Lesson Plans from the 2007 Institute

TEACHING JAZZ AS AMERICAN CULTURE
LESSON PLANS
NEH SUMMER INSTITUTE
The Center for the Humanities
Washington University in St. Louis
July 2-27, 2007
contents
Foreword ………………………………………………………………………………
Gerald Early, Merle Kling Professor of Modern Letters, Department of English
Director, The Center for the Humanities
iv
iv
Jazz and Biography …………………………………………………………………
Robert Edwards, Annie Joly, Frank Kovarik, Alice Lee, and Gerry Liebmann
1
Jazz and Fiction ………………………………………………………………………
21
Ken Froehlich, T. J. Gillespie, Judith Nador, Melissa Papianou, and Elizabeth Patterson
Jazz and Gender ……………………………………………………………………
Amy Dilts, Aimee Hendrix, Hope Rias, and Franklin Webster
45
Jazz and Race …………………………………………………………………………
Robert Evans, Allen Stith, Herbert West, and Keith Westbrook
59
Jazz and the Urban Landscape ……………………………………………………
Monica Freese, John Gornell, Patrick Harris, Mark Halperin, and Jerome Love
72
Jazz and the Visual Imagination ……………………………………………………
Judy Gregorc, Rob Matlock, Martha Jewell Meeker, Ellen Rennard, Laura Rochette,
and Larissa Young
85
iii
foreword
Teaching Jazz as American Culture
and as an attractive form of identity for young people.
But jazz also represents a markedly different story
from, say, country and western, rock and roll, rhythm
and blues, hip hop and rap. None of these forms of
music has so dramatically lost its popularity and none
has become a conservatory music. It is the ways in
which jazz serves as a paradigm for the formation of
mass taste and the ways in which it is not a paradigm,
because of its failure to maintain itself even as a music
with a sizable niche audience, like, say, hardcore
country music or gospel music or heavy metal, that
makes it fascinating and instructive to examine and to
think about. We can learn as much from an art form’s
failures as we can from its successes. But then again
perhaps jazz hasn’t failed. Who says that an art form
needs a mass audience to be considered successful?
In what ways can we understand how an art succeeds
independent of the marketplace? Perhaps jazz has
succeeded because it has become a highly elitist art.
Maybe that is what God and man intended for it.
Now, a word or two before you go. I must make
clear to you once again why we were all here and what
we all tried to accomplish in these last four weeks. It
was never my intention to encourage you to make your
students fans of jazz. It was never even my intention
to make any of you jazz fans who were not inclined to
be so. The point of this exercise was to show that jazz
was an important music, a highly influential music, at
one point in its existence. And, for that matter, it still
remains an important music. It was an important music
in the shaping of America as we know it. I also wanted
to show that jazz was a good music, a music worth
listening to and worth playing, at least at a certain time
in the life of this nation. But I did not desire anything
beyond that point and it was not necessary to desire
anything beyond that point. In fact, personally, you could
still hate jazz and think it important to teach something
about your subject through it. That’s what I wanted to
achieve, that realization.
So, why do this institute on jazz and what do I
hope we accomplished this month? I designed this
institute to get you to think about your subject in a fresh
way and to think about the humanities in a fresh way,
an interdisciplinary way where a specific subject can
suddenly become a whole. What I wanted to do here
was to have you see jazz from many different angles
so you can comprehend not only the complexity of
the subject but also its endless riches and how each
time a new aspect of the subject is revealed, an aspect
that you already know gets re-revealed and refreshed.
So, you learned about jazz and the rise of the
American cities, about what cities had to offer young
professionals and young artists on the make, how the
city has the institutions, organizations, and, finally, the
audience to support new and different art. You learned
about jazz and its influence on and interaction with
other arts, such as jazz and literature, where a number
of writers have been influenced by this music as a
creative inspiration. We noted how jazz influenced visual
artists like Romare Bearden and how it influenced and
was shaped by modern dance. We also saw how jazz
has been a subject in Hollywood and independent films,
and how it has been used in animation. And we learned
how composers used jazz to score films. We learned
about jazz in other countries—Japan (where for some
musicians jazz represents individuality in a culture of
intense conformity) and Georgia (where jazz for many
of the musicians of an earlier generation represented
political freedom)—how jazz in other places is like
So, forget about the art form as something you
should either like or dislike. Think of it purely as a cultural,
artistic, and social specimen. That is all I want you to
get from this. Jazz is a specimen of a special sort, a
rich sort, and can be very useful to you as teachers in
what you teach. In some respects, I think you would be
better teaching it if you’re not a fan of it or at least not
wildly passionate about it. If you are more objective
about it, you are more likely to think about it as a
scientist ideally thinks about the work in a lab, rather
than in the way a true believer thinks about his or her
religion. After all, as I suggested to you from the start,
jazz may not be a word that was invented to describe a
form of music, but rather to describe something about
the spirit or consciousness that brought a particular
type of music or art into the world. Jazz is a word that
describes the impulse of how to make things new for
both the creator and the audience.
Yet it must be remembered that jazz arose at the
beginning of the twentieth century, the century of
music, when music, through technological invention,
became a widespread passion, an alluring object of
consumption. The story of jazz is the story of the rise
and fall of a musical idiom, of an art movement, of a
kind of identity that was both popular and elitist. This
makes the story of jazz important, because it has
become the paradigm for virtually every other musical
idiom that has flourished as the nation’s popular music
iv
American jazz in some ways but also different in some
of the emotional and artistic needs that it fills. Finally,
we examined various ways that jazz and American
social history interconnected: from the segregation of
women in jazz and the gendered way that music is
seen, to the connection between jazz and civil rights,
and jazz and black masculinity. In addition, you saw and
heard live jazz performances every week, and had the
opportunity to talk to professional jazz musicians about
their craft. We covered many things in four weeks.
easy listening jazz. There is still an audience for this
music and it is possible for a performer to make money
from it. Exactly who does listen to jazz today and why?
We never explored that. So we hardly exhausted the
subject and we could have easily been here for another
three or four weeks.
But I wanted you to think about the humanities
anew, how a subject like jazz can tie together many
things, for yourselves and your students, and how
this can affect how your students think about many
things. I wanted to offer this institute because I am
a teacher and wanted the opportunity to work with
other teachers. I know some of you are thinking that
the institute was informative but how do you get your
students to listen to jazz, even for a moment, a music
that seems foreign to many of them. But the difficulty is
the whole point. First, as teachers, we can never really
reach our students through what they already know and
are likely to explore without our effort or encouragement
as teachers. I think, frankly, it is pointless to teach
students Hip Hop. They are already motivated to know
it because it is so intricately tied up to a sense of who
they are. We must move our students to look at things
outside themselves and outside their experience.
Otherwise, what is the point of a humanities education?
That is what the humanities are supposed to do, enrich
your own capacity for understanding human experience
by taking you outside yourself and into something
else. We must expand the sense they have of who
they are. Moreover, we must teach them ownership.
Jazz is not some foreign thing that belonged to their
grandparents or their parents. Jazz belongs to them.
It is their heritage as Americans or their heritage as
black Americans, depending upon the approach you
wish to take to the subject. It is their legacy. They must
be taught to value their heritage. They must be taught
the importance of a long memory. The nature of our
throwaway culture, our culture of instant gratification,
works against that. But we as teachers must work
against that aspect of our culture. We are the ones
who must show our students the good and lasting
things in our culture. If we don’t do that, who will? If we
don’t do that, how will our culture last? To paraphrase
football legend Tom Landry, our job as teachers is to
get our students to do things they don’t want to do in
order to achieve something they need to achieve. We
must teach them to want to achieve what they need to
achieve.
But as much as you may have learned, there is also
much that we did not touch upon: think about writers
like Kerouac, John Clellon Holmes, Toni Morrison,
John A. Williams, William Melvin Kelly, and Yusef
Komunyakaa, who have all written important works with
jazz themes. Josef Skvorecky’s The Bass Saxophone,
which I think is the single greatest piece of fiction
about jazz, was never mentioned once during our
institute. We never talked in much depth about jazz and
religion: we never discussed the jazz ministry of the late
Lutheran minister, John Garcia Gensel. We did not look
at the Church of John Coltrane in San Francisco. We
did not consider the influence of Christianity or Judaism
on jazz or why several noted black jazz musicians like
Yusef Lateef, Ahmad Jamal, Art Blakey and others
converted to Islam. We talked about jazz and race but
we did not look specifically at the relationship between
blacks and Jews in jazz, which is actually more to the
point because by and large most small record label
owners and most nightclub owners were Jews. Most
of the whites who supported the civil rights movement
monetarily and helped organize benefits were Jews. So
the story of jazz is quite specifically a story about two
of America’s most prominent minority groups, blacks
and Jews. We did not look at all at contemporary jazz:
who plays jazz today and why? We did not look at the
influence of Rock music on jazz or the influence of Hip
Hop on jazz. We did not look at contemporary women
jazz players, although there are many of them. We
did not look at high school jazz bands or college jazz
education. And what about Latin jazz, Afro-Cuban jazz,
or jazz in western Europe? We never gave any of that
a glance. We never looked at jazz and the Top Forty.
After all, jazz did not simply shrivel up and die after
World War II. Tunes like “Take Five,” “Cast Your Fate to
the Wind,” and Hugh Masekela’s version of “Grazing
in the Grass” were big pop hits. Les McCann and
Eddie Harris had a hugely successful album in 1970
that spawned the hit tune, “Compared to What.” Jazz
musicians like Keith Jarrett and Pat Metheny, Wynton
Marsalis and Oscar Peterson, George Benson and
Earl Klugh, Bob James and Kenny G, Herbie Hancock
and Chick Corea have all had very lucrative careers as
jazz musicians and they do not, by any means, all play
v
Gerald Early, Merle Kling
Professor of Modern Letters,
Director, Center for the Humanities
Washington University in St. Louis
Jazz and Biography
versions that younger students can handle and older
students can complicate.
This section of the Resource Guide deals with Jazz
and Biography. Some works are wonderful sources
of facts; others are almost incredible mythology.
They address important themes in jazz history: the
importance of the African American tradition, victory
and victimization, racism, the dangers of drugs, and
the tension between commerce and art. Some of these
works perpetuate stereotypes, but others explode them. All
are enlightening in understanding just how important
the music that “won’t behave itself” is to us all.
Robert Edwards, Annie Joly, Frank Kovarik,
Alice Lee, and Gerry Liebmann
One of the best ways to learn about American
culture is to learn about the people who were
involved in shaping it. The study of jazz as American
culture inevitably brings one to learn about the people
who have made jazz. The individual stories of musicians
who perform this unique music intertwine, overlap,
and crisscross in ways that mimic the music itself.
In exploring the biographical works available on
these artists, one can get a glimpse of the culture
surrounding them. Economic, racial, social, and other
factors that have affected the development of jazz
become more personal and meaningful when seen
through the life of an individual. A documentary like
Louis Armstrong 100th Anniversary, for instance, tells the story
of twentieth-century America through the life of one of
jazz’s great pioneers. Betty Boop cartoons featuring
Cab Calloway are primary sources that illustrate the
racial politics of their time and the challenges jazz
artists faced in controlling their own images.
Biographies and autobiographies offer images that
are not necessarily factual or complete. Many of the
citations included here examine the representation
(and often misrepresentation) of Billie Holiday’s life.
Her Carnegie Hall concert in particular offers an
example of the complicated intertwining of life and
art. Holiday’s story is one in which, sadly, drug use
plays an important role. Many jazz biographies seem
compelled to romanticize or emphasize drugs and
other illicit behavior, even when such subjects seem
tangentially related to the artist’s life and work. For an
example of this tendency, see the annotation on the
liner notes to saxophonist Greg Osby’s St. Louis Shoes.
The essay that accompanies Osby’s CD discusses
prominently the illegal substances and behavior
surrounding Osby’s early gigs while omitting the
formal study that laid the groundwork for his art.
Jazz historiography sometimes takes a “great man”
approach that emphasizes certain individuals while
ignoring others and paying insufficient attention to the
social conditions in which those individuals worked.
Some of the works annotated in this section examine
such limitations of biography in a theoretical way.
Another work, Sophisticated Ladies: The Great Women
of Jazz, offers a collective biography of a number of
great jazz women, underlining the participation of
women in the story of the music as well. Children’s
books, in particular, offer students of all ages a chance
to encounter and critique the biographies of jazz
artists past and present. Children’s books like
Wynton Marsalis’s Jazz ABZ crystallize the dominant
perspectives on such artists, offering condensed
Articles
Lincoln, Abbey. “Who Will Revere the Black
Woman?” In Black Woman, edited by Toni
Cade. New York: New American Library,
1970.
Margolick, David. “Strange Fruit.” Vanity Fair, September 1998.
Autobiographies and Biographies
Armstrong, Louis. Louis Armstrong, In His Own
Words: Selected Writings. New York: Oxford
University Press, 1999.
Clarke, Donald. Wishing on the Moon: The Life and
Times of Billie Holiday. New York: Viking
Press, 1995.
Ellington, Mercer. Duke Ellington in Person: An
Intimate Memoir. New York: Houghton, 1978.
Greenburg, Jan. Romare Bearden: Village of
Memories. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2003.
Nicholson, Stuart. Billie Holiday. Boston: Northeastern
University Press, 1995.
O’Meally, Robert. Lady: The Many Faces of Billie
Holiday. New York: Arcade, 1991.
Porter, Lewis. John Coltrane: His Life and Art. Ann
Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1998.
Children’s Books
Hughes, Langston. The First Book of Jazz. New York:
Franklin Watts, 1976.
Marsalis, Wynton, Phil Schaap, and Paul Rogers. Jazz
ABZ: An A to Z Collection of Jazz Portraits.
New York: Candlewick, 2005.
McKissack, Patricia, and Fredrick McKissack. Louis
Armstrong: Jazz Musician. Springfield, NJ:
Enslow, 1991.
Tate, Eleanora E. African American Musicians. New York: Wiley, 2000.
Documentary Films
Bojangles. Directed by Bill Lake and Joseph Sargent.
Showtime Networks, 2001. (Biography of Bill
Robinson)
1
Jazz Collection: Billie Holiday. Directed by Philippe
Koechlin. Arte, France, 1997.
The Last of the Blue Devils: The Kansas City Story.
Directed by Bruce Ricker. Kino International
Corporation, 2001.
Masters of American Music: Satchmo. Directed by
Gary Giddins and Kendrick Simmons. Series.
CBS Music Video Enterprises, 1989. (Tribute
to Louis Armstrong. Contains vast array of
recorded footage including early Betty Boop
cartoon; interviews with Louis and many
others)
Nat “King” Cole: Unforgettable. Eforfilms/Stars of
Jazz, 2004.
Oscar Peterson: Songs in the Key of Oscar. VIEW
Video Jazz Series, 2002. (Documentary about
Oscar Peterson, jazz pianist)
Yours for a Song: The Women of Tin Pan Alley.
Directed by Terry Benes. Masters Production,
1999.
http://scottjoplin.org. Scott Joplin International Ragtime Foundation
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ASI/musi212/introduction.html.
Jazz: Marking Time in American Culture is subdivided
in chronological periods—Jazz Roots, Swing
Era, Cool Jazz, and Hard Bop. This website
provides a social and cultural context for the
development and production of jazz music
from 1890 through the 1960s.
Autobiographies and Biographies (annotated)
Berrett, Joshua, and Louis B. Bourgois III. The
Musical World of J. J. Johnson. Lanham, MD:
Scarecrow Press, 1999.
This biography details the life and work of J. J.
Johnson (January 22, 1925–February 4, 2001), a
master musician and prolific composer. The book
includes a filmography, a catalog of compositions,
and a discography of issued and unissued recorded
performances by J. J. Johnson. While delving into the
life of Johnson, the authors also provide a snapshot
of the emergence of a musical era in the United
States and tell the tale of shameful discrimination
against African Americans in the United States. In
my opinion, this biography would be of benefit to
secondary school students, advanced music students,
and others interested in great trombonists regardless of
jazz or symphonic specialty.
