Blog #5: The Legacy and Future of Jazz

It was no surprise to me that music continually changes over time, and jazz was no exception. It was predictable to see the changes in the genre’s style as time progressed, and at the same time surprising to see how variations developed in such a short time span. However, it is more difficult to understand that jazz does not have distinct lines historically, and it was only from past contributions that innovated and refined American music. I learned that jazz is a continuous dialogue between communities, musicians, and society as a whole. It is an interpretation of social and cultural dimensions that are often difficult to find, yet builds off of and learns from its predecessors in a way that transmits even the most ancient information. This discovery changed my view of jazz entirely, and began to see it as more than simply a form of entertainment.


Jazz is more than simply a conveyor of information, but a response towards both history and present society through its practitioners. Miles Davis could not be a more apparent role in the history of jazz, and through his interactions with leading figures in the music’s history, it is apparent that the dialogue never truly left America’s consciousness. In his autobiography, Davis states, “She introduced me to the music of Jimi Hendrix—and to Jimi Hendrix himself—and other black rock music and musicians. She knew Sly Stone and all those guys, and she was great herself. […] The marriage only lasted about a year, but that year was full of new things and surprises and helped point the way I was to go, both in my music and, in some ways, my lifestyle.” (Davis 290). Not only was Miles Davis in contact with Charlie Parker and his famed quintet, but the future generation of artistic expressions as well. To separate jazz from its place in history inherently eliminates part of its significance that shapes and forms a dialogue in America today. Rock and Roll, while appearing to present itself as a fundamentally new art form, always had origins in jazz due to the proximity of time. I learned from this course that a music genre is never in isolation with others, neither spatially nor culturally, and while all musicians contributed to the legacy of jazz we have today, it is the elite that transmit core values, specifically African traditions in the case of jazz, that make music so appealing. 

Although jazz was in a perpetual dialogue with musical forms in both the past and present, I learned it was especially unique as an artistic expression due to the historical significance of its era. It differed from other genres in igniting and evolving the discussion of race in America, and served to address racism through both pure entertainment and intellectual performances. Miles Davis notes, “Look at what's happening to our kids, how they have gone so far into drugs, especially black kids. One reason for this, at least among black kids, is that they don't know about their heritage. I think the schools should teach kids about jazz or black music.” (Davis 405). Relating jazz as an important cultural background to African American culture, Davis believes that the music genre can not only uncover an important part of America’s history, but provide hope and optimism to a demographic that often feels out of place from society. As all music forms are dialogues with society, jazz was a much needed one that provided optimism, courage, and rebellion to those facing discrimination. I believe that this ultimately makes the genre most crucial to the history of African Americans, and not only provides proof of black cultural heritage, but asserts that it has always been a crucial component of our nation’s history. Without a doubt, I believe jazz needs to be recognized as a catalyst for a discussion of race and inequality, and that it left an immense legacy on racial discussions, affecting us even today. 

I am neither a creative person nor someone who can really tell what defines “art”. My views of jazz were simply that it was a music style that changed every so often, sometime during the 20th century, and had little to do with our nation’s history, let alone persisting racial discrimination. After taking this course, I realized the deep-rooted ancestry of jazz does more than simply assimilate, but interpret and transmit social realities to society through a stylistic medium. Jazz was not the only medium, as blues generally preceded it and rock and roll generally followed it, but had the most profound impact on the United States because its variety and diversity could transmit African cultural heritage and roots to anyone willing to listen. It permeated American culture and expressed the plight of the black minority that continued to suffer discrimination long after slavery. It were these concepts that fundamentally changed my view of jazz, and as I continue college, I hope to see its important legacy survive in the present.




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Blog #4: The Harmony and Voice of Jazz Communities

Evident from its transitions throughout America’s history, jazz is more than simply sound coming from instruments. It evolves, refines, and ameliorates itself as a result of its founders’ interpretations of their community, and possibly American society as a whole. Thelonius Monk did not become a pioneer of the intellectual aspect of jazz without his unique circumstances, and although one can draw multiple parallels between his environment in New York as a young child and other multiracial communities, such as that of Leimert Park, it is evident that New York was spatially distinct. This distinction is what made Monk inherently talented at his profession, and cannot be exactly found in any other city in America. Although Leimert Park and other communities share similar traits of hidden artistic expression not recognized by mainstream society, it is apparent that San Juan Hill shaped Monk in a way that ultimately created an intellectual and imposing dialogue on the jazz community.

