Researching the New Orleans-Chicago Jazz Connection: Tools and Methods

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to discuss some of the tools and methods used to investigate the New Orleans-Chicago migration and to offer some examples of the working method involved and the problems one encounters. Our perspective of this pivotal event in jazz history will remain unclear until we focus our research efforts with greater precision upon the musicians and the music included in this migration. When researching the New Orleans-Chicago connection, the jazz scholar must confront two sacred legends of jazz history. Firstly, is the legend that it was the closing of the fabled Storyville (the historic New Orleans red-light district) by the Navy Department on November 12, 1917, that resulted in a major exodus of musicians from the city; secondly, that this migration was directed exclusively north along the Mississippi River toward In fact, the migration of well-known New Orleans musicians began as early as 1902-1903 and continued long after the closing of Storyville. Furthermore, the economic impact of Storyville's closing upon musicians has been greatly exaggerated. Richard B. Allen put the situation in perspective when he stated that there were almost as many sporting houses in New Orleans after 1917 as before, and therefore no fewer job opportunities.... [E]ven those jazzmen who did leave the Crescent City maintained close ties, . . . visiting frequently, often dropping in for years at a time (Starr 1980, 100). Likewise according to the legend, jazz came up the river from New Orleans to Chicago. That may be an attractive odyssey, but it is bad geography and worse history. The Mississippi River does not flow through Chicago; the closest one could get on a riverboat would be Moline, Illinois, across the state from

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