big band era
Swing music's heyday
The big band era was the period from roughly the mid-1930s to the late 1940s when large jazz ensembles dominated American popular music.
Bands led by figures like Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, and Glenn Miller featured brass, woodwind, and rhythm sections playing arranged swing music for dancing and radio broadcasts.
The era declined after World War II as musical tastes shifted and economic pressures made large ensembles impractical.
- swingSuspended recreational seat
- swing musicRhythmic big-band jazz genre
- jazzImprovisational American music genre
- ballroomVenue for formal dances
- dance floorSpace designated for movement
orchestra · crooner · jitterbug · lindy hop · trumpet · saxophone · clarinet · Glenn Miller · Duke Ellington · Benny Goodman · dance hall · speakeasy · cigarette smoke · zoot suit · bandleader · brass · woodwinds · in the mood
- Music ErasBaroque period, Renaissance music, early music, Gregorian chant, classical
- Swing Eraswing music, swing, Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller
- dance musicEDM, disco, techno, house, trance
- entertainment historyvaudeville, silent films, talkies, Hollywood, movie palaces
- Music OriginsNew Orleans, Memphis, Nashville, Jamaica, Motown
- postwar eraMarshall Plan, prosperity, reconstruction, Cold War, iron curtain
big band erapunk era
Rebellious rock music period
disco era · grunge era · MTV era · British Invasion · streaming era
big band erasolo artist
Performer working independently
singer-songwriter · one-man band · solo act · acoustic duo · power trio
big band erapunk rock
Stripped-down aggressive rock genre
lo-fi · garage rock · minimalist music · electronic music · free jazz
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