Released in the 1920s

Blues

For me, the 1920s blues isn’t background history—it’s the emotional centre of the decade. Mamie Smith’s “Crazy Blues” is the door that everything else walks through here, a record that suddenly made the industry take Black audiences seriously and opened space for so many of the voices you’ll hear on this playlist. From there, I live in the world of Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey: “Down Hearted Blues”, “Baby Won’t You Please Come Home”, “Jail-House Blues”, “Graveyard Dream Blues”, “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out”—songs that turn grief, sex, anger, and survival into something loud, proud, and unforgettable.​

Explore the genre map: Blues.

Traditional Blues

A lot of this playlist leans into what’s often called classic female blues—touring-show singers backed by small bands, telling stories that feel like gossip you weren’t meant to overhear. Ma Rainey’s “Stack O’ Lee Blues”, “Jelly Bean Blues”, “Bad Luck Blues”, “Moonshine Blues”, and “Prove It on Me Blues” sit right beside Bessie Smith’s “Backwater Blues”, “Young Woman’s Blues”, “Lost Your Head Blues”, and “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”, and together they sketch a whole universe of cheating lovers, bad luck, alcohol, and stubborn resilience.

If you’re drawn to songs where the singer sounds like they’ve actually lived what they’re singing, this corner of the playlist is probably where you’ll stop and stay for a while.

Explore the genre map: Traditional Blues.

Acoustic Blues

Even when the instrumentation gets fuller, I gravitate to tracks that feel close and small, like an intimate, one-room performance instead of a huge stage production. Ma Rainey sides such as “Booze and Blues”, “Countin’ the Blues”, and “Bad Luck Blues” are the blueprint for that mood here. The band is there, but the focus is always that single voice, that single story, with just enough guitar, piano, or horns to answer back.

Explore the genre map: Acoustic Blues.

Jazz Blues

If there’s a sweet spot in this playlist, it’s where blues and jazz meet. I love the way Bessie Smith and Louis Armstrong collide on tracks like “Reckless Blues” and “St. Louis Blues”: her voice right down the centre, his cornet sliding in and around her phrases like a second narrator. You’ll also hear that blend in Armstrong-led numbers such as “Potato Head Blues”, “Basin Street Blues”, “St. James Infirmary”, and “Muggles”, where a simple blues framework suddenly grows teeth and wings through improvisation.

This is where emotion and musical risk-taking start really feeding each other.

Explore the genre map: Jazz Blues.

New Orleans Jazz

This jazz feels messy in the best possible way. King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band shows up in tracks like “Dippermouth Blues” and “Chimes Blues”, with horns talking over one another and a rhythm section that never sits still. Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five carry that same energy into “Heebie Jeebies”, “Come Back, Sweet Papa”, “Lonesome Blues”, and more, where the band sounds like a conversation with too many people and not enough chairs.​

Explore the genre map: New Orleans Jazz.

Dixieland

The way I hear it, the Dixieland tracks here are New Orleans jazz turned up one notch in brightness and swagger. Armstrong pieces like “Cornet Chop Suey”, “Big Butter and Egg Man”, “Yes! I’m In the Barrel”, and “Willie the Weeper” are full of tight ensemble lines where no one is ever completely in the background.

Explore the genre: Dixieland.

Jazz Trumpet

If this playlist has a single guiding instrument, it’s the trumpet—and more specifically, Louis Armstrong’s trumpet. “West End Blues”, “Potato Head Blues”, “Mahogany Hall Stomp”, “Weather Bird”, “Black and Blue”: these are the tracks that, to me, show how jazz moves from ensemble music to a soloist’s art. The long-held notes, the way he lingers behind the beat, the phrasing that sounds almost sung—all of that is why there’s so much Armstrong here.

Even when he’s singing—on things like “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” or “When You’re Smiling”—you can still hear the horn player making choices, just through a different instrument.​

Explore the genre map: Jazz Trumpet.

Jazz Piano

When piano shows up on this playlist, it’s usually because it swings and strides rather than just decorates. James P. Johnson’s “Charleston” and other sides bring in that left-hand engine and right-hand sparkle that sit somewhere between ragtime and full-blown jazz. Fats Waller’s “Ain’t Misbehavin’” is here for the same reason: there’s virtuosity, but there’s also warmth and humour in every chord.​

Explore the genre map: Jazz Piano.

Harlem Renaissance

The Harlem of this playlist isn’t just geography, it’s the way a set of artists keep crossing paths. You can hear Bessie Smith, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Ethel Waters all brushing up against one another across these tracks—Ellington’s “Black and Tan Fantasy”, “East St. Louis Toodle-Oo”, and “The Mooche” weaving mood and harmony while blues and jazz vocals keep everything grounded.​

This is where nightlife and art music start to blur: club music that already has one eye on the concert hall, and popular songs that carry more emotional and cultural weight.

Explore the genre map: Harlem Renaissance.

Vocal Jazz

On the vocal side, I’m drawn to singers with personality first, polish second. Helen Kane’s “I Wanna Be Loved by You” brings that playful, Betty Boop flirty energy, while Ruth Etting’s “Love Me or Leave Me” leans into drama with a theatre kid’s sense of timing. Ethel Waters sings songs like “I’m Coming Virginia”, “My Handy Man”, and “Do What You Did Last Night”, pulling jazz phrasing and blues honesty into the same performance.

If you’re someone who listens for character in a voice, this is where you’ll find it.

Explore the genre map: Vocal Jazz.

Torch Songs

the lights are lower, the tempo drops, and you’re really just there with the voice. The torch songs hurt, but we like it. Libby Holman’s “Moanin’ Low” and Ethel Waters’ “Am I Blue” slow things down and let the arrangement breathe around the singer. You also hear it in Bessie Smith’s “Blue Spirit Blues” and “Empty Bed Blues”. This is where desire, confession, and regret all share the same space.

Explore the genre: Torch Songs.

Torch Songs

the lights are lower, the tempo drops, and you’re really just there with the voice. The torch songs hurt, but we like it. Libby Holman’s “Moanin’ Low” and Ethel Waters’ “Am I Blue” slow things down and let the arrangement breathe around the singer. You also hear it in Bessie Smith’s “Blue Spirit Blues” and “Empty Bed Blues”. This is where desire, confession, and regret all share the same space.

Explore the genre: Torch Songs.