Jazz was the music of the 1920s. It was the best display of black musical talent the world had ever seen. Originating with musicians in New Orleans, Louisiana, the sound soon spread across the country. Jazz grew out of ragtime and Dixieland music and sprang as well from the improvisations of the many musicians of French, Spanish, and African heritage who lived in Louisiana. Although the greatest jazz musicians were black, including Louis Armstrong (1901–1971), Jelly Roll Morton (1890–1941), and Duke Ellington 1899–1974), white musicians were the first to record jazz for profit. White musicians such as Bix Beiderbecke (1903–1931), George Gershwin (1898–1937), and Paul Whiteman (1890–1967; dubbed "The Jazz King") popularized jazz with white audiences by performing it in theaters and cabarets. They paved the way for black musicians to cross racial boundaries and to perform in locations generally attended by whites. Soon black musicians were welcomed and profited...