If we had to flop, at least I’d do it my own way, playing the kind of music I wanted to. —Benny Goodman on his Palomar show that changed music history Just as the 1920s were defined by the Jazz Age, ...

In 1931, Duke Ellington and Irving Mills even dedicated a song to the phenomenon of swing which they called "It Don't Mean a Thing, If It Ain't Got That Swing". Yet, to this day, the question of what ...

In the late 1930s and early 1940s, the very dance-oriented swinging music of the Big Bands was the most popular music around. Never had jazz been more central to mass culture. Just over the horizon ...

The Red & Black is a 501c3 nonprofit. Please consider a one-time gift or become a monthly supporter. Cancel anytime. The beating heart of Athens would not have the same beat without the genesis of ...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — About 100 years ago, people flocked to Kansas City to listen to a burgeoning new style of music called jazz. During the 1920s and 1930s, big band music gave way to bebop. The ...