“94 - 7 the Wave.” “The Girl from Ipanema” playing in the elevator as the Blues Brothers take a quick break from their mad dash from the law.  These were the images evoked by the word jazz before my participation in this class.  Surely jazz was just a wine and cheese kind of a music, for serous listeners only.  Poetry might accompany a jazz performance, as a college-aged beatnik did his best to deal with the angst he held toward his parents, and the lack of hugs he received from his father.  Nothing meaningful was being said in the music, and musicians were just robots, reiterating standards without soul or emotion.  In this class I discovered that nothing, is further from the truth, because suddenly in the right context the music comes alive.  Never were my assumptions of jazz more radically altered than after discovering the genesis of bebop, and the musicians that were a part of it.  In today’s world of pitch perfect pop music, nothing less than perfection is acceptable, and any problems in life will be solved by the end of three minutes.  Yet unemployment remains high, the wealth gap is widening, and the political discourse is just short of violent and heated.  A similar irony existed during the swing era, with proud, patriotic faces on war time propaganda, displaying cultural norms that should be adhered to, and proclaiming the necessity to protect global democracy and freedom for all.  Yet at home, there was racial tension in the streets under harsh labor and living conditions, that was touted as freedom and progress(Stowe).  Swing music was content to provide background music to social dancing, with simple riffs, and accessible vocals(Gioia, 201).  Bebop sought to reinstate the hard edges that had been softened, insert a dissonance to reflect the social and racial tensions, and present a big middle finger to white appropriation of music by playing in a fast, attacking style that could not be copied.  The large dance halls of the big bands were now replaced by tiny clubs where “Slow dancers seeking a romantic interlude were now advised to keep their distance from the bandstand(Gioia, 209).”

Spatial environments have long been a part of jazz music.  Listening to early New Orleans jazz, like Louis Armstrong’s “Basin Street Blues,” you can almost feel the sweat begin to bead up on the back of your neck, as the tempo drags alongside the muggy bayous.  This spatial component, along with the economic, social and political dynamics that shaped the music and musicians was a new concept for me.  I had never even considered any influences on music other than other artists and genres.  Bebop embodies this influence from the spatial environment.  When Miles Davis first moved to New York to attend Juliard, he was immediately struck by the people.  The tall buildings, the noise, the pacing of the city, and the mobility that the subway provided all made their way into the music(Davis, 51).  They took on the form of fast paced music, and slick dressed musicians.  Minton’s, where many beboppers cut their teeth, was known  as a place where you might be beaten if you got on stage and did not perform up to standard(Davis, 54).  In the case of Thelonious Monk, he was able to procure a long term gig at the Five Spot Bar, where he could develop his individual voice.  If he had been out on the road traveling, he might not have had the same opportunity.  He also would have missed the support he received from his family and close friend that kept him from falling prey to the vices that destroyed many other jazz careers(Kelley).  All of this suggests that the musicians, and jazz as an art form, benefitted from the relationship it had with its surrounding community, which is in stark contrast to the genius theory of Ken Burns.

Through this class I have discovered the context in which jazz was created, which has provided a much better understanding of the genre.  You can hear so much more of what is being said when you put things into historical perspective.  By getting to know the personalities of Monk and Davis especially, I have developed a much greater appreciation for jazz, and I can now apply those same principles of critical thinking to other genres and contexts.