses the documented performances by bands based in New York who ...
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This chapter examines the history of the arrival of big band jazz bands in West Virginia during the period from 1929 to 1933, and discusses the documented performances by bands based in New York who would become icons of big band jazz in the latter part of the 1930s. It suggests that the tours by territory bands from Florida, Chicago, and New York led them to communities in the Mountain State that were large enough to provide both venues for dances and audiences of sufficient size to make their engagements pay off.Less
This chapter examines the history of the arrival of big band jazz bands in West Virginia during the period from 1929 to 1933, and discusses the documented performances by bands based in New York who would become icons of big band jazz in the latter part of the 1930s. It suggests that the tours by territory bands from Florida, Chicago, and New York led them to communities in the Mountain State that were large enough to provide both venues for dances and audiences of sufficient size to make their engagements pay off.
Christopher Wilkinson
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- March 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781617031687
- eISBN:
- 9781617031694
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781617031687.003.0005
- Subject:
- Music, History, American
This chapter examines the role of local and territory bands in introducing big band jazz and dance music to West Virginia in the 1930s. It discusses the history of the local black dance band of the ...
More
This chapter examines the role of local and territory bands in introducing big band jazz and dance music to West Virginia in the 1930s. It discusses the history of the local black dance band of the period called Gilmore’s Midnighters and the dance bands in black colleges. The chapter also describes the work of local and territory bands, and provides evidence that black Mountaineers were closely connected to the larger musical culture of the nation.Less
This chapter examines the role of local and territory bands in introducing big band jazz and dance music to West Virginia in the 1930s. It discusses the history of the local black dance band of the period called Gilmore’s Midnighters and the dance bands in black colleges. The chapter also describes the work of local and territory bands, and provides evidence that black Mountaineers were closely connected to the larger musical culture of the nation.
Christopher Wilkinson
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- March 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781617031687
- eISBN:
- 9781617031694
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781617031687.001.0001
- Subject:
- Music, History, American
The coal fields of West Virginia would seem an unlikely market for big band jazz during the Great Depression. That a prosperous African American audience, dominated by those involved with the coal ...
More
The coal fields of West Virginia would seem an unlikely market for big band jazz during the Great Depression. That a prosperous African American audience, dominated by those involved with the coal industry, was there for jazz tours would seem equally improbable. This book shows that, contrary to expectations, black Mountaineers flocked to dances by the hundreds, in many instances traveling considerable distances to hear bands led by Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Andy Kirk, Jimmie Lunceford, and Chick Webb, among numerous others. Indeed, as one musician who toured the state would recall, “All the bands were goin’ to West Virginia.” The comparative prosperity of the coal miners, thanks to New Deal industrial policies, was what attracted the bands to the state. This study discusses that prosperity, as well as the larger political environment that provided black Mountaineers with a degree of autonomy not experienced further south. The author demonstrates the importance of radio and the black press both in introducing this music and in keeping black West Virginians up to date with its latest developments. The book explores connections between local entrepreneurs who staged the dances and the national management of the bands that played those engagements. In analyzing black audiences’ aesthetic preferences, the author reveals that many black West Virginians preferred dancing to a variety of music, not just jazz. Finally, the book shows that bands now associated almost exclusively with jazz were more than willing to satisfy those audience preferences with arrangements in other styles of dance music.Less
The coal fields of West Virginia would seem an unlikely market for big band jazz during the Great Depression. That a prosperous African American audience, dominated by those involved with the coal industry, was there for jazz tours would seem equally improbable. This book shows that, contrary to expectations, black Mountaineers flocked to dances by the hundreds, in many instances traveling considerable distances to hear bands led by Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Andy Kirk, Jimmie Lunceford, and Chick Webb, among numerous others. Indeed, as one musician who toured the state would recall, “All the bands were goin’ to West Virginia.” The comparative prosperity of the coal miners, thanks to New Deal industrial policies, was what attracted the bands to the state. This study discusses that prosperity, as well as the larger political environment that provided black Mountaineers with a degree of autonomy not experienced further south. The author demonstrates the importance of radio and the black press both in introducing this music and in keeping black West Virginians up to date with its latest developments. The book explores connections between local entrepreneurs who staged the dances and the national management of the bands that played those engagements. In analyzing black audiences’ aesthetic preferences, the author reveals that many black West Virginians preferred dancing to a variety of music, not just jazz. Finally, the book shows that bands now associated almost exclusively with jazz were more than willing to satisfy those audience preferences with arrangements in other styles of dance music.
