Final Entry: My learning experience

Upon signing up for this course last fall I expected a number of things to come out of the class. First, I automatically assumed we would learn of some of the big names of jazz like Miles Davis and Louis Armstrong. Little did I know, these were just two of the many disciples of jazz and did not come close to covering all genres of the music. While Miles and Armstrong are pinnacles of musical achievement and innovation, their predecessors and influences were perhaps more inventing and helped foster their sounds. King Oliver mentored Armstrong, while Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie “Bird” Parker, some of my newfound favorite jazz artists, took Miles under their shoulders when he moved to New York in September of 1944. Secondly, I revised my views of the origins of jazz music. I had formerly believed that jazz was created sometime in the 1930s as modern jazz or bebop. I had no idea as to the origin of jazz in New Orleans as a combination of ragtime and blues, or the historical influences that enslavement of Africans and the Latin code of slavery had on jazz’s emergence at the turn of the 20^th century. The clash and fusion of African and European, composition and improvisation, spontaneity and deliberation… will follow us at virtually every turn in the evolution of jazz (Gioia 27).

Of the many concepts discussed in class, the idea of a dialogic between artist and community, as proclaimed by M.M. Bakhtin, has most changed my outlook on how art and culture emerges. M.M. Bakhtin argues that there must be a dialogic involved in the creation of an art form jazz. This dialogic imagination refers to the idea that a musician does not create a new piece without an intended listener in mind; they take the circumstances of that time and make it relevant in their art form (Lecture 2/7). Coming into the course this statement seemed logical to me; the culture reflects the community. But not until this class did I begin to understand the complex dialogic between the community and the artists. Dialogue may not be achieved in one direction. There must be dialogue back and forth. Not only can a community influence artists, but artists may create and influence communities through their work. Thelonius Monk, for example, was a product of his upbringing in San Juan Hill. The violent nature, diversity and segregation of the area led to a distinct sound in Monk’s piano playing. Through his playing Monk was later able to foster a unique bohemian community (Lecture 2/26).

Thelonius Monk: A Product of and Creater of a Community

The community at San Juan Hill heavily influenced Thelonius Monk’s personality and helped shape his music. Growing up in San Juan Hill, Monk was subject to violence, diversity, segregation, and racism. With a diversity of people came a diversity of cultures (Kelley 18). As is seen throughout its history, when a diversity of cultures comes together a new form of jazz is created. Thelonius had an Austrian born Jewish piano teacher, Simon Wolf, through whom he was taught works by Chopin, Beethoven, and Rachmaninoff (Kelley 26).

While Thelonius did experience diversity of cultures through his teachers and community, the diversity also lead to major racism and segregation near San Juan Hill. “The daily violence young people endured in San Juan Hill haunted Thelonious for many years to come (Kelley 18) Thelonious responds to the violence and segregation in New York  by saying, “There’s no reason why I should go through that Black Power shit now. I guess everybody in New York had to do that, right? Because every block is a different town. It was mean all over New York, all the boroughs. Then, besides fighting the ofays, you had to fight each other. You go to the next block and you’re in another country” (Kelley 19). Not only did whites fight blacks, but there was much black on black violence as well. The violence and segregation Thelonius experienced is found in his attack and improvisational style of play.

Though Thelonius attempted to stay away from the “Black Power shit”, his music was a way to transcend traditional racial politics. Dr. Stewart argues that Monk “used his art to create a new community, a bohemian community bound together by a tolerance for modernity, for dissonance in music and for the avant garde in art and life” (Lecture 2/28). His success in transcending race and class lines is epitomized by his relationship with Nica, a white woman. Nica, respect for Monk and his music led to the two spending the last decade of Monk’s life together in a mutual friendship.

Monk’s transcendence of racial politics through music made him an easy target of racism, as is seen in his arrest in Delaware in 1958. Upon being falsely accused for violence and a narcotic possession, Monk was so mad that when ordered out of the car by policemen, he refused to go (Kelley 254). Thelonius was finally convicted of assault and battery and lost his cabaret card. This incident made Thelonius a direct victim of racial injustice, and had a profound effect on his mental state for years to come.

