Article on Sophie Tucker dominating the jazz scene despite her ethnicity
Newspaper articleTitle
Article on Sophie Tucker dominating the jazz scene despite her ethnicity
Description
This article interestingly notes how Sophie Tucker has dominated and popularized the jazz scene despite her race, emphasizing that she cashed in a genre that once "lurked for aeons in the African jungle." This speaks to notions of authenticity and white appropriation; the author implies that initially, authentic jazz was only performed by black people or in low brow venues, but Tucker's popularization of jazz has transformed it as being authentic for a whitening America to enjoy, listen to, and perform. The article also states that her performances incorporate a new kind of harmony and instrumentation and credits Tucker to the rising sales of the saxophone in New York City.
Date
October 30, 1921
Type
Newspaper article
Related to
This article interestingly notes how Sophie Tucker has dominated and popularized the jazz scene despite her race, emphasizing that she cashed in a genre that once "lurked for aeons in the African jungle." This speaks to notions of authenticity and white appropriation; the author implies that initially, authentic jazz was only performed by black people or in low brow venues, but Tucker's popularization of jazz has transformed it as being authentic for a whitening America to enjoy, listen to, and perform. The article also states that her performances incorporate a new kind of harmony and instrumentation and credits Tucker to the rising sales of the saxophone in New York City.