In 1923, he became the first leader to organize a jazz band into sections of brass, reed, and rhythm instruments. His arranger, Don Redman, was the first to master the technique of scoring music for big bands. Various Henderson bands of the 1920's and 1930's included such great jazz instrumentalists as Louis Armstrong and saxophonists Benny Carter and Coleman Hawkins . Armstrong made some of his most famous recordings with his own Hot Five and Hot Seven combos from 1925 to 1928. During the late 1920's and early 1930's, jazz advanced from relatively simple music played by performers who often could not read music to a more complex and sophisticated form.
Many people consider Tatum the most inspired and technically gifted improviser in jazz history.
Swing emphasizes four beats to the bar. Big bands dominated the swing era, especially those of Count Basie , Benny Goodman, and Duke Ellington. Starting in 1934, Goodman's bands and combos brought swing to nationwide audiences through ballroom performances, recordings, and radio broadcasts. Goodman was the first white bandleader to feature black and white musicians playing together in public performances. Until then, racial segregation had held back the progress of jazz and of black musicians in particular.