Expression of Freedom: An American Invention

This article is intended primarily for those with little or no knowledge of “Jazz” (although it’s hard to believe that there are such people). Enthusiasts and Musicians might find it a bit too basic, even boring at times. However, all are welcome to “take the A train” with me. The quickest way you’ll find to get to Sugar Hill in Harlem.

A brief history of Jazz is covered including where and how it started, the influences, the early pioneers, the incubation, the growth period, the adolescent years, the teen years, the puberty, the rough days, the easy days, and where Jazz is today as well as what tomorrow may look like. There are literally thousands of books, and hundreds of websites for detailed information on Jazz, this article provides only a basic introduction to this greatest of all American inventions.

Ken Burns, a documentarian, in the late 90’s made a film called “Jazz” for PBS (Public Broadcasting Service, a non-profit TV channel that runs on private donations). “Jazz” is perhaps one of the best pieces of work ever done about Jazz. Since the music is relatively recent (compared to European Classical or other traditions) so the works of the many of the early pioneers are available and their stories and legends continue to live in the places they grew up. Some months ago, mother-nature destroyed the city of New Orleans, but the sweet music that was born there will always be around.

To borrow from Dave Brubeck, Jazz is the “expression of freedom” – expression of not only musical freedom, but an expression with it’s roots in the Slavery of the Africans – an expression of freedom from slavery. Slaves were not allowed to sing or talk when they worked the fields; they had things put on their tongues to stop them from talking. When you take away everything from a group of people, that group finds something to express itself - Jazz is that thing. Jazz was the first expression of freedom for the slaves. Jazz confirmed that they were free. They could now steal your cake and eat it right in front of your eyes. Now how sweet is that? Jazz, like all things American, is “in-your-face”, it is uninhibited, it’s like two gay teenagers kissing in front of their homophobic parents. It’s like a priest betting on horses after the Sunday mass. It’s like you running into you grandma in a Victoria Secret store. Oh, it is so sweet.

In addition, Jazz was an expression of freedom from the European classical music, which was written and followed a set pattern. Jazz is mostly improvisations, and solos in between. Jazz musicians invented the modern day drum set.

The origins of Jazz are traced back to mid 19th century in Plantation songs sung by slaves in their living quarters, away from their masters. During and after the American Civil War, some of these songs as well as prison songs were published. Somewhere along the way, “Blues” were invented. Legendary Blues Singer/Guitarist B.B. King defines blues as “expression of anger against shame and humiliation”. Technically, Blues are a 4/4 rhythm, flatted thirds and sevenths (yeah yeah!). And yeah, a 12-bar structure… (sorry). Ragtime follows Blues with more elaborate rhythms, and it becomes the most popular music in America in the first decade of the 20th century, and by 1920 it becomes a national craze. Marching band music, Ragtime and Blues begin to be fused and form into early Jazz roots. Not too long after that, Jazz is born in New Orleans via a combination of Black and Creole music. Jazz musicians call this era (the second and the third decade of the 20th century) as the “Jazz Age”. The New Orleans Jazz is born. The experimentation with this form of music continues, and “Swing” is recognized as a specific form, followed by Bebop, Hard Bop (aka Funk) and Cool Jazz emerge on the scene. This is happening between the 2 big European Wars.

There are many theories floating around about the definition of the term “Jazz”. One claims that “to Jazz” meant to “fornicate”, as it originated in the red-light areas of New Orleans. Another claims that it was named after the Jasmine scent “Jass” that the hookers of New Orleans wore. There are many other equally interesting conjectures, but everyone agrees that Jazz is an American invention as much as baseball, motherhood, and apple pie.

In the early 20’s (right after the prohibition era, which indirectly furthered the cause of Jazz), Trumpeter Louis Armstrong (one of the founding fathers) blows away New Orleans and St. Louis. Louis is son of a factory worker and a prostitute mother. He married a New Orleans prostitute, where he saw the beauty and the ugliness of it all, which has a profound influence on the music that he created. He plays on boats up and down the Mississippi river, from New Orleans to Minneapolis, always coming back home to New Orleans. Louis Armstrong virtually codified what Jazz will be for the next half century (or even forever). His rhythmic intensity is the benchmark for judging music. He is considered the Bach and the Shakespeare of Jazz.

While Armstrong was blowing away New Orleans, Saxophonist Charlie Parker (aka Yardbird) is blowing away Kansas City. Pianist Duke Ellington is blowing away New York City. Duke is considered the greatest of all American Composers. He has this precarious elegance about him that earns him the name Duke. If Jazz had just these 3 musicians (Armstrong, Parker, Ellington; the Holy Trinity of Jazz), it would still be considered a unique music, but lucky for us, it produced many many more (hundreds) musicians and singers. From Ella Fitzgerald to Billy Holiday; from Sidney Bechet to Jelly Roll Morton; from Count Basie to Thelonious Monk; from Bessie Smith to Josephine Baker; from Elmo Hope to Dizzie Gillespie; from Scot Joplin to John Coltrane. These were some of the early pioneers. Jazz continues to grow, and there is absolutely no end in sight. The musicians that came after them would want to play like these greats. In Chicago, blacks were not allowed to go into white clubs, even though most of the bands that played were black. There will be no mixed bands. It was either White or Black. How cruel is that? However, after the club regular hours (between 2am and 5am), both Black and White musicians will jam together in private and some of the best Jazz is created out of those jamming sessions. How sweet is that?