J. J. Johnson lived his early years in a segregated
Indianapolis, Indiana, community and attended
schools with inadequate equipment and supplies.
The trombone was not the instrument Johnson took
up first. He switched to the trombone from a baritone
saxophone that was in terrible shape while in high
school. Several months after high school graduation,
he left home to join a professional road band, one of
them being the Benny Carter Orchestra. By the mid
forties, he was working with Count Basie, Bud Powell,
Max Roach, and Charlie Parker.
J. J. Johnson’s arrival into the New York 52nd Street
district was a turning point in his life. In the New
York 52nd Street neighborhood he was an instant
success at the birthplace of bebop. This new style of
playing made Mr. Johnson reassess his playing style
and technique to adjust to the fluidity and speed of
bebop phrasing. This era brought about other social
and economic problems similar to those recounted by
J. J.’s predecessor, Louis Armstrong.
The artist continued to develop and compose
in other genres and styles. He even moved to
Hollywood, California, and tried composing
for movies but was unsuccessful because of
discrimination and lack of work.
J. J. Johnson had strong family ties. He was
Essays
Davis, Angela. Blues Legacy and Black Feminism. New York: Pantheon Press, 1998.
Fiction
Clinton, Catherine. I, Too, Sing America: Three
Centuries of African American Poetry. New
York: Houghton Mifflin, 1998.
Hardwick, Elizabeth. Sleepless Nights. New York:
Random House, 1979.
Shange, Ntozake. Sassafras, Cypress and Indigo. New
York: St. Martin’s Press, 1982.
Music Recordings
Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. Mosiac. Blue
Note, 1961.
Coltrane, John. A Love Supreme Impulse, 1995.
Ellington, Duke. Greatest Hits. CBS Special Products,
1963. A2152.
Holiday, Billie. “Billie’s Blues.” Billie Holiday:
The Ultimate Collection. Universal Music
Enterprises, 2005.
Johnson, J. J. Let’s Hang Out. Gitanes Jazz, 1993.
Louis Armstrong: Portrait of the Artist as a Young
Man 1923–1934. Columbia/Legacy and
Smithsonian Institution Press, 1994.
Websites
www.cmgworldwide.com/music/parker/. Official Site
of Charlie “Yardbird” Parker
www.redhotjazz.com/louie.html. Biographical
information about Louis Armstrong. Site
covers broad areas of topics and musicians
2
married and fathered two sons with his first wife.
To this very day, Johnson is a most important jazz
trombonist and a major influence on all players of the
instrument. (Robert Edwards)
three- or four-page review of each artist. Each artist’s
story covers some of her childhood experiences,
makes a special mention of what she is known for,
and her rise in the entertainment industry. Included
in the volume is Bessie Smith (known as the “Empress
of the Blues”), Ethel Waters, Mabel Mercer, and Billie
Holiday, who because of her regal presentation was
nicknamed “Lady Day.” Of course, no review of jazz
greats would be complete without Ella Fitzgerald,
winner of thirteen Grammy awards, the sultry voice
of Peggy Lee, Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughan,
and several other artists. Gourse personalizes this
volume with quotes and comments such as Earl
Hines’s remark upon first hearing Sarah Vaughan sing.
He said, “Is that child singing, or am I dreaming?”
Titles of songs, movies, clubs, TV shows, and other
famous musicians such as Paul Whitman, Duke
Ellington, Lionel Hampton, and Dizzy Gillespie are
mentioned throughout the volume. The author has
done an excellent job of presenting both the exciting
portions of the artists’ lives along with the difficulties
of drug use and poverty many of them experienced.
This volume combined with the voices of these great
women of jazz would be an unbeatable combination.
The book includes a bibliography and discography for
additional research and information.
The illustrator, Martin French designed a portrait
like work for each artist that is vibrant, colorful and
arresting. The emotional feel of the portraits draw
the reader into the biography and serves as a lively
introduction.
The presentation of this work is excellent.
Elementary and middle school students will find
Sophistical Ladies useful for short reports. This volume
will truly catch the eye of readers fifth though eighth
grade who are just beginning their journey into the
world of jazz and will encourage readers to delve
deeper into the sound and beauty of jazz. (Alice Lee)
Ellington, Duke. “The Mirrored Self.” In Music Is My
Mistress, 451–72. New York: Doubleday, 1976.
The epilogue to Ellington’s massive, rich, multifarious
autobiography, this piece takes the form of an
interview in which Ellington both asks the questions
and provides the answers. Its slipperiness provides
a fitting conclusion to the autobiography of this
elliptical, mysterious figure. Ellington also uses
the format to suggest something profound about
autobiography and identity itself. The interview begins
with a brief prologue in which Ellington asks us to
imagine a pool that mirrors our shifting reflection.
“We examine this uncertain portrait and just as
we feel inclined to accept it we realize that, down
below this, there is still another mirror reflecting
another of our selves, and more. For this third mirror
is transparent, and we can plainly see what is going
on both before and behind it, and we refuse to credit
that here is still another of our selves. But there we
are with four reflections, all reflections of us who look
at them,” Ellington writes, suggesting that selves have
multiple facets, that biographical truth is perspectival
and perhaps impossible to resolve, finally.
Of course, Ellington is presenting a particular
version of himself in his autobiography, and in this
final piece especially. His pronouncements take on an
oracular quality. Like many of Ellington’s famous bon
mots, they are densely packed with meaning, humor,
and irony. The piece overall would be very interesting
to discuss with upper level high school students,
perhaps after some introductory discussion of
Ellington and his work. One could probably build an
entire class on student reactions to various parts of the
interview. Some general questions the piece raises are
these: Why would Ellington end his five-hundred-page
autobiography in this way? What does this format
offer as a means of self-representation? What overall
impressions does Ellington give of himself? What are
Ellington’s opinions about jazz (for one thing, he says,
“‘Jazz’ is only a word. We stopped using it in 1943.”)?
About the relationship or conflict between commerce
and art? About jazz and race? About humanity? What
are the limits of biography or autobiography, and why
do those limits exist? (Frank Kovarik)
Hamilton, Neil, ed. Lifetimes: The Great War to
the Stock Market Crash: American History through
Biography and Primary Source Documents. Westport,
CT: Greenwood Press, 2002.
Lifetimes is a biographical overview in an
encyclopedic format of the period from the great war
of 1917 through the stock market crash of 1929. This
time period covers important years in the beginning
of jazz and includes the Roaring Twenties and the
Harlem Renaissance. Although a small window of
time, many individuals were important characters
to American culture. The use of this volume as
a background to jazz and American culture is
invaluable for painting a picture of the times, the
development of jazz, and the effects of the Depression
on the American people. Each individual’s history
Gourse, Leslie. Sophisticated Ladies: The Great Women
of Jazz. New York: Dutton Children’s Books, 2007.
Written by a true jazz historian, the late Leslie
Gourse, this collective volume of fourteen great
women vocalists of jazz treats the reader to a short
3
is told through biographies and primary source
documents such as writings, political cartoons, lyrics,
photographs, treaties, and speeches, adding realism.
Included in this volume are important individuals
who have had great contributions to American history
in diverse ways. For the purposes of connecting
directly with jazz and the Harlem Renaissance, I am
selecting to examine in greater detail the profile of
Josephine Baker. Each profile has a similar structure.
In most cases three to five pages are dedicated
to each individual. Their history is presented in
chronological order. Baker’s biography touches on
her short early marriages, experiences with the Dixie
Steppers, Eubie Blake’s musical, Shuffle Along, and
her long relationship with the French theater and
music industry. Lastly, a picture of Baker in minstrel
blackface in the 1929 production of Chocolate
Dandies rounds out our view of Josephine Baker.
Crossing her eyes as shown in this picture is a display
of her outstanding comedic talents and was something
she became known for. Recommended selections
for further reading are included in each chapter. Also
incorporated are profiles on W. E. B. Du Bois, Bessie
Smith, Duke Ellington, Langston Hughes (who paired
his poetry reflecting the black community with jazz),
George Gershwin, Louis Armstrong, F. Scott Fitzgerald
(chronicler of the Jazz Age), and Zora Neale Hurston.
The volume closes with appendices, a
bibliography, and an index. The appendix includes a
document list by individual and a historical time line.
The bibliography is divided by subject areas.
Primary documents are authenticated throughout
the volume. Though the materials are all black and
white, the value of primary sources documents can
not be denied. This volume presents more than sixty
profiles but includes a great variety of resources
to deepen an overall understanding of the early
twentieth century. This volume will not generate
a lot of excitement but is a good basic foundation
for examining the era. This resource is geared for a
high school audience and presents an honest review
of each individual, though not extensive. Younger
students may find Lifetimes cumbersome and full
of information that requires the vocabulary to be
clarified. (Alice Lee)
in a federal prison and was barred from performing in
New York clubs where booze was sold.
Dufty, who was married to Holiday’s close friend
Maely Dufty, wrote the book quickly from a series of
conversations with the singer, drawing on the work
of earlier interviewers as well. His aim, he said, was
to let Holiday tell her story her way. Fact checking
was definitely not his concern and, as subsequent
biographers have shown, the book is rife with factual
inaccuracies and exaggerations. For instance this
biography starts with Billie’s words: “Mom and Pop
were just a couple of kids when they got married.
He was eighteen, she was sixteen, and I was three.”
This is patently untrue: her parents were never
married and her father was totally absent from her
life during childhood. Fabrications of this kind are
revealing in their own way and should be picked
up on by students and teachers working on the
autobiographical genre. Despite all the “mythopoetic”
factual errors for which the book has been taken to
task since its publication, it does capture the voice of
one of the most affecting and mythical jazz vocal artists.
In these interviews, rearranged by Dufty into a
memoir (which Billie Holiday claims not to have
read once it was published in book form!), Holiday
unflinchingly tells the story of a bruised life—a tale
of teenage prostitution, racist indignities and abusive
men, drug addiction and heavy drinking, corrupt cops
and jail time.
This autobiographical memoir is indispensable
reading for anyone interested in Billie Holiday as a
singer and in the heyday of jazz. Although written in
the first person, this recreation of Billie Holiday’s life
does not strictly fall into the autobiographical genre
(because it was ghostwritten), and therefore additional
reading of more fact-oriented biographies (e.g., S.
Nicholson, R. O’Meally, D. Clarke, J. Chilton) would
be beneficial to the student.
Due to the sensational nature of some of the
information in this autobiography, it would be
advisable to assign this reading to intellectually astute
high school students. (Annie Joly)
Magazine Articles (annotated)
Boyer, Richard O. “The Hot Bach.” In The Duke
Ellington Reader, edited by Mark Tucker, 214–46.
New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.
This profile of Duke Ellington was originally published
in three parts in The New Yorker magazine in the
summer of 1944, just after what Ted Gioia calls
Ellington’s greatest period. The audience for this
piece is the readership of The New Yorker: broadly
speaking, educated people who aren’t necessarily
jazz aficionados but are interested in developments
Holiday, Billie, and William F. Dufty. Lady Sings the
Blues. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1956.
Ghostwritten by William Dufty, a New York Post writer,
Lady Sings the Blues was published in 1956, three
years before Holiday died in a New York hospital at
age forty-four with a police officer stationed at her
door ready to arrest her for drug possession.
The book was written when Holiday desperately
needed money. After a dope bust she had spent a year
4
Essays / Scholarly Articles (annotated)
in the arts and culture. Teachers of all levels could use
this profile as background reading for themselves or
as a source for brief excerpts, and upper level high
school students might enjoy its wit and wealth of
detail. The article gives a good sense of contemporary
assessments of Duke Ellington and debates within
the music world. Boyer’s lens is wide. He provides
thumbnail portraits of Duke’s band members like
Juan Tizol, Ray Nance, Tricky Sam Nanton, and
Sonny Greer. He outlines the business end of Duke’s
work, discussing arrangements of performances,
earnings, and expenses. He describes Duke’s method
of composing, quoting Ellington on the ideas and
stories behind songs such as “Mood Indigo,” “In a
Sentimental Mood,” “Solitude,” and “Harlem Air
Shaft.” He discusses Duke’s childhood, early musical
training, and religious beliefs. Throughout the piece,
Ellington talks candidly and extensively.
Of particular interest to St. Louis teachers is
Boyer’s narration of a racist encounter the band
experiences while playing at the Fox Theatre in St.
Louis. After rehearsal, the band can’t find a place
where they’re allowed to eat, so they send someone
else out to get sandwiches. When the worker at the
sandwich shop learns that the food is intended for
a black band, he refuses to fill the order. Ellington
responds to such bigotry with characteristic calm and
complex irony. Boyer writes, “Duke tries to forget
things like that, and if he doesn’t quite succeed, he
pretends he does. An hour after the show, Duke was
introduced to a policeman who said enthusiastically,
‘If you’d been a white man, Duke, you’d been a great
musician.’ Duke’s smile was wide and steady as he
answered quietly, ‘I guess things would have been
different if I’d been a white man.’”
Ellington also maintains, in the profile, an ironic
distance from his own fame and accolades. Boyer
quotes to Ellington a critic of the time who writes that
“when New York is but a memory, or at best a forest
of rusty steel ascending to a quiet sky, the perceptive
archaeologist will be able to recreate American
civilization if he is fortunate enough to find one
Ellington record amid the deserted ruins.” Ellington
responds, “I don’t know. May be something to it. But
it seems to me such talk stinks up the place.”
This profile can also be found on The Complete
New Yorker—the original three parts are accompanied
by three different drawings of Ellington. These might
be interesting for students to view, compare, and
analyze. (Frank Kovarik)
DeVeaux, Scott. “Constructing the Jazz Tradition.”
In The Jazz Cadence of American Culture, edited by
Robert G. O’Meally, 483–512. New York: Columbia
University Press, 1998.
This essay, intended for jazz historians, critics,
and educators, is an analysis of what DeVeaux
calls “something like an official history of jazz
[that] has taken hold in recent years.” In fact,
DeVeaux deconstructs that history, demonstrating
its contingency and its shortcomings. Perhaps his
major point is that there is no absolute reason that
the varying periods usually associated with jazz—
New Orleans, swing, bebop, fusion, etc.—need
all be labeled with the same overarching term.
The differences between them are as strong as
the similarities. DeVeaux concludes, however, by
undercutting his own project, noting that “it hardly
seems fair…to deconstruct a narrative that has only
recently been constructed, especially one that serves
such important purposes.” In a postmodern vein,
DeVeaux acknowledges the constructedness of the
master jazz narratives that he himself professes,
but he does not abandon them as a result of this
acknowledgment. Histories, he asserts, are useful
stories that we create about human experience, and
the important question is the use to which those
stories are put. He writes, “My courses in jazz history
are designed to inculcate a feeling of pride in a
racially mixed university for an African American
musical tradition that manages, against all odds, to
triumph over obstacles of racism and indifference.
For this, the narrative of jazz history as Romance is a
powerful tool, and I have invested a good deal into
making it a reality in my students’ minds through all
the eloquence and emotion I can muster.” DeVeaux’s
essay thus has an important lesson for the use of
biography in the classroom: absolute truth in such
accounts is not possible, and therefore we have real
freedom and responsibility for the narratives we
present to our students. DeVeaux ultimately urges
his readers not to be bound by the jazz histories of
the past but instead to create new ones as musicians
continue to make music. He pleads, in particular,
for histories that are alert to “historical particularity”
and not limited by the “ideology of jazz as aesthetic
object.” In other words, jazz studies should be
about culture and social history, not solely music
appreciation. (Frank Kovarik)
Early, Gerald. “An Ode to John Coltrane: A Jazz
Musician’s Influence on African American Culture.”
The Antioch Review 57, no. 3 (Summer 1999): 371–85.
This essay considers John Coltrane’s legacy as a
5
cherished icon, particularly for black radicals of the
1960s and ’70s. Its audience is intellectuals, though
not necessarily academics. The essay could probably
be understood by upper level high school students,
though it might be of greater value as preparatory
reading for a teacher who plans to teach students
about Coltrane. Early reflects on the uses of jazz
biography, or even mythography, in tandem with
the music, to create meaning. In doing so, he helps
give teachers a critical space from which to lead a
conversation about jazz musicians that goes beyond
merely recreating the standard interpretations.
