Breaking Down Misconceptions Through Learning About History

Initially, I thought the history of jazz lay solely in New Orleans. Having visited New Orleans, I was perhaps mislead to believe that jazz was an entirely American, New Orleans invention, and I failed to see any connection of jazz to later forms of it such as Swing. In addition, I saw jazz as something that was present only in New Orleans and I completely disregarded major jazz cities such as Chicago, New York, and Kansas City- and disregarded those cities’ major contributions to the art of jazz. However, after taking a course about the history of jazz, I quickly learned that I was completely misguided.

From the very beginning, after reading Robert Thompson’s piece “African Art in Motion”, I quickly learned that jazz in its rawest, most original form originated from African elements of art, music, and dance. Blended with the melancholy of Africans’ new lives in the United States as slaves and their rich history and traditions of art, jazz emerged firstly in New Orleans- it is more African than anything else. This was the greatest, false assumption that this course has broken down for me while learning about the history of jazz.

I originally viewed jazz and swing as entirely mutually exclusive musical genres. I was correct in assuming that Swing emerged through the newly “sex-ed up” industry that was forming, as well as because of the fact that the days of Prohibition and the Great Depression left lasting impacts and created a need to “get loose” and dance the struggles away. However, I failed to see that Swing was merely a revised version of jazz in its original form. The same instruments were used, but in a new arrangement, combination, and with a new brand emphasis on the style of improvisation, as well as a more energetic, fast-paced rhythm to relate to the fast-pace of big cities like Chicago and New York. Furthermore, the original African elements that Robert Thompson presents in his article shine through the Swing Era. The elements of improvisation, fine form, and especially the “get down” quality of swing music are prevalent in swing and were the main elements that helped transform New Orleans into a more danceable, commercialized form of swing.

Overall, I was initially blind to the fact that jazz and other musical genres following jazz are all completely separate from each other- with no overlapping factors or influence, as well as no overlapping influences with locations other than the location in which that genre was first heard. Taking to time to learn about the history of jazz revolutionized the way I think of jazz and swing by opening my eyes to the fact that each musical genre is merely a revision of a previous art form or a summation of multiple cultural influences—even if that culture is thousands of miles around the world from the location in which the music first appears.

Colorblind

Thelonious Monk was perhaps one of the most keynote, revolutionary, and unique jazz musicians of all time. He is attributed for his unique, whimsical style of playing the piano (in terms of his body movements while playing), as well as his unique take on race relations and race in general.

Monk has said “there’s no reason why I should go through that Black Power shit now” (Gioia, 19). From first glance, one would think that Monk would buy into the Malcolm X-like Black Power belief system, since Monk faced harsh reality in his encounters with racist police officers who prolonged the racist tensions and divide. However, Monk was able to transcend traditional race politics. He did not view race as a dichotomy of blackness and whiteness. In other words, he did not view races in terms of a divide between Blacks and Whites. Instead, he saw race as a continuum and as a culmination of numerous, various ethnicities.

This way of thinking could be attributed to the fact that he grew up in San Juan Hill in New York, the epitome of an American salad bowl at the time. He states: “[E]very 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” (Gioia, 19). In San Juan Hill, each block had a different ethnicity; for example, there was a Jewish block, an Irish block, an African-American block, an Italian block, etc. Although traditionally, Jews, the Irish, Italians, and other Europeans were clumped under the white category, Monk was able to see past that misconception because he had lived in San Juan Hill in which each ethnicity had its subculture, directly competing with one another and each having its own set of rules and commonalities. However, despite these standards, Monk fell in love with a woman named “Nica”, of Jewish descent. In 1958, she was jailed due to their inter-racial relationship. Monk’s very relationship with her signifies his lack of race consciousness in terms of his genuine interactions with others- a new colorblind approach that was uncommon. The police’s continuation of racist policies never stopped or changed Monk’s beliefs or actions.

According to Gioia, “the black residents of San Juan Hill established a strong sense of community” (20). This community was expanded by Simon Wolf, whom served as a friend, mentor, and teacher of classical music to Monk. Importantly, Wolf was a Jewish Austrian immigrant. Wolf as well as the San Juan Hill community and structure as a whole played a key role in the musical compositions and stylings of Monk- he was introduced to a competitive yet compassionate community, as well as rich diversity of each culture. The concept of community was crucial in understanding Monk’s impact on music and art of his generation. He was able to transcend skin color to team up and create a safe space for open self-expression and for open advocacy for change in racial relations. He helped create a sort of “bohemian” community that rebelled against the norm and against the way of life at the time that even persists today, one that embodied dissonance in its art forms as a means of rebelling against conformity. He fostered a community (comprised of both Blacks and Whites) in which tolerance was key; thus, a sort of free-spirited musical and artistic revolution followed, due to Monk’s influential nature. His unique rejection of “Black Power” aided him in remaining positive and open about learning new styles and new things musically, whether he was learning from a “White” man or an African American man.