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.