The central question of the essay is this: “Why,
despite his limitations as a symbol or a source of
representation, was Coltrane to become what he
did?” Early suggests complex reasons for Coltrane’s
prominence as a hero, but along the way he deflates
some of the mythology that has surrounded Coltrane’s
biography. One of the most salient aspects of that
biography, Early notes, is that Coltrane “combined
artistic innovation with therapeutic, redemptive
spirituality,” but Early goes on to assert that Coltrane’s
“grasp of religion as either doctrine or emotional
experience was not profound, incisive, or especially
impressive,” judging by the liner notes to A Love
Supreme. Early suggests that Coltrane was “a rather
dull man” whose obsessive practicing “does not
suggest a very balanced or integrated personality,” and
he speculates that the “serious, searching, sometimes
angry look” that was part of Coltrane’s mystique
may have actually resulted from Coltrane’s chronic
dental problems. Certainly Coltrane’s music was a
“considerable achievement,” but Early argues that
many Coltrane fans, Amiri Baraka most influentially,
have projected their own ideologies and selfconceptions onto the man and his music.
The essay quotes numerous poems that use
Coltrane as inspiration. It might be interesting for
a teacher to bring in one or more of these poems,
Coltrane’s Love Supreme liner notes, and a piece of
Coltrane’s music (preferably one of the longer, more
expansive ones, like “Spiritual” or “The Promise,”
whose titles suggest a search for transcendent truth),
and have students talk about them. As Early wonders,
“how is one supposed to know in instrumental music
that it is religious or spiritual?” What do the students
think of Coltrane’s remarks on his spiritual beliefs? Of
the poets’ deification of Coltrane himself? What are
their personal reactions to the music (perhaps not yet
influenced by commonly held views)? Early’s essay
indirectly suggests how to teach jazz in a way that
allows students to encounter and appreciate the music
without being force-fed preconceived notions about
the artist who created it and, instead, to sense the
ambiguities involved in biography and the historical
contingencies that affect how an artist is remembered.
(Frank Kovarik)
Ellison, Ralph. “On Bird, Bird-Watching, and Jazz.”
In Living with Music: Ralph Ellison’s Jazz Writings,
edited by Robert G. O’Meally, 65–76. New York:
Random House, 2001.
This 1962 meditation on the meaning of Charlie
Parker’s life and art takes the form of a response to
the publication of a book called Bird: The Legend
of Charlie Parker, an oral history focused on the
groundbreaking bebop saxophonist. Originally
written for the Saturday Review, the piece’s intended
audience is presumably a literate general public
relatively conversant with jazz and American culture.
The essay, elegantly written, is nevertheless within
the grasp of upper level high school students, with
some assistance and context provided by the teacher.
Ellison disdains Robert Reisner’s book as gossip and
begins by noting its failure to explain the origin of
Parker’s nickname. Ellison explores the implications
of that nickname, consulting Roger Tory Peterson’s
Field Guide to the Birds and discussing various
possible ornithological parallels—Parker as golden
finch, mockingbird, or mimic thrush. One of Parker’s
primary goals was to “escape the entertainer’s role,”
but Ellison argues that this goal is unattainable for a
performing artist. Ironically, Ellison asserts, Parker’s life
itself became a spectacle for the entertainment of the
primarily white audiences who idolized him. “He was
an obsessed outsider,” Ellison writes, “and Bird was
thrice alienated: as Negro, as addict, as exponent of
a new and disturbing development in jazz.” Finally,
Ellison suggests, Parker is like the “Poor Robin”
celebrated in song by the Blue Devils Orchestra,
“picked clean” by critics and fans who seemed to see
in him an emblem of their own aspirations, struggles,
and failures. Ellison uses the image of Poor Robin
extensively in Invisible Man as well, so this essay
would dovetail nicely with a study of that novel.
(Frank Kovarik)
Griffin, Farah Jasmine. If You Can’t Be Free, Be a Mystery:
In Search of Billie Holiday. New York: Free Press, 2001.
This two-hundred-page essay is an interesting
investigation of Billie Holiday, her world, and how
she is remembered. The author Farah J. Griffin is
an African American woman teaching at Columbia
University who purports to have had a deep fascination
for the artist since the age of nine, coinciding with the
death of her musician father in 1972.
The essay does away with a lot of stereotypes and
preconceived ideas about Billie Holiday on both the
human and professional levels. It manages, in a way,
to liberate Lady Day from the tragic songstress myth.
6
Griffin argues, amongt other things, that the stereotype
of the black woman jazz vocalist who is a “mindless
natural” with incredible talent but no discipline is
a fraud. Instead Griffin’s Holiday is a jazz virtuoso
whose passion and techniques made every song
forever hers.
Instead of being helpless against the racism,
sexism, and poverty that dominated her life, Billie
Holiday is an artist willing to pay a tremendous
price to change the sound of jazz forever. This essay
also takes up the myth concerning Holiday’s initial
inability to understand the lyrics to “Strange Fruit”
when the song was first presented to her. David
Margolick’s article for Vanity Fair on Lewis Allen and
“Strange Fruit” in 1988 and his subsequent book on
the subject are indeed not flattering for Billie Holiday,
portraying her as a semi-illiterate, reading nothing
but comic books. Astute students reading this section
of the book will no doubt realize that if twenty-fouryear-old Billie initially stumbled over the meaning
of the word “pastoral” in the verse “Pastoral scene of
the gallant south” the conditions in which she grew
up (namely the dives of Baltimore) might account for
that. The students will undoubtedly realize that, within
the historical context, Billie Holiday didn’t have to
be a genius to understand a song about lynching,
particularly in 1939.
Griffin argues that during Billie Holiday’s lifetime
there were no images or narratives to explain a black
woman who possessed all of Holiday’s qualities and
habits. Billie Holiday exploded beyond the limits of
all existing categories as a sensual bisexual resisting
the stereotypes: “She was not maid, mammy or
mother.” Griffin’s Holiday, far from being a victim
of overwhelming obstacles, becomes Lady Day: an
independent spirit proving that all hurdles can be
overcome whatever the odds.
This book may be of great interest for astute high
school students to assess how far the appropriation of
Billie’s persona has gone, from black Marxist Leninist,
Amiri Baraka to black feminist Angela Davis and black
cultural integrationists such as Albert Murray, Leon
Forrest, and Stanley Crouch. (Annie Joly)
would be sufficient to use to get across its main ideas.
If nothing else, the essay will help teachers reflect
upon the historical or biographical narratives they
present to their students. Washington points out that
the “historiography of jazz, with notable exceptions,
adopts a ‘great man’ theory of art primarily because
it frames the music as an extension of American
modernity and valorizes the heroic individual who
sublimates his alienation to create triumphant art that
gives testament to (usually) his genius.” Mainstream
jazz histories, Washington suggests, frame the
story of jazz as a series of solitary alienated heroes
who have pulled themselves up by their bootstraps
and overcome poverty or racism along the way
to expressing their genius. Washington doesn’t
necessarily say that such stories are untrue; instead, he
sees their prominence in jazz historiography as, often,
a denial of the consistent artistic and, especially,
political progressivism of jazz throughout its history.
“As long as jazz’s putative political content is
confined to a liberal democratic vision that valorizes
the triumph of the assertive, ingenious individual,”
Washington writes, “it can be touted as representative
of American ideals.” In fact, Washington notes, jazz
musicians have had a “glorious history” of questioning
those ideals and calling America to account for its
failure to live up to them.
The dominant jazz narratives, in Washington’s
view, “emphasize individual heroism rather than
the revolutionary potential or social engagement” of
those individuals’ music. For teachers, this assertion
is the most important point to be gleaned from the
essay. Washington’s essay is a plea not to divorce
jazz music from its social context or to present
jazz artists as isolated and apolitical. Washington
would thus probably argue that teachers discussing
Louis Armstrong should talk about his negotiation
of minstrel images in films and his conflict with
Eisenhower; teachers presenting Duke Ellington’s
music should talk about his subverting of the Cotton
Club’s racist floor shows or his work raising money
for progressive causes. Charles Mingus, the hero
of Washington’s essay, provides an especially apt
figure for pedagogical use, since his music combines
technical virtuosity (sometimes considered lacking
among the jazz avant-garde), formal innovation
(sometimes considered lacking among traditionalists),
and the political engagement (often overt, as in
“Original Fables of Faubus”) that Washington
contends has been a hallmark of jazz throughout its
history. (Frank Kovarik)
Washington, Salim. “‘All the Things You Could Be
by Now’: Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus
and the Limits of Avant-Garde Jazz.” In Uptown
Conversation: The New Jazz Studies, edited by
Robert G. O’Meally, Brent Hayes Edwards, and
Farah Jasmine Griffin, 27–49. New York: Columbia
University Press, 2004.
This essay, geared toward an academic audience,
critiques current jazz historiography. Upper level
high school students would probably need some
assistance in understanding it. Perhaps brief excerpts
7
Children’s Books (annotated):
in insets in the upper right hand of some pages.
Issues facing African Americans and the Great
Migration are cited in the artist’s note at the end
of the book. Issues such as higher paying jobs,
free schooling, and better living conditions were
illustrated. Reliance on God and religion was implied
in the first illustration of a mother reading from a
Bible as the children and father listen before bedtime.
Children of a family are shown laughing, playing,
and having fun with one another on a farm. There
is a picture that shows African American families
hoeing in a green field being carefully watched by an
overseer on horseback. Another picture has a white
man dressed in a hat, shirt, and tie watching intently
as cotton bales are weighed; children are emptying
sacks of cotton into a wagon. A family is then shown
dressed in their best shoes, coats, and hats securing
their belongings to a car. The lyrics in the inset mention
empty pockets. An abandoned home is shown.
Obviously having to sharecrop was a difficult life
for the African American farmers. Many landowners
ensured the poverty and failure of the sharecroppers
by reneging on agreements and payments.
Abandoning farms and moving north enabled ablebodied men and women to work in factories and at
other jobs. The men and women who secured jobs
were paid on a regular basis. That enabled them to
improve their family’s standard of living.
The child that’s got his own is a shoeshine boy.
The boy enjoys his friends and beckons for them to
come and have an ice cream treat on him. When the
boy has no money his friends are gone.
Rich relations with shiny new cars and fine
clothing can only give so much help to their black kin
who have migrated to Chicago.
A family was depicted singing, clapping, and
enjoying one another’s musical talents. A harmonica,
guitar, and piano were the instruments. The
implication of that illustration was that music was
a part of the family’s being. The music was being
created for their entertainment and grounding. Jazz?
Schooling was an issue. Children of farmers were
expected to work in the fields. For some families,
allowing their children to attend school regularly
was not an option, and paying for an education was
probably not an option. The North had public schools.
The final picture is of a young black boy sitting at a
classroom desk holding a book. A teacher is standing
in front of a blackboard with a history homework
assignment written on it.
The illustrations enabled this reader to move
beyond a personal connection with the song to
appreciate the meaning through the illustrator’s
interpretation. God bless the child who’s got his own
education and knows the history of struggle of his
Burleigh, Robert. Looking for Bird in the Big City.
New York: Silver Whistle (Harcourt), 2001.
A fictionalized account of the time when, as a teenage
music student, trumpeter Miles Davis spent many
hours trying to find Charlie Parker in New York City.
This picture book offers an introspective story, loosely
based on the meeting of Charlie Parker and Miles
Davis. Told from the perspective of the teenage Miles
Davis, the text is in short poetic form.
Marek Los’s illustrations include vocalizations of
several bebop-style scat phrases, as well as moody
impressions of New York City. The text alludes to the
musical stylings of Charlie
Parker, the saxophonist,
as admired by Miles Davis, the trumpeter. The book
addresses the issues of patient perseverance, diligent
preparation for challenges, and pursuing one’s dream.
It is written at a fourth or fifth grade level. This work
is thirty pages long, including a one-page afterword
describing the story in prose. (Gerry Liebmann)
Frankl, Ron. Charlie Parker, Musician. New York:
Chelsea House, 1992.
This piece introduces the life and times of noted
jazz musician Charlie Parker. The book is written for
tenth graders. Is has frequent mentions of drug abuse,
alcoholism, marital infidelity, and other unfortunate
behaviors by the title character, as well as many
references to stylistic musical elements.
The story of Charlie Parker is told in some detail,
mentioning many of the jazz artists who lived and
worked with him. Several photos with captions are
featured in the book.
The text is somewhat sophisticated in its
presentation of the psychological and sociological
ramifications of Charlie Parker’s behavior. It is also
somewhat advanced in discussions about specific
musical theory and harmony aspects of Parker’s style.
The tragic persistence of self-destructive choices
contrasts with the amazing talent that earns the
respect of Bird’s fellow musicians. This combination
makes an interesting if frustrating biographical
narrative. The book is 126 pages long, including an
appendix, discography, and index. (Gerry Liebmann)
Herzog, Arthur Jr. God Bless the Child. New York:
Harper Collins, 2004.
This picture book is an interpretation of the song “God
Bless the Child” by Billie Holiday and Arthur Herzog
Jr. The illustrator, Jerry Pinkney, chronicles the lives of
African American sharecroppers who abandoned their
farms in the South to move to the North to have a
better life. Pinkney accomplishes this with two-pagespread watercolor illustrations. Lyrics to the song are
8
people. This is a children’s book but could easily be
appreciated by anyone familiar with the song “God
Bless the Child.” (Robert Edwards)
Armstrong felt in playing his trumpet was strong,
constant and unmistakable. He shared that joy with
listeners. His spirit lives on, through jazz musicians
who came after him, and through the beautiful music
he created.” Included is a time line of Louis Armstrong
juxtaposed with a time line of the world and a small
basic bibliography. (Alice Lee)
McDonough, Yona Zeblis. Who Was Louis Armstrong?
New York: Grosser and Dunlap, 2004.
Who Was Louis Armstrong? is a beginning chapter
book for second through fifth graders with an average
reading level 3.5. This volume is one in a series of
a number of biographies. Louis Armstrong is the
only jazz artist covered at this time. The reading
level is particularly appealing, and the information,
although is it is a nonfiction account, is written in
an easy-to-read, fictionlike format. Quite frankly, I
had to ignore the simplistic, cartoonlike black-andwhite illustrations to obtain the useful information
this volume holds. Chiefly, the cover caricature is
not appealing but it is my speculation the students
for whom the volume is designed may find them
entertaining and a break from the text.
The authors created a chronological
biography of Louis Armstrong’s life, sprinkled with
little anecdotes young students are sure to find
fascinating. An example of the fun facts the volume
includes: a baseball team changed its name to
“Armstrong’s Secret Nine” and Louis Armstrong
became a sponsor of the team. McDonough has
chosen to highlight and box noteworthy definitions
and information such as Jim Crow laws, an explanation
of what jazz is and its origins, World War I, steamboats
and jazz, the Great Migration, popular jazz terms,
big bands vs. jazz bands, and Armstrong’s overseas
touring. In the boxed section entitled “Jazz: American
Music,” McDonough explains jazz as a mixture of
different musical traditions: African music, brass
bands, gospel, and Spanish all blended together.
Created by black musicians in the late 1800s it was
originally named jass but was changed to jazz, and a
new sound was created. Important qualities of jazz,
she notes, are improvisation, musical notes that are
bent or slurred, the rhythm or beat coming from any
instrument, and syncopation, rhythm that changes so
that jazz is unpredictable. Lastly, jazz mainly involves
instrumentation. The use of such definitions and
explanations thoughout the text makes this a great
and usable introductory book to Louis Armstrong.
Illustrations of jazz instruments include a piano,
tambourine, alto horn, cornet, and others.
Due to the audience this volume does not deal
with some of the controversies in Armstrong’s life but
it does an excellent job of portraying Armstrong as not
only the talented trumpeter and musician but also a
complex, warm, real human being.
The King of Jazz is well represented in this
volume. McDonough closes by saying, “The joy Louis
McKissack, Patricia, and Fredrick McKissack. Louis
Armstrong: Jazz Musician. Great African Americans
Series. Springfield, NJ: Enslow, 1991.
