Music

The Harlem Renaissance “marked the beginning of the American literature along with its music, theater, art and politics.”  The cultural movement represented a “new found freedom expressed through the form of music and jazz by the African Americans.”  During this music era in the 1920’s, black musicians and performers not only attracted black crowds, but began to attract more and more Whites.  Musicians such as Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974), Lil Hardin Armstrong (February 3, 1898 – August 27, 1971), William “Count” Basie (August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984), and James Price Johnson (February 1, 1894 – November 17, 1955), performed in The Cotton Club and the Savoy Ballroom, which were venues created by African Americans for musical entertainment and public dancing.  “Ellington was an African American music composer, pianist, a band leader and the 20^th century’s best-known artist…He brought many great artist[s] together…and was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame awards for several performances...” Among his performances was It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing – 1932).  “Hardin was a jazz pianist, composer, singer, and even led a band for a while…In her career she performed in many concerts…Some of her works include, Struttin’ With Some Barbecue, Don’t Jive Me, Knee Drops, Just For a Thrill, etc.  She died while performing a live televised memorial concert for Louis Armstrong (her former husband).” “Basie was…an accomplished award winning jazz pianist and composer…” “James Johnson, also known as Jimmy, was…a composer at par, and is attributed for the creation of a keyboard-bending genre known as stride piano.” 

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/famous-musicians-of-the-harlem-renaissance.html