During the 1920s in New York, music and literature were pouring out of the creative minds of many black musicians and writers. Oddly enough, jazz was frowned upon as it was considered music of the poor. That didn't stop the music from thriving though.

One of the reasons for jazz's continuation during this time was the popularity of the ballrooms that played jazz. Two of the most popular ones of the time were the Apollo Theater and the Savoy (after which Stompin' at the Savoy is titled). The majority of these ballrooms hired many black bands but only admitted whites, who thought it adventurous to see and dance to this exotic music.

The greatest contribution to the evolution of jazz was the development of stride piano playing. Stride piano is characterized by the right hand playing the melody while the left hand alternates between playing the bass note on the downbeat and the chord on the upbeat. Some of the most well-known stride pianists were Art Tatum, "Papa" Earl Hines, James P. Johnson, Fats Waller, and Willie "The Lion" Smith (often recognized as the best Harlem stride pianist).

These, and other pianists, would often get together to have cutting contests. These were events where they'd all get together and essentially have a battle royale. They would all try to outdo each other in harmony, speed, and technique. It was almost always in good fun as they were all good friends.

The majority of their gigs were for rent parties. These were parties people would throw and charge admission for which would pay for the next's months rent. (I think this is a great idea and should come back, what do you think?)

James P. Johnson is regarded as the originator of the stride piano style. He was classically trained, and was very very serious about composing music.

Art Tatum was essentially blind, but had exceptional hearing. He too was classically trained, taking major influence from Bud Powell. He greatly enjoyed reharmonizing tunes (where the melody is retained but the chord changes are altered) and was a prominent figure during the transition between stride piano playing and a more modern style of jazz piano.

Earl Hines was best known for his unique flavor is stride piano playing which included walking 10s (playing large intervals between notes), playing lines that would emulate horn players, and playing phrases that utilized octaves.

Fats Waller studied at Juliard and would often accompany silent films (a way most pianists during the times of silent films made a living). He would sing along when he'd play for the entertainment effect which aided his popularity. He wrote many jazz standards including Honeysuckle Rose, Ain't Misbehavin', and the Jitterbug Waltz. An interesting little bit of information is that he gave lessons to the great Count Basie (who we'll most certainly mention in a later lesson).

Willie "The Lion" Smith, as aforementioned, was the best of the stride pianists. He could play the fastest, the most harmonically complex stride piano and often won cutting contests. Part of his bit was that he always wore a derby hat and had a fat cigar in his mouth.