The Culture of Jazz Aesthetics

Anthropology 147: Language and the Culture of Art
Ethnomusicology 197, Section 1

Instructors: Profs. Kenny Burrell and Alessandro Duranti

Fall 2002

This course looks at the aesthetics of jazz from the point of view of: (a) the musicians who shaped jazz as an art form in the 20th century; (b) the historians who described the socio-historical roots of jazz and its development in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world; (c) the musicologists and ethnomusicologists who analyzed the unique contribution of jazz to western music and other traditions; (d) the audiences who have enjoyed and supported this art form over time and across geographical, national, ethnic, and racial boundaries; and (e) the apprentices who want to participate in the culture of jazz and contribute to its development. The course combines the analytical resources and historical knowledge of musicians and ethnomusicologists with those of linguistic anthropologists interested in jazz as a cultural tradition that reproduces itself through subtle and widespread conventions for communicating aesthetic ideas and values.

Each meeting will be divided into two main parts:

  1. interaction/interviews with guests, i.e. musicians, theorists, historians; and live performance/demonstration by musicians.
  2. lecture/discussion.

Portions of the class, especially the interactions with the guests will be videotaped and archived for future study. Short clips may be available throughout the course for students' assignments (see the links below under "Video clip + number". NO OTHER RECORDING WILL BE ALLOWED BY STUDENTS OR VISITORS.

Grading:

  1. Eight weekly assignments (40%)
  2. Midterm Group Project (30%)
  3. Final Individual Project (30%)

All assignments and exams (Projects) will be posted on the web (in this page).

Formatting of assignment: Unless otherwise specified, all assignments should be sent over email to aduranti@anthro.ucla.edu and with the Subject line specifying "Assignment #". The text should be contained in the message and not as an attachment.

Textbooks:

For all students:

  1. Monson, I. 1996. Saying Something: Jazz Improvisation and Interaction. University of Chicago Press. [Study Questions for Monson's book]
  2. Sawyer, R. Keith. 2001. Creating Conversations. Improvisation in Everyday Discourse. Hampton Press. [Study Questions for Sawyer's book]
  3. Gioia, T. 1988. The Imperfect Art: Reflections on Jazz and Modern Culture. Oxford University Press.
  4. Gottlieb, R. (Ed.) Reading Jazz: A Gathering of Autobiography, Reportage, and Criticism from 1919 to Now. Vintage.
  5. Extra readings and hand-outs to be handed out in class. (Extra copies of material handed out in class will be found in a special folder called "Anthro 147" in the Anthropology Reading Room, in Haines, 3rd Floor).

Suggested:

  1. Berliner, P. F. 1994. Thinking in Jazz: The Infinite Art of Improvisation. University of Chicago Press. [Appropriate for music majors]
  2. Gridley, Mark C. 2001. Jazz Styles: History and Analysis, 8th edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. [Very basic, appropriate for those who don't know anything about jazz] [it can be purchased with jazz CDs]
  3. Walser, R. Editor. 1999. Keeping Time: Reading in Jazz History. Oxford University Press. [An excellent collection, with more contextulization of artists and styles]
  4. Nicholson, S. (Ed.) 1998. Jazz-Rock: A History. Shirmer. [Particularly appropriate for students with a background in rock music]

October 1

What is Jazz? An Overview of the Widespread Presence of Jazz and its Growth as an Art Form

Video Clip # 1 (This clip, from a jazz combo class taught by Kenny Burrell at UCLA in the Spring of 2002, will be used for Assignment # 1; The other clips will be from the video tapes of our class this term)

  1. Some analytical tools from music and anthropology
  2. Special Guests: Tom Ranier, Bobby Rodríguez
  3. Assignment #1

October 8

The Aesthetics of Improvisation in Jazz

Video Clip #2 (From the first day of class. Gerald Wilson comments on "High High The Moon," a well-known jazz standard, right after it has been played by Tom Ranier and Bobby Rodríguez)

Video Clip # 3 (Also from the first day of class, Tom Ranier discusses the experience of playing with Buddy DeFranco, improvisation, and the notiong of "being great")

Assignment #2

Readings:

  1. Sawyer, R.K. Ch. 1 "Scripts and Improvisation", pp. 7-41
  2. Monson, I. Introduction and Chapter One "Talking to Musicians", pp. 1-25.
  3. Gioia, T. 1988. Chapters 1-3, pp. 1-69.

Special Guests: Kenny Burrell, Tommy Hawkins, Maureen Mahon

October 15

The Rhythm Section: The Roles of the Instruments and the Attitudes of the Players

Video Clip on "Swing Feel" (Sherman Ferguson and Michele Weir explain "Swing Feel")

Assignment #3

Readings:

  1. Monson, I. Ch. 2 "Grooving and Feeling", p. p26-72.
  2. Gioia, T. 1988. Ch. 6 "Boredom and Jazz," pp. 108-26
  3. Sawyer, R.K. Ch. 2 "Dialogues" and Ch. 3 "Audiences" pp. 43-104
  4. Mahon, M. (in press). Chapter 7: Jimi Hendrix Experiences: Politics and Poetics of Freedom. From Right To Rock: The Cultural Politics of Black Music and Black Authenticity. Duke University Press. [distributed in class]

Special Guests: Sherman Ferguson, Miles Mosley, Michele Weir

October 22

The Great Soloists: Imagination, Individualism, and the Ability to Listen

Assignment #4

Readings:

  1. Monson, I. Ch. 3 "Music, Language, and Cultural Styles: Improvisation as Conversation", pp. 73-96.
  2. Sawyer, R.K. Ch. 4 "Rehearsals", pp. 105-131.
  3. Gillespie, D. 1996. "Minton's Playhouse," in Reading Jazz: A Gathering of Autobiography, Reportage, and Criticism from 1919 to Now. Edited by R. Gottlieb, pp. 555-72. New York: Vintage Books. [with short sections on a number of musicians including T. Monk, K. Clarke, M. L. Williams, and C. Parker]
  4. Lees, G. 1996. "The Poet: Bill Evans," in Reading Jazz: A Gathering of Autobiography, Reportage, and Criticism from1919 to Now. Edited by R. Gottlieb, pp. 419-444. New York: Vintage Books.

