Interracial Jazz Recordings Before 1935: An Introduction
Over the last 20 years, the trend has been to interpret jazz history through the lens of current critical thinking about race and gender—a necessary corrective to writing that elided or made short work of the racism and sexism prevalent in the history of American popular music. It’s important to note that, because of racism and sexism, a lot of music performed between 1890 and 1920 did not become a part of our recorded legacy.
However, outside of recording studios, something else was going on. Racial walls between musicians were more porous than the de facto and de jure walls of segregation. There was always contact between musicians of color and white musicians, as love of the music provided a bond that transcended prevailing cultural mores—and this contact increased as time went on. There is ample evidence —written, oral, and recorded—of the amity and mutual respect that jazz musicians of all races and genders had for each other. Musicians of different races were unable to play publicly on the same stage (with rare and complicated exceptions), but after-hours jam sessions, rent parties, and other unofficial spa
