The Jazz Connection

France's Love Affair with Jazz: From the Great War to the Occupation

• African-American soldiers introduced France to jazz during World War I.
• Jazz became popular during les années folles, or “the crazy years”, when all art forms were changing and tastes turned to the unconventional and exotic.
• The Hot Club de France was formed in the early 1930s to promote jazz in France, and Louis Armstrong was elected Honorary President of the club in 1936.
• The Hot Club helped jazz take root in post-war France and "discovered" French talent such as Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli.
• During the Second World War, the Hot Club claimed that jazz was "traditional French music" to survive under occupation.
• Music experts made "adjustments" to make jazz seem more French, such as changing the name from "swing" to "jazz" and translating song titles into French.
• Hot Club members were active in the Resistance and used jazz concerts and conferences as cover to pass information to England.
• The Hot Club headquarters in Paris was raided and some officials were arrested, but jazz survived and kept French company during the occupation.
• After the war, jazz became woven into French culture and France remained faithful to the music.
• Jazz has a special place in French culture, and the world's first international jazz festival was held in Nice, France in 1948.
• Jazz in France is an example of the power of music to bring people together and promote cultural exchange.
• Louis Armstrong's performance in French exemplifies the way jazz has been adapted and embraced by French culture.