What does jazz in 1920s Paris have to do with modern American music?

If asked, I believe that many 1920s Parisians would have said that they really did love, respect, and celebrate African American art and artists. These Parisians would likely cite how exciting it was to watch. They would likely have similar responses to the 1920s critic André Levinson, who said that “their extravagant technique would put the virtuosity of an acrobat to shame” ¹ How could they not love it, if it was “as impossible for us to reproduce as it is astounding to us to watch?”² Many viewed performances, especially those of Josephine Baker, as transcendent.³ Some would most likely be so generous as to put this African American art on the same playing field as French art. Levinson writes that “The Negro dancers of today are no longer beings possessed by devils, but merely professionals.”⁴  And de Regnier praised these performances, saying “It is pure modern art! It is magnificent!”⁵ 

However, I would argue that these feelings aren’t equatable to love and respect. Jordan addresses this conundrum in his analysis of Parisian climate surrounding La revue nègre. He writes, “Critics… worked through their initial fascination and settled back into familiar tropes of discourse in which jazz was a foreign influence wreaking havoc on true French culture.”⁶  Rather than true artistic respect, 1920s Parisians held an intense interest for black art, while also feeling that it was a dangerous threat to aspects of pure French culture. After praising the dancers for their professionalism, Levinson asserts that “The really [sic.] devil-ridden today are those European idlers who passively give themselves up to an enjoyment of the Negro dance without setting up any barriers to its atavistic, demoralizing appeal.”⁷ While Parisians thought of these dancers and musicians as being very skilled, they also kept them at a distance and under a diminutive and primitive lens.

It is important when encountering “other” musics today, that histories like these most likely shape the ways we view them. One good example of this is the recent superbowl halftime show, featuring Shakira and Jennifer Lopez. Some viewers voiced opposition to the sexual nature of the performance, while some other viewers vehemently defended the performance against what they felt was a racist argument. It’s a hard balance. While it’s true that not all material may have been suitable for all viewers, it’s also true that Latin music (especially by females) has been forced to develop as a hypersexualized artform. As a racially subordinate music, it can be consumed selectively by those in power, and shut down when it seems to threaten the heart of the nation- American football.