Harlem Renaissance 1918-1933

Woman Holding a Jug by James A. Porter

Philosopher and critic Alain Locke, and leaders such as A. Phillip Randolph and Jamaican born Marcus Moziah Garvey were all major contributors to this movement.

It is important to note that although this movement started in New York after World War I, the birth of this ideology can be traced to such leaders as Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver.

INTRODUCTION

Harlem Renaissance, an African American cultural movement of the 1920s and early 1930s that was centered in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City. Variously known as the New Negro movement, the New Negro Renaissance, and the Negro Renaissance, the movement emerged toward the end of World War I in 1918, blossomed in the mid- to late 1920s, and then faded in the mid-1930s. The Harlem Renaissance marked the first time that mainstream publishers and critics took African American literature seriously and that African American literature and arts attracted significant attention from the nation at large. Although it was primarily a literary movement, it was closely related to developments in African American music, theater, art, and politics.

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Writers such as W.E.B. DuBois, Claude McKay, Zora Hurston, Countee Cullen, James Weldon Johnson, and Langston Hughes all established themselves as exceptional writers of this period.

Langston Hughes
1902-1967

The word Renaissance brings to mind a rebirth and resurgence of art, music, and culture. This is also true in the case of Harlem, but why and how did it happen in Harlem?

As music shifted in the 1920’s to urban areas job opportunities increased. Along with this was an increase in spending power for black Americans. America itself was also undergoing a change from agricultural center to industrial giant, thus transforming the core population from farm worker to urban dweller.

A change also occurred between artist and intellectuals. There was a demand made for equality through novelist, artist, and educators. This was the beginning of the Renaissance.

Many musicians gravitated to New York for various reasons and occupations. This mass migration during the late 1920’s and 1930’s helped to firmly establish New York as the mecca for black music.

Although these musicians were really great it is important to note that the mainstream of the Harlem Renaissance did not approve of this new type of music. Many did not frequent the clubs or associate with the big names of jazz during this time.

Some of the greatest names, vocal and instrumental, sacred and secular found that living in a large northern city such as New York had numerous advantages. These are some of the great entertainers born from the Harlem Renaissance.

Louis Armstrong—although born in New Orleans and later moving to Chicago to perform with King Joe Oliver, his real chance came when he went to New York to get involved in the recording industry. With his group the hot six he took the use of a solo instrument (trumpet to new heights).

Eubie Blake—He published his first song in 1914; in 1915 he met Noble Sissle, who soon became his lyricist; in 1916 they began their long collaboration, producing many classic ragtime hits and performing as the "The Dixie Duo." They also wrote their first Broadway show, the famous all-black musical, Shuffle Along (1921) (including "I'm Just Wild About Harry").

Florence Mills—In May of 1921, an all-black show, Shuffle Along by Noble Sissle & Eubie Blake, opened on Broadway. Writer Gilbert Seldes singled out the delightful dancer and mime Florence Mills among the performers: "Merely to watch her walk out upon the stage, with her long, free stride and her superb shamless swing, is an aesthetic pleasure."

Cab Calloway—band director and vocalist and later a headliner at the Cotton Club Calloway is given credit for giving Ella Fitzgerald her start. He has starred in many movies throughout his career including the original “Cotton Club”. His most well known composition is titled “Minnie the Moocher”.

Bessie Smith—Bessie Smith was the greatest and most influential classic blues singer of the 1920s. Her full-bodied blues delivery coupled with a remarkable self-assuredness that worked its way in and around most every note she sang, plus her sharp sense of phrasing, enabled her to influence virtually every female blues singer who followed. She routinely played to packed houses in the South as well as the North and Midwest. By the time the decade had ended, Smith had become the most respected black singer in America and had recorded a catalog of blues that still stands as the yardstick by which all other female blues singers are measured.

Duke Ellington—without a doubt the single most important musician of this era. He was the headliner at the Cotton Club from December 4, 1927 into the 1930’s. Born in Washington D.C., Duke started performing music at an early age although he was awarded a fine arts scholarship.

Ellington played the piano but, his real instrument was his orchestra. Since his death the tradition of the Duke Ellington band has been carried on by his son Mercer.

Thomas "Fats" Waller—In 1929, Waller wrote the score for the Broadway hit "Hot Chocolates" with lyrics supplied by his friend Andy Razaf. Fats' most famous song "Ain't Misbehavin'" was introduced in this show which featured Louis Armstrong.

Billie Holiday—Billie Holiday began singing in Harlem clubs as a teenager, and first recorded (with Benny Goodman) in 1933. In the 1930s she was a sensation at New York's famous jazz club, The Apollo. Holliday, nicknamed "Lady Day," is considered one of the first and greatest of jazz singers, known for her achingly beautiful vocals and unique timing.

Dizzy Gillespie—probably the most well known and recognized bop performer. Dizzy has appeared in motion pictures, television, radio, and record albums. His solo instrument is the trumpet which has some distinctly different characteristics. His trumpet has an elongated bell and when he performs on it his cheeks usually puff out.

James Fletcher Henderson—a headliner at the Savoy Ballroom in the 1920’s and 1930’s. A well educated college graduate who originally came to New York to attend Columbia University. Early in his career he worked for W.C. Handy and finally Black Swan Records with Louis Armstrong. With his famous band which included Chick Webb, he helped to strip New Orleans and Chicago as the hub of jazz. His music was pure and simple, jazz at it’s finest.

Charles Parker—the leader of the bop movement. A tremendously talented saxophonist from Kansas City, Mo. He performed with such notables as Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Max Roach, and others. In his short lifetime he made a profound contribution to jazz and influenced many of today’s saxophone solist. A headliner at Minton’s and other clubs along 52nd Street.

Lester Young—one of the musicians who began the shift to Bebop in the 1940’s and later to Cool Jazz in the 1950’s. A featured performer at Minton’s Playhouse on 52nd Street. His dominant instrument is the saxophone.

These entertainers performed and sometimes competed against one another in some of the world’s most renowned clubs. The big three in Harlem along with the Savoy and Apollo provided that classic down home sound while in the 1940’s and 1950’s, the clubs along 52nd Street vied for top honors. Many of these clubs are still in existence today, some under different names, but without them the musical renaissance in Harlem could not have happened.

One of the great writers of the post-Harlem renaissance was Richard Wright.