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There was an explosion of music during the Harlem Renaissance. Jazz and blues was the music that vocalized Harlem’s nightlife. Jazz, which originated in New Orleans, was a fast-paced, energetic style of music. The combination of string and wind instruments created a rhythm that encouraged dancing. The mentality behind Jazz was that it allowed the musician to improvise and create his own rhythm. Some of the most well known jazz musicians during the time period were Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington, Cab Calloway, Louis Armstrong, and Miles Davis.

The Blues was a musical form that developed in the post-war South and migrated its way to New York. It had steady, melodic instrumentals accompanied by lyrics that held intense personal and emotional elements. The blues intended to express black struggles and experiences in the post-war era. Bessie Smith and Ethel Waters, among others, were popular Blues singers helped spread the popularity and recognition of the musical form.

A list of the most prominent musicians during the Harlem Renaissance:

Armstrong, Louis	Fields, Dorothy	Jordan, Joe
Bechet, Sidney	Forsythe, Harold Bruce	Mack, Cecil
Blake, Eubie	Gershwin, George	Morton, Jelly Roll
Bradford, Perry	Gruenberg, Louis	Oliver, Joseph "King"
Calloway, Cabell, "Cab"	Handy, W.C.	Ory, Edward "Kid"
Cole, Bob	Henderson, Fletcher	Razaf, Andy
Cook, Will Marion	Jessye, Eva	Smith, Willie "the Lion"
Cuney-Hare, Maud	Johnson, Hall	Still, William Grant
Dett, Robert Nathaniel	Johnson, James P.	Waller, Thomas "Fats"
Ellington, Duke	Johnson, John Rosamond	White, Clarence Cameron
Europe, James Reese	Joplin, Scott	Williams, Clarence

Louis Armstrong - "Stompin' At The Savoy"

Duke Ellington - "It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Aint Got that Swing)"