Takmaz 1

Do Not Cite/Use in Your Work Only for Analysis/Critique

ENG102

Marlene Denice Elwell

13 April 2015

Word Count: 2853

Essay #2 Final

Essay Prompt: Question 2: How might the case(s) you have chosen be better

understood/better supported by analyzing the case(s) through the lenses of at least one of the

theoretical texts from the course materials?

Jazz, Shifting from its Creation Purposes: An Analysis of the Changing Perception of Jazz

through Theories of Music and the Political

Presently, jazz is used as a vehicle to demonstrate elitism and superiority. For

instance, jazz is played in many luxury hotel lobbies, bars, clubs, art galleries and other

places which are considered to be for the elites and the upscale events which are organised

for a target group consisting of the elites. However, jazz was not created for the elites in the

first place; on the contrary, jazz was generated and shaped due to the efforts of African

Americans as a way to protect their identities and to escape from the oppressive regime by

which they were being pressured in the 19th century (Peretti 11). Through the centuries since

jazz was created, the perception of jazz, its performers and its target audience has changed

undeniably to a great extent. Jazz deviated from its roots, and obtained its current state.

Ironically, in the age of democracy, jazz is no longer considered as a tool for equality and
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democratization as its earlier aim was. It is rather considered as a symbol of being upscale

and privileged. In this paper, it is argued that the process which transformed jazz from a

position of a vehicle of democratization into a completely different genre and changed how

jazz perceived is mainly due to the change in the jazz audience, the expectations of the

audience members, and the reactions of the performers to these expectations.

Why jazz deviated from its initial objectives, how its audience has changed and why

jazz is considered as a tool for elitism are intended to be analysed in this paper through the

lenses of the theoretical studies offering an explanation to the connections between music and

the political. The theoretical studies can be useful to understand this case since these studies

offer an opportunity to create connections between music and the factors which influence

music. In this paper, two main theories will be applied to investigate the case of jazz music

being deviated from its earlier aim of democratization. The first theory that will be utilized is

offered by Margaret Dorsey, author of The Role of Politics in Materializing Politics. The

concepts identification, mediation and exchange used by Dorsey will be applied to the case

which is to be investigated in this paper (66- 68). The second theory, which is offered by

Keith Negus, author of Popular Music in Theory: An Introduction includes an explanation of

mediation and hegemony concepts which provide a better clarification of the case by showing

how the perception of music might change due to the audiences, authorities and music

performers (4). In brief, the theories will be applied to the case for the sake of providing a

better explanation to how the perception of jazz has changed since its creation by

demonstrating how jazz had been affected by its changing audience and the issues that its

performers encountered.

The Creation of Jazz

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So as to understand how the position of the jazz performers and audience has changed

and how the perception of jazz deviated from its earlier position, what should be done firstly

is to briefly investigate the earlier position and reception of jazz and the reason why jazz was

created. Burton W. Peretti, author of the book The Creation of Jazz: Music Race, and Culture

in Urban America highlights that the years in which jazz was created were the years of the

19th when there were Africans in America striving to hold onto America (11-12). Peretti

connects this to music by stating, In the slave states of America, the repression of the

musical component of African religion was especially severe. Many states, counties, and

owners forbade the playing of drums by slaves, believing that the taps relayed rebellious

messages, and they also banned daytime dances and communal singing (12-13). To explain

the reason why the authorities such as states, counties and owners tried to ban music being

created by African Americans, Dorseys theory can be utilized. Dorsey states, If actors latch

onto it, music is a social object through which their agency is figured, reconfigured, and

transfigured (69). It might be asserted that the authorities were trying to avoid the possibility

of African Americans to unite and obtain power. Due to the fact that they were struggling at

the margins and were being discriminated against by the authorities and some components of

the society, they had to find means of maintaining their identities (Peretti 13). It can be stated

that African-Americans were trying to establish a way to protect their identities, unite and to

obtain a chance to shape their agency; then, they tried to maintain their musical traditions as

an object to latch onto.

When the pressure and control over African American musicians led them to escape

from the areas where they had lived for years, and many of them migrated to big cities such

as New Orleans, New York and Chicago which offered them better life conditions in various

aspects (Peretti 39-46). These African American musicians created several music genres such

as jazz and blues which were originated from a process of seeking freedom, equality and
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identity (Peretti 46). A combination of Dorseys identification and latching view offers an

explanation of what jazz music symbolized in its creation years (64-69). Dorsey argues that

what establish a connection between music performers and the audience are a common

sound and beat as well as shared dispositions and experiences (69). When jazz was

created, it helped African Americans latch onto music, become unified and to express their

opinions through music since jazz included instruments and tunes reflecting the African

American society. In the creation era of jazz, African-Americans performed jazz to audiences

in exchange for the feeling of freedom, democratization and a sense of identity. When African

Americans had a chance to unite jazz, they started to used jazz as a vehicle to escape from the

pressure and control they were under, they intended to use their music as a counter

hegemonic statement.