This book is written at about a third-grade level. It
addresses, in broad terms, the life story of Louis Armstrong.
In addition to simple, easy-to-read text, each page
contains either photographs from a variety of historical
archives or interesting illustrations by Ned Ostendorf.
The story gives simple but generally coherent
treatment of the known facts about Louis Armstrong
during the period from 1900 to 1971. The younger
reading audience is spared any inappropriate details
about Storyville, but the message that dangerous
trouble was always ready to happen there is
conveyed. Mention is made of Louis’s family, friends,
and his path to and through reform school. This
chronicle of Louis’s career mentions youthful exposure
to spirituals in church and jazz in the neighborhood;
it mentions Joe Oliver, Kid Ory, Lil Hardin. It mentions
his vocal prowess and credits him with inventing scat
singing. It mentions racial integration of bands in a
segregated society, Louis’ performances to presidents
and royalty, and some awards.
The book is thirty-two pages long, including a
two-page glossary and a one-page index. Photograph
credits are itemized on the title page. It is part of a
series about African Americans who have done great
things. (Gerry Liebmann)
Orgill, Roxane. If I Only Had a Horn: Young Louis
Armstrong. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1997.
This book is based on biographical events in Louis
Armstrong’s young life and relates how the famous
jazz trumpeter began his musical career, as a poor
boy in New Orleans, by singing songs on street
corners and playing a battered cornet in a marching
band. It presents the story to readers at about the
fourth grade level. Excellent color illustrations on
every page coordinate with the text. The book makes
mention of Louis’s mom, sister, Uncle Ike, friends,
street singing, Joe Oliver, Funky Butt Hall, Bunk
Johnson, Buddy Bolden, the Colored Waifs’ Home
for Boys, Mr. Davis the music teacher, and several
specific locations in New Orleans.
The story presents a perspective of the
circumstances of the young lead character in an
understandable, concise way. Issues addressed
9
include poverty, family, authority, patience,
perseverance, and opportunity. Story ends at Louis’s
first marching performance with the Waifs’ Home
Band. The book is thirty pages long, including one
page of author’s notes. (Gerry Liebmann)
single file across a page. One bird is drawn intently
observing Charlie playing his alto saxophone. The
book is a fun read. At the end of the book, the author
warns readers or listeners to never leave their cat alone.
This book would sound amazing read aloud to
preschool and primary children. The text is simple, but
real and nonsense words, such as lollipop, boomba,
reeti-footi, are used. Words like those mentioned are
sometimes strung together on the pages and could
be spoken or sung because they could sound like
musical notes. The author also strings words together
that range in tone from high nasal to low voiced or
vise versa. Up and down the scale the sounds could
go. Jazz is apparent throughout the book because of
the author’s word selections. The words sound like bebop.
Charlie Parker Played Bebop possibly addresses
the issue of an individual being faithful to his/her
talent. Charlie “Bird” Parker was an extraordinary
talent who perfected his craft and enamored
people all across the globe. Finally, however, the
cat consumed him. Chris Raschka saluted the great
Charlie Parker and his bebop style of music by writing
this children’s book. (Robert Edwards)
Pinkney, Andrea Davis. Duke Ellington: The Piano
Prince and His Orchestra. New York: Hyperion, 1998.
Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra
by Andrea Davis Pinkney was written for children.
The artwork by Brian Pinkney is bold, colorful, and
exciting. A drawing nearly jumps off the page and
begs you to look deeper into the soul of it. Every
page looks like music! The book begins with a quick
glance at the childhood life and musical inspiration
of Edward Kennedy Ellington, who was born April
29, 1899, in Washington, D.C. It was Edward who
gave himself the nickname “Duke.” By the time he
was nineteen, he was playing piano at parties, pool
halls, and cabarets in Washington, D.C. He formed his
own band called the Washingtonians. It was not long
thereafter that Duke Ellington went to Harlem. The
famous Cotton Club became a regular gig for Duke
Ellington and His Orchestra. Tunes by the orchestra
such as “Creole Love Call” and “Mood Indigo” were
played on the radio.
Back in the clubs, Duke Ellington gave the
members of his orchestra the opportunity to
improvise. The book names several of the all-star
members of the orchestra, such as drummer Sonny
Greer and Joe “Tricky Sam” Nanton. Pinkney the
author gives them written credit for their outstanding
talent, while Pinkney the artist makes Greer and
Nanton come alive with inaudible sound. Also
mentioned in the biography is Billy Strayhorn, a
songwriter who worked with Duke Ellington. Their
“Take the ‘A’ Train” was a chart topper in 1941. Duke
Ellington also cared about civil rights and composed
a suite called “Black, Brown, and Beige” to celebrate
the strengths of his people. It was played at Carnegie Hall.
Any youngster could enjoy this biography. It was
written with clear language that salutes the genius of
Duke Ellington. The artwork is jazzy! (Robert Edwards)
Raschka, Chris. Charlie Parker Played Bebop. New
York: Orchard Books, 1992.
Chris Raschka wrote Charlie Parker Played Bebop as
an honor to the magnificence of Charlie Parker and
his style of music. It is a children’s book. Although
there was no biographical information presented that
detailed when, where, or how Charlie Parker lived,
Raschka’s desire to salute Charlie Parker and his music
was apparent. Charlie, birds, and a cat are the main
characters in the book. There is no dialogue. Some
birds walk in overshoes across a page. Some birds
carry bus stop signs as they walk. Other birds walk in
Vegan, Giuseppe. Jazz and Its History. New York:
Barron’s Educational Series, 1999.
This volume is part of a delightful series of Masters of
Music books geared for fifth through eighth graders
focusing on jazz. The volume opens with a twopage spread entitled “Protagonists.” Brief facts on
jazz arrangers, band leaders, musicians, composers,
conductors, and vocalists—representing eighteen
musical geniuses—are chronicled. Greater details
are given later within the body of work. The volume
combines history, culture, and jazz to give the reader
an excitement and understanding of jazz as an
American music art form. Starting from the beginnings
of jazz, slavery, spirituals, and New Orleans, this
volume takes the reader chronologically through the
famous composers and performers, ending with jazz
in 2000. In addition to the greats—Louis Armstrong,
Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Thelonious
Monk, Charles Mingus, Miles Davis, Wynton
Marsalis—many other talented artists are included.
The presentation of this volume is visually
appealing. Each chapter is a colorful, welldocumented, pictorial two-page spread. A great
number of historical photographs of artists are
included along with beautiful original works that serve
to paint a picture of the era. This volume also presents
information on the cultural and political climate of
the times. Kansas City jazz clubs, also known as “jam
sessions,” are noted as an important part of the 1930s.
The center illustration shows musicians playing, then
smaller boxes explain the after-hours gatherings,
10
battles of the bands, politicians, gangsters and their
role, along with the renowned artists of the times:
pianist, composer arranger Count Basie, the tenor sax
of Lester Young, Roy Eldridge, and technical skills of
Art Tatum. Jazz instrumentation, jazz in theaters such
as Carnegie Hall, recordings, famous voices, bebop,
rhythm and blues, and festivals are topics included
along with the effects of jazz on the world at large.
The volume closes with important discussions of jazz
as an identity and the interplay between jazz and the
civil rights movement (for example, drummer Max
Roach’s “Freedom Now”). No dialogue regarding
jazz would be complete without examining electric
jazz and the directions it is moving American jazz
as a whole. Many will find the chronology and
discography helpful at the end of the publication,
along with a complete index.
Jazz and Its History is not an in-depth overview
of jazz but is a good introduction to this wonderful
American music form. This little volume is only sixtyone pages long but is well worth adding to your
collection for a good chronological summary of jazz
and its synergy between American culture and jazz.
(Alice Lee)
colors on the faces of the people. This picture book
shows children of different colors and in native dress
with a rainbow behind them. In another scene, Louis
Armstrong is pictured as a friend. A puppet family
includes a father, mother, and two children. On one
of the book’s final pages, the artist drew an owl and
three children (one girl and two boys). The caption
says, “They’ll learn much more than I’ll ever know.”
The owl represents wisdom. The girl has on a hard
hat. One boy wears a chef’s costume. The other boy
wears a mortarboard with tassel.
The tribute to Louis Armstrong is apparent. On
at least two different pages a child holds a sign that
says “satchmo the great!” and it is impossible to not
to sing along with Louis Armstrong’s version of the
song “What a Wonderful World” while reading and
looking at this book. It needs to be looked at over and
over again to discover the richness of each page. For
example, allowing young children to identify each
animal and learn the names for the male and female
of the species would be a great exercise that would
take several readings of the book. Taken further, the
babies of the animals could be identified as well.
Children will delight in naming all the people,
flowers, trees, and animals they see. The issues dealt
with in What a Wonderful World could be very good
talking points for music students as well as regular
classroom students regardless of their ages. (Robert Edwards)
Weiss, George D., and Bob Theile. What a Wonderful
World. New York: Atheneum, 1995.
What a Wonderful World by George David Weiss and
Bob Thiele is a picture book written for preschool
and primary children. Ashley Bryan, the illustrator,
interprets the song made famous by Louis Armstrong
with bright colors and vivid images. Bryan uses a
puppet show created and staged by children of many
nationalities as the venue for the song interpretation.
Louis Armstrong, drawn with his trademark smile,
trumpet, and handkerchief, is included as a puppet in
the show and as a real character in the book. There
is no dialogue, just the words to the song “What a
Wonderful World.”
What a wonderful book! It deals with the global
issues of peace and harmony, ecology, family life,
and education. Children of different ethnicities
work together to put on the puppet show. They have
parades of green trees and red roses. A variety of
flowers like tulips, daisies, and violets bloom during
a scene in the puppet show. On a page, the artist
pictures a world of farm animals. There are at least
two of each kind of animal pictured. There is another
page of animals a few pages away, but these are
animals of the jungle. Monkeys, elephants, zebras,
and others that would be found in a jungle are
included. Louis Armstrong, with his smile, trumpet,
and handkerchief accepts a flower from an ape. The
caption is, “What a wonderful world!” The song’s
lyrics mention the colors of the rainbow being the
Documentary Films (annotated)
Billie Holiday: The Ultimate Collection. Produced by
Toby Byron. Universal Music Enterprises, 2005.
This DVD offers a comprehensive interactive museum
in three sections: Film and TV performances, studio
performances and audio interviews. It also includes
an invaluable interactive timeline with hundreds of
images as well as Billie Holiday’s complete recording
history. It is a veritable treasure trove of Billie
Holiday’s material.
The DVD booklet states that the guiding purpose
behind The Ultimate Collection is to present Billie
Holiday as she was: “how she sounded, looked and
lived.” And indeed when watching these moving
images and listening to these interviews, one gets the
sense of being presented a genuine portrait of Lady
Day without the usual interpretations and filters or framings.
The film and TV performances provide us with
a rare insight in Billie’s development as an artist.
Together they make for a revealing portrait: we can
gauge her maturing as an artist as the years passed
by. To be noted among these shorts is “Saddest Tale”
from the Duke Ellington short “Symphony in Black: A
Rhapsody of Negro Life,” which was shot and released
in 1935. In this short Billie plays the woman done
11
wrong, a role she would experience repeatedly in real
life. “Please Don’t Talk about Me When I’m Gone,”
“Billie’s Blues,” and “My Man” are among the rarest
gems in this collection: all from a 1956 TV appearance
unseen since then. Watching these performances in a
row one can see the toll the years have taken on the
artist as well as the maturing of her voice.
The final two film performances pay homage to
Billie’s musical parents. “St. Louis Blues” dates from
1929 and features Bessie Smith along with members
of the Fletcher Anderson Orchestra. Louis Armstrong’s
short from 1933, “I Cover the Waterfront,” was shot in
Copenhagen with his big band of the time.
Special Features includes a rarely heard
radio interview with Billie on the occasion of the
publication of her autobiography and is hosted by
Mike Wallace. This informal chat shows us a relaxed,
diplomatic (when asked probing questions on
segregation), and very insightful Lady Day (explaining
the short lives of many jazz greats with the line: “We
try to live 100 days in one day”)—a far cry from the
illiterate person she was sometimes made to be. It
is particularly interesting to hear Billie’s “everyday”
voice as opposed to her “singing” voice.
The remaining material is culled from the
collected research of writer Linda Kuehl, who was
in the midst of completing a biography of Billie’s
life when she took her life in 1979. There are rare
interviews with musicians who worked with Billie
in her heyday (e.g., Roy Eldridge, Jo Jones, John
Hammond). But most powerful of all are the images
that illuminate the time line from her humble birth as
Eleanora Fagan in Philadelphia in 1915 to her starstudded funeral in New York City in 1959.
This DVD is an invaluable resource for
teachers and will provide students interested
in the biographical genre with an “unfiltered”
comprehensive view of Billie Holiday. (Annie Joly)
about Parker (whom he had stolen from McShann’s
band). “I thought you were gonna make a man out
of him,” McShann said to Hines. Scott DeVeaux
mentions the aggressive masculinity of the bebop jam
session culture, but in this film Dizzy Gillespie recalls
Bird in ways that suggest deep tenderness: “We had
a close, spiritual relationship,” Gillespie says. “He’d
walk up and kiss me in my mouth.… We loved one
another.”
Parker’s music is described as an “inspired,
thrilling assault on music conventions”—certainly
a metaphor that suggests aggression—and as the
foundation of modern music. Parker’s innovations, the
film notes, were overlooked during his short life by
a society that turned bebop into a cartoonish parody
and could comprehend Gillespie, with his goatee,
glasses, and beret, but not Parker. Nevertheless, the
titular “triumph of Charlie Parker” is that “he changed
the whole scene.” His other, sadder legacy, the film
asserts, was drug addiction among the musicians and
fans who admired him.
One of the potentially confusing things about
the documentary is that it does not identify the
people interviewed—and most are not immediately
recognizable. Teachers will need to watch the video
carefully and infer who the other interviewees are:
McShann, Rebecca Parker, Chan Parker, jazz critic
Leonard Feather, saxophonist Frank Morgan, and
others. Incidentally, the film also offers, via McShann,
an explanation of Parker’s nickname. While on the
road with the band, Parker supposedly went back to
pick up a chicken that had been run over and later
had this “yardbird” plucked and cooked for dinner.
(Frank Kovarik)
Louis Armstrong 100th Anniversary. Passport Video, 2002.
This DVD includes filmed performances by Louis
Armstrong with Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Eddie
Fischer, and others. The performances are presented
in no particular chronological order, flashing forward
and backward in seemingly random sequence, over
the pleasant narration of Paula Kelly.
A clip from the movie High Society is juxtaposed
with a clip from the Hollywood Bowl. One interesting
moment shows Louis and his band dressed in leopard
skins, performing “You, Rascal, You” in 1932. The
song, “The Birth of the Blues”—performed as a duet
with Eddie Fischer—is reprised later in the DVD as a
duet with Frank Sinatra. One indication of the era is
that Sinatra performs this number with a lit cigarette in
hand. In one selection, Louis sings his opinions of the
“new” bebop music (“The Bebop Song”).
Brief mention is made of Louis’s personal history
in New Orleans, showing photos of the city. Some
audio includes Louis speaking about his background.
Celebrating Bird: The Triumph of Charlie Parker.
Directed by Gary Giddins and Kendrick Simmons.
Sony, 1999.
This hour-long documentary, directed by jazz
scholar Gary Giddins and based on his book of the
same name, presents a complicated view of Charlie
Parker. From one perspective, he is a genius, “one of
the most influential figures in 20th century music.”
From another, he is a self-destructive addict. His
relationships with women are presented in all their
unresolved contradictions. Indeed, the film offers rich
possibilities for discussions about gender and jazz.
Rebecca Parker and Chan Parker, both of whom had
children with Bird, present differing accounts of the
man and narrate interestingly ambiguous memories
of him. Jay McShann recalls Earl Hines complaining
12
The World According to John Coltrane. Directed by
Robert Palmer and Tony Byron. BMG Video, 2002.
