Category: 1920s
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Bix Beiderbecke
About Leon Bismark “Bix” Beiderbecke was an American jazz cornetist, pianist and composer. Albums/Songs: No significant albums found. Call to Action: What’s your favorite Bix Beiderbecke song? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Blind Lemon Jefferson
About Lemon Henry “Blind Lemon” Jefferson was an American blues and gospel singer-songwriter and musician. He was one of the most popular blues singers of the 1920s and has been called the “Father of the Texas Blues”. Albums/Songs: Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order, Volume 3: 1928 Moanin’ All Over That Black Snake Moan Black…
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Jelly Roll Morton
About Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe, known professionally as Jelly Roll Morton, was an American ragtime and jazz pianist, bandleader, and composer of Louisiana Creole descent. Morton was jazz’s first arranger, proving that a genre rooted in improvisation could retain its essential characteristics when notated. His composition “Jelly Roll Blues”, published in 1915, was one of the…
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Ma Rainey
About Gertrude “Ma” Rainey was an American blues singer and influential early-blues recording artist. Dubbed the “Mother of the Blues”, she bridged earlier vaudeville and the authentic expression of southern blues, influencing a generation of blues singers. Rainey was known for her powerful vocal abilities, energetic disposition, majestic phrasing, and a “moaning” style of singing.…
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Fats Waller
About Thomas Wright “Fats” Waller was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, and singer. His innovations in the Harlem stride style laid much of the basis for modern jazz piano. A widely popular star in the jazz and swing eras, he toured internationally, achieving critical and commercial success in the United States and Europe. His…
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Bessie Smith
About Bessie Smith was an African-American blues singer widely renowned during the Jazz Age. Nicknamed the “Empress of the Blues”, she was the most popular female blues singer of the 1930s. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989, she is often regarded as one of the greatest singers of her era…
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Louis Armstrong
About Louis Daniel Armstrong, nicknamed “Satchmo”, “Satch”, and “Pops”, was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several eras in the history of jazz. Armstrong received numerous accolades including the Grammy Award for Best Male Vocal Performance for Hello, Dolly! in 1965,…
