The popularity of jazz occurred during a very turbulent time for countries around the world. It started to develop in the United States towards the end of 19th century, and took the world by storm around the 1920s, a time period known as the "Jazz Age" or the Roaring Twenties. This was a time of economic prosperity in the United States and Europe associated with the end of the First World War, and social and cultural aspects of these societies had room to grow. Jazz had first been introduced across the pond towards the end of the war by James Reese Europe, leader of the infantry band called "The Hellfighters". The band played jazz for French and British soldiers, and it soon spread quickly throughout Europe, using the Roaring Twenties as a catalyst. The origins of jazz in Spain came from the United States, and this direct connection is still very apparent today.
As jazz grew more and more globally, the United States still produced the most musicians who became household names, like Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Earl Hines. International travel was still hindered by technology, as the Wright Brothers had taken flight only two decades prior, and a trip on a boat from New York to London still took around five days. At this time, it was difficult for popular culture to spread across continents. Fortunately for jazz, however, the radio had just been invented and quickly became popularized around the world. Jazz was able to take off in countries were it hadn't even been played live, as long as it was known and played by the local radio broadcasters. Jazz was trending in North America and Europe, so it was not uncommon for it to be heard in Spanish homes and cars between the early 1920s and when Franco began to censor the media, including radio stations, in October of 1939. With almost two full decades of exposure, musicians in Spain were inspired and had learned how to play jazz, and the Spanish jazz scene began to develop on its own. Franco's nationalist regime created a time period where the Spanish jazz scene was isolated, so there wasn't much direct American influence on Spanish jazz for the first couple decades after 1939. See more on censorship under Franco here. Although Spanish musicians, jazz musicians included, were still allowed by law to play and perform under Franco's dictatorship, this was a period of serious economic hardship for most Spaniards. Many were unable to continue making a living making music as they had before, and in turn had to find other jobs to support themselves and provide for their families. A composer from Catalonia, Federico Mompou, found work running a bell foundry, without any time to compose, just to make ends meet. Bands and orchestras dissolved, and many musicians, conductors, and composers like Julián Bautista, Pablo Casals, and Adolfo Salazar gave up their craft entirely. Beyond just the financial aspects, the spirit behind Spanish culture and music had been crushed from such a violent and deadly Civil War and it was not revived with a fascist dictatorship following the war. This did not promote much development of jazz in Spain during this time. After World War II, once Franco began promoting his administration's support for American culture, Spaniards became more exposed to the global music scene again, which was dominated by the United States, although the Spanish music scene had changed drastically. The Spanish love for music wasn't the same, so it took several years for jazz clubs and bars to reopen, and even longer for the energy surrounding jazz to even get close to where it was before. With less political barriers, American jazz flooded the Spanish jazz scene yet again, and by this time technology had advanced. Musicians began going on world tours, and music was able to spread much more rapidly and easily from culture to culture. By the late 1940s, jazz was starting to get pushed out of its #1 position by rock and roll, another genre of music that originated in the United States. From years of war and decades of oppression, Spaniards lost many opportunities for significant social and cultural advancements as a country in the early 20th century. Spain is frequently considered to be "behind" in many cultural aspects compared to the countries it is in such close proximity to, as Franco's reign was one of the longest and most recent dictatorships in modern history. Although Spaniards were presented with obstacles preventing them from doing so, the music still grew and survived, and the country now has a rich environment surrounding music. References: Javier Suárez-Pajares, ed., Música Española Entre Dos Guerras (Granada: Archivo Manuel de Falla, 2002). https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20120224-travelwise-the-birthplace-of-jazz https://hancockhistoricalmuseum.org/i-love-the-1920s/jazz-music-during-the-1920s/ https://www.britannica.com/topic/radio/Continental-Europe https://web.archive.org/web/20070311153032/http://www.portalmundos.com/mundoradio/historia/historia.htm https://holocaustmusic.ort.org/politics-and-propaganda/spains-musical-politics-during-world-war-ii/ https://www.theguardian.com/music/shortcuts/2016/jul/18/bad-vibraciones-the-pop-songs-franco-didnt-want-spain-to-hear
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