The Culture of Jazz Aesthetics

Anthropology M142R
World Arts and Culture M136
Ethnomusicology M130

Instructors: Profs. Prof. Kenny Burrell and Alessandro Duranti

Spring 2006 / Tuesday 11-2PM / SMB 1343

Office Hours for Prof. Duranti: Tuesday 3:-4:30 or by appointment (write to: aduranti@anthro.ucla.edu)
Office Hours for Prof. Burrell: Wednesday and Thursday 11:30-12:30

[Updated June 4, 2006]

This course looks at the aesthetics of jazz from the point of view of the musicians who shaped jazz as an art form in the 20th century. Students will be expected to integrate readings and their own fieldwork outside of class with their experience in the class, where they will have a chance to hear and interact with professional jazz musicians who will answer questions and give musical demonstrations. 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 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. (Visitors will be allowed in this part of the class)
2. lecture/discussion. (Visitors and those students who are not officially enrolled in the class will not be allowed to participate in this part of the class)

Portions of the class, especially the interactions with the guests will be videotaped and archived for future study. NO OTHER RECORDING WILL BE ALLOWED BY STUDENTS OR VISITORS.

Grading:

1. Assignments (40%)
2. Midterm Group Project (20%)
3. Final Project (30%)
4. In-class quizzes (10%).

All assignments and exams (Projects) will be posted on the web (in this page) the day after each class meeting.

Textbooks:

For all students:

1. Mervyn Cooke and David Horn (Eds.) The Cambridge Companion to Jazz. Cambridge University Press.
2. Monson, I. 1996. Saying Something: Jazz Improvisation and Interaction. University of Chicago Press. [Study questions for Monson's book]
3. Sawyer, R. Keith. 2001. Group Creativity: Music, Theater, Collaboration.. Mahawah, NJ: Erlbaum. [Study question for Sawyer's book]
4. Materials distributed in class or posted on the web.

Week 1: April 4

Jazz is ...: A first encounter with jazz as an art form

(Top) Mike Melvoin (p) and Bobby Rodriguez (t) perform the "standard" (song) "Anthropology" written by Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie and solo on "Rhythm Changes"; (bottom) guests and instructors share a laugh during subsequent class discussion. (Photos by Heather Loyd)

Readings (for next week):

1. Hand-outs distributed in class (on "Rhythm Changes") and on basic analytical categories for thinking about the culture of jazz aesthetics.
2. Krin Gabbard: The word jazz. In Cooke and Horn (Eds.), pp. 1-6..
3. Mervyn Cooke: Jazz among the classics, and the case of Duke Ellington. In Cooke and Horn (Eds.), pp. 153-173.

Week 2: April 11

The Aesthetics of Improvisation in Jazz: Finding Your Own Voice

Assignment #1

Chester Whitmore, Kenny Burrell and students, April 11, 2006. (Photo by A. Duranti)

Readings (for next week):

1. Sawyer, R.K. Ch. 1 "Introduction", pp. 1-27, and "Jamming in Jazz and Improv Theater", pp. 28-73.
2. Monson, I. Introduction and Chapter One "Talking to Musicians", pp. 1-25.
3. Travis A. Jackson: Jazz as musical practice, in Cooke and Horn (Eds.), pp. 83-95.
4. Ingrid Monson: Jazz improvisation, in Cooke and Horn (Eds.), pp. 114-132.
5. Handouts distributed in class with bio-sketches of Kenny Burrell and selected discography.

Special Guest: Kenny Burrell (and, unexpectedly: Chester Whitmore)

Week 3: April 18

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

Tamir Hendelman (p), Roberto Miranda (b) and Clayton Cameron (d). (Photo by Heather Loyd)

Readings (for next week):

1. Monson, I. Ch. 2 "Grooving and feelingr", p. p26-72.
2. Peter J. Martin: Spontaneity and organization. In Cooke and Horn (Eds.), pp. 133-152.

Special Guests: Clayton Cameron (d), Tamir Hendelman (p), and Roberto Miranda (b).

