Jazz is a musical genre that has been around for almost 100 years. The early 1920s saw the birth of the early jazz age, both among listeners and musicians. But who are some of the famous jazz musicians of the 1920s?
The most notable jazz musician of the 1920s is Louis Armstrong. He quickly became recognized as the best artist of his time due to his unique style of playing incorporated elements from ragtime music, blues, spirituals, and jazz.
The 1920s were a time of transition in American music.
The Jazz Age began at the end of World War I and ended with the Great Depression. This decade also saw many talented musicians who revolutionized the way we hear music today.
Here are some of my favorite artists from this era.
1. Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong was one of the most influential musicians of all time.
Born in New Orleans in 1901, he began playing the cornet at a young age and became a professional musician at 14. With his signature sound (a mix of blues, ragtime, and Dixieland jazz), he influenced everyone from Duke Ellington to Miles Davis.
He was one of the most sought-after musicians in famous nightclubs such as the Cotton Club in New York City.
Armstrong’s earliest recordings were made for Okeh Records and Columbia Records; these songs include “What a Wonderful World”, “Blue Turning Grey Over You”, and “You Can Depend on Me”.
2. Jelly Roll Morton
Jelly Roll Morton was born in New Orleans. He is considered the “Father of Jazz” and was also one of its greatest pianists and bandleaders.
He was one of the first musicians in the jazz world to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
In his early years, he worked as a ragtime pianist in Storyville, an area where prostitution and gambling were legal at that time. He later started recording with Race Records.
He also played with many musicians, including Buddy Bolden and King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band, with a notable act in Los Angeles before forming his own band called Red Hot Peppers in Chicago in 1917.
3. Bessie Smith
Bessie Smith was an African-American singer born in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She began her career in the 1920s and went on to become one of the first musicians inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Known as the Empress of the Blues, Smith was known for her powerful voice and emotional delivery that often led to tears among her audience members.
Her songs were often based on personal experiences such as heartbreak or domestic abuse.
She died at age 44 after being involved in an automobile accident.
If you’re particularly drawn to the blues, a recent article I wrote talks about the best blues musicians of all time. Check it out to learn more about this beautiful genre!
4. Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald was a jazz singer and songwriter who not only enjoyed a long career but also had one of the most popular careers in the history of jazz.
During her 70-year career, she recorded over 130 albums and became known as “The First Lady of Song,” thanks to her vocal style and performance repertoire.
She performed with many different musicians throughout her long life—including Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Frank Sinatra—and will always be remembered for her incredible talent.
5. Art Tatum
Art Tatum was one of the most influential jazz pianists of all time. During the 1920s, he was known as the “Ivory Wizard”, and his unique style combined classical and jazz music.
Tatum was born in Toledo, Ohio. He started playing piano at age two and performed professionally by age eleven.
By 1921 he had moved to New York City, where he performed in jazz clubs during what is often called “The Harlem Renaissance”.
In 1925 Tatum joined Fletcher Henderson’s orchestra as their pianist; he also worked with Benny Goodman from 1935-1936 before becoming a solo artist again from 1937-1941.
To top that off, he was legally blind, which makes his success even more impressive. Feel free to take a look at a recent article I published regarding the famous blind musicians in the history of music.
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6. Benny Goodman
Benny Goodman was a clarinetist, band leader, and composer in the jazz scene. He is one of the most successful jazz artists ever to perform, with his brilliance reflecting on every sheet of music he created.
He began playing the clarinet when he was nine years old, and by his late teens, he was considered to be one of the best jazz players in Chicago.
In 1935, Benny Goodman formed his big band with Teddy Wilson as the pianist, Gene Krupa on drums, and Charlie Christian on guitar, who later joined Benny’s band as lead guitarist after leaving Andy Kirk’s Kansas City Seven group.
7. Coleman Hawkins
One of the most famous saxophonists from the 1920s is Coleman Hawkins. He was born in St. Joseph, Missouri, in 1904 and began playing with bands at age 14.
After traveling around with several bands, he joined Fletcher Henderson’s group for a year before forming his own group with Don Redman and Louis Armstrong.
In 1926, Hawkins started playing with Fletcher Henderson again—this time on the alto saxophone instead of the tenor.
It was during this time period that he really hit his stride as a musician; his tone and technique were widely praised by other musicians. He toured Europe several times throughout this decade as well.
8. Bix Beiderbecke
Bix Beiderbecke was a jazz cornet player. He played with the Wolverines, Jean Goldkette’s Orchestra, and Frankie Trumbauer’s Orchestra. He was known as the “Wolverine”.
He’s often called “the Father of Jazz Rhythm Section” because of his unique sound of playing at fast tempos that made him a standout during his time period.
When Bix started out, he became part of Paul Whiteman’s band in 1926 when it started recording its early hits like “Whispering” and “Singin’ The Blues”.