This documentary tells the story of Coltrane’s life
primarily through his art. Early parts of the film briefly
discuss the saxophonist’s childhood—his father, a
preacher, died young; Coltrane was very devoted
to his mother; he served in the navy at the end of
World War II. Beyond these introductory matters,
though, the documentary narrates Coltrane’s life only
as it relates to the development of his music. No
mention is made of Coltrane’s heroin addiction. This
somewhat sanitized biography is marketed as the “first
documentary to be made with the full cooperation of
Alice Coltrane,” though the film gives no information
about John’s relationship with her—omitting, for example,
the fact that Coltrane divorced his wife Naima in
order to marry Alice. The documentary features
interviews with musicians who played with Coltrane,
including Wayne Shorter, Tommy Flanagan, Rashied
Ali, La Monte Young, and Alice Coltrane herself. It also
includes extensive film clips of Coltrane playing.
Coltrane began his career playing in rhythm and
blues bands but quickly became enamored of bebop,
studying the technique of Charlie Parker and working
with Dizzy Gillespie while continuing to play in R
and B bands. One interviewee notes that Coltrane
in his early years sounded similar to Parker but
didn’t play as many of “Parker’s clichés” as did other
emulators of the bebop pioneer. Coltrane developed
an interest in modal improvisation while playing with
Miles Davis. The documentary describes Coltrane’s
version of “My Favorite Things” as a “hypnotic Eastern
dervish dance.” Gradually Coltrane decided to move
toward freer improvisation, with little or no ties to the
harmony, playing solos that could stretch out for half
an hour or more. Coltrane took simple themes and
worked complicated variations on them, combining
modalism, Eastern traditions, and the legacy of the
blues. Increasingly, Coltrane saw music in terms of
spiritual development, a way of probing the soul and
spirit, with his audience as active participants. Alice
Coltrane says in the film that “if it’s possible through
sound to realize truth, to me that is the essence of his
search.” As Coltrane became more avant-garde, many
of his fans declined to follow him on his explorations,
but according to Alice there was no going back.
Throughout the film, Coltrane is depicted as a
disciplined innovator. He attacked his problems as
a horn player, working on his limitations until he
overcame them. Like a prizefighter warming up before
a match, Coltrane would break into a sweat in the
dressing room while practicing before a performance.
He was always pressuring the music, trying to squeeze
as much out of it as he could. He gave younger
players like Eric Dolphy a chance to play with him.
He mentions Joe Oliver, Kid Ory in New Orleans;
and in Chicago, Faith Marbil, Erskine Tate, and Fletch
Henderson. Also shown are Louis and ensemble
performing at a USO tour. Brief segments from an
interview with Red Holloway about Louis Armstrong
are included. Also shown are Dinah Shore, Thelma
Middleton, and a shot of Grace Kelly.
This sixty-minute DVD is presented as a tribute to
Louis Armstrong. It is comprised largely of television
clips from the 1950s and 1960s. Although mention
is made of Louis’s controversial stance regarding the
Little Rock, Arkansas, school issue, no more than one
or two minutes of the DVD is given to his involvement
in the civil rights movement. Interesting segments
of filmed performances showcase Louis Armstrong’s
amazing trumpet playing and singing.
Masters of American Music: Lady Day: The Many
Faces of Billie Holiday. Directed by Toby Byron and
Richards Saylor. Kultur, 1991.
This excellent documentary features rare TV and movie
clips of Billie Holiday, along with commentaries by
a stellar group of jazz instrumentalists and singers
who knew Billie well and worked with her. Among
these are the vocalists Carmen Mc Rae and Annie
Ross, who were deeply inspired by her. Musicians
such as Buck Clayton and Harry “Sweet” Edison also
provide their insight, thus helping to do away with
familiar stereotypes such as that of the genius vocalist
effortlessly producing great music.
The African American actress Ruby Dee reads
selected excerpts from Billie Holiday’s autobiography
Lady Sings the Blues in a very effective and moving
way, especially compared with Gilbert Millstein’s
similar renditions in the 1956 Carnegie Hall concert.
Following the reading of these excerpts, the record
is set straight concerning some of the major factual
inaccuracies in the autobiography, especially
concerning Billie Holiday’s childhood.
The documentary includes gorgeous archival
pictures of street scenes (especially dance scenes) that
will help the students contextualize the period.
The script was written by Robert O’Meally, Billie
Holiday’s outstanding biographer, who had already
offered in book form the most complete portrait of
Billie Holiday to date. This “autobiographical essay,”
also called Lady Day: The Many Faces of Billie Holiday,
was published in 1970 and drew from a wealth of research,
including never-before-published letters, pictures,
and interviews. The one-hour-long documentary film
by the same title is an extremely valuable document
that will allow the students to form a better image of
this great woman who was able to invent for herself a
shining identity as an artist. (Annie Joly)
13
His music had a meditative quality, his admirers
assert in the film, one that prompted trancelike states
in its creators and listeners, trances similar to those
experienced by ecstatic religious worshippers. Above
all, the film stresses Coltrane’s musical explorations,
his desire to fuse jazz with sacred music from all
around the world, particularly India and Africa.
Perhaps most useful to teachers in this hour-long
video are the extended clips—without narration—of
Coltrane playing. The film features Coltrane soloing on
“So What” with Miles Davis, on two different versions
of “My Favorite Things,” and on “Alabama.” The two
different versions of “My Favorite Things” would
provide a good classroom example of the increasing
freedom in Coltrane’s improvisation. The clip of
“Alabama”—written in response to an infamous
church bombing in Birmingham in 1963—could lead
to a discussion about the connections between jazz
and the civil rights movement. (Frank Kovarik)
inappropriate for general student viewing. (Robert Edwards)
Bird. Directed by Clint Eastwood. Warner Bros., 1988.
This movie offers a look at one of the innovators of
modern jazz, Charlie Parker. It covers most of the
well-known facts of this artist’s life. Forrest Whittaker
convincingly portrays Bird through the course of
the film. During one scene of Parker’s humiliating
experience of an ill-fated cutting session as a teenager,
Parker is portrayed by someone who looks remarkably
similar to Whittaker.
Clint Eastwood, a noted Hollywood veteran and
avid jazz aficionado, does an excellent job of utilizing
Bird’s own recorded sax playing throughout the sound
track. Parker’s unmistakable style was beautifully
communicated through a technical process whereby
Parker’s sax performance could be extracted from
the original recordings and re-recorded with fresh
accompanists in a studio. The result was a convincing
presentation of a “live” club performance (exemplified
in a segment where Parker enters a performance with
Dizzy Gillespie, late, from the back of the room; he
crosses to the stage and joins the group in mid-song).
Eastwood also does a good job of indicating the
various reactions of the listening public and fellow
musicians to this new approach to jazz.
The film is intended for adult audiences, due in
large part to the actual life Bird lived. His loyal wife,
Chan, his friend, Dizzy Gillespie, and numerous
other associates all had to deal with the reality of
Bird’s addiction to drugs and his related behaviors.
This could make a viewing of the entire piece difficult
with smaller children. Although, selected performance
scenes could benefit elementary-age students.
The primary issue addressed could be the tragedy
of a genius being hampered, and eventually killed,
by making poor life choices. Other issues addressed
include racial equality, the role of the record production
companies, the evolution of popular tastes in music,
loyalty among people, and competition. The film contains
numerous performances of Bird’s music. (Gerry Liebmann)
Films (annotated)
Armstrong, Louis. “I’ll Be Glad When You’re Dead,
You Rascal, You.” In “Pre-Code,” vol. 2 in Betty Boop:
The Definitive Collection. Republic Pictures, 1998.
“I’ll Be Glad When You’re Dead, You Rascal, You” is
a Betty Boop cartoon in the Jazzy Guest Stars series
featuring Louis Armstrong. The cartoon begins with
a live shot of Louis Armstrong and his orchestra
performing the title song. When the animation
begins, Betty Boop and a couple companions are on
an expedition in a jungle and get separated. African
natives discover her, take her to their village, and
make her an object of their devotion. The king of the
natives is a pictured as a bone-in-the-head, grass-skirt
wearing, big-lipped, and black-faced Louis Armstrong.
Betty’s friends finally stumble upon the village and
attempt to rescue her. They are chased by the king and
his posse. The king sings the theme song during the
chase. Betty is finally captured and tied to a tree. Her
friends are put into a pot of boiling water. The pot is
defective and explodes, killing the king and his men.
Betty Boop and her friends escape.
Was it an honor or a horror? All men admired and
desired Betty Boop, even black jungle creatures. Betty
Boop was a popular character, and the cartoonists
capitalized on her popularity by featuring musicians
of the jazz era. This volume of cartoons featured
four jazz singers, two black and two white. All four
were internationally known and recorded stars during
this era. Neither Mr. Vallee or Miss Merman was
not stereotyped. They played themselves. The horror
is racism. Did jazz great Louis Armstrong need
to be portrayed as a jungle monkey? This cartoon
would be considered politically incorrect today and
Calloway, Cab. “Minnie the Moocher.” In “Pre-Code,”
vol. 2 in Betty Boop: The Definitive Collection.
Republic Pictures, 1998.
Betty Boop is a curvaceous white female character
created by Mike and David Fleischer. In this cartoon
collection, she wears very short dresses, heavy eye
makeup, and lipstick. She is nearly always chased or
attacked by a male character/villain who has fallen
in love with her at first sight. The men appear to have
sexual desires for Betty Boop. This annotation deals
with a cartoon in the series called Jazzy Guest Stars.
Jazz great Cab Calloway stars in a cartoon titled
“Minnie the Moocher.” The cartoon begins with
14
a live shot of the band dressed in tuxedos, with
Cab Calloway conducting, strutting, shuffling, and
singing to the lyrics of “Minnie the Moocher.” When
the animation scenes begin, Betty Boop is a lonely
character that runs away from home to a desolated
forest area, where she encounters a ghost with a tail.
The animated ghost is a stereotyped caricature of Cab
Calloway singing “Minnie the Moocher” and chasing
a terrified Betty Boop.
The cartoonists show, through violent animation
and a spook, explicit examples of racism, sexism, and
effeminate men. Today, these cartoons would be
considered politically incorrect and inappropriate for
children. Using only the sound track and well-planned
lessons would allow a teacher to utilize the cartoon
“Minnie the Moocher.” Students could be given the
opportunity create their own mental visions that connect with
the sound. They could also be given the opportunity
understand the magnificence Cab Calloway and his
impact on jazz, an impact so great that he costarred
with American darling Betty Boop. Society could not
deny his place in history. (Robert Edwards)
abusing a female (nineteen-year-old Billie Holiday)
who later sings a bluesy song about her abusive and
lost lover. The last two movements are composed of
three compositions: “A Hymn of Sorrow,” “Hot Spots,”
and “Harlem Rhythms.”
The last three telescriptions—“Sophisticated
Lady,” “Caravan,” and “The Hawk Talks”—were all
filmed in 1952. Duke’s orchestra featured his now
world-renowned all-star ensemble of the following
personnel: Willie Cook and Cat Anderson (trumpet);
Ray Nonce (violin); Juan Tizol, Britt Woodman, and
Quentin Jackson (trombone); Russell Procope, Willie
Smith, Jimmy Hamilton, and Paul Gonsalves (sax);
Duke Ellington (piano); Wendell Marshall (bass);
Louie Bellson (drums).
This collection of rare historical films could
be educational to all levels of musicians, from
kindergarten through college. Although there
were scenes and dialogue that I found offensive,
the collection is a must-have for a jazz musician.
It features the Duke performing, fronting, and
conducting an all-star orchestra featuring outstanding
soloists such as Harry Carney and Willie Smith on
“Sophisticated Lady”; “Caravan,” featuring Juan Tizol,
Jimmy Hamilton and Ray Nance on violin; “The Hawk
Talks” with a dynamic drum solo by Louie Bellson and
Ray Nance again on violin. Jazz educators should be
aware of and able to recognize by name the personnel
of the Ellington Orchestra because the musicians were
standard setting. (Robert Edwards)
Duke Ellington and His Orchestra (1929–1952). Jazz
Classics series. Videofidelity, 1986.
This collection of five black-and-white videos
presents Duke Ellington and His Orchestra at their
best and most elegant. The first two videos focus on
the composer, conductor, and pianist that Ellington
was. The third, fourth, and fifth highlight Ellington
conducting his orchestra. Each video features the
Ellington Orchestra dressed in formal attire performing
in a jazz orchestra concert arrangement. The video
shorts were filmed over a span of twenty-three years:
“Black and Tan” (1929), “Symphony in Black” (1935),
“Sophisticated Lady” (1952), “Caravan” (1952), and
“The Hawk Talks” (1952).
“Black and Tan” was a production of Dudley
Murphy, a black film director, playwright, and visual
storyteller. It begins with Duke Ellington at the
piano rehearsing for a show with a trumpet player.
Two black men come to repossess the piano. They
could represent the low life to Duke’s high life. The
video continues to present black men and women in
negative and stereotypical situations. For example,
the movers were buffoon-talking, dark-skinned males,
and black males were called boys. The chorus line
dancers were fair-skinned black females. The overall
production was historical in that it featured star female
dancer Fredi Washington dancing with the orchestra.
“Symphony in Black” is subtitled “A Rhapsody
of Negro Life.” It is a four-part jazz symphony:
“Laborers” featured black men shoveling coal;
“Triangles (Love)” presented dance scenes including a
well-dressed black male (player/pimp) type physically
Hollywood Rhythm: The Best of Jazz and Blues (Vol. 1).
King Video, 2001.
If jazz is going to be a unit or lesson in your teaching,
this DVD, The Best of Jazz and Blues is a must-have.
It is rare to have complete musical shorts—originally
designed to go with films but have turned out to be
more valuable than the movies themselves—available
in one place. Paramount billed these as musical
shorts. Eleven wonderful classic shorts include
internationally known jazz artists from Bessie Smith
in her famous “St. Louis Blues” (1929) to Fat Waller
in popular “Ain’t Mis Behavin” (1941). Numerous
performances highlight the vibrant richness of jazz,
the unmistakable voice and style of each artist,
dynamic dance sequences, and exquisite costumes.
We are treated to a cornucopia of sound from big
band timbres to exquisite piano, trumpet, trombone,
and violin solos.
Most shorts are told in a story format. “Rhapsody
in Blue” portrays a stereotyped tale of a lazy black
man avoiding work, preferring instead to listen to
jazz. The famous trumpeter Louis Armstrong sings
and plays “I’ll Be Glad When You’re Dead, You
Rascal, You.” Cab Calloway, scats, sings, and dances
15
throughout the 1933 version of “Hi-De-Ho.” The
story of a wife cheating on her husband, the cheater
is Calloway and the band. This funny short includes
the traditional call-and-response and closes with the
legendary Cotton Club dancers. Another early short is
“Ol King Cotton” (1930). The commanding baritone
of George Dewey Washington dramatizes story of a
young man’s migration north from the cotton fields
and his return to the good old South.
Other shorts include performances by Vincent Lopez,
Jack Teagarden, Billie Holiday, and Ivie Anderson.
Utilizing the latest in film technology of the
1900s, several special effects and camera angles
are seen within the shorts. Multiple images in Duke
Ellington’s “Black and Tan Fantasy,” a dream sequence
in “Rhapsody in Blue,” blurring techniques, and fades
are just a few of the special effects utilized. There are
some stereotypes in the shorts that present a perfect
opportunity to talk about the era and views toward
jazz, African Americans, and women. Issues of racism,
for example, in the presentation of white jazz bands
as professionals are clearly noted in the shorts. The
singer dying from the “wild” jazz music in Duke
Ellington’s “Black and Tan Fantasy” is representative
of the thinking of the times. Jazz was seen as a wild,
freeing savage music associated with blacks.
Numerous performances showcase artists’
tremendous musical and dramatic talent. The Best of
Jazz will be a valuable asset to any collection and is
appropriate for all ages with some explanation. (Alice Lee)
a purveyor of drugs (as in the autobiography) but
a mere watchdog, hence Billie is made to bear full
responsibility for her indulgences and falls into the
classic mold of the “fallen artist.”