The community that Thelonius Monk and his music fostered was a bohemian one which all peoples were on equal levels. Monk’s music embodies a vision of new community and artistic souls—rebels against middle class conformity (Lecture 2/28).

Swing Changes Everything

Jazz has had a tendency to include racial discourse in its discussion since its founding. The racial roots and discourse, however, have been essential in its development through New Orleans, NY, Chicago, and into the Swing Era of the 1930s. With the end of Prohibition in 1933, the ethos and ambiance of jazz in the speakeasy was demystified as jazz moved from the underground to the mainstream. Race became an explicit topic, discussed in detail like never before for a number of reasons. The onset of the Great Depression accompanied by the end of prohibition and the invention of the radio developed a competitive environment for the jazz musician. This competition is antagonized by the integration of blacks into white bands, and black musicians hiring white agents. Together these factors lead to the explicitness of race in the 1930s.

The Great Depression devastated the music and recording industries. Record sales in the US had surpassed one hundred million in 1927, but by 1932 only six million were sold—a staggering decline of over 90 percent (Gioia 135). In addition, the creation of the radio now allowed a few bands to entertain thousands of people. Black and White musicians alike had to compete for what little financial benefits the industry had to offer. White bandleaders found much easier working conditions compared to blacks. Of the five major sources of big-band income—record sales, one-night engagements, theater shows, hotel location jobs, and commercially sponsored programs, black bands were restricted to the first three (Swing Changes 123). Without access to the latter two, black bands had to travel constantly; conditions which did not favor keeping a band together for very long. Duke Ellington was one of the few blacks who exploited this new economic game. He hired a Jewish agent to mainstream his music and book him at only the finest venues.

By 1941 barriers that had previously stood against integrated bands had fallen, with Benny Goodman’s hiring of Christain and Henderson (Swing Changes 129). Godman’s performance at Carnegie hall alongside two black musicians solidified jazz as a high culture musical form. Though both races seemed on equal platforms, whites received much higher pay than blacks. This made black bands vulnerable to white bandleader vultures that could pay the blacks a higher wage. Swing had made it possible for black and white musicians “to know each other on grounds of intimacy never dreamed of in the stilted days of ragtime and jazz” (Swing Changes 129).

The newfound “intimacy” of blacks and whites in the music industry during the 1930s made race an explicit topic. White critics were now able to critique blacks because they were on more of an equal playing field. While these critics lacked the empathy and criticism of the black musician needed to review their pieces, White critics such as Hammond exemplified the thoughts of the white fan during the time. The Great Depression and radio created a competitive enough environment which led to the integration of bands, and forced blacks to the front of the discussion in Swing Jazz.

New York as the More Important Jazz City

            After it’s emergence in New Orleans near the turn of the 20^th century, jazz split in two directions: Chicago and New York. While Chicago held tightly to the roots of jazz created in New Orleans, New York attempted to evolve the sound and make jazz the most popular music of the day. New York achieved this feat through its heterogeneous community, distinct style, and exceptional musicians such as James P. Johnson.

According to Ken Burn’s theory, superlative individuals make jazz. These musicians are unmatched in their ability to play, perform, and adapt to the community’s interests. In cohesion with Burn’s theory, M.M. Bakhtin argues that there must be a dialogic involved in the creation of, in the context of this course, jazz. This dialogic imagination refers to the idea that a musician, novelist, etc. does not create a new piece without an intended listener in mind. This coincides with Thompson’s African theme of call and response. In Harlem during the 1920s, not only did the community create and influences the jazz, but also the jazz that helped build and create a culture in the community. Dr. Stewart proclaims Harlem was a crucible in which things are heating up and welding into one another to produce a distinct sound. The heterogeneous city that is Harlem gets its unique diversity from the middle class white neighborhood it was created for, and the plethora of races and cultures which eventually occupied it. Thus emerged the two Harlems: Renaissance and rent party. Renaissance Harlem had a deep community pride and provided a black “high culture”. Rent party Harlem reflected a crueler reality (Gioia 94). While Harlem Renaissance created a cultural context for jazz, the rent party led to the fusion cultures to create stride piano.

