Improvisation

When signing up for the History of Jazz, I really had no idea what to expect. The only thing I assumed that I would learn was about the many different jazz artists who made a huge impact in the genre and the type of styles and their songs that made them to be perceived as legends. I also thought that the intensity of the class would be more laid back and that there would not be a lot of work but again I was completely wrong and did not know what I was in for.

The History of Jazz has been a very well thought out course that really opened my mind and broaden my horizons of music. We went through the timeline of jazz from its origins all the way up to recent years. One of the biggest surprises for me was the amount of impact the different cities had in the development and growth of jazz. New Orleans which was the birthplace of jazz provided the beginning by bringing a lot of different cultures and ethnicities together, particularly African. As jazz moved north into Chicago and New York it started to arrive into popular cultures as jazz music and newly developed styles such as swing and bebop into the eyes of the public by having legends such as Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington. One of the biggest surprises that I was expecting from this class was the amount of racial tensions which was critical in jazz. It all started with the slave trade union where slaves were abruptly taken from their home in Western Africa. There was also the racial tensions in Chicago in the 1930’s that led to the riots and “black capitalism” and “black nationalism.” There was division in New York as well, as there was tension between blacks and whites, as black musicians were known for making jungle musicians and white people were known to attend and critic.

One of the topics that I wanted to talk about was the idea of Genius. This word was used a lot by Professor Steward about particular artist who transcended generations and made their stamp on jazz and it is clear to see that when listening to their works compared to other jazz artists during that time. Buddy Bolden was one of the biggest individual jazz that was fundamental to the growth of jazz and was instrumental role model for legends such Louis Armstrong and James P. Johnson who were the founders of their respective arts, Swing and Classical Piano styles respectively. Those artists were also considered Genius because they brought a new element of jazz that had not be seen before. With the word “genius” I think the main thing Professor Steward was trying to across as “genius” in terms of intelligence but in terms of being ahead of their generation and being original and unique that set them outside the norm and into the legendary status that they are currently in, when discussing the history of jazz.

The Story of the Thelonious Monk

In this quote Thelonious Monk is discussing the daily violence that is taking place on the youth  in San Juan Hill, which is where Monk grew up. When he brings up “Black Power” he talks about how it brings vivid memories of the kind of interracial and interracial violence that consumed his neighborhood during his years there. Each block according to Monk in his quote was almost like a different city, each with different rules and lifestyles. There was so much division between people and particularly Blacks and Whites, which led to violent outbreaks and danger in New York.

Because he was subjected to racism all his life, particularly in school, as well as from cops of New York and elsewhere, it had a huge influence on his life as well as his music in the fact that he didn’t want his music to resemble the daily violence and racism that consumed his neighborhood. Monk refused to respond by becoming more race conscious which was the whole idea of the “black power shit” he was referring to in his quote. Monk does not let his troubled background affect his music. In his art Monk creates a new community, an informal and unconventional community bound together by a tolerance for modernity, something he did not have in San Juan Hill, using an unorthodox combination of notes to create and unusual style that defined his style and who he was as an artist.

Another source of Monk’s music came from his piano lessons that he took when he was young. It was another source of inspiration in his village and gave him access to diversity through his Jewish immigrant classical pianists, who introduced Monk to classical music and how to play the piano, another aspect that greatly affected his music and messages. Although it did provide a rough lifestyle San Juan Hill offered Monk something that a family member or anyone else could not, and that was insight and support from music

It seems like in his music Monk was trying to transcend the race and class lines that had separated blacks and whites in his neighborhood. He soon became adopted and adopted the young generation of Blacks and Whites who were rebelling against the structures of American society, creating a community and solidifying his tenure in the Five Spot in 1957. He also had a very serious relationship with Nica (Kathleen Annie Pannonica Rothschild) a famous Jewish jazz player at the time, breaking more boundaries by living what he preached.

While Monk was able to see the racial tensions in his neighborhood and break away from it with his music, the racial 
discrimination during that time seemed to follow him which is seen in Delaware in 1958, where Monk was wrongfully 
arrested. Monk was beat by cops while he was handcuffed and the police unconstitutionally searched without a warrant Nica and arrested her on possession of narcotics, even though Monk was ill. Overall life was not simply just Black and White to Monk like most people thought during those times in New York City. Monk’s music embodies a vision of an artistic soul that would not fall under the social barriers that were taking place in his neighborhood at the time which allowed him to grow as an artist and create the community he wanted to be apart of which solidified his career as one of the legends of jazz.