By no means was Leimert Park a community disconnected from modern jazz. With multiple global influences, the area brought all members of the community into a variety of cultural influences. Jazz was no exception, and as one resident states, “Jazz is the heartbeat of the community that brings all of us together.” (Leimert Park). With a primarily black population, jazz could reach even the farthest corner of the United States in Los Angeles, and ultimately created a positive dialogue within the community that fostered virtue. The relationship to jazz was that of a communal avenue to interpret events, such as the Rodney King verdict, and was not a competitive or contentious form of art in the area. Even when riots nearly destroyed many of the most important cultural establishments, the majority of the community demonstrated a sense of caring and trust that is often overlooked by the media in favor of examining violence. The dialogue between the residents of Leimert Park and jazz was to express a response to the rest of the world, and an attempt to prove that artistic expression and communal values were not absent in the ethnically diverse region of Los Angeles.

New York’s San Juan Hill appeared similar to the Los Angeles suburb in more traits than its association with jazz. It was a global community where people from Eastern Europe, the Caribbean Islands, and southern United States shared a common spatial dimension that inevitably incorporated jazz into its region. However, Thelonius Monk and musicians did not use jazz as a relationship to the community in a similar way that citizens of Leimert Park did. In Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original, Robin Kelley notes, “Battles were not only limited to black and white, or between Caribbean and Southern blacks.” (Kelley 20). With such a large influx of immigrants from various countries, there was ultimately a lack of communal identity and sense of values that allowed jazz in Leimert Park to represent positivity. Monk, growing up in neighborhoods where he saw more than simply white versus black, saw jazz as an outlet for himself as an individual, rather than for his fellow San Juan Hill residents. Along with a rapid rate of people leaving San Juan Hill for Harlem, it is evident that the community would never become as unified or solidified as Leimert, and as a result, Monk’s style of jazz represents a break from the global influences due to his past conflicts with his international neighbors. Thelonius Monk’s style of Bebop was able to transcend the conformity of society simply because the musician was raised to fight against external influences as a whole, entirely in contrast to Leimert Park’s encouragement of a unified “heartbeat”. Jazz was in effect, a dialogue for Thelonius Monk alone, and did not aim to provide for entertainers but to better express the experiences he faced in a racially charged environment growing up.

While both areas of Leimert Park and San Juan Hill share traits of being neglected by mainstream society, San Juan Hill could not promote a homogeneity of beliefs that fostered positive community values in Leimert Park. It instead taught its residents, one of whom was Thelonius Monk, a more individualist worldview that cannot be shaped by mass media nor one’s own neighbors. Monk evolved jazz by adding his harsh experience as a child to demonstrate that a dialogue often speaks the loudest if there is only one speaker, and rather than blending global influences further, jazz can evolve by refining itself in an intellectual realm. San Juan Hill in New York brought a harsher, self-centered jazz into the American music community, but through Monk’s contributions, demonstrated its worth as an art form by relentlessly transcending conformity always present in our society.

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Blog #3: Racial Realities in the Limelight of Swing

In spite of prevalent discrimination in the United States, black musicians spread the musical influence of jazz by relocating to an urban environment, where it was far more likely to gain both profit and popularity from a primarily white audience. However, the hypocrisy of racial divisions persisted even as the era of Swing began, and despite the skill of many talented African Americans, it became painfully obvious that racism influenced more than the spatial dimension of music. The Swing era was an opportunity for white people to learn the harsh reality some of their fellow Americans endured every day, and through both a political and cultural discussion of jazz, the Swing Era brought discrimination and prejudice to the forefront of American discussion.

