Class evaluation Blog

When I enrolled in this class, I honestly wasn't sure what to expect. I thought it was going to be more music oriented class, with the history of how the music came about. But what I found was that it was much more a culture-oriented class; in particular how the black community shaped, and was shaped by Jazz music through dialogue with the musicians (February 5 lecture, "The Novel"). This class has changed many of my preconceptions on Jazz, including the time periods and cities in which it flourished, the importance the genre had to black Americans, and the multiple styles that jazz entails. I honestly had no idea that there were so many different styles of jazz; learning about how each style of jazz developed, flourished, and disappeared was fascinating.

One aspect of the class, Swing, actually caught me off guard. I had no idea that swing music was actually a form of jazz. I had always imagined jazz as a sort of white movement, a 50s dance craze that was the foundation of Rock n' Roll. In fact, the sound was pioneered by black musicians like Duke Ellington in New York. Stride piano and the modernity of Jazz led to the bigger, louder, more upbeat "swinging" rhythms that swing is known for (Gioia 144-45). I realize now how wrong I was, but I can see why I had interpreted the music that way. While the style was pioneered by blacks in New York, whites began to take a fancy to the music; at this point jazz was no longer looked down upon. 
Benny Goodman's performance at Carnegie hall brought swing to a broader audience, and whites seemed to claim the genre as their own eventually. Black musicians were discriminated against, sold less records, and made less money. The class has shaped my understanding of swing from a genre of its own, invented by white musicians for white dance halls to a style of jazz, pioneered by blacks who were in turn exploited for their own creativity. White's turned the style into "their music" by feeding off the creativity of Blacks while simultaneously oppressing them. Eventually, blacks would reclaim the genre after the swing scene had become stale and overcrowded. In a "reaction" against swing, Bebop emerged, with more complex rhythms that were difficult to imitate (Stewart Bebop Lecture).
Overall, this class has been significant not so much in what I learned about jazz, although I did learn a great amount, but because of the Black history that the class imparted upon me. I feel more informed, more understanding of black culture, and got a better sense of what segregation and discrimination looked like in the past. It also gave me a better appreciation for the human psyche, because from oppression came a beautiful art form, that to this day remains relevant and important to Black Americans.

Thelonious Monk and Racial Pride

The community of the San Juan Hills, where Thelonius Monk lived during his years as a jazz musician in New York, was a completely different environment than that of Harlem. Harlem was almost completely populated with African Americans. Many residents had similar backgrounds and they were in general quite friendly with one another. San Juan Hill, however, was a neighborhood strife with conflict and territorialism. "Every block [was] like a different town," filled with Italians, Germans, Irish, Caribbeans, as well as blacks (Kelley 19). The community had a "reputation for violence" and was especially known for its race riots, so it seems logical that racial pride was a running theme in the neighborhood (Kelley 16). The neighborhood  and the daily violence that occurred within affected Monk heavily in his daily life; it weighed heavy upon him and shaped his personal beliefs (Kelley 18). He grew tired of the daily violence and fighting not only "whites" but men from all different countries. In a city strife with racism and infighting, two things mattered to Thelonious Monk: his music and his family. In reality, the two kept him grounded and focused on the future. His career was music, and his family was the driving force to keep him innovating and producing successful records (Stewart lecture 2/26/13). San Juan Hill did not completely leave a negative impact on Monk, in fact, it can be argued that he would not have thrived without them; the people on his block supported him throughout his career. Professor Stewart mentions that the help he received from neighbors in such a violent area gave Monk "sense that there was order in disorder," and that there was meaning to be found in even the strangest of situations (Stewart lecture 2/26/13). This sentiment can be found directly in his musical stylings. Eccentric, disjointed, and strange, Monk's music was extremely chaotic. It was not music you listened to while reading the paper, rather, it commanded your attention, forces the listener to focus and only then is the order and meaning revealed.
This is the type of community that Monk fostered, a community of thinkers and artists dedicated to finding meaning in music. Monk's music was so distinct from what had come before, so different and unique, yet lacked in popular themes of his time such as segregation and discrimination. Monk's music was not politically or racially driven, his love of music is what kept him going. He had no interest in that "Black power shit" as he had seen what the violence of racial pride could lead to. In his biography, Kelley also mentions that "virtually every kid became a kind of cultural hybrid," so Monk may not have connected as much to his black roots as others did. Monk was able to take the chaos and racial tension in the streets and transfer it through his music, rather than community involvement. Unfortunately, he was not able to overcome real racial discrimination in Delaware in 1958. Monk was wrongfully accused of "assault and battery on a police officer" among other things. He was severely beaten and his cabaret card was revoked for six years because of the incident (Kelley 254). Even Monk, a man who tranformed the tensions of San Juan Hill into art, was severely affected by this act of racism and violence.