One wonders when watching this film if the
filmmakers deemed the real story not interesting
enough to hold the audience’s attention.
Dedicated fans of Billie Holiday’s musical style
cannot but be sorely disappointed by Diana Ross’s
shallow performance and singing renditions. To make
absolutely sure that the students will not stay with the
image of a gorgeous Billie Holiday as the svelte but
unimpressive Diana Ross, one will have to include in
the course syllabus a documentary containing archival
footage of the real Lady Day.
Billie Holiday is said to have sneered at her own
autobiography (ghostwritten by Dufty on the basis
of interviews), claiming not to have read it. Billie
Holiday’s numerous biographers have painstakingly
corrected the many factual inaccuracies in the
autobiography; now the task remains for the teacher
to make the students aware of the necessity to be
particularly critical when watching a far-fetched
adaptation of a somewhat fictitious (auto)biography.
Lady Day’s voice is altogether deafened in this pitiful
film adaptation. (Annie Joly)
Music Recordings (annotated)
Davis, Miles. Super Hits. Sony, 2001.
This CD is a collection of eight recordings of Miles
Davis, performing with various amazing jazz artists,
over a span of twenty-nine years. These selections
represent some of the most popular arrangements
he ever recorded. Miles Davis’s impact on music is
quantum. His technical prowess, improvisational
artistry, and overall creativity set new standards
among musicians worldwide. This CD is both a
collector’s item and a great primer for the jazz novice.
Miles’s haunting, introspective style of playing
hangs in the air after the CD is over. His blazing fast
runs and intricate modal melodic lines can befuddle
even the most intense listener. The interplay he creates
with his groups highlights the level of technical
mastery this amazing group of musicians has attained.
This CD has only brief, anonymous liner notes.
Reference is made to each selection’s original album
name and date, leaving the names of each player on
each cut up to further research. (Gerry Liebmann)
Lady Sings the Blues. Directed by Sidney J. Furie.
Paramount, 1972.
This biopic is a very loose adaptation of Billie
Holiday’s ghostwritten autobiography by the same
title, which was published in 1956. Starring Diana
Ross as the famous jazz singer, the movie Lady
Sings the Blues came out two years after the famous
breakup of the Supremes and serves to showcase
Ross’s talents as an individual artist. The film obviously
aims at winning the sympathies of both a white
and an African American audience and was quite
successful in doing so since it broke attendance records.
The students watching the film must be made
aware of the historical context of the film’s release
and of the fact that to be accepted, then, it needed
to stress the dangers of drug addiction, the evils of
racism, and the sexist treatment of Billie Holiday.
The film is full of distortions, inaccuracies, and
fabrications. Most of Billie Holiday’s professional
associations with music legends like Count Basie,
Duke Ellington, and Lester Young are left out, unless
Richard Pryor’s part as the ill-fated and lovesick piano
player can be read as Lester Young. Although Billie
Holiday was married three times, only her marriage
to McKay is presented in the film, and he is no longer
Ellington, Duke, Charles Mingus, and Max Roach.
Money Jungle. Reissue, Capitol Records, 2002.
This amazing album, originally released in 1962,
presents Duke Ellington in a post-bop setting that will
surprise students who think of Ellington as an old16
fashioned big band leader. The album begins with the
title track, a jagged, attacking piece of modern piano
supported by frenetic bass and drums from Mingus
and Roach. Even students raised on punk rock will
probably find this tune stirring. After the aggressive
opening, the album shifts into a more contemplative
mode with the ominous and evocative “Fleurette
Africaine.” Both of these pieces would be interesting
to have students listen to and write whatever comes
into their heads. Each seems a perfect example of how
instrumental music can tell a story.
The album is also interesting to look at from a
biographical perspective. Ellington in his early career
was known for playing “jungle” music at the Cotton
Club, where he had to accompany floor shows that
were not far removed from minstrelsy. In that context,
Ellington had to subtly subvert the racism of his time.
What is Duke implying thirty years later by entitling
this ferocious piece “Money Jungle”? Did Duke’s
teaming up with Mingus and Roach, musicians who
infused their music with explicit political content,
lead him to create a different kind of composition?
Conversely, how did Ellington influence Mingus and
Roach—not only as musicians but also as African
Americans? What does Ellington suggest with a
somber, unsettling piece entitled “Fleurette Africaine,”
or “little African flower”? Why give the title in French?
Is this piece a precursor to other jazz works—by
Roach, John Coltrane, and others—that sought to
connect black Americans’ experience to Africa or to
express solidarity with postcolonial Africans? How
so? Why was “Take the ‘A’ Train” chosen as theme
music for Ken Burns’s Jazz, while none of the tracks
from this album were included in the film? What do
students make of the contrast between an earlier,
bubblier Ellington work like “Never No Lament” and
“Money Jungle”? On the other hand, can a similar
ominousness also be seen in an earlier Ellington piece
like “Ko-Ko”?
Though the first two pieces on the album seem most
rich for classroom use, Money Jungle also features
lovely arrangements of Ellington classics like “Warm
Valley,” “Caravan,” and “Solitude,” along with other
new tunes. The original liner notes, by George Wein,
might be interesting to study as well. Wein praises
each member of the trio in the highest aesthetic terms:
Ellington is the “greatest musical genius jazz has
produced”; Mingus is “unsurpassed as a virtuoso of
the bass viol”; and Roach “has led the way for all
modern drummers.” But Wein declines to consider
any extramusical implications for the album. “Money
Jungle,” Wein acknowledges, “sounds like a title that
might have been thought of by protest-conscious Mingus
or Roach”—a rather condescending description of
these two politically engaged musicians. “But no,” he
dismissively concludes, “as all the tunes here, it is a
product of the Ellington imagination.” Perhaps Wein’s
own imagination does not allow him to see Ellington
as both musical genius and commentator on the state
of the world around him. (Frank Kovarik)
Holiday, Billie. “Fine and Mellow” (1957).
The Greatest Jazz Films Ever. Idem Home Video, 2003.
“Fine and Mellow” is Billie Holiday’s most celebrated
on-camera performance. It was arranged by producer
Robert Herridge for CBS’s late-night viewing
audience as part of a program called “The Sound of
Jazz,” which aired in December 1957 and featured
extraordinary artists such as Coleman Hawkins, Art
Tatum, Count Basie, Thelonious Monk, and Jimmy Rushing.
Billie Holiday walks out first, the only woman on
a stage with dark-suited men. Unlike the usual diva
outfit of other performances, she wears plaid slacks
and a pale sweater set—very chic in a casual, relaxed
way—her hair is done in a ponytail, and she has hoop
earrings dangling from her earlobes. She sits on a high
stool, joining the circle of horns: Lester Young, Ben
Webster, and Coleman Hawkins on tenor sax; Gerry
Mulligan on baritone, Vic Dickinson on trombone,
Roy Eldrige and Rex Stewart on trumpet. Further out
of this inner circle are Jim Hall on guitar, Milt Hilton
on bass, and Jo Jones on drums. The scene is dark and
is constructed to look like an after-hours jam session.
Throughout the performance the camera returns
repeatedly to Billie, and we watch her watching the
men players, especially Lester Young—her long-time
friend, ally, partner, and accomplice, the man who
graced her with the name “Lady” and whom she
nicknamed “Prez.” They had not seen each other in
years, and this appearance on “The Sound of Jazz”
was the last time they would play together.
The horns open with the introduction as the
camera closes in on her riveting face. She begins her
chorus. “My man don’t love me / Treats me awful
mean” and the miracle occurs: the horns sound like
the human voice, and her voice resembles a horn.
Then follows the marvelous exchange between her
and Lester Young, playing high and mellow, sounding
just like her. Her face follows him, anticipating his
every move, nodding approvingly, wearing that
incredible, knowing smile. We are witnessing a
musical conversation filled with intensity and passion,
where everybody takes turn.
This extremely moving performance is a tribute
to jazz as an art form that extols communication and
sharing. It exemplifies the rules of intercommunication
with music as a medium. For students this piece will
serve as a marvelous illustration of Billie Holiday’s
statement in her autobiography that she often felt
like a musical instrument herself. This performance
17
shows Billie Holiday as the consummate artist, totally
in charge, living and breathing her art. It will help
correct the myth of the victimized black woman.
(Annie Joly)
inside the CD booklet would presumably be available
only to those who have already purchased the record,
but at times its language sounds like advertising copy,
as in lines like “his contemporary audience will love
it” and “his versions take on a definitive aura.”
Perhaps the most useful way to interpret the essay
is to see it as a listener’s guide, setting a context in
which to understand the music contained on the
recording. Part of the essay’s aim seems to be to
locate Osby within the contemporary jazz scene.
Panken suggests that Osby strikes a balance between
reverential traditionalism and experiment. He quotes
Osby saying, “I wanted to prove that you can play
effectively on these tunes without being patronizing
or sounding like a repertory ensemble.” Osby thus
places himself within a jazz tradition while also
staking out new territory to explore. In addition,
Panken asserts that “in true Midwestern fashion, Osby
finds the golden mean between grit and cerebration
on St. Louis Shoes.” The album thus appeals to both
emotion and intellect, perhaps bridging a perceived
divide in the current jazz scene. The bifurcation of
the contemporary jazz audience is also alluded to
in the essay’s final lines, in which Panken predicts
that the “art-oriented devotees who comprise his
contemporary audience will love it. Given the
opportunity, so would the down-home East St. Louis
audiences of Osby’s youth.” Interestingly, the final line
seems to suggests that the “down home” audiences
will not get the opportunity to listen to Osby’s album.
The assumption seems to be that jazz has lost those listeners.
The biographical material in Panken’s note
depicts Osby as a jazz musician trained in the timehonored way, receiving a “hands-on education”
while playing in various “swank houses and joints
of ill repute” in East St. Louis. Like Jelly Roll Morton
or Louis Armstrong learning to play in the Storyville
of cherished jazz mythology, Osby claims to have
learned his craft surrounded by “bootleg liquor and
illegal gambling and rampant prostitution.” It was
in these scandalous environs that Osby presumably
gleaned the “narrative techniques of Mississippi River
blues culture.” Next to Panken’s essay is an image of
an antiquated postcard of the Eads Bridge under a
cloudy moonlit sky, with a riverboat just about to pass
beneath its arches—a romantic image that seems to
evoke something deeply felt about jazz. Osby says
that, on this album, “I wanted to characterize the
depth of the music and of my ties to St. Louis itself,
my ties to the feeling of the Midwest, and what I
know and retain as a result of growing up there.” The
album artwork features a drawing of the Gateway
Arch with fireworks around it. Interestingly, next to
the Arch is a collage of other famous buildings—the
Arc de Triomphe, Washington Monument, Empire
Holiday, Billie. Live at Carnegie Hall. Verve, 1995.
Billie Holiday gave two concerts at Carnegie Hall.
The first took place in 1948, ten days after her release
from prison for possession of narcotics, and it was the
only time in her life when she fainted. The second
took place eight years later on November 10, 1956.
Her autobiography (ghostwritten by William F. Dufty)
had just been published, and this concert was a very
important event in her professional life. It was a form
of consecration and gave her the respectability that she
was no doubt craving at this point in her troubled life.
One of the interesting aspects of this concert
that warrants the use of this particular recording in
the classroom is the fact that brief excerpts from
her autobiography were read aloud between songs.
The excerpts that were chosen were not in any way
profane or offensive as parts of her autobiography
Lady Sings the Blues can be.
They were read by Gilbert Millstein, a writer
for the New York Times, in a dull monotone voice,
and one may righteously wonder why an African
American woman was not chosen to do this (or Billie
herself, for that matter). This would have definitely lent
greater authenticity to the endeavor and brought in a
better sense of history. This somewhat “voyeuristic”
treatment of art and life reinforces the concept that
art and life are often interchangeable for artists in
general and jazz men and women in particular. This
unusual facet of the concert may be used to promote
interesting exchanges between students interested in
the study of the biographical genre.
From a musical point of view it is interesting to
point out that the concert (and hence the recording)
took place at a time when Billie Holiday’s voice was
already diminished, but she manipulated it so well
in this performance that she turned it into something
brilliantly moving—a virtuoso performance in its own
right. This recording should therefore be introduced
along with earlier recordings for the sake of contrast.
(Annie Joly)
Osby, Greg. St. Louis Shoes. Blue Note, 2003.
The title and cover art motif (lots of shoes) of Greg
Osby’s fifteenth album for Blue Note suggest that it
is an attempt by a St. Louisan to step into the grand
jazz tradition—the big shoes of Duke Ellington, Dizzy
Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, among
others whose work Osby rearranges here. The liner
notes to the album offer an intriguing intersection of
biography and marketing. Ted Panken’s short essay
18
Peterson, Oscar. Oscar Peterson: Exclusively for My
Friends. PolyGram, 1992.
Originally recorded live from Villingen, Germany,
the home of record producer Hand Georg BrunnerSchwer, these re-released recordings capture the
unmistakable style and virtuosic talents of pianist
Oscar Peterson. The title, Exclusively for My Friends,
is an apt description of the moments the listener finds
himself. Whether familiar with or new to Oscar’s
family, one will fall in love with the blazing fast runs,
the lyrical melodies, and the intricate fingerings that
is the music of Oscar Peterson. Critically acclaimed
Oscar Peterson’s tremendous talent—along with
Sam Johns, Ray Brown, Bobby Durham, Ed Thigpen
and Louis Hayes—creates an unforgettable musical
experience. Recorded over several years from 1963
through 1968 the listener is treated to collection of
intimate trio performances, highlighted with seldomheard piano solos from the master. This collection
showcases a variety of Oscar’s musical talents.
Contained in these CDs are many well-loved songs
with both new and familiar arrangements. Born in
Montreal, Canada, Oscar in his 80s has not only seen
history but lived the history of the United States and
overseas through his music. Examination of a living
legend is valuable not only for their knowledge and
perspectives but also for the inspiration they bring.
Students of all ages will be entranced by the music
of Oscar Peterson. What a wonderful opening to
teaching jazz.
The volumes include such well known songs as
“I’ve Got a Crush on You,” “I’m in the Mood for Love,”
“Summertime,” “When Lights Are Low,” “Body and
Soul,” “Take the ‘A’ Train,” “Bye Bye Blackbird,” medleys,
and many other selections to numerous to name.
There are a total of thirty-six fantastic musical
pieces in this set. For a complete listing you must
simply add the musical genius of Oscar Peterson’s
extraordinary live performances to your collection.
This compilation is excellent for giving the listener a
range of Oscar’s piano genius to explore. No Peterson
biography is complete without a detailed examination
of brilliance of his work. These materials are suitable
for all ages. (Alice Lee)
State Building, etc. Behind Osby’s head in one of the
interior photos, a jet flies by with the Blue Note label
on its rudder. The suggestion may be that Osby began
in St. Louis and learned what he could there, but his
music is not provincial or limited to the Midwest.
Indeed, he’s still on the move.
It might be interesting for teachers to discuss with
students why Osby’s biography is represented in this
way. Why emphasize the connection with crime and
sex? What sort of background is expected of jazz
musicians if they are to be considered authentic?
Why, for instance, do the liner notes not mention that
Osby studied jazz at Howard University and attended
the Berklee School of Music? Is an artist’s music
affected by the place where he or she grew up—in
mythology? in reality? Can music be expressive of a
particular place? How does Osby’s record company
(and perhaps Osby himself) seek to frame his story as
an artist in a way that will make his work legible to
the jazz audience? What are the tacit understandings
that underlie Panken’s liner notes—about jazz history
and contemporary debates within jazz? What is the
relationship of album art to the musical art contained
on the album itself, or to the life and personality of the
artist? (Frank Kovarik)
Peterson, Oscar. Night Train: The Oscar Peterson
Trio. PolyGram, 1997.
This reissue of a 1962 recorded performance in Los
Angeles produced by Norman Granz is an excellent
representation of the Oscar Peterson Trio’s range and
talent. The composers of these selections constitute an
all-star cast: Duke Ellington, Mercer Ellington, Hoagy
Carmichael, Milt Jackson, Sy Oliver, Lester Young,
Charlie Parker, Cole Porter, and Peterson himself.
