Delaware’s Jazz History

Celebrate Jazz Appreciation Month and Delaware’s 250th by learning more about Delaware’s Jazz History!vv

Over the last century, jazz has come to mean many things to many people. The word can refer to a genre of music, a style of dance, a cultural movement, and an abstract idea. In this presentation, public historian Hannah Grantham from the Delaware Historical Society’s Mitchell Center for African American Heritage will trace the history of jazz as it played out in the First State. Drawing upon newspaper reports, photographs, sheet music, and other primary sources, Grantham will showcase how Delawareans contributed to the development of jazz musical culture as practitioners, listeners, and even as critics. Focusing on a time period from 1900 through the early 1980s, “Delaware’s Jazz History” will answer questions of how jazz arrived in Delaware, how Delawareans experienced jazz, and how the music played into social life.