Within three years though, Beiderbecke left this group because he wanted to pursue other musical interests, including making records with other popular artists.
9. Paul Whiteman
Paul Whiteman was an American bandleader, composer, violinist, and pioneer in the development of the swing music scene.
Known as “The King of Jazz”, his big band performances helped bridge the gap between the classical music genres and jazz.
His mother had been a concert singer who worked with her sisters as vaudeville performers; their father played violin in traveling music groups back then.
Due to his mother’s influence on him at an early age, Paul learned how to play the piano at five years old before moving on to other instruments such as violin and cello later on during his childhood years.
10. Benny Carter
Benny Carter was a jazz musician and bandleader. He was also a saxophonist, clarinetist and flautist.
His career spanned from the 1920s to the 1970s, during which time he performed with many of the top names in 20th-century music, including Louis Armstrong, Art Tatum, and Duke Ellington.
His father played the trombone professionally and encouraged Carter to pursue music at an early age. Carter learned how to play the alto saxophone by age 13.
In 1932, he formed what would become one of his most successful bands called The Benny Carter Orchestra.
11. Sidney Bechet
Sidney Bechet is one of the most influential black musicians in all of jazz music.
His soprano saxophone playing was a major force in developing the style and sound of jazz, and he helped shape what became known as Dixieland Jazz.
He grew up in a musical family; his grandfather played violin in Congo Square and throughout New Orleans, where he helped to form the first black orchestra in 1879.
His father also played violin, while Sidney took up the banjo at age 7 or 8 before switching to clarinet later on (hence how he got his nickname “The Hawk”).
12. Fletcher Henderson
Fletcher Henderson was a jazz pianist and bandleader who led one of the most popular bands in New York City during the 1920s.
His innovative arrangements helped to define the sound of big band jazz, and his compositions were standards for many years.
The career of Fletcher Henderson began in Chicago, where he played with King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band before moving to New York City around 1917.
In 1918 he joined Will Marion Cook’s Southern Syncopated Orchestra, which became known as “the Dreamland Orchestra.” In 1919, they recorded several songs that can still be heard today: “Joe Turner Blues”, “Riverboat Shuffle”, and “Copenhagen”.
13. Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington was a composer and pianist who formed the first jazz band to play at Carnegie Hall in New York City in 1926. Born in Washington, D.C., he later moved to New York.
He is known for his contributions to American music, as well as his numerous compositions that have been performed by many well-known artists such as Louis Armstrong, Pearl Bailey, and Ella Fitzgerald.
In addition to being considered one of the greatest composers in history, he was also known for being able to transcribe music into various forms, including symphonic works or even an opera called “Afro-American Suite”.
14. King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band
King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band was a jazz band led by King Oliver in the early 1920s.
The band was one of the first to record jazz music commercially, and it also helped to popularize New Orleans-style rhythm and blues (or “Dixieland”).
To say that the band helped change the music scene in American culture is an understatement.
The band was notable for its use of horns, including three saxophones, which had not been heard before on recordings of this type.
It also featured two drummers and two banjo players throughout its existence. In addition to these instruments, King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band often used the piano as well as brass instruments like trombone or tuba when necessary—all at once!
15. Joe Venuti
Joe Venuti was an American jazz violinist and composer. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he began his career as a violinist in the late 1920s.
In 1928, he performed with singer Adelaide Hall at New York’s Savoy Ballroom, where they introduced their classic “Dancing on the Ceiling” with Louis Armstrong as the trumpet player.
Venuti went on to work with Eddie Lang and Joe Tarto and then teamed up with guitarist Eddie Lang until 1935. During this period, he recorded extensively for Brunswick Records, which helped establish him as one of the leading musicians of his time.
From the mid-1930s until World War II, Venuti worked mostly as a bandleader performing regularly at Nick’s Cafe in New York City.
16. Jack Taegarden
Jack Taegarden was a jazz guitarist who was born in New York City. He is best known for his work on the guitar.
Jack learned to play the banjo when he was a child but switched to the guitar when he was 13 years old. In 1915, he formed his first band with pianist Artie Matthews and drummer Phil Napoleon while still in high school.
The band made its debut at Reisenweber’s Restaurant, where they played every week until 1918. Jack joined Al Jolson’s traveling show for two years as lead guitarist and vocalist before returning home, where he continued to perform at various venues throughout Manhattan.
17. Fast Waller
Fats Waller, born Thomas Wright Waller, was an American pianist and composer.
He is known for his popular songs such as “Ain’t Misbehavin”, “Honeysuckle Rose”, and “Your Feet’s Too Big”.
Waller was born in Harlem, New York City to Adeline Lassiter Waller and Robert Earl Wright.
His father played cornet in a marching band and led the band at Sunday school for adults in the Apollo Theater. Fats would often sing with his dad’s group when he was older.