Jazz was far greater than simply a black service to a general audience, and it is around the Swing Era that many forget its original roots, likely a cause of the invention of radio (Stewart, Lecture). While it is evident that jazz’s founder were primarily African American, the assimilation of the genre into mainstream society would have never happened if it was regarded as a solely black music. As a result of integration into the public sphere, jazz gained a patriotic, capitalist, reputation that extended to its founders. In Swing Changes, the author states, “Jazz represented a musical thumbing of the nose at fascism, to its proselytizers, was above all, a democratic music, a product of ‘the people’, accessible to all classes and cultural types… (Swing Changes 53). The association with jazz with American values and individuality soared during the Swing Era, and though this may not be the dialogue jazz musicians wanted to convey, the white audience embraced an optimistic interpretation of Swing. While this may seem as a futile attempt for many blacks to express the troubles of discrimination, it instead gave black Americans a shared identity of nationalism with whites that was never present in the 20^th century before. The feelings of egalitarianism did not stop at a commercial level, but instead prompted a discussion of racism and the treatment of fellow citizens that were trying to make a living. This idealistic dream of a shared identity put the first crack in a massive political barrier separating whites and blacks, and through Swing music alone, started an open debate about prevalent segregation of Americans for no good reason.

Besides a patriotic concern, Swing presented to the public musicians of both races, resulting in a discussion of the separate white and black contributions to the genre. Critics of jazz were especially crucial in interpreting the key messages of Swing, and although bias was not absent, the general public did not spare attention from people like John Hammond. Critics, who saw during their travels the difficult life many black musicians were living, worked to transmit the realities of racism to many white consumers. In Swing Changes, Stowe states, “The sharpest exchanges occurred not over integration of bias in the swing industry but over the issue that won Hammond notoriety: who played better jazz, whites or blacks and why” (Stowe 78). Critics like John Hammond served to explain and interpret the racial dimension of jazz, and rather than simply consume it, sought to address the discrimination facing even the most elite black musicians. The industry of music critics did not aim to disparage hopeful African Americans, but recognize that the obvious racial bias cannot be ignored if an audience truly respected people like Fletcher Henderson or Billie Holiday.

The circumstances in the Swing Era created a discussion about race in the public sphere. With the advent of the radio, black musicians could be partially considered “true” Americans that proudly represented the United States internationally. Along with the cultural discussion of jazz with popular music critics, who in their search for new talent saw the tragedy of racism, the general public were able to understand and consider racial discrimination for the first time in America’s history. As the political and cultural expressions of jazz left a lasting impression on white audiences, Swing placed a prominent step forward towards black civil liberties.

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Blog #2: New York's Renovation of Jazz

As an artistic component of African identity in America, jazz became integral to black culture by the early twentieth century, and with the Great Migration, the music style demonstrated a thriving resilience in New York and Chicago. With continued racism placed on the African American population, musical forms evolved to serve as both sanctuary and opportunity in the face of oppression in the urban environment. Specifically, the transformation of jazz in New York served as an indicator of social renovation in the black community, and, unattached from many of its original roots that were present in New Orleans, it is evident that the Big Apple’s form of jazz played the most influential role in reconstructing the art style.   

The migration of thousands of African Americans to New York gradually created a novel cultural domain, fundamentally changing black identity and jazz. The introduction of southern African American culture to wealthier blacks formed a divide that inadvertently spread their musical popularity to the white demographic. In History of Jazz, Gioia notes, “In almost every sphere of day-to-day Harlem life, the desire for assimilation into the ways of the Northeast exerted a powerful motivating force” (91). Unlike other cities, the new arrival of southern blacks spurred many to partially renounce their origins and adopt a cosmopolitan identity in Harlem, for both profit and assimilation into white society. The pressure of integration in New York created a rift in Harlem’s populace, who desired to maintain Southern tradition, yet sought assimilation for a better life. These conditions of black confusion of identity and desire for wealth cumulated in a mix of both modern and traditional styles, serving as a catalyst for the creation of New York jazz.

The New York style of jazz permanently sculpted the genre through its massive appeal to richer audiences, and although it may have lost key elements present in New Orleans, black musicians became widely acclaimed and demanded. The adoption of the piano, as well as the creation of ragtime by Benny Goodman further demonstrated a push towards the genre’s mainstream acceptance in New York specifically. In the passage James P. Johnson, the author states, “We have arrived at a picture of a breed of highly-skilled and intensely professional freelance piano-players who, largely through their own pride in their calling, had mastered an enormous repertoire of works, both popular and classical” (26). Jazz in New York represented both tradition and modernity in trying to earn wealth from a largely white audience, who preferred music that “wasn’t too black” (Stewart, Lecture). The combination of classical music to African rhythm created the fundamentals of modern jazz, and would permanently ingrain itself into American culture from its success in New York through rent parties and performances.