In the year 1927, Americans buy over 100 million phonograph records. Armstrong makes the greatest of the tunes. Many greats are emerging. The other reason, the years 27 and 28 are important is because of crackdown on Chicago nightclubs by the “get tough on booze” policy, and many musicians move to New York City. This time period is referred to as the “Harlem Renaissance” indicating that New York City is now the Mecca of Jazz. If the album “West End Blues” doesn’t move you, you are clinically dead. By the early 30’s Armstrong is totally burnt out, and Ellington is also showing sings of wear and tear. It is only humanly possible to produce such great stuff in such a short period. In terms of the future Jazz musicians, it will just be built upon the foundations laid down by the greatest of them all.

Duke by now is getting a bit fed up with the music business. And unlike any other tired person, he records his biggest selling hit “It Don’t Mean a Thing if it Ain’t Got that Swing”. Makes me wish all musicians were as fed up as he was. Another 30’s great is Art Tatum. The Piano great Fats Waller once said, “I play piano, but God is in the house tonight”. Art was such a brilliant musician that other musicians, particularly the Pianists, would not play in his presence. By this time, Jazz is being played in clubs across Europe and Japan. Cities like London, Paris, Amsterdam and Copenhagen are hotbeds of Jazz. In addition to American imports, Europe produces its own homegrown Jazz musicians.

In the early 30’s KKK was determined to crush the inspiration of every minority, and while by the late 30’s, Prohibition is repealed, and Jazz was moving out of the ‘speakeasys’ (illegal bars) into mainstream bars and clubs, out of this a “New Negro” is born. New Negro is not afraid of anyone, and he builds his own institutions, own clubs. This era is referred to as the “Cultural Rebirth”. This cultural rebirth was the greatest of all “American” promises. By now New York City has 100s of Jazz clubs. 52nd Street becomes the center of it all. However, things don’t always go smooth. The depression takes its toll on most early Jazz musicians. A new breed of Jazz musicians, Swing, is emerging. This all is happening while Europe is burning.

Swing bands are now very popular, partucularly among Black Americans. Swing dances are energetic, creative and mostly improvisational. Swing has very strong rhythms, very loud tones. Swing bands contained Brass, String, Vocal and Wind sections. Because of it’s aggressive loud tones, a change had to occur to soften it to cater to the White audience. There goes the theory and the basic premise of this article (was it really an Expression of Freedom??? – well may be in this instance, it was not). According to music historians, the softening of Swing served a purpose and it made Jazz more popular. By now, American will get sucked into the War, and it has major impact on Jazz music. When Swing started to take roots in Europe, it faced many hurdles. In Germany, Swing was banned because it conflicted with Nazi ideology, and while the Jazz music was initially welcommed in the Soviet Union, it was banned because it appeared politically unaceptable. However, after a few years of haitus, it was allowed back in. so the period of 1940’s, Jazz went thru some rough time, both in the US as well as in Europe. Definitely not a sweet period.

Now come the 50’s, all that happened to Jazz will now be knows as Post War Jazz.

This era gives birth to Cool Jazz. It starts with the “Birth of the Cool” band of Miles Davis. The main difference between the Cool Jazz and the standard Bebop was that it emphasized more on Melodic and Flowing tones. This era saw an explosion of Jazz on the West Coast of the US, and finally, like a wild fire, it spreads all over the country. How Cool is that? And sweet too.

We are now in the 60’s. Mississippi is burning. Civil Rights movement had a huge effect on Jazz. The Jazz musicians had long resented the white establishment that controlled their incomes, and they wanted to break away (see, the theory of “Expression of Freedom” is beginning to make sense again) from the chains and control their own music. That’s exactly what happened. Change was happening, and it was for the good. Many Black recording studios opened on the West Coast, as well as on the East. Clubs started paying higher wages to musicians. Things are looking up, however the pace of change was slow. Mississippi burning, not sweet, but the change that it brought, very sweet. It only gets sweeter after that.

The periods 80’s, 90’s, and the new century has produced excellent talent not just in the US, but all across the world. It continues to grow. It is hard to believe that the most acclaimed institution of music, Lincoln Center in New York City, didn’t have “Jazz” as it’s constituents until 1994. Now the Lincoln Center leads the world in terms of promoting Jazz. I don’t think that it can get any sweeter than that.