Violence, or the possibility of violence, had become part of the nightclub scene, but this had little to do with jazz. The demonization of the music had been there from the beginning: Jazz was “jig music” and therefore violence-prone and dangerous, according to white (and some Black) opinionators, politicians, socialites, and race-baiters. This represented a strain of Americana that would continue throughout history, where music designated as “Black” (early rock and roll, rap, hip-hop) was characterized by polite society as innately violent.
