Jazz Music

When the new sound of jazz first spread across America in the early twentieth-century, it left delight and controversy in its wake. The more popular it became, the more the music was criticized by everyone and everything, from carmaker Henry Ford to The New York Times. Yet jazz survived.  As jazz's popularity grew, so did campaigns to censor "the devil's music." "Midnight was like day," wrote poet Langston Hughes, referring to the city's music-filled nightlife. New Orleans was the first center of jazz, followed by Chicago. Soon, New York radio and recording companies began to dominate the music industry, replacing Chicago as the center of jazz.

Louis Armstrong

Louis Armstrong, or "Satchmo," is one of the most famous American jazz musicians. He was a charasmatic performer, who was known as a trumpeter and for his raspy singing voice. Armstrong helped transform jazz into a popular style of music.