Blog #5

Call & Response

Upon my arrival to The History of Jazz I expected distinct definitions for the terms we learned during the course. Through out the course my understanding of vocabulary expanded as I learned about the interrelated factors of jazz music. Call and response stood out in particular because I was able to relate it to my perspective of the course material as a whole. Jazz is the manifestation of call-and-response; jazz is a communication between life and art. "Genius emerges when it finds its proper context, its proper environment, its proper audience. Genius in art is always best in "collision with a proper" community, in dialogue with a particular community, a specific time and space" (Stewart, 2013, January 29). The forms of this communication appear in various ways including, the relationship between audience and artist, the impact of socio-cultural conditions, and the prevalence of successful big bands that were lead by a breakout soloist.

  In the beginning of the course my concept of call-and-response was constricted to the definition from one of our earliest readings. "Examples of call-and-response music in which the solo, for one reason or another, drops out for a time, indicate clearly that the chorus part, rhythmical and repetitive, is the mainstay of the song…Thus the chorus forms a kind of melodic handclap testing and supporting and his ingenuity" (Thompson, 26).  Call-and-response is described here as an element of West-African music, which heavily influences Blues and Jazz, as a communication strictly between the leader of a band and his counterparts.  As I learned about the influence of environment on the development of jazz my definition expanded.

The effects of America’s melting pot influenced the creation and innovations of jazz music. Differing populations and collisions of cultures left definite impressions on the styles of music, individual artists, and the uprising of an “American” pop-culture, which comprised of blacks and whites. "In America, music was the first sphere of social interaction in which racial barriers were challenged and over turned" (Gioia, 125).  Each city, New Orleans, Chicago, New York, and Kansas City, represented a simulation of call-and-response through the way cultures transpired through the music; cultures would call and the music acted as the response. For example, the diverse population of New Orleans brought about the creation of blues and in New York European influences were embedded in the stride piano. These were also the conditions, which lead to some of the most popular jazz musicians who were successful in leading their own bands.

Bands were the epitome of jazz music. The leaders and soloists acted as the breakout stars that lead the band through acts, which relied heavily on call-and-response. These musicians include King Oliver, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Benny Goodman. " Call and response goes to the very heat of the notion good-government, of popular response to the ideal leader" (Thompson, 27). King Oliver lead the way with his Creole Jazz Band, Louis Armstrong marked the age of the soloist with his ability to stand out of the band, Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman also stood out as the best musicians of the group. Each of these artists mastered call-and-response at the top of their game, and lead to them being marked as legendary jazz musicians.

Blog #4

Thelonius Monk

Monk alludes to the diversity of San Juan Hill. When Monk states, “You go to the next block and you’re in a different country,” (Kelley, 19), he is referring to the abundance of first and second-generation immigrants in San Juan Hill.  The influence on Monk’s music comes from his experience growing up in such a diverse area and, “with a diversity of people came a diversity of culture”, (Kelley, 18). The intermingling of these cultures and music, again, created another revolutionary artist.

The lasting impacts of Monk’s exposure to a diverse community of people manifested itself in his music. He was exposed to classical, Caribbean, European, and other African-American traditions, each of which had their own influences. Monk’s exposure to classical music is a result of his other’s introduction to “the city’s rich cultural life”, (Kelley, 22).  His time spent at Central Park he became fond of the European and American composers, “During the summer of 1923, the inaugural year of the Central Park series, Goldman’s band gave sixty concerts…Five years old, Thelonius spent many warm summer nights listening to such works as Schubert’s “serenade”, Tchaikovsky’s “Slavic March”…”, (Kelley, 22). There was also a large population of West Indians, Southerners, and blacks from the Caribbean that had an impact on Thelonius’s style, “With the music, cuisine, dialects, and manners of the Caribbean and the American South everywhere in the West 60’s, virtually ever kid became a kind of cultural hybrid. Thelonius absorbed Caribbean music…One can certainly hear explicit Caribbean rhythms in some of Monk’s original compositions, most notably “Bye-ya” and “Bemsha Swing”, (Kelley, 23). Other European influence stemmed from his time as a student of Simon Wolf, who was an Austrian-born Jew. Although Wolf would not be able to teach Monk much before his talent would surpass him he taught him about Beethoven, Bach, Rachmaninoff, Liszt, and Mozart (Kelley, 26). Monk’s own black community also took a toll on his music, as he also received a heavy influence from the church.  All of these cultures attributed something different to Monk’s style, and paired with his own talent and unique personality he created an unorthodox sound.

The tensions created from the existence of a diverse culture also influenced Monk’s personal life as an adult and influential figure. As a child he had many experiences with racism and these events transpired onto his adulthood, including his run-ins with the police department. His view of the police department because of their racist practices, “they epitomized racism in the city”, (Kelley, 19). Monk tried to transcend racism mainly through his interracial relationship with Nica, who was Jewish. Monk’s music, with all its embedded influences also allowed him to go beyond racial lines and foster a new kind of community that did not abide by the traditional constrictions. “Monk’s music embodies a vision of a new community of artistic souls-rebels against middle class conformity”, (Stewart, 2013, Feb. 28). The Five Spot acted as an environment for his transcendental work to flourish. His acceptance of the younger generation and among both Blacks and Whites also allowed him to go beyond the typical American racial segregation during that time period, (Stewart, 2013, Feb. 28).