African American Influence

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Prominent jazz musicians such as Sidney Bechet, Bessie Smith, and Louis Armstrong have influenced American culture from the 1920’s, 1930’s.
Sidney Bechet was an African American jazz musician who originally played the clarinet and became the most innovative clarinetists in jazz. In the early 1920’s, he discovered the soprano saxophone, which was not a common jazz instrument at the time. After mastering the challenging instrument, he gave the soprano saxophone a prominent place in jazz as a solo instrument. His talents have, “left a profound mark on the way the clarinet and the soprano saxophone are played today in jazz. He has influenced countless musicians including Johnny Hodges, John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, Bob Wilber, and Branford Marsalis.” (NPR- Bechet). Bessie Smith sold more records and earned more money than any other
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Credited with recording more than 160 songs between the 20’s and early 30’s, her rising popularity brought her to New York. She performed with many jazz musicians such as Fletcher Henderson, Coleman Hawkins, and James P. Johnson.considering her to be one of the most greatest blues singers in the 1920’s and 30’s. “Her singing talent has exerted a huge influence on popular American singers; Mahalia Jackson, Janis Joplin and Norah Jones have all given her credit as their inspiration.” (us-history) “In 1989 Bessie Smith was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame under the category of Early Influence.” (encyclopedia) Louis Armstrong was the greatest cornet and trumpet player and the first important soloist to emerge in jazz. In the 1920s, he “performed with a