I'm a jazz nut - have been since seeing Count Basie at the San Diego Zoo in one of his last performances in 1983. I've written about jazz for almost four decades now. But discovering jazz after growing up on the typical hits of the 1970s - Eagles, Commodores, Steve Miller Band, Ohio Players - led me ever further afield, into structured improvisational musics of all types.
So while I disagree with nothing here, I do take exception to the notion that jazz is superior to other improvised American forms: blues, bluegrass, country, gospel, zydeco, Cajun. These are ALL facets of improvised American music, and all have borrowed heavily from one another since they each began coalescing from earlier folk forms at the turn of the last century.
When I interviewed the late violinist Papa John Creach, who gained his greatest fame with Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship, he pointed out that when he was starting out in the 1930s, all musicians - white and black - had to know the full repertoire of popular American music. As he told me, if he was playing a speakeasy and someone requested a song by country pioneer Jimmie Rodgers, he better know how to play it!
So jazz borrowed from country which borrowed from gospel which borrowed from the blues which borrowed from Appalachian folk which borrowed from light opera which ... well, you get the idea.
I love this song from 1930, when Rodgers had Louis Armstrong on cornet and Lil Hardin Armstrong on piano, for one of his early hits, "Blue Yodel #9" - https://youtu.be/EA9Y9FkxJZo. It perfect encapsulates American music - and perfectly illustrates the argument put forth in this wonderful essay.
Thanks for your feedback! Most certainly there are cross-influences among all the genres you mention. In fact, blues is one of the very foundations of jazz. But I prefer not to level out into a flatland the various genres under some supposed "they are all equal, we must not put into a hierarchy," which is largely derived from a postmodern worldview.
One can love various genres and styles; I certainly love more than just jazz. But in terms of sustained evidence of transcendent virtuosity, compositional majesty, stylistic diversity beyond formulaic genre prescriptions, and symbolic resonance with the very principles and ideals of America, I can and do make a strong case that jazz is in actuality the greatest musical art form created in this nation.
But this is like the "inside baseball" arguments among aficionados of baseball. Love is love, appreciation is appreciation, and that's most crucial. Thanks for your kind words at the very end, and for the link that indeed demonstrates that when it comes to culture, the lines we draw are artificial indeed.
Thank You, M. Thomas, for interesting essay. A lot to take in, all of it fascinating. Always enjoy learning about Jazz and appreciate finding out about Kenneth Burke. Also TY to M. Smith for introduction. TY again.
Here are my two cents. Yes, there's a lot of truth and vision here. But the first record I bought was Sh-boom by the Chords. I just downloaded Maybelline by Chuck Berry. It was not Eric Dolphy. So, I have to engage those other musical threads that are about being on the dance floor rather than sitting in a club listening. Rock'n'Roll, R&B, Trap needs to be in the room of American identities. I've appreciated it all (or much of it) and love the metaphor. However, here's another question. When I began anthropology, the metaphor of the 'web of society' was popular. But to actually describe a society I needed to operationalize it -- so I used network analysis to find how it all worked. So, I'd like to read more -- with all the details -- of how this plays out. The jazz (including acid jazz), the rock'n'roll, the R&B, the trap.
Beautiful piece, much to taste and digest
Terrific piece, beautiful thoughts beautifully stated. Thank you.
I'm a jazz nut - have been since seeing Count Basie at the San Diego Zoo in one of his last performances in 1983. I've written about jazz for almost four decades now. But discovering jazz after growing up on the typical hits of the 1970s - Eagles, Commodores, Steve Miller Band, Ohio Players - led me ever further afield, into structured improvisational musics of all types.
So while I disagree with nothing here, I do take exception to the notion that jazz is superior to other improvised American forms: blues, bluegrass, country, gospel, zydeco, Cajun. These are ALL facets of improvised American music, and all have borrowed heavily from one another since they each began coalescing from earlier folk forms at the turn of the last century.
When I interviewed the late violinist Papa John Creach, who gained his greatest fame with Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship, he pointed out that when he was starting out in the 1930s, all musicians - white and black - had to know the full repertoire of popular American music. As he told me, if he was playing a speakeasy and someone requested a song by country pioneer Jimmie Rodgers, he better know how to play it!
So jazz borrowed from country which borrowed from gospel which borrowed from the blues which borrowed from Appalachian folk which borrowed from light opera which ... well, you get the idea.
I love this song from 1930, when Rodgers had Louis Armstrong on cornet and Lil Hardin Armstrong on piano, for one of his early hits, "Blue Yodel #9" - https://youtu.be/EA9Y9FkxJZo. It perfect encapsulates American music - and perfectly illustrates the argument put forth in this wonderful essay.
Thanks for your feedback! Most certainly there are cross-influences among all the genres you mention. In fact, blues is one of the very foundations of jazz. But I prefer not to level out into a flatland the various genres under some supposed "they are all equal, we must not put into a hierarchy," which is largely derived from a postmodern worldview.
One can love various genres and styles; I certainly love more than just jazz. But in terms of sustained evidence of transcendent virtuosity, compositional majesty, stylistic diversity beyond formulaic genre prescriptions, and symbolic resonance with the very principles and ideals of America, I can and do make a strong case that jazz is in actuality the greatest musical art form created in this nation.
But this is like the "inside baseball" arguments among aficionados of baseball. Love is love, appreciation is appreciation, and that's most crucial. Thanks for your kind words at the very end, and for the link that indeed demonstrates that when it comes to culture, the lines we draw are artificial indeed.
Thank You, M. Thomas, for interesting essay. A lot to take in, all of it fascinating. Always enjoy learning about Jazz and appreciate finding out about Kenneth Burke. Also TY to M. Smith for introduction. TY again.
Here are my two cents. Yes, there's a lot of truth and vision here. But the first record I bought was Sh-boom by the Chords. I just downloaded Maybelline by Chuck Berry. It was not Eric Dolphy. So, I have to engage those other musical threads that are about being on the dance floor rather than sitting in a club listening. Rock'n'Roll, R&B, Trap needs to be in the room of American identities. I've appreciated it all (or much of it) and love the metaphor. However, here's another question. When I began anthropology, the metaphor of the 'web of society' was popular. But to actually describe a society I needed to operationalize it -- so I used network analysis to find how it all worked. So, I'd like to read more -- with all the details -- of how this plays out. The jazz (including acid jazz), the rock'n'roll, the R&B, the trap.