Race and Swing in the 1930s

Without a doubt, jazz music until the 1920s was an almost entirely Black movement. Jazz music was looked down upon by most white Americans throughout this period, and the genre was even criticized by some black intellectuals involved in the Harlem Renaissance. Something changed, however, in the 30s in which whites in the US became enthralled with the emerging style of swing. Suddenly, swing became acceptable in the mainstream, and those credited with it's creation (talented black jazz musicians) actually found it more difficult to find success.
The Great Depression was in full effect in the 30s; disposable income was lower than ever, record sales were down, and artists needed to find new ways to distribute their music. This led to a certain "economic game" in which other musicians needed to actively find ways to profit off their music as well as prevent other musicians from profiting. This differed from the previous decades which more emphasized the "creative game" (Professor Stewart, "Swing Changes" lecture). The radio presented this opportunity to distribute music, as millions of American households now owned at least one. Professor Stewart mentioned that the radio presented a way for blacks to reach larger audiences because listeners could not "hear color" through the radio, preventing listeners from having a bias before actually judging the music(Swing Changes lecture). One master of this economic game was Duke Ellington. Duke was able to overcome the difficulties for black Jazz musicians in ways that even the greats like Fletcher Henderson and Louis Armstrong were not. Ellington hired Irving Mills, a Jewish agent that helped him book gigs, get radio appearances and raise his profile. Mills advised Ellington on what would sell and in turn got a part of the profits. Ellington was extremely successful and was an inspiration to many black Americans. His success did not come without criticism however. John Hammond, a wealthy white music critic, attacked Ellington for selling out to the white audience and "his lack of sensitivity to the troubles of his people," a notion at which Ellington found "laughable"("Swing Changes" lecture). Ellington insulted Hammond for attempting to declare that he understood what the African American struggle was like in urban America, considering Hammond had never struggled financially in his life.
One of the more popular White musicians at the time, Benny Goodman, actually helped to break down racial barriers in the genre. His performance in 1938 at Carnegie Hall was groundbreaking in two ways. It not only showed that Jazz could survive as an acceptable and "high class" form of music, but also defied segregation by his inclusion of 3 black members in his band. Goodman also battled one of Harlem's premier swing musicians, Chick Webb, at the Savoy club in 1937. Goodman, the so-called "King of Swing", lost handily to Webb and he had no problem admitting it. Unfortunately, This did little to dissuade the general public from discrimination of black musicians. One of Goodman's best-selling recordings, "One O'clock Jump," was actually a tune of Count Basie's, a popular black musician at the time. Goodman's recording far outsold Basie's, despite Goodman going out of his way to credit Basie during broadcasts. This reflected an innate bias against black jazz musicians by consumers in the industry ("Swing Changes" 130).
Jazz, previously considered "barbaric" and primitive, was suddenly accepted into "higher class" society as an acceptable genre of music with the introduction of swing style. With whites now invested in the music, black musicians found it tougher to reach new audiences as racism was still rampant throughout the country. Some found a way to win this new "economic game", while others quickly faded away. Race would continue to be an issue in the genre for years to come.

Chicago Jazz

The next major hubs of jazz in America showed up around the 1920s. The 20s saw an explosion of African American immigrants in the north, which became known as the Great Migration. Blacks escaped the tough Jim Crow laws in the south for the Northern part of the country; particularly New York and Chicago. Both developed distinct styles of jazz, but Chicago's jazz scene was, in my opinion, far more important to the history of Jazz.

Chicago
The 1920s became known as the Jazz Age because the genre started to explode in popularity during the decade. This was aided by the emergence of jazz in the Windy City.  Jazz spread like wildflower within Chicago, in part due to the segregation in the city. The south side of Chicago consisted of mostly black individual, whereas the north side was mostly a white area. Because the black community was heavily concentrated in one area, a distinct culture began to emerge. An idea of a "black economy" gained ground because the residents felt that the money they spend on groceries and other purchases would circulate within the community and would be the "glue to hold what was a new and fragile world together" (Cohen 148). This "black economy" was vital to the development of jazz, as the community would often visit local nightclubs and bars to hear the latest sounds in the genre.

Although the idea eventually failed, it led to an increase of black nationalism in the area, further increasing the popularity of jazz. Blacks did not reject mainstream culture, but rather embraced it, and put their own creative spin on it. This setting led to a sort of dialogue between the jazz artists of Chicago and the inhabitants, similar to Bakhtins dialogic theory. New immigrants to the city enjoyed hearing a bit of southern New Orleans style, and the artists took that sound and innovated upon it. In return, jazz also shaped the culture of Chicago. Nightclubs and bars emphasized entertainment, and throughout "the roaring twenties" people lived to party. While a jazz culture certainly existed in Harlem, with stride piano and rent parties, the artists just weren't as innovative and lively as in Chicago.

