The first jazz musicians played in New Orleans during the early 1900's. After 1917. many of the New Orleans musicians moved to the south side of Chicago. where they continued to play their style of jazz. Soon Chicago was the new-center for jazz.

Several outstanding musicians emerged as leading jazz artists in Chicago. Daniel Lotus "Satchmo" Armstrong, born in New Orleans in 1900, was one. Another leading musician was Joseph king Oliver. who is also credited with having discovered Armstrong, when they were both in New Orleans. While in Chicago. Oliver asked Armstrong, who was in New Orleans, to join his band. In 1923 King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band made the first important set of recordings by a Hot Five and Hot Seven bands under Louis Armstrong also made recordings of special note.

Although Chicago’s South Side was the main jazz center, some musicians in New York were also demanding attention in jazz circles. In 1923 Fletcher Henderson already had a ten - piece band that played jazz. During the early 1930’s, the number of players grew to sixteen. Henderson' s band was considered a leader in what some people have called the Big Band Era. By the 1930’s. big dance bands were the rage. Large numbers of people went to ballrooms to dance to jazz music played by big bands.

One of the most popular and also a very famous jazz band was the Duke Eilington band. Edward "Duke" Ellington was born in Washington, D.C., in 1899 and died in New York City in 1974. He studied the piano as a young boy and later began writing original musical compositions. The first of Ellington's European tours came in 1933. He soon received international fame for his talent as a band leader, composer. and arranger. Ten years later, Ellington began giving annual concerts at Carnegic Hall in New York City. People began to listen to jazz in the same way, that they had always listened to classical music.