It was immediately successful and subjected to various kinds of popularization, almost all of which have continued to this day. It was and still is sometimes played fast and shallow, with intentionally still rhythms on a piano. William Krell called "The Mississippi Rag" in eighteen ninety-seven published the first true ragtime composition. Tome Turpin was the first African-American composer and wrote a composition called "The Harlem Rag" that same year. Over the years of Ragtime's popularity a number of composers merged as the voice of this musical form. James Scott, Louis Chauvin, Joseph Lamb and Scott Joplin just to name a few. Little is known of the early development of Ragtime, but nevertheless it is clear that it surfaced after years of evolution in the latter part of the nineteenth century. Once Ragtime emerged as a unquiet musical form it became a strong base for the music that lay ahead of it. By the early nineteen hundreds, Ragtime was no longer being performed by solo pianist. Small orchestras, military bands and piano-banjo combos were among the earliest recordings of Ragtime, which added elements that alluded to popular dance bands of the Dixieland, New Orleans and Swing styles yet to be developed. An individual musical voice was being established in America, it was an exciting era of development and change.
Swing is the jazz style that came about in the early nineteen-thirties and emphasized big band. It spilled into the late nineteen-forty's and then remained popular in recordings, film, and television music. Most swing-style groups had at least 10 musicians and featured at least three or four saxophones, two or three trumpets, two or three trombones, piano, guitar, bass, violin, and drums. Musicians strove for large, rich tone qualities on their instruments. Solo improvisers did not seek difficulty in their lines so much as lyricism and a hot, confident feeling that was rhythmically undeniable.