Christopher Wilkinson
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- March 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781617031687
- eISBN:
- 9781617031694
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781617031687.003.0001
- Subject:
- Music, History, American
This introductory chapter discusses the theme of this book, which is about the history of big band jazz in West Virginia during the 1930s and early 1940s. The book investigates what brought African ...
More
This introductory chapter discusses the theme of this book, which is about the history of big band jazz in West Virginia during the 1930s and early 1940s. The book investigates what brought African Americans to the Mountain State, why they stayed, and how they became part of the national audience for big band jazz. It suggests that the principal reason for the popularity of big band jazz and dance music among African American Mountaineers was that they served as a source of racial identity and pride, and that the music of black dance orchestras was a marker of race, more particularly of racial pride and achievement.Less
This introductory chapter discusses the theme of this book, which is about the history of big band jazz in West Virginia during the 1930s and early 1940s. The book investigates what brought African Americans to the Mountain State, why they stayed, and how they became part of the national audience for big band jazz. It suggests that the principal reason for the popularity of big band jazz and dance music among African American Mountaineers was that they served as a source of racial identity and pride, and that the music of black dance orchestras was a marker of race, more particularly of racial pride and achievement.
Christopher Wilkinson
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- March 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781617031687
- eISBN:
- 9781617031694
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781617031687.003.0008
- Subject:
- Music, History, American
This chapter examines the connection between the jazz bands and their New York-based managers and entrepreneurs in the Mountain State who organized and promoted dances. It discusses the role of ...
More
This chapter examines the connection between the jazz bands and their New York-based managers and entrepreneurs in the Mountain State who organized and promoted dances. It discusses the role of booking agent George Edward Morton and black band manager Joe Glaser in the cultivation of big band jazz in the southern coal fields in the second half of the 1930s. The chapter also also highlights the contribution of booking agents and dance promoters to the success of the big bands.Less
This chapter examines the connection between the jazz bands and their New York-based managers and entrepreneurs in the Mountain State who organized and promoted dances. It discusses the role of booking agent George Edward Morton and black band manager Joe Glaser in the cultivation of big band jazz in the southern coal fields in the second half of the 1930s. The chapter also also highlights the contribution of booking agents and dance promoters to the success of the big bands.
John Wriggle
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252040405
- eISBN:
- 9780252098826
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252040405.003.0010
- Subject:
- Music, History, American
This chapter considers some of Chappie Willet's approaches to instrumental dance music; including the framing of solo or ensemble virtuosity, the setting of new melodies over familiar chord ...
More
This chapter considers some of Chappie Willet's approaches to instrumental dance music; including the framing of solo or ensemble virtuosity, the setting of new melodies over familiar chord progressions, and the stylized representation of performer identity or “exotic” variety. Following historical narratives on big band jazz icons like Count Basie and Duke Ellington, instrumental dance numbers tend to be the swing genre most closely associated with jazz improvisation. But arrangements designed for dancing audiences at venues like the Roseland or Savoy Ballrooms still drew upon many of the same theatrical music signifiers and variety entertainment strategies that marked classics, concertos, or vocal features. And at the same time, in Swing Era variety entertainment, programmatic themes of geographic or cultural exoticism could be represented by individual arrangements or even entire orchestras.Less
This chapter considers some of Chappie Willet's approaches to instrumental dance music; including the framing of solo or ensemble virtuosity, the setting of new melodies over familiar chord progressions, and the stylized representation of performer identity or “exotic” variety. Following historical narratives on big band jazz icons like Count Basie and Duke Ellington, instrumental dance numbers tend to be the swing genre most closely associated with jazz improvisation. But arrangements designed for dancing audiences at venues like the Roseland or Savoy Ballrooms still drew upon many of the same theatrical music signifiers and variety entertainment strategies that marked classics, concertos, or vocal features. And at the same time, in Swing Era variety entertainment, programmatic themes of geographic or cultural exoticism could be represented by individual arrangements or even entire orchestras.