This dialogue shaped jazz in the city into what became known as "Chicago Style". Compared to New Orleans, Gioia notes that in Chicago "a certain restless energy begins to reverberate in the music"(75). In addition, horns move out of the background and begin to take center stage. Vocals also became more prominent. There was more of a focus on the individual rather than the ensemble. You can see these new alterations in much of Louis Armstrong's work. A brilliant trumpeter and one of the most talented jazz musicians in history, Armstrong epitomizes Chicago Style. Armstrong's career took off with King Oliver and his band. Other big players in the Chicago scene included Bix Beiderbicke, a talented white cornet player, and Fats Waller. Without Chicago and Louis Armstrong's career, it is unlikely that the music would have taken off like it did. Harlem was crucial to the development of Jazz, but the sound may never have taken off without the jazz explosion in Chicago. Chicago laid the groundwork for what would be the newest spin on the genre in the coming years.

The influence of New Orleans on the development of jazz can not be overstated. The culture of New Orleans contributed to some of the most fascinating developments in Black culture and was truly a one-of-a-kind city.

What exactly did New Orleans contribute to the emergence of Jazz, and why New Orleans?

To answer this question we have to go back to the period in which New Orleans was under French control. While slavery certainly existed, the French version of slavery looked quite different than the American/Latin version of slavery. The French (or Catholic) version of slavery allowed a lot more, for lack of a better term, freedoms than did the Latin version. For instance, on Sundays slaves were allowed to go into an area called the Congo square where they could dance, sing, and play music with each other. This allowed a spread of ideas and culture between slaves. This encouraged the development of work songs, which in turn led to the blues, as well as faster dance songs. Another facet of the Catholic slave code was that slaves could intermarry (something that was highly frowned upon in the Latin slave code), which led to a large number of Creoles of color. As Ted Gioia states, "Creoles of color did not associate with black society; instead they imitated the ways of continental European settlers". These creoles saw themselves as higher up the food chain than Blacks, and treated them as such. However, when Jim Crow laws began to take hold in America, the Creoles were no longer treated well, and had to merge themselves with all other Blacks in the city. This is where we truly start to see the emergence of Jazz.

The fusion of Ragtime and Blues and the emergence of Jazz

In New Orleans, two major types of music were popular. Blues, popular within the Black population, was a slowed, rhythmic type of music with lyrics depicting the hardships slaves and free Blacks had to endure within the city of New Orleans. The other type of music, which was popular within the European and Creole population, was much faster and upbeat, and included horns and piano. However, in the late 1800s, as the Creoles lost status and began to integrate with Blacks, these two genres began to fuse. Many different people or groups claim to be the originator of Jazz music, but it's unknown its true origin. Next I will begin to evaluate a couple different possibilities of where Jazz truly began.

One claim upon the origination of Jazz belongs to Buddy Bolden. There are no recordings of his music, and the first mention of his music appeared two years after his death. As Gioia says, "any assessment of his importance must be drawn from scattered and often contradictory first-person accounts." Bolden started out in a string band, and later became more prominent as he evolved into emphasizing wind instruments and drums. "By the close of the decade... his group gained increasing notoriety for its daring move into the syncopated and blues-infected sounds that would prefigure jazz." In addition to more syncopated rhythms that seemed jarring to whites and some creoles, his lyrics, which were daring and outspoken, caused much controversy within the city. In fact, it is said by some that "the police put you in jail if they heard you singing [one of Bolden's] songs." Unfortunately, Bolden's career spiraled out of control quickly and he was put in an asylum where he died many years later.

Another Source that Gioia mentions as a proclaimed originator of jazz is the great Jelly Roll Morton. Few performers were as popular as Jelly Roll around the turn of the century, thus leading him to declare himself the originator of jazz. Gioia dismisses this as inaccurate, but says that he was "perhaps the first to think about it in abstract terms, and articulate... a coherent theorietical approach to its creation." Despite this, many in the Jazz community today view Morton as a blabbering loudmouth who rewrote his own history to match his personality. Morton rejected his creole backing, both insisting he disliked the french as well as denying he had any African ancestors, another example of Creoles resisting assimilation into the Black community. Morton was a massive superstar.  His status could be compared to popular rappers of today-- both in his associations with lowlifes, gamblers, and pimps, as well as in his appearance (he was known to wear a diamond in his tooth). Everywhere he went, he was noticed. Jelly Roll certainly produced some of the hottest jazz records in the country for quite a while and without a doubt contributed to the massive explosion of the genre throughout the early 20th century. His presence inspired many others to follow suit and begin their own jazz bands.

Wrap it all up
In my opinion, the most important factor leading to the emergence of jazz in New Orleans was the Catholic version of slavery. Without the "freedoms" that were permitted to slaves in the Louisiana area, it's highly unlikely that the spread of ideas and culture throughout the slaves could have occurred. Because the slaves were allowed to intermarry, Creoles of color emerged, creating a distinct middle ground between Whites and Blacks, allowing a subset of groups to identify with both European and African heritage. As the Creoles began to integrate with the other free black Americans, their two cultures merged, including their forms of music, eventually forming what we now know as jazz.