Stride piano is a style of jazz distinct to New York. It seeds from the rent parties of Harlem in the 20s where musicians were forced to change their style in accordance to the crowd in which they were playing for. Thus, the rent party musician must be practiced in classical, ragtime, blues, and jazz sounds. Combining these styles creates stride. Playing stride piano requires the improvisation and call and response necessary to please audiences of different tastes. Whereas Chicago style was more of an impersonation of New Orleans style, as demonstrated by the Austin High School Gang, New York’s community and artists produced its own style and directly contributed to the evolution of jazz.

James P. Johnson epitomizes the New York jazz pianist’s sound. Johnson’s “Carolina Shout” came to be the test-piece of all aspiring jazz pianists (Lyttleton 34). In the words of Duke Ellington, considered by some to be the premiere jazz musician, “James took over. Then you got the real invention—magic, sheer magic.” This incredible talent came from Johnson’s well known upbringing in various styles of music, including the ones mentioned above which led to the emergence of stride. This evidence may suggest Johnson to be the father of stride, and thus New York’s most important figure.

Jazz in New York helped mainstream the sound and consequently allowed the music to evolve into a much more fun and danceable form. Because of the heterogeneous nature of Harlem, and its call and response/dialogue, stars emerged to push jazz forward, making New York a more important city for jazz.

Gioia, Ted. The History of Jazz. New York: Oxford UP, 1997. Print.

Lyttelton, Humphrey. The Best of Jazz. New York: Taplinger, 1979. Print.

Emergence of Jazz in New Orleans

     New Orleans at the turn of the 20th century was a hodgepodge of goods, people, and cultures. It is only natural that this blend of cultures produced a new kind of music. New Orleans was the only city which could at the time spur such a dramatic change in the progression of musical form. New Orleans is a city founded by the French and eventually bought by the Americans in the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. The purchase allowed the passage of goods up and down the Mississippi river in addition to the naval passages that allowed shipments to the north, Caribbean, Europe, and Africa. 
     
     New Orleans was a special American city, however, in that it was distinctly catholic. The Latin form of slavery made New Orleans  more lenient toward slavery than other parts of the U.S. Slaves under this form were allowed to marry, own property and  purchase/free themselves. More leniency allowed African culture to continue to evolve distant from Africa, espectially in the gathering place that is Congo Square. The Congo Square is a meeting place where slaves were allowed to gather and share their cultures through music, dance, and song. Another result of the leniency of the Latin versus the English system of slavery was the allowance for blacks and whites to intermarry. This brought about the Creoles, and in specific to our discussion, the Creoles of color. The Creoles of color experienced somewhat of a double consciousness; they identified with both their European and African descendants. Creoles of color were very skilled musicians who studied more of the European culture in an attempt to distance themselves from their African heritage. During the rewriting of the Louisiana Constitution, near the turn of the 20th century, there became a more distinct line of separation between blacks and whites. Creoles of color were now forced to enter the more poverty stricken areas of New Orleans in search of work. Some of which may have ended up in the red light district of New Orleans.
    
     The red light district, also known as Storyville, was the epitome of stereotypical New Orleans: loud music, parties, and sex.Here, Jazz was produced because of the sexy and defiant nature of the district. Brass bands were found near every party or social gathering. Buddy Bolden created music which supposedly caused police to strike anybody singing the lyrics. Much of the music being played came from brothel pianists and bands, playing at an attempt to make a "sexier" atmosphere. Jazz was finally mainstreamed by ODJB and the self-proclaimed father of jazz Jelly Roll Morton. Those that took the music mainstream were not the deciding factor in the emergence of jazz. It was the melting pot of cultures, the leniency of the Latin slave code, and the double consciousness of the Creoles of color, which infused European and African music to make something uniquely American.