Week 4: April 25

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

Assignment #2 (due May 2, 2006)

Readings (for next week):

1. Monson, I. Ch. 3 "Music, Language, and Cultural Styles: Improvisation as Conversation", pp. 73-96.
2. Sawyer, R.K. Ch. 3 "Interaction and Emergence: An Interactional Semiotics", pp. 74-96.
3. A. Duranti and Kenny Burrell. 2004. "Jazz Improvisation: A Search for Hidden Harmonies and a Unique Self. Ricerche di Psicologia. 3, pp. 71-101. [article available in pdf by clicking on title]

Special Guests: Mike Melvoy (p), Jeff Clayton (as), George Bohanon (tb), Clayton Cameron (d), Noah Garabedian (b).

George Bohanon on trombone, Noah Garabedian on bass, Jeff Clayton on alto sax and Clayton Cameroon on drums, April 25. (Photo by A. Duranti)

Students, Kenny Burrell (g) and Mike Melvoin (p), April 25, 2006. (Photo by A. Duranti)

Week 5: May 2

The Culture of Jazz Aesthetics: A Video Ethnography, Part I (lecture by A. Duranti)

Midterm assignment due May 9 at the beginning of class (Description of mid-term assignment)

Readings (for next week):

1. Sawyer, R.K. Ch. 4 "Group Creativity in the Arts" pp.97-118 and Ch. 5 "Group Creativity as Mediated Action" pp. 119-137.
2. David Ake: Learning jazz, teaching jazz. In Cooke and Horn (Eds.), pp. 255-269.

Week 6: May 9

The Aesthetics of Jazz Arranging

Assignment #3

Readings (for next week):

1. Sawyer, R.K. Ch. 6 "Degrees of Improvisation in Group Creativity " pp. 138-161.
2. Dave Laing: The Jazz Market. In Cooke and Horn (Eds.), pp. 321-331.
3. Jeff Pressing: Free jazz and the avant-gard. In Cooke and Horn (Eds.), pp. 321-331.
4. Stuart Nicholson: Fusion and crossovers. In Cooke and Horn (Eds.), pp. 217-252.

MIDTERM ASSIGNMENT DUE TODAY AT THE BEGINNING OF CLASS

Charlie Harrison, Kenny Burrell, Alessandro Duranti, Michele Weir listen to comments by students in the class, May 9, 2006. (Photo by Heather Loyd)

Special Guests: Michele Weir and Charlie Harrison.

Week 7: May 16

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

Assignment #4

Readings (for next week):

1. Monson, I. Ch. 4 "Intermusicality" pp. 97-132.

Special Guest: Gerald Wilson (composer, conductor, arranger, orchestrator, trumpet player)

Gerald Wilson and Kenny Burrell, May 16, 2006. (Photo by A. Duranti)

Week 8: May 23

Latin Jazz: Poncho Sanchez

Assignment #5

Readings (for next week):

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: Poncho Sanchez (11:00-12:50 we are going to Prof. Steve Loza's class in Schoenberg 1100; at 1pm we return to our usual classroom)

Week 9: May 30

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

Readings (for next week):

1. Sawyer, R.K. Ch. 7 "Collective Ideation: Creativity, Teamwork, and Collaboration" pp.162-189.
2. Monson, I. Ch. 6 "Ethnomusicology, Interaction, and Poststructuralism" + "Coda", pp. 192-218 .

Guests: Lesa Terry, Roberto Miranda, Tom Ranier, and students from the UCLA Jazz Program

Lesa Terry performs with a great rhythm section: Tom Ranier (p), Roberto Miranda (b) and Kenny Burrell (g), May 30, 2006 (photo by Alessandro Duranti).

UCLA students:Michael Sheridan (flute), Noah Garabedian (b), Aaron Leibowits (ts), Steve Black (ts), May 30, 2006 (photo by Alessandro Duranti).

Noah Garabedian (b) and Brent Carter (g) play while Professor Burrell listens, May 30, 2006 (photo by Alessandro Duranti).

Week 10: June 6

The Culture of Jazz Aesthetics: A Video Ethnography, Part 2 (lecture by A. Duranti)

Final Project due NO LATER THAN Monday June 12, at 3pm in the Anthropology main office, Haines 341. (Description of Final Project)

No Special Guests