The Formation of Jazz

For the sake of understanding what constituted the change in the perception of jazz,

how jazz was formed and how its target audience has changed since its creation should also

be investigated through the lenses of the theories which were mentioned previously. It might

be argued that since jazz music was created by African Americans, it still simply reflects their

society, the characteristics of the individuals who belong to their society, and the era in which

jazz was created. It might also be asserted that the changing conditions of the era and the

reactions to the jazz performers do not affect jazz being a democratization symbol. However,

what can be interpreted from music is a highly complex notion and this is why what is

understood through jazz, and what jazz reflects and symbolizes has changed through its

development and formation process. The theory explaining the mediation concept, which is

offered by both Negus and Dorsey, can be utilized so as to understand how the reflections of
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jazz quickly transformed and why jazz could not be interpreted as simply a reflection of the

democratization objective of the African American society (4). In Negus words, music is

created, circulated, recognized and responded to according to a range of conceptual

assumptions and analytical activities that are grounded in quite particular social relationships,

political processes and cultural activities (4). Jazz and how it was perceived had changed

under the influence of the way it was utilized, also the authorities and some components of

the society such as audiences. The development of jazz was under the influence of the

hegemonic; therefore, the perception of jazz was mediated through its development process

while who had agency was changing.

One of the main processes demonstrating the change of the jazz audience and the

position of jazz occurred in the 1920s which constituted the Jazz Age and the following era

after the Great Depression. Until the 1920s, jazz - the most distinctive form of modern black

music - was influential enough to pose an unmistakable challenge to white cultural

domination, states Kathy J. Ogren, author of The Jazz Revolution: Twenties America and the

Meaning of Jazz (11). To explain this clearly, it can be stated that the hegemony of the genres

were changing in that era and jazz became hugely popular among the white class (Ogren 11).

While jazz was becoming more popular than it previously was, the jazz audience changed to

a great extent (Ogren 11). Gilad Atzmon, author of the article Politics and Jazz, claims,

Jazz was no longer the black American call for freedom, but a white middle-class

adventure, which demonstrates that both the jazz audience and what jazz symbolized had

changed.

While the audience of jazz was changing and when jazz started to symbolize white

culture and the notions which are popular among the whites, the years following 1920s

created a huge shift in jazz perception (Peretti 64). People, especially the whites, started to

believe that jazz was an entertainment tool for them and the jazz players were forced to create
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satisfy the entertainment purposes of the whites (Peretti 164). In the following years, jazz

players confronted both the worst and the best situations the decade could offer an

unprecedented economic depression, followed by the greatest period of acclaim and success

[popularity] jazz would ever receive (Peretti 164). When jazz became popular among the

whites and started to be used as a tool for entertainment, it was considered as the property of

whites, shifted from the original objectives of jazz (Peretti 164). To explain this clearly, it can

be stated that jazz performers were forced to satisfy the entertainment purposes of their

audiences, and the performers could not create their music by their own decisions. It might be

argued that jazz still could be interpreted as the freedom fight of the African Americans or a

democratization effort and the performers could manage their intentions by being able to

perform their music even though they could decide on the way how they perform their music.

However, it is not reasonable to argue that these performers were freed when they did not

have the total opportunity to make their own decisions about their music, which was one of

the main notions in those performers lives.

The Alienation of Jazz Music Artists and the Creation of Avant-Garde Jazz

One of the main reasons that had changed the jazz audience and then constructed a

new perception of jazz is due to the creation of a more developed sub-genre of jazz. As it is

explained in the previous section of this paper, after jazz become a popular genre among the

whites, the meaning that was given to jazz was mediated. Jazz became a genre which was

increasingly considered as a mainstream practice of entertainment (Myers 187). Then,

especially the prominent jazz musicians started to seek different ways of performing their

music (Myers 187). Marc Myers, author of the book Why Jazz Happened, explains what

caused the black jazz musicians to feel alienated. Myers explains, Lacking interest in
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mainstream success, black jazz musicians became increasingly estranged from the

mainstream jazz culture [from the popular]. Increasingly, they embraced originality, detached

themselves from traditional approaches to jazz, and began to organize around common

artistic approaches and beliefs (187). When the hegemonic perception of jazz asserting that

jazz was a vehicle for entertainment and popularity, these musicians decided to regenerate

jazz through their own creativity and to transform jazz into a form which could reflect their

identities. Again, jazz started to be formed by a freedom search of the jazz performers;

however, this time, the jazz performers were seeking means of freeing themselves while

performing their music rather than freeing themselves in other aspects of their lives.