The modernization of jazz is a key trait of the New York style, and though Chicago did not lack innovation, its connection with New Orleans was far too strong for it to embrace cosmopolitan adaptations of the music. To succeed in New York, a musician had to leave behind some of their Southern traditions, and instead embrace American culture as a whole for an audience. Gioia, referring to Fats Waller, states, “With a winning, warm demeanor, Waller made them feel like they were honored guests at his party, drinking from the best bottle in the house, privy to the wittiest asides…”(95). This flashy and magnetic personality defines a successful jazz player in New York, vastly contrasting with the blues players in Louisiana in both personal qualities and music style. Fats Waller, James P. Johnson, and Willie “The Lion” Smith all demonstrated that the identity of a modern black musician was more than an instrument, but a personality and appeal to mainstream America.

Regardless of New York’s effect on black opportunity, it is evident that the city caused an evolution of jazz through a displacement in audience demographics, coupled with the chance for African Americans to finally gain prosperity. The long-valued traditions of the music spatially clashed with the contemporary environment, to produce the most dramatic and important changes in jazz. No other city had the magnitude of black musical reconstruction, and in effect no other city could replicate the New York style.

Commented on Morgan Brubaker's blog  

Blog #1: The Roots and Beginnings of Jazz

As the United States attained massive development and economic progress in the late 19th century, immigrants from both the Old and New World immigrated as the country was put on the global spotlight. However, I believe one specific city, New Orleans, stood out as both an important center of trade and a cultural melting pot. Attracting people from all backgrounds, it became one of the most diverse cities in America at the time, and brought people together who all had a similar goal of prosperity and becoming wealthier in America.

 Jazz was not a sudden development, but a culmination of styles whose first were long-practiced African traditions that were brought to the New World. The Congo Square was the first indication of a thriving African cultural presence in America specifically, and was an integral part of the colonial slave population's lifestyle. As Gioia notes, "Such a chronology implies that their (Congo Square dances') disappearance almost coincided with the emergence of the first jazz bands in New Orleans" (Gioia, 4). The styles seen in Congo Square, such as the ring shout and the pairing of sound and music, were able to thrive in New Orleans despite the entirely new environment Africans had been deported to. In effect, the songs and dance reminded the 19^th century slaves that their culture had followed them, and represented a symbol of optimism and belonging in the face of a foreign country and oppressors.

The core traditions of African slaves became the framework of jazz, but with the diversity of New Orleans, the style did not have only one source of influence. The geographic location and history of the city drew European influence to the art form. Gioia states, “As a result, French and Spanish settlers played a decisive role in shaping the distinctive ambiance of New Orleans during the early nineteenth century, yet immigrants from Germany, Italy, England, Ireland, and Scotland made substantial contributions to the local culture” (Gioia 6). In spite of being within the United States’ boundaries, the historical legacy of New Orleans had a global impression on the new African residents, contributing further to the development of a hybrid music. Unlike other cities at the time, New Orleans offered both a diverse past and population, and never became truly “Americanized” like Boston or Philadelphia. In particular, Mexico offered a definite contribution after the World’s Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition by popularizing woodwind instruments (Johnson 226). This highlighted a continuing separation of African-American music from mainstream society as the 20^th century started, and demonstrated a foreign influence that was given to jazz players alone, further distinguishing the genre.

After examining the numerous sources Gioia gives, I believe that jazz was a slow, gradual process that depended on a basis in African rhythm, but grew with European, Mexican, and American contributions that were embedded in the history of New Orleans. The power of the genre’s first contributors, the slaves, cannot be overstated, however. Dismal conditions and mass displacement to the New World played a large role in solidifying the unity of African-Americans and their traditions, long before jazz had even developed. It was only during the early 20^th century when the African expressed optimism and hope for a better future after being freed from slavery and racial prejudice of the South, and jazz reflects both ancient traditions and the modern lifestyle of a black person’s urban environment. Feelings of hesitant optimism combined with a longing for the past cumulated into jazz, and an integral identity that would define African-Americans for generations. The style of New Orleans and its music crossed boundaries of both time and space. 

     


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