Changing Assumptions of Jazz

Before this course, I had a limited understanding of the nature of jazz. I thought that an important part of jazz was its somewhat mournful sound and I also believed that jazz was usually had a slower tempo and was a performance art form. I thought jazz was just a genre of music like rock and roll or pop music and knew nothing of its origins. I did not know anything about its pervasiveness in American culture in the 20^th century and no idea about the struggles jazz musicians faced.

               Racism and segregation posed huge problems for black jazz musicians in the early to mid- 20^th century. Black musicians were marginalized in favor of white musicians for gigs in ‘high society’ venues like Carnegie Hall. For example, Benny Goodman played Fletcher Henderson’s music in Carnegie Hall since Henderson could not play there as he was black. Miles explains this phenomenon in his autobiography by citing the discovery of bebop: “white critics tried to act like they discovered it—and us—down on 52^nd Street” (Davis, 55). White people defined bebop according to their own inclinations and ignored the history associated with the evolution of jazz into bebop. Miles’ assertion has roots dating back to the Jazz Age and the Swing Era when artists like Duke Ellington had to employ white agents like Irving Mills who could dictate the terms of employment. Despite this rampant racism, black artists prevailed and spread jazz across the nation.

               This course changed my view on jazz completely. I came into the course expecting to learn only about the big names of jazz like Coltrane and Miles Davis but I realize now that jazz was a collective effort by many artists over a long period of time. Jazz is more than just a genre or style of music. It is the “process of making music” (Stewart, 3/10) but it also a reflection of the racial struggle of black people in America.

Comment: Matt Hirning

Jazz and the Community

Monk’s upbringing in San Juan Hill exposed him to the diversity of cultures and music present in the world. San Juan Hill had the highest “concentration of black musicians in the city” (Kelly, 19) before the migration of music to Harlem. Monk heard Caribbean music, music from the South and from the West Indies. He also learned classical music and jazz from various piano teachers. This exposure to different cultures gave him an advantage when developing his own music later in life. He tried to recreate the swing quality in faster paced music that was the defining factor of bebop. His discordance and dissonant tones represented the violence he saw in San Juan Hills in the form of race riots and also everyday crime. This is what some mean by “Jazz is New York, man!” Jazz brought together the different cultures in New York and combined them to create something new while not forgetting the tensions between the cultures.

This relationship between jazz and the community is opposite to that portrayed in the Leimert Park video. Kelley argues that Monk’s environment and community lead to his music, not his music creating the San Juan Hill community. However, Monk’s music led directly to the popularity of the Five Spots bar, so in this case, jazz created the community. However it is inaccurate to assume that either jazz creates the community or vice versa. Rather, jazz and the community share a cyclical relationship, where one will influence or create the other and then later the created will become the creator.

Jazz musicians are heavily influenced by their childhood experiences, as we see from Monk’s upbringing, as well as Miles Davis’s upbringing. Their culturally and aesthetically diverse environments led to their music, and their experiences are reflected in the music. Ultimately, without the community, there is no jazz.

Comment: Matt Hirning
I like that you explored the connection between San Juan Hill and Leimert Park beyond just talking about them as communities where jazz blossomed, and actually talked about their similarities i.e. the violence and diversity. It works really well to emphasize that jazz needs a specific set of initial conditions to flourish.