The Harlem Renaissance brought along major changes to jazz both in terms of it's musical characteristics as well as the venues that it was played in. Jazz came to be defined by the wild clubs and colorful characters that played in them. However, jazz also brought about a social paradigm shift. Traditionally speaking the piano was viewed as an instrument of the wealthy. Men like Jelly Roll Morton, Duke Ellington, Willie Smith, and Fats Waller perfected and transcended the piano standards of the time and effectively made jazz more attractive to the wealthy. This in many ways lead to African Americans becoming more widely accepted as true musical talents. Jazz throughout the Harlem Renaissance evolved from musical outlet to a lifestyle.
