{"id":525,"date":"2020-03-10T00:55:46","date_gmt":"2020-03-10T05:55:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/performinghistory\/?p=525"},"modified":"2020-03-10T00:55:46","modified_gmt":"2020-03-10T05:55:46","slug":"what-does-jazz-in-1920s-paris-have-to-do-with-modern-american-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/performinghistory\/2020\/03\/10\/what-does-jazz-in-1920s-paris-have-to-do-with-modern-american-music\/","title":{"rendered":"What does jazz in 1920s Paris have to do with modern American music?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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 Andr\u00e9 Levinson, who said that \u201ctheir extravagant technique would put the virtuosity of an acrobat to shame\u201d 1<\/sup><\/a> How could they not love it, if it was \u201cas impossible for us to reproduce as it is astounding to us to watch?”2<\/sup><\/a> Many viewed performances, especially those of Josephine Baker, as transcendent.3<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Some would most likely be so generous as to put this African American art on the same playing field as French art. Levinson writes that \u201cThe Negro dancers of today are no longer beings possessed by devils, but merely professionals.\u201d4<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 And de Regnier praised these performances, saying \u201cIt is pure modern art! It is magnificent!\u201d5<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n