One of the cuts (number 15, “Moten’s Swing”) is a
rehearsal take.
Aesthetically well-balanced interplay among the
three familiar musicians throughout the collection
provides an easy-to-listen-to foundation for incredibly
difficult technical feats executed by each. Due tribute
is paid to the original renditions, which serve as a
launching pad for exceptional improvisations. Largely
faithful to a blues flavoring in his melody lines,
Peterson does not linger for prolonged stretches in the
avant-garde regions of upper harmonics, where one
might find Bill Evans or Herbie Hancock. Peterson
uses these, but more in the style of Ellington or Basie.
This collection is intended for people who enjoy
jazz piano. Peterson benefited artistically from his
piano predecessors, and his own tremendous talent.
As a result, he embodies a most interesting panorama
of styles. (Gerry Liebmann)
Fiction (annotated)
Dubus, Andre. “Dancing after Hours.” In Dancing
after Hours: Stories, 194–233. New York: Knopf, 1996.
This piece of short fiction—though not strictly
biographical about any one particular jazz
musician—is nevertheless highly suggestive of the
power of jazz music in the lives of its audience.
The story is written for an adult or upper level high
school audience, and is in many ways a response
19
to Ernest Hemingway’s famous story “A Clean WellLighted Place.” Whereas that story presents solitary
stoicism as a response to absurdity and alienation,
Dubus’s story offers a more hopeful alternative. In
the story, workers and customers in a Massachusetts
bar and grill make connections with each other and
stave off loneliness and despair by listening to jazz,
dancing to the music, and conversing over drinks.
In one of the story’s most powerful moments, the
main character, Emily, remembers a transcendent
experience at a Roland Kirk concert. Dubus narrates
the event—a fictionalized biographical account of
Kirk—closely and convincingly: “The music was
soothing, was loving, and Emily watched Kirk and felt
that everything good was possible.” The story suggests
that jazz music is an example of “something ineffable
that comes from outside and fills us; something that
changes the way we see what we see; something that
allows us to see what we don’t.” In addition to Kirk,
the story also mentions Chet Baker, Louis Armstrong,
Paul Desmond, Dave Brubeck, John Coltrane, and
Frank Sinatra, and could thus give teachers a reason
to play selections from these artists in class and to talk
about their lives. Teachers who plan to use this story
in class should be aware that it does include some
references to sex and a fair amount of drinking. The
story can also be found in Prize Stories 1997: The O.
Henry Awards. (Frank Kovarik)
20
Jazz and Fictional Narrative
bolster courage and strength during times of trouble
such as the civil rights period. A successfully operating
band as small as a duo or trio can serve as a model
of cooperation for a struggling family or community.
Blues, jazz, and music in general are so pervasive in
African American literature because they are such big
parts of the African American way of life.
Can the importance of jazz and blues be
overestimated? Cornel West does not appear to
think so in his book Democracy Matters. He says,
“The patient resilience expressed in the blues flows
from the sustained resistance to ugly forms of racist
domination, and from the forging of inextinguishable
hope in the contexts of American social death and
soul murder. The blues produce a mature spiritual
strength. The stress that blues placed on dialogue,
resistance, and hope is the very lifeblood for a
vital democratic citizenry.” Earlier, West quotes
Ellington: “If the blues is the struggle against pain for
transcendence, then, as Duke Ellington proclaimed,
‘jazz is freedom.’” The works of literature listed in this
bibliography simply are other ways of keeping the
importance of blues and jazz in front of the people
who need to hear these sweet sounds.
Ken Froehlich, T. J. Gillespie, Judith Nador,
Melissa Papianou, and Elizabeth Patterson
To describe jazz and all of its variegated uses
in and relationships with fiction, drama, and film
is very difficult. The possibilities are as endless as a
Charlie Parker improvisation as he moves through one
imaginative chorus after another. The five individuals
in this group worked in narrative areas that were of
special interest to each individual teacher. We did not
draw our water from the same well. The hope is that
teachers from grade school to high school—in any
curriculum area, even math and science—might find
something of value or of interest.
Jazz can be the topic of a narrative piece and
have a monumental importance to a works over all
meaning and structure, as in Toni Morrison’s novel
Jazz, or it can simply be used as part of a narrative
structure where it enriches the milieu of the characters
or adds depth and development to characterization,
as in Loraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun. Jazz
can be used as a symbol of societal cooperation or a
metaphor for sex or changing times. It can embody
the differences in generations or serve as a thread
or a pattern that runs through the tapestry of African
American history from colonial times to the present.
Jazz can cut across many types of genres and can
appeal to many types of audiences. It can be used
in a children’s novel such as The Jazz Fly or give a
modern twist to old tales in a work such Jazz Fairy
Tales. Jazz can make a stunning debut on the stage
and later explode on the big screen with even more
energy and brilliance as with the musicals West Side
Story and Chicago. Langston Hughes used jazz in his
collection of short fiction, The Ways of White Folks.
Duke Ellington drew inspiration from the characters of
Shakespeare for his longer musical work Such Sweet
Thunder. This bibliography reflects jazz used in film,
novels, plays, and poetry. The music was used for
sound tracks in film, incidental music in drama, and
set pieces of prose description in short stories and
novels. There is a plethora of literary criticism treating
the importance of jazz in any number of narrative genres.
The themes developed through the use of jazz
are endless, but a few generalities can be stated. Jazz
and its close relative the blues play important roles
in African American fiction and literature in general.
Jazz and blues are not usually simply background
music for the characters in these literary works of art;
they are woven into the most elemental aspects of the
character’s lives. For some, jazz was their occupation,
indeed, their raison d’être. Music was part of their
religious services as it offered hope and redemption
for both this life and the next one. It also served to
Anthologies
Baraka, Amiri. Blues People: Negro Music in White
America. New York: W. Morrow, 1963.
Ellison, Ralph. Living with Music. Edited by Robert G.
O’Meally. New York: Modern Library, 2002.
O’Meally, Robert G. The Jazz Cadence of American
Culture. New York: Columbia University
Press, 1998.
Articles and Essays
Fisher, Douglas, Rick Helzer, and Nan McDonald.
“Jazz Listening Activities: Children’s Literature
and Authentic Music Examples.” Music
Educators Journal 89, no. 2 (November 2002):
43–49, 57.
Frost, Richard. “Jazz and Poetry.” The Antioch Review
57 (1999).
Jerving, Ryan. “Early Jazz Literature (and Why You
Didn’t Know).” American Literary History 16,
no. 4: 648–74.
Lesoinne, Veronique. “Answer Jazz’s Call:
Experiencing Toni Morrison’s Jazz.” MELUS
22 (Autumn 1997): 151–66.
Sherard, Tracy. “Sonny’s Bebop: Baldwin’s ‘Blues Text’
as Intracultural Critique.” African American
Review 32 (1998): 691–705.
Books and Book Chapters
Amram, David. “Children of the American Bop
Night.” In OffBeat: Collaborating with
21
Kerouac, 3–22. New York: Thunder’s Mouth
Press, 2002.
Grandt, Jurgen. Kinds of Blue: The Jazz Aesthetic in
African American Narrative. Columbus: Ohio
State University Press, 2004.
Igus, Toyomi. I See the Rhythm. San Francisco:
Children’s Book Press, 1998.
Lahr, John. Honky Tonk Parade: New Yorker Profiles of
Show People. New York: Overlook Press, 2005.
Leggett, B. J. Larkin’s Blues: Jazz Popular Music
and Poetry. New Orleans: Louisiana State
University Press, 1999.
West, Cornel. Democracy Matters: Winning the Fight
against Imperialism. New York: Penguin, 2004.
Williams, Sherley Anne. “The Black Musician: The Black
Hero as Light Bearer.” In Give Birth to Brightness,
145–66. New York: Dial Press, 1972.
Young, William. American Pop Culture through
History: The 1930s. Westport, CT:
Greenwood, 2002.
Novels
Baker, Dorothy. Young Man with a Horn. Cambridge, MA: Riverside Press, 1938.
Hughes, Langston. Not without Laughter. New York: Vintage, 1990.
Morrison, Toni. Beloved. New York: Random House, 1987.
———. Song of Solomon. New York: Knopf, 1977.
Ondaatje, Michael. Coming through Slaughter. New York: Vintage, 1996.
Short Stories
Barthelme, Donald. “The King of Jazz.” In Sixty
Stories, 354–59. New York: Putnam, 1981.
Breton, Marcela. “An Annotated Bibliography of
Selected Jazz Short Stories.” African American
Review 26, no. 2: 299–306.
Hurston, Zora Neale. “Story in Harlem Slang.” In
Spunk: The Selected Short Stories of Zora
Neale Hurston, 91–99. Berkeley, CA: Turtle
Island Foundation, 1985.
Films
Websites
Dingo. Directed by Rolf De Heer. AO Productions, 1992.
The Pied Piper: Happily Ever After Fairytales: Fairy
Tales for Every Child. Directed by Edward
Bell. HBO, 1997.
’Round Midnight. Directed by Bertrand Tavernier.
Warner Home Video, 1986.
http://www.neajazzintheschools.org/home.php.
“NEA Jazz in the Schools, 2006.” National
Endowment for the Arts, Jazz at the Lincoln Center
http://deoxy.org/thunder.htm. Thunder: Perfect Mind
Articles and Essays (annotated)
Music Recordings
Eckstein, Lars. “A Love Supreme: Jazzthetic Strategies
in Toni Morrison’s Beloved.” African American
Review 40, no. 2: 271–83.
In his article “A Love Supreme: Jazzthetic Strategies
in Toni Morrison’s Beloved,” Lars Eckstein refers
to Morrison’s narrative technique as “jazzthetic.”
Eckstein argues that Morrison’s protagonists,
particularly Beloved, Baby Suggs, Paul D, and Amy
Denver convey particular aspects of African and/or
European oral traditions that coalesced to inspire
the birth of jazz. Beloved’s character mirrors the
musicality of African oral tradition in which the
“spirit child” often returns to haunt the living. Baby
Suggs’s “sermonizing and singing” resonates the AfroChristian vocal tradition that sparked spirituals and
gospels. Paul D, a “singing man,” captures the blues
tradition, and Amy Denver sings a poem written by
St. Louis poet Eugene Field. Denver’s recitation of
a highly formalized and grammatically rigid poem
“contradict[s] the continuous play” found in the
“spirituals and folk blues” that the other characters
sing. However, Eckstein believes that these symbolic
characters do not provide a stark difference between
African and European music; rather they evidence
the combination of African and European musical
Coltrane, John. “Alabama.” Live at Birdland. GPR Records, 1963.
Davis, Miles. Bitches Brew. Columbia Records, 1970.
———. Kind of Blue. Columbia Records, 1959.
Ellington, Duke. Anatomy of a Murder: The
Soundtrack of the Motion Picture. Columbia,
1959. B00000IMYH.
Kovetz, Lisa Beth. Jazz Baby, Session 2. Flying South
Productions, 2005.
Mancini, Henry. Breakfast at Tiffany’s. RCA, 1961. 2362-2-R.
Mark, Ashley. Billie Holiday Anthology. Ashley
Publications Inc. /Kammen Music Co. (Sheet
music)
Porter, Cole. Cole Porter: The Best of Cole PorterPiano/Vocal. Hal Leonard. (Sheet music)
Putamayo Kids. New Orleans Playground. Putamayo World Music, 2006.
Rogers, Louise, and Rick Strong. “Charlie Parker
Played Bebop.” Bop Boo Day. RILO Records, 2006.
———. “Ella Fitzgerald Sang Bop Boo Day.” Bop Boo
Day. CD. Charlie Parker Played Bebop, and So
What: RILO Records, 2006.
———. “So What.” Bop Boo Day. RILO Records,
2006.
22
traditions that helped to ignite jazz as a viable genre.
Eckstein continues to explain that Toni Morrison
and John Coltrane share the ability to translate verbal
language to music, and music to verbal language
to express the often inexpressible pain that African
Americans endured, individually and collectively.
In Beloved and A Love Supreme, both Morrison
and Coltrane follow an analogous “musical form,”
as Morrison’s characters and Coltrane’s musicians
become the instruments that facilitate a similar
“formal arrangement of sequence.” Coltrane and
Morrison both repeat and vary particular phrases
and themes in their works so that eventually the
musicians’ and characters’ distinctive voices unite
to create a “poetic whole” while maintaining their
individuality. Like Coltrane’s transcendent music,
many of Morrison’s repeated words lose their
denotations and adopt emotional connotations to
express ineffable pain. Because much of African
history is riddled with pain and hopelessness,
music, and musical prose, is used to “overcom[e]
the speechlessness of trauma and to engag[e] in
a constructive dialogue with painful chapters of
the past.” The similar techniques used in both the
literature and the jazz help to preserve the painful
past in a progressive and experimental artistic present
and future. (Melissa Papianou)
the music, the more I was learning about the history
of the people and the history of the country itself.” The
story of jazz as a genre is a narrative in itself. Baraka
writes, “I begin with blues because it is the basic
national voice of the African American people. It is
the fundamental verse form of the African American
slave going through successive transformations.
Blues is African American. The verse form of African
American culture and language.” Baraka was intent on
writing innovative poetry that captured the sorrowful
history of African Americans using the themes,
language, and call-and-response powers that jazz had
already accomplished.
Ellison explains that “Baraka uses run-on
syntax and words [that] become blue notes...[,]
assonance and syncopated shifts” to render his poetry
jazzlike. Furthermore, Baraka’s use of “repetition
and revision are fundamental to black artistic
forms,” especially his poetry. Ellison also explains
Baraka’s use of scat, a technique first introduced
by blues musicians to capture powerful emotions
that cannot be accurately expressed through literal
words. Early musicians attempted to emulate human
words with their instruments, while “a vocalist will
use musical elisions and mutations”; so when the
politically conscious Baraka disparages capitalism,
he uses this improvisatory technique and writes,
“capitalism dying, can be/ all, see, aggggeeeeoooo,
aggrggrrgeeeoouuuu” to articulate that pain and
frustration which his words cannot express, as
politically active jazz musicians did, such as Sonny
Rollins and Charles Mingus. To Baraka, poetry, jazz,
politics, and social issues are all interconnected, and
the art forms are catalysts that can help to combat the
American capitalist government that continues to limit
the potential of the African American population.
It seems that the link between jazz and fiction is
the suffering associated within the black community.
Baraka insists that his poetry is not hard to understand
if a person comprehends the complexities of being
black. If a listener understands the blues, then Baraka
claims, he/she can understand his poetry. Baraka writes:
If you can understand the
complexity of an African
mask, the tense ambiguities
of Black blues
then my work should be clear
to you, what I say
easily understood
Baraka certainly presents passionate arguments, even
if the black-and-white issues always seem to dangle
precariously in that difficult-to-comprehend gray area.
(Melissa Papianou)
Ellison, Mary. “Jazz in the Poetry of Amiri Baraka
and Roy Fisher.” The Yearbook of English Studies 24
(1994): 117–45.
In Mary Ellison’s critical article, Amiri Baraka and
Roy Fisher are lauded as poetic masters who combine
their written art with jazz. Although both poets are
extremely different, they both manage to incorporate
jazz techniques into their poetry. While it is obviously
imperative that the poems must be intensely studied,
Ellison’s article provides the reader with the necessary
background to understand the intentions of the
artists and the techniques used to implement their
intentions, including the evolution of Amiri Barakas’s
personal beliefs and, consequently, his writing.
Amiri Baraka grew up listening to jazz, and
even as a young boy he associated the blues,
the predecessor to jazz, as a music that depicts
the struggle of the oppressed African American
community. Baraka recognizes jazz as a politically
conscious music for African Americans that
stresses the communality of black suffering. But
for Baraka, jazz is not simply a music created by
the black community, for the black community.
Jazz transcends its art form and acts as a vehicle to
explain black history, as the music started in Africa
and has progressed throughout every stage of African
American history. Baraka says, “The deeper I got into
23
Murakami, Haruki. “Jazz Messenger.” New York
Times, July 8, 2007.
