The "Jazz Age" made its presence known in Cincinnati and environs by the 1920s.There are a few classified advertisements for how to learn to play jazz, those for the sale of instruments, and for dance lessons. There is one humorous article about a restraining order imposed to stop the nuisance of jazz at the Toadstool Inn in Avondale in 1921. Also one about an injunction filed against The Marvin School of Popular Music by The Lyric Hotel at 512 Vine St. The "so called musical teachings" were disturbing the clientele of the hotel. Jazz is around and available for listening and for dancing

International stars Eubie Blake (1887-1983) and Noble Sissle performed at the Swiss Garden in Bond Hill in 1925, 1926 and 1927. They were in the heart of a successful carreer as composers, especially of "Shuffle Along", the first entirely African-American written and directed Broadway musical. Eubie Blake came to renewed prominence 50 years later when Johnny Carson hosted him as singer, pianist and raconteur as a man in his 90s in the late 1970s. (He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Ronald Reagan in 1981). His thoughts on the Black roots of jazz are made clear in an article below.

There are musical performances at the Albee and Music Hall, notably one featuring the famous Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra. Although drawing upon the spirit and innovations of African-American music, his orchestra remained a very refined and "sweet" version of jazz, mostly lacking the earthiness of the authentic product, but nonetheless, a significant part of the popularization of jazz and it was quality music. There were few Black musicians advertised during this time. In the Castle Farm box under the 1930s (below) we first see Fletcher Henderson advertised in 1926.