Special Guests: Jeff Clayton, Sherman Ferguson, Gerald Wiggins

October 29

The Culture of Jazz Aesthetics: An Ethnographic Approach, Part I (lecture by A. Duranti)

Midterm assignment due Nov. 5 at the beginning of class (Description of mid-term assignment)

Readings:

  1. Ellington, D. (1973) Excerpts from Music is My Mistress, in Gottlieb (Ed.), pp. 32-50.
  2. Sawyer, R.K. Ch. 6 "Settings" pp. 159-183 and Ch. 7 "Performances" pp. 185-210.

November 5

"Cutting It": The Making of a Record that redefines the Aesthetics

Assignment #5

Readings:

  1. Monson, I. Ch. 4 "Intermusicality" pp. 97-132.
  2. Stewart, R. 1996. "The Cutting Sessions," in Reading Jazz: A Gathering of Autobiography, Reportage, and Criticism from 1919 to Now. Edited by R. Gottlieb, pp. 387-92. New York: Vintage Books.
  3. Morgenstern, D. 1996. "Louis Armstrong: An American Genius," in R. Gottlieb (Ed.), pp. 1034-1041.
  4. One of the following:
    • Kahn, A. 2000. Kind of Blue: The Making of the Miles Davis Masterpiece. New York: Da Capo Press.
    • Nisenson, E. 2000. The Making of Kind of Blue: Miles Davis and His Masterpiece. New York: St. Martin's Press.

Special Guests: Bennie Maupin, Tom Ranier.

November 12

The Aesthetics of Jazz Arranging

Assignment #6

Readings:

  1. Easton, C. 1996. "Jazz Orchestra in Residence, 1971," in Reading Jazz: A Gathering of Autobiography, Reportage, and Criticism from 1919 to Now. Edited by R. Gottlieb, pp. 506-15. New York: Vintage Books.

Special Guests: Michele Weir, Gerald Wilson.

November 19

The New Generation: Being Socialized into the Jazz Aesthetics

Assignment #7

Readings:

  1. Monson, I. Ch. 5 "Interaction, Feeling, and Musical Analysis", pp. 133-191.
  2. Ochs, E., and B. B. Schieffelin. 2001 (originally 1984). "Language Acquisition and Socialization: Three Developmental Stories and Their Implications," in Linguistic Anthropology: A Reader. Edited by A. Duranti, pp. 263-301. Blackwell.

Guests: Students in the UCLA Jazz Program: Cameron Graves (p), Tom Altura (b), Selina Traylor (b), Joe Petrasek (d), Isaac Darche (g), Ian Vo (as), Hitomi Oba (ts), Ben Adamson (t)

November 26

The Language of Jazz: How Jazz Musicians Communicate Musical Ideas through Talk and Other (Meaningful) Means

Assignment #8

Readings:

  1. Monson, I. Ch. 6 "Ethnomusicology, Interaction, and Poststructuralism" + "Coda", pp. 192-218 .
  2. Ellison, R. 1996. "Minton's," in Reading Jazz: A Gathering of Autobiography, Reportage, and Criticism from 1919 to Now. Edited by R. Gottlieb, pp. 545-54. New York: Vintage Books.
  3. Berger, H. M., and G. P. Del Negro. 2002. "Bauman's Verbal Art and the Social Organization of Attention: The Role of Reflexivity in the Aesthetics of Performance." Journal of American Folklore 115:62-91.
  4. Feld, S., A. Fox, T. Porcello, and D. Samuels (in press) "From the Music of Language to the Language of Song", in A. Duranti (Ed.) A Companion to Linguistic Anthropology. Blackwell.

Guests: George Bohannon, Charles Owens.

December 3

The Culture of Jazz Aesthetics: An Ethnographic Approach, Part 2 (lecture by A. Duranti)

Final Project due today at the beginning of class. (Description of Final Project)

Readings:

  1. Gioia, T. 1988. The Imperfect Art: Reflections on Jazz and Modern Culture. Ch. 4 "Neoclassicism in Jazz," pp. 70-94.
  2. Crouch, S. 1996. "On the Corner: The Sell-out of Miles Davis," in Reading Jazz: A Gathering of Autobiography, Reportage, and Criticism from 1919 to Now. Edited by R. Gottlieb, pp. 898-914. New York: Vintage Books.
  3. Santoro, G. 1996. "Space is the Place," in Reading Jazz: A Gathering of Autobiography, Reportage, and Criticism from 1919 to Now. Edited by R. Gottlieb, pp. 915-20. New York: Vintage Books.
  4. Taylor, C. 1996. "Cecil Taylor," in Reading Jazz: A Gathering of Autobiography, Reportage, and Criticism from 1919 to Now. Edited by R. Gottlieb, pp. 317-24. New York: Vintage Books.
  5. Walser (Ed.) "The Eighties," articles by and on Billy Taylor, Wynton Marsalis, Herbie Hancock.

No Special Guests