A terrific musical evening, for young and old, as we visit the music and mood of the 20's, when Jazz became associated with all things modern, sophisticated, and also decadent. Some of the most popular bands of the decade included those of: Duke Ellington, Paul Whiteman, Leo Reisman, Rudy Vallee, and Fred Waring, just to name a few. Popular vocalists included: Nick Lucas, Harold Scrappy Lambert, Gene Austin, Johnny Marvin, Rudy Vallee, Eddie Cantor, Al Jolson, Maurice Chevalier, Morton Downey, Ruth Etting, Helen Kane, and many more. Men tended to sing in a high pitched voice, typified by Harold Scrappy Lambert who was one of the most popular recording artists of the decade. In the 1920s, the music performed by these artists was called jazz. Today, the popular music of the 1920s is usually labeled as "sweet music" by jazz purists.
In the 1920s, the majority of people listen to what we would call today "sweet music" and hardcore jazz was categorized as "hot music" or "race music." Louis Armstrong marked the time with improvisations and endless variations on a single melody. Armstrong contributed largely to making scat singing popular, an improvisational vocal technique in which nonsensical syllables are sung or otherwise vocalized, often as part of a call-and-response interaction with other musicians on-stage. Apart from the clarinet, Sidney Bechet also popularized the saxophone. Dance venues increased the demand for professional musicians and jazz adopted the 4/4 beat of dance music. Tap dancers entertained people in Vaudeville theaters, out in the streets or accompanying bands. At the end of the Roaring Twenties, Duke Ellington entered the scene to start the beginning of the big band era.
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