TRANSCRIPT:
I’m Mark Rapp, and this is Rapp On Jazz.
During the Jazz Age of the 1920s and ’30s, South Carolina played a key yet often overlooked role in shaping the sound and spirit of American jazz, from the port city of Charleston, where African rhythms merged with European traditions, to small towns where blues and gospel were passed down through generations, South Carolina was rich with musical innovation.
The Charleston dance craze, which swept the nation in the 1920s, has its roots in African American communities right here in the Lowcountry. Musicians from the Palmetto State brought Southern soul and storytelling into the jazz idiom, influencing the genre as it moved north to cities like New York and Chicago.
This cultural blend gave birth to a unique swing, a distinct flavor, and a lasting legacy. South Carolina didn’t just witness the Jazz Age — it helped define it.
This has been Rapp on Jazz, a co-production of ColaJazz and SC Public Radio, made possible by The ETV Endowment of South Carolina.