Blog 5: Altered Assumptions in Jazz

Pick one thing/issue in the Miles Davis Autobiography and use it to answer a broader question: What were your assumptions about jazz and its history coming into the
course?

How have those assumptions been changed, revised or reinforced by what you have learned in this course? 

Coming into this course, I knew very little about jazz and even less about its history. Although I was familiar with certain artists by their names (Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Frank Sinatra, etc.) I did not know anything about their music or where it came from. I did have the feeling that jazz was more of a community event than a performance, but did not know of any solid evidence to back this up. I knew that it originated as a “Negro music,” much like blues did, and figured that it kept the community close during hard times. I did not, however, have any idea of the magnitude and influence that it would have on America. I figured that its growth was based on teamwork and encouragement—in this regard I was partially wrong. While bands did work together, encouraging each other well, a common strategy of music teachers was to be extremely hard on their pupils.

Jazz music originated as the blending of musical cultures around the turn of the twentieth century in New Orleans. Over the next fifty years, jazz grew into a culture itself. I was fully unaware of the magnitude of this culture and its influence on America. I had only previously assumed that it was simply a musical genre, used solely for entertainment purposes. This course has demonstrated thoroughly that jazz helped spark a cultural revolution in America that eventually became The Civil Rights Movement. Jazz became a way for African Americans to show racist whites that they could be geniuses too, and that they had value to give society. It became an easy way for them to become integrated into white society. At the same time, it gave them an excellent community event that could separate people from violence and destruction, such as in San Juan Hill and Leimert Park. In all of these regards, I was mostly ignorant but had the right idea, and this class gave me more insight to reinforce my blind assumptions.

One assumption that this course has completely transformed was the mode of teaching that most jazz teachers employed. In everything that I have been taught—piano, guitar, gymnastics, water polo, even school—I have always been encouraged and told, “you can do it! You have the potential!” Even if I was performing horribly, someone would tell me, “it just takes practice, you’ll get it eventually.” These experiences have made me assume that this is the way that teaching is everywhere, and with everything. When considering jazz, however, this is simply not the case. Miles Davis exemplifies this repeatedly in his autobiography. Beginning in his early years his teachers would tell him he was the worst musician that they had ever heard. “Maybe Gus [trumpet teacher] thought that by telling me I was his worst student that I would play harder.” (Davis, 35) This was not how it always worked—in high school, Davis received encouragement from his fellow band mates. (Davis, 32) However, the sort of ‘negative encouragement’ he received from Gus transformed into blunt truth when Davis began to play in the real world. In the underground jazz clubs of New York, if a performing musician was good, he was encouraged. If he didn’t impress, then he would be heavily discouraged. “If you got up on the bandstand at Minton’s and couldn’t play, you were not only going to get embarrassed by people ignoring you or booing you, you might get your ass kicked.” This tactic is so alien to me that I couldn’t have conceived it before taking this class.

After studying jazz for two and a half months, I have realized that while some of my prior assumptions were based in truth, others were entirely wrong. Jazz is a community event, a blending of cultures, and has had an enormous impact on American society. Among themselves, jazz artists use tactics of both positive and negative encouragement, and aren’t afraid to tell each other if they are playing horribly. I have learned a lot, and my perception of jazz has been transformed into a more accurate idea, with interesting history to back it up.

Blog 4: The Common Cause of Jazz

Arguably, both Robin Kelley's biography of Thelonious Monk and the film, Leimert Park, are about the relationship of art and community. What is the relationship of  Monk's genius to the San Juan Hill community where he grew up, according to Kelley?  How did it shape Monk's music? Is this what some mean by "Jazz is New York, man!?" Or something else?  Is the relationship of jazz to the community in Leimert Park the same or different from the relationship Kelley outlines? What do you think is the relationship between art and the communities in which jazz musicians grow up and/or perform?

San Juan Hill is a small community in New York. Historically known for its racial violence, it was a dangerous place (especially for blacks) when the Monks moved there in 1922. To survive, the children of each neighborhood formed a small community, and protected each other. This brought them together in a unique way, and later in life allowed Thelonius Monk to mature into the musical genius that he was always meant to be.

“I did all that fighting with ofays [whites] when I was a kid. We had to fight to make it so we could walk the streets,” Monk once said. (Kelley, 18) San Juan Hill was neither nice nor forgiving. It bred delinquency, and so as a solution, a community center was established in 1928, just down the street from the Monks. The Columbus Hill Community Center became one of young Thelonius Monk’s greatest influences. (Kelley, 28) It gave them a community, and a safe place to be at after school. It helped to shape Monk’s jazz by giving him a place to practice, an automatic audience to play for, as well as fellow musicians to play with. He formed his first band from friends at the community center. (Kelley, 35) His audience there was made up of friends who could always give him helpful encouragement, as well as unrivaled enthusiasm. He strived to impress his community. In addition, the band he formed there went on to be rather successful for what it was. By the time he was sixteen, Monk was paying for his own clothes and food, as well as giving his mother some of the money that he made from paying various shows, or winning contests. (Kelley, 35-36) With this money, he was able to travel to Harlem and watch professional jazz artists, most notably Herman Chittison. He gained much of his style and inspiration from watching these shows.

This is part of what is meant by “jazz is New York, man!” Jazz brought the community together; it was far-reaching, popular and respected, and provided an enjoyable, productive activity that anyone could participate in. The other part of this statement, however, comes from the diversity of cultures present at the time. Jamaicans, African Americans, Spanish, French, Germans, Jews, Italians, West Indians and whites all lived in the small community of San Juan Hill. (Kelley, 18) This type of ‘melting pot’ preexisted in almost every place that jazz has erupted during its short history. This is what is truly meant by “jazz is New York, man!”

The relationship of jazz to the Leimert Park community is very similar to this. Leimert Park is a small neighborhood in Las Angeles, California. In the early 1990’s, riots and violence were rampant near Leimert Park in LA. In 1992, Richard Fulton opened a coffeehouse that became a sort of community art center. People would go there to listen to music (mostly jazz) or show their art at all hours of the night, in lieu of the violence occurring nearby. In this way, both the Leimert Park and the San Juan Hill communities used art to separate themselves from destruction. It brought the communities together, united them against violence, and promoted art all at the same time.

The community of San Juan Hill was one of the most important influences on young Thelonius Monk’s jazz genius. Art has brought many communities together in the face of violence by providing a sanctuary of peace and love. People cease to judge others based on unimportant factors such as race or where they live, instead collaborating and uniting in the name of art. San Juan Hill and Leimert Park are two perfect example of this phenomenon.

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