Big band music originated in the 1920s and was popular through the 1940s, known for large ensembles and written arrangements over improvisation. Swing dancing evolved alongside this music. Big band music boosted morale during the Great Depression and WWII. Younger generations are now rediscovering this genre through local revival bands that blend traditional and modern styles.

1. Younger Generations Still ‘Swing & Sway’ to Jazz and Hip
Tunes of Swing Music
Originating in the early 1920s, big band music in the USA dominated the jazz scene
through the 1940s. The term “big band” is often used to refer to a genre of music,
a type of musical ensemble that generally consisted of ten or more musicians and
with four sections: trumpets, saxophones, trombones, and a rhythm section.
The initial popularity of big band music was found in its accompaniment for dancing.
Whereas other kinds of music laid special emphasis on improvisation, big bands
relied on written arrangements and compositions. A greater role was assigned to

2. arrangers, bandleaders, and sections of instruments rather than the soloists.
The most popular period of big band music in the USA was during the years 1935-
1945. The music was heard mainly across mainstream radio, in dance and concert
halls, and on records. During the Second World War, it was also heard in USO
Canteens and distributed to troupes stationed overseas on ‘V-Discs’ or “Victory
Discs” (unbreakable vinyl plastic records accompanied by players that did not require
electric power but instead were hand-cranked like the Victrola’s of the 1920’s).
Starting in the 1920s, swing dancing evolved into specific dancing styles like East
Coast Swing, West Coast Swing, and Carolina Shag. The different style Swing fit into
the various types of music. Its evolution follows a parallel coordinated with the
evolution of the American culture.
Big band music in the USA evolved with the times, changing as the culture changed.
In the USA in the twentieth century, each succeeding generation embraced its own
popular, rhythmically strong and rebellious musical forms which were listened to for
entertainment and dancing. At the end of World War One, the country’s taste in
popular music began to evolve, and new beat began to emerge. It found early
popularity in the music of the big bands led first by Duke Ellington, Jimmie
Lunceford, Fletcher Henderson, Glen Gray, and Chick Webb, and later by Tommy
Dorsey, Artie Shaw, Glenn Miller, Woody Herman, and of course Benny Goodman. It
was Goodman’s band that defined the entire era thereby earning him the appropriate
title of the “King of Swing” in 1935.
For a country reeling under the combined shock of the Great Depression and World
War Two, it was the music played by the Big Bands in the USA that helped the
nation cope. The music remains special to many Americans for its contribution in
boosting moral strength, and for providing hope amidst bleak times. It is still popular
to this day. The reasons are many. Some listen to it to be reminded of a past bygone
age, while many others cannot get over the melody, rhythm and the positive emotion
it evokes. Moreover, there are many who are being introduced to it for the first time
ever, discovering the magic of swing music.
There is a certain aura of nostalgia surrounding big band music in the USA for its
multiple associations. For a form of music to have stood the test of time over
decades is reason enough behind its continuing popularity. Moreover, there is a
strong revivalist movement in the 21st century of new, younger jazz and swing artists
who are bringing forward a new form of big band music that joins together elements
of traditional swing band of leaders from the 1930s-1940s like Count Basie and
Duke Ellington with the more intense sounds produced by the smaller groups of the
Bee Bop era of the 1950s and later. Revival of big band music in the USA has been
undergirded by numerous local and regional bands and musicians who are interested
in preserving this form of music that defined an entire generation.
Read the full article: https://medium.com/@radioswingstreet/younger-generations-
still-swing-sway-to-jazz-and-hip-tunes-of-swing-music-3d1318b50c11

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