Music Jazz as Art Music Modern Pop vs Art New Sounds New Boundaries Discussions

part oneThe idea that there is some sort of dividing line between what is considered “art music” and “everything else” is actually pretty new. If we go back to Medieval or Renaissance Europe, we can find discussions of different contexts for music, but never really a distinction that one was “art” and that another was “not art.” The same goes for the artistic context of early America. This idea that there is “art music” and “popular music” (which is thereby, not art) comes sometime in the mid-nineteenth century. It was tied up with all sorts of categorization efforts with which people in the US and Europe (and their colonies) were obsessed at the time. Thus, while it’s a relatively new idea, this idea is one that jazz inherited, or at least that the public inherited and applied to jazz.Once we get to the mid-1940s, jazz seems to cross into the territory of “art music.” Basically, before WW2, folks thought of jazz as “pop music” and after the war they treated it more like “art music.” Generally, the term “art music” was applied to music played in fancy concert halls set aside just for this purpose, music written by dead German guys, music played on violins and oboes. Now, with the arrival of bebop, some of the reverence usually reserved for this old, dead music was being directed at jazz.There are a variety of reasons for this shift in perception, some of which we have—or will—gone into elsewhere. The point, there, though, is simply that this shift in perception happened and what that means for the style’s future.This totally arbitrary line between “art” and “pop” persists, today. We interact with it all the time, even when we don’t do so on purpose. We “enforce” these “rules” about the music through all sorts of ways. For example, when attending a concert, we are supposed to dress and/or applaud differently depending upon which type of music we are seeing performed. This is kind of silly, but also aids in the ways we are able to truly “appreciate” the music in the most appropriate way.But, this brings lots of dumb elitism to different styles of music.Can you think of anything—a style of music, a type of movie, a type of book, etc.—which is often degraded as not very artistic, but who you just love or find very moving? Why do you think this thing—music, movie, book, etc.—is so derided by the elites? Why do you disagree?An example:At Cuyamaca College, we offer a History of Rock class as a General Education class. This is pretty common; we have offered it for at least the last twenty years. But, when I was a student—2000–2004—the school where I went (admittedly a pretty conservative, religious school that was “behind the curve” on lots of things) didn’t have such a class. In the 1990s, a History of Rock class was pretty rare at a college. This was because only “artistic” music was considered appropriate for study at a college, and, apparently, rock music wasn’t considered close enough to “art.” It took Cuyamaca College until 2019 to offer a History of Hip Hop class for similar reasons. Some of this is responding to outside pressures (what other schools are doing, what students are demanding, etc.), but a lot of it comes down to what a college wants to “legitimize” by offering classes that study it.Related: It wasn’t until the 1980s that jazz bands became more or less a normal thing in an American high school or college. This, well after jazz was seen by most people as pretty firmly in the “art music” category.A second example:I think comic books are silly. But, I have been told that there is a lot of great stuff in comic books, great story telling, great visual art, great character development. To me, though, I just see something kind of silly. This is me being an elitist about what “real literature” or “real art” is and isn’t. It’s probably not that good of me to have this mindset.Please leave a comment about either:and/orPlease, as always, be respectful of others’ opinions. This question could ruffle some feathers, but I am hoping it will help us dig a little deeper and see where each of our biases lie as to what is/isn’t art. This can then help us examine the way we treat other opinions in more empathetic ways.part twoAs we have talked about before, jazz tends to follow some semi-predictable patterns. Things often revolve around four-bar phrases, we tend to hear the melody up front followed by a series of improvisations based upon its form (with each band member taking turns). Then, at the end, we usually hear the original melody again, almost exactly like we did at the beginning. These patterns are pretty deep in the DNA of a typical jazz performance.However, we have now arrived at a point in history where a lot of these conventions are being thrown aside, or at least stretched in significant ways. Free Jazz through almost all of this out in exchange for a semi-free-for-all approach. Some of jazz’s later developments, like its various “fusions” with rock and funk, reigned in some of Free Jazz’s excesses this regard, but some of that style’s “looseness” and unpredictability became a central feature of Fusion.Take a look at this video: This is the Fusion band Weather Report playing the song “Barbary Coast.” Weather Report was one of Fusion’s most prominent bands. (Not coincidentally, it contains a few high-profile alumni from Miles Davis’s fusion bands.) Notice how the roles between soloist and accompanist are blurred. Notice how the usual “roles” are a little trickier to pin down. Also, the presence of some new instruments and sounds.Now, have a look at this one: This is the Jaco Pastorius band playing “The Chicken.” (You might recognize the bass player in this one as the same guy from Weather Report. This is Jaco Pastorius, one of the people who played bass in Weather Report and a very innovative bassist (and musician in general).) The lines around each “section” are not quite as blurry, here. But, there are still some new instruments/sounds.After watching these two performances, please leave a comment on which one you found more engaging or interesting. Why? What about this performance was interesting/engaging?Then, please find a video of your own, one that incorporates some of these ideas. (If you don’t know where to start, try searching for “Jazz Fusion” or “Electric Jazz” or something similar.) Please share this video as part of your discussion entry with some comments on why you chose this video.