Music During the Harlem Renaissance

About this episode

This episode explores the impact of music during the Harlem Renaissance and its lasting influence on American music.

In this special Black History Month episode of Busy Kids Love Music , we travel back about 100 years to Harlem, New York—an exciting neighborhood overflowing with creativity, poetry, dancing, painting, and bold new musical sounds. This remarkable time in American history is known as the Harlem Renaissance , a cultural "rebirth" that took place during the 1920s and 1930s. In this episode, we'll explore how music helped shape the Harlem Renaissance—and how the Harlem Renaissance changed the future of American music forever. What Was the Harlem Renaissance? The word renaissance means "rebirth." During this period, Harlem became a gathering place for African American artists, writers, and musicians who were creating fresh ideas and sharing their voices with the world. Families arriving during the Great Migration brought musical traditions from many parts of the country. When these styles blended together in one vibrant neighborhood, something extraordinary happened. In this episode, you'll meet some of the influential artists who helped define Harlem's sound, explore some famous Harlem venues and listen to examples of colorful music with jazz, blues and big band sounds! Listen Along…

People in this episode

Host: Carly Seifert

Topics covered

• Harlem Renaissance
• music history
• African American culture
• jazz
• blues
• big band

Keywords

• Harlem Renaissance
• music
• jazz
• blues
• cultural rebirth
• American history
• African American artists

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Harlem Renaissance playlist

Places: Harlem

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