In May 1965, these alienated jazz musicians formed the Association for the

Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) and the movement of the black jazz musicians

who sought recognition as artists rather than entertainers helped the foundation of Avant-

Garde jazz, a sub-genre of jazz music (Myers 187). This situation demonstrates the musicians

tried to recreate their identities as artists rather than entertainers. When they were considered

as entertainers, they did not have the chance to perform jazz in a free way, they were

expected to satisfy the entertainment purposes of their audience. Then, they could not have

the power to make their own decisions about their music as much as they expected, which

meant being have to behave under the influence of the hegemonic. One of the most prominent

jazz musicians, Miles Davis, stated, White people have certain things they expect from

Negro musicians... It goes back to the slavery days You bring it down to musicians, they

want you to not only play your instrument, but to entertain them too with grinning and

dancing (qtd. in Myers 187-188). Here, it can be observed that the jazz musicians were

aware of the fact that they were being influenced by the authorities and the audience

members. In brief, even though the jazz musicians were able to free themselves from the

hegemonic practices they were under by their music to some extent at the beginning of the
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creation process of jazz, they later encountered some problems caused by other hegemonic

practices which they had to overcome.

When AACM was founded and the musicians tried to transform jazz into a form

which reflects their identities and their decisions, a genre called avant-garde jazz was created

(Myers 188). Here avant-garde means an intelligentsia that develop new or experimental

concepts especially in arts. (Avant-garde). The avant-garde jazz was a more theory based

sub-genre of jazz, and the musicians who performed the avant-garde jazz were trying to show

that they could perform jazz in the way they wanted it to be. When this genre was created,

jazz started to be performed to a new audience which mainly consisted of the white elites,

who were seeking for new genres, or the people with socioeconomic backgrounds better than

the backgrounds of the members of the previous jazz audiences.

The reason why jazz, especially avant-garde jazz, became of interest to the elites can

be understood through investigating a survey about the socioeconomic status of the jazz

audiences conducted by SPAA (Warner 4). This survey demonstrated that the jazz appealed

more to the people with better educational and socioeconomic backgrounds (Warner 8).

Moreover, the sociologist Howard Beckers investigations demonstrated that the music

scenes where music was being performed became important in jazz experiences (Warner 8),

and this might be shown as one of the main reasons why jazz started to be performed in more

sophisticated venues, concert halls and elite neighbourhoods. Jazz had become a genre

considered as accessible for the elites and the people with better socioeconomic backgrounds.

When the audience of jazz had changed, how jazz was perceived also changed. When jazz

became considered to belonging to a particular group of people, the aim of the jazz

performers to free themselves and free their music could not be managed as much as these

performers intended.
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Conclusion

In brief, it can be stated that even though jazz was born as a genre with the African

Americans aim of protecting their identities when they were under the oppression of the

authorities in the 19th century, what jazz stood for had changed in terms of various aspects.

These changes, for instance the change in the jazz audiences, what jazz music symbolized

and how it was interpreted were due to the effort of the jazz performers, who were either

marginalized or forced to comply with the hegemonic, to democratize their music and free

themselves. The changing audience of jazz had transformed the perception of jazz, its

performers and what it symbolized. Therefore, the democratization aim of the earlier jazz

creators shifted from its intended objective and then, jazz became a genre whose audience

alienated the original performers of jazz itself.

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Works Cited

Atzmon, Gilad. "To Play Jazz is to Suggest an Alternate Reality: Politics and Jazz." Counter

aaaaaaaPunch. n.p. n.pag. A List Apart Mag., 20 Nov. 2004. Web. 28 Mar. 2015.

"Avant-garde." Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2015.

Dorsey, Margaret. The Role of Music in Materializing Politics. Political and Legal

aaaaaaaAnthropology Review. 27.2 (November 2004): 61-94. Print.

Myers, Marc. Why Jazz Happened. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2013. Print.

Negus, Keith. Popular Music in Theory: An Introduction. Cambridge: Policy Press, 1996.

aaaaaaaPrint.

Ogren, Kathy J. The Jazz Revolution: Twenties America and the Meaning of Jazz. New York:

aaaaaaaOxford University Press, 1989. Print.

Peretti, Burton W. The Creation of Jazz: Music, Race, and Culture in Urban America.

aaaaaaaUrbana: University of Illinois Press, 1992. Print.

Warner, Bijan. "A Literature Review of Research on Jazz Audiences." Jazz Audiences

aaaaaaaInitiative. Jazz Arts Group, 7 Aug. 2010. Web. 29 Mar. 2015.