Haruki Murakami, a canonical, living author, recently
provided the literary world with a declaration of
the influential power jazz has had in his writing.
Murakami presents a very clear and focused link
between jazz and fiction. When the fifteen-yearold Murakami witnessed Art Blakey and the Jazz
Messengers perform in Kobe, he was forever
transformed into a lover of jazz. It was not until
Murakami turned twenty-nine that he began to
wonder “how wonderful it would be if [he] could
write like playing an instrument [and] transfer…music
into writing.” Murakami simply and brilliantly outlines
the analogous components of both jazz and literature
when he writes:
always stressed. While writers continue to write
about timeless themes, how do they remain fresh and
new? How can writing continue to progress? While
these questions abound in classrooms, they are also
relevant in the world of jazz. In 1959, Miles Davis
released the innovative and groundbreaking Kind
of Blue. Even a music novice can easily hear and
feel the piercing, mellow, sensual sounds of Davis.
The effect is meditative and relaxing. Perhaps to
some, it is purely romantic; to others it is sorrowful,
such as a subjective view of Romeo and Juliet. Fastforward approximately ten years to Davis’s release of
Bitches Brew, when Davis shocked the musical world
with fusion. His improvisational sound is arguably
aggressive, confusing, almost disjointed as well as
paradoxically joined by an expressive emotion, such
as Shakespeare’s King Lear.
The concept of renewal in literature and music is
a necessary discussion. While it is commonplace to
study the rhythms of evolutionary literary language,
as Murakami explains, it would be equally effective
to play recordings of a jazz artist’s early and later
works to discuss renewal in individual artists and, on
a broader scale, in genres. (Melissa Papianou)
Whether in music or in fiction, the most basic thing is rhythm. Your style needs to have good,
natural, steady rhythm, or people won’t keep reading your work. I learned the importance of
rhythm from music…mainly…jazz. Next comes melody—which in literature means the appropriate
arrangement of the words to match the rhythm. If the way the words fit the rhythm is smooth and
beautiful, you can’t ask for anything more. Next is harmony—the internal mental sounds that support the words. Then comes the part I like best: free improvisation. Through some special channel, the story comes welling out freely from inside.
Reilly, John M. “‘Sonny’s Blues’: James Baldwin’s
Image of Black Community.” Negro American
Literature Forum 4, no. 2 (1970): 56–60.
This article was reprinted in James Baldwin: A
Collection of Critical Essays, which was edited by
Kenneth Kinnamon and published as part of PrenticeHall’s Twentieth Century Views series. Anyone who
has read “Sonny’s Blues” and has a general interest in
Baldwin’s writings will find this essay worth his/her
time. A reader would not have to come to the essay
with a deep knowledge of the blues or bebop jazz,
the music tradition in which the title character decides
to immerse himself. In fact, Reilly does an excellent
job of giving the reader pertinent information about
the blues and bebop that is germane to his discussion.
Reilly states that the story addresses two thematic
issues: 1) the significance of Sonny’s life and 2) blues
as a metaphor for the individual in society.
Reilly notes that when Sonny firsts addresses the
issue of being a jazz musician to his older brother, an
immediate gulf becomes visible between them. Even
though the story was set in post–Korean War Harlem,
and bebop had already had a twenty-plus-year history,
Sonny’s brother had never heard of Charlie Parker.
The older brother saw no importance in jazz music,
and he thought that Sonny was making a big mistake
in pursuing it as a career. Sonny’s drug use further
widened the gulf between Sonny and his middle-class,
algebra teacher brother. His brother, as time passed,
placed no value on Sonny’s life experiences; he saw
A fledgling writer may humbly laugh at Murakami’s
seemingly effortless analysis of the connection
between jazz and fiction, but his basic assessment is
didactic for even novice learners. While narratives
may ostensibly tell plot-driven stories, there is no
doubt that the sophisticated analysis of literature
requires intense study of the language, and how
that language functions in the narrative itself. While
thematic concerns in literature such as love, death,
pain, happiness, and suffering may remain the same
over time, writers and musicians must develop
new ways to present these philosophical concerns.
Murakami explains that “there aren’t any new
words. Our job is to give new meanings and special
overtones to absolutely ordinary words.” It is no secret
that writing and music are always evolving; one needs
only to read Shakespeare’s iambic pentameter and
compare his rhythm with a contemporary poem today
that deals with the same theme. English teachers
analyze the evolution of language, and the same can
be done with music. Murakami states that his “style
is as deeply influenced by Charlie Parker’s repeated
freewheeling riffs, say, as by F. Scott Fitzgerald’s
elegantly flowing prose,” and he takes the “quality of
self-renewal in Miles Davis’s music as a literary model.”
As an English teacher and student, renewal is
24
Sonny’s activities as a road to an early death. In fact,
Sonny needed his music to live. His heroin addiction
was not a means to death but a way of coping with
the inescapable pain of life.
According to Reilly, while blues singers describe
their personal experiences, these experiences are
common to everyone in the community. The singers
never set themselves against the community, nor do
they see themselves as above the community. Sonny’s
brother gains a spiritual uniting with his brother by
learning to listen both as Sonny talks about his life
and feelings, and when Sonny plays his music. Reilly
makes an excellent point when he states that the
maker of music “engages in a spiritual creation” but
that creation belongs to all present. Reilly does not
say so directly, but, of course, the audience must be
open to what is stated if they are honestly going to
own the creation. This uniting of blues musicians with
their audiences is what Reilly sees as a metaphor for
the black community.
Reilly’s idea would gain more strength if he
dropped the references to blues “singers” as part
of his discussion. Sonny was a pianist. He did not
sing. In the story, his final communication with his
jazz brothers and his birth brother was not verbal,
but aural. The unity came from music, not words.
The translation of the blues into bebop could also
be made clearer (as it is in Tracey Sherard’s article,
also included in this list). But even considering these
difficulties or omissions, the article is interesting and
well worth reading. (Ken Froehlich)
for the young child is an example of what can be
accomplished in creating a love of good jazz in young
children. (Judith Nador)
Smith, Martin. “Martin Smith Explores Jazz, Racism,
and Resistance through the Life of a Legend.”
Socialist Review 278.
<http://pubs.socialistreviewindex.org.uk/sr278/smith.html>.
In chapter 8 of Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon,
Guitar develops a plan to avenge the death of four
black girls killed in the 1963 Alabama church
bombings. Guitar believes that African Americans
need to “keep the numbers even,” meaning every
time a random black person is killed, a random white
person must be killed. Guitar maintains his eerily calm
composure while passionately acting out his philosophy.
In 1963, John Coltrane performed his own protest
against the Alabama church bombings when he wrote
his homage to the girls, entitled “Alabama.” Coltrane
opens his piece with a melancholy sound, and as
he continues his music becomes more assertive and
powerful. Martin Smith writes:
Coltrane wrote the song Alabama in response to the bombing. He patterned the saxophone playing on Martin Luther King’s funeral speech. Midway through the song, mirroring the point where King transforms his mourning into a statement of renewed determination for the struggle against racism, Elvin Jone’s drumming rises from a whisper to a pounding rage. He
wanted this crescendo to signify the rising of the Civil Rights Movement.
It would be an interesting interdisciplinary lesson
to include Martin Luther King’s funeral oration and
then play “Alabama” after a discussion of chapter 8
of the novel. Students could write their reactions to
the Coltrane song and comment on whether and/or
how the song expresses either a narrative or if it
solely evokes emotion. Next, students could read
the Smith quote and comment on whether they
agree. It is obvious to the ear that Coltrane’s piece
begins peacefully and evolves into something much
more assertive. Finally, it would be useful to analyze
how Guitar’s characterization can be compared
with Coltrane’s song. Guitar certainly does have a
“renewed determination” and his actions certainly
do progress from a “whisper” to a “pounding rage,”
as evidenced by his membership in the ominous
group, the Seven Days. While Coltrane, Morrison,
and her character Guitar all feel “rage,” this emotion
is certainly varied, complex, and subjective. The
aggression in the middle of Coltrane’s piece resonates
a spiritual melancholy; it seems that his rage is a
sorrowful one, one that suggests he wishes the status
Slawecki, Chris M. “Jazz for Kids, Teach Your
Children Well.” All about Jazz, March 1, 2006.
<http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=20875>
(accessed July 22, 2007).
Chris Slawecki addresses the very problem that faces
all aficionados of jazz as a musical genre of choice.
Who will they be and how are new listeners to be
brought to this world of music?
Slawecki believes that unless the people who
are involved in the world of jazz and those who
are knowledgeable about jazz reach out to young
children and begin to build in these children a love of
the rhythms and sounds of jazz, we may find that they
will simply be hearing the “clattering, flavor-of-themoment neon glare of MTV/VH1 and other corporate
entertainment media, as music that people might have
listened to at one time but certainly weren’t listening
to today, music good for background and kitsch and
Cosby Show guest spots but not much more than that?”
As Slawecki points out to the reader, a movement
has begun that hopes to address this very issue.
The Jazz Baby (see annotation under Recordings)
series of recordings produced by Lisa Beth Kovetz
25
quo would change, whereas Guitar, though he does
not see it this way, becomes a vicious murderer.
Morrison’s intention is not for the reader to celebrate
Guitar’s actions. He ultimately shares the white man’s
greed, the exact characteristic he claims to be fighting.
Therefore, Morrison does not share Guitar’s hostile
rage. Instead, Morrison presents a sort of thematic and
philosophical answer to racism that jazz as a genre
embraces—that it is necessary to know the past in
order to progress into the future, which is arguably
what Milkman, the protagonist of Song of Solomon,
does in the novel and what John Coltrane does with
his music. (Melissa Papianou)
rhythm, there must be no extra weight. That doesn’t
mean that there should be no weight at all—just no
weight that isn’t absolutely necessary.” Murakami,
even in translation, has gained admiration for his
streamlined, fluid style. Readers may find his style just
as interesting as his subject matter.
For those teachers who are unfamiliar with
Murakami or uninterested in reading literary
criticism, the book does have an appealing feature
that makes it worth recommending. It contains, to
my knowledge, the only English version of his short
story “The 1963/1982 Girl from Ipanema.” This
early, slim (only five pages) story contains many of
the themes—“loss and ageing, memory and music,
time and timelessness, reality and the wells of the
unconscious, and melancholy longing for a special
time and place”—that mark the best of Murakami’s
more mature work. (T. J. Gillespie)
An abridged sampling of jazz titles that appear
in his fiction follow. Please note: Page numbers refer
to Vintage paperback editions, except Kafka on the
Shore, in which case the page numbers refer to the
Knopf hardcover edition.
Kenneth Alford, “Colonel Bogey March” in The Elephant
Vanishes, p. 56
Kenny Burrell, “Stormy Sunday” in Hard-boiled
Wonderland and the End of the World, p. 344
Frank Chacksfield Orchestra, “Autumn in New York”
in Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World,
p. 376
Nat King Cole, “Pretend” in South of the Border, West
of the Sun, pp. 12, 177; “South of the Border” in
South of the Border, West of the Sun, pp. 15, 93, 171,
175
John Coltrane, “My Favorite Things” in Kafka on the Shore,
pp. 339, 357
Miles Davis, “Bags’ Groove” in Hard-boiled
Wonderland and the End of the World, p. 362;
“Airegin” in The Elephant Vanishes, p. 138; Kind of
Blue (album) in Norwegian Wood, p. 218
Duke Ellington, “Popular Ellington” in Hard-boiled
Wonderland and the End of the World, p. 344;
“Do Nothin’ till You Hear from Me” Hard-boiled
Wonderland and the End of the World, p. 387 ;
“Sophisticated Lady” in Hard-boiled Wonderland and
the End of the World, p. 387; “Star-Crossed Lovers” in
South of the Border, West of the Sun, p. 94, 168, 205;
“Embraceable You” in South of the Border, West of the
Sun, p. 107
Stan Getz, Getz/Gilberto (album) in Kafka on the
Shore, p. 232
Woody Herman, “Early Autumn” in Hard-boiled
Wonderland and the End of the World, p. 376
Antonio Carlos Jobim, “Corcovado” in South of
the Border, West of the Sun, p. 89; “Desafinado”
Books and Book Chapters (annotated)
Rubin, Jay. Haruki Murakami and the Music of
Words. London: Haverhill Press, 2002.
Author and professor Jay Rubin has had a long
relationship with the works of Haruki Murakami,
having translated the very popular Norwegian Wood,
the masterpiece Wind-up Bird Chronicle, and the
most recent release, After Dark. In this scholarly work
that resembles both the insights of a literary critic and
the praise of an impassioned fan, Rubin points out
a number of interesting observations that may be
useful to those who are interested in jazz abroad,
particularly in Japan, and how jazz influences the
writing of fiction.
Haruki Murakami first encountered American jazz
as a teenager when he attended a concert featuring
Art Blakely and the Jazz Messengers. Later, before
embarking on his writing career, he owned a popular
jazz club called Peter Cat in a western suburb of
Tokyo. As one of the most popular Japanese writers
in the world, he continues to use jazz in nearly all
of his work. Whether it is using a particular song to
evoke a mood—essays have been written that attempt
to offer a complete discography of works referenced
in his stories, mixed CDs have been compiled by
fans, and even his publisher’s website streams clips of
songs alluded to in his work—or using jazz clubs as a
setting, as he does in South of the Border, West of the
Sun and A Wild Sleep Chase among others, or making
use of actual musicians as characters, as he does in
the short story “Tony Takatani,” Murakami infuses all
his writing with jazz music.
Rubin opens his introduction with a quotation
from a speech Murakami delivered at the University
of California at Berkeley where he examined the
relationship between his prose style and the beat
of jazz: “The sentences have to have rhythm. This is
something I learned from music, especially jazz. In
jazz, great rhythm is what makes great improvising
possible. It’s all in the footwork. To maintain that
26
in Norwegian Wood, pp. 162, 280; “The Girl From
Ipanema” in Norwegian Wood, p. 162
Thelonious Monk, “Honeysuckle Rose” in Norwegian
Wood, p. 171
Roger Williams, “Autumn Leaves” in Hard-boiled
Wonderland and the End of the World, p. 376
Lester Young, “I Can’t Get Started” in After the Quake,
p. 74
participant’s point of view, reminds us of the historical
importance of King Zulu, his Queen, and the Baby
Dolls on Carnival Day. We learn that no matter what
the problems may have been in the planning of
the Zulu Parade, when the musicians begin to play
music such as “The Good Morning Blues,” tradition
carries on. This music was, on its own, a cause for
celebration. The Baby Dolls, who were originally
uptown prostitutes, took this day of celebration to
dress up in bloomers and skirts, curly wigs, and
a “baby doll” hat, join the parade, and follow the
musicians, who played such songs as “Every Man a
King,” Huey P. Long’s song, while dancing all the way
along the parade route and enjoying their day of fun..
The narrative entitled “Songs” is also important, as
examples of ballads, chants, African American songs,
Creole songs, church music, blues, and even voodoo
dances are represented. The words to many of the
chants and songs are included.
The fact that a new edition of the collection is
available attests to it being a classic of the genre.
These narratives provide the mature reader a primary
source document with which to supplement the study
of the history of New Orleans and its music. (Judith Nador)
Saxon, Lyle, Edward Dreyer, and Robert Tallant,
comp. gumbo ya-ya: A Collection of Louisiana Folk
Tales. St. Claire Shores, Michigan: Louisiana Library
Commission, 1945.
gumbo ya-ya—everybody talks at once—The phrase
aptly describes this collection of Louisiana folk tales.
The book was originally published as part of the
WPA’s Louisiana Writer’s Program in the 1940s and is
aimed at the mature reader.
The narratives in this collection of folk tales are
based upon recorded tales as well as oral interviews.
This is a classic, extremely rich collection of folk tales
from New Orleans and surrounding parishes of Louisiana.
While phonetic renderings of the words of
African Americans in some of the stories may not be
politically correct, the reader should remember that
the writers attempted to replicate the speech patterns
of the storytellers being interviewed. The folk stories
being told are from the “gumbo heritage” one finds
in New Orleans and Louisiana in general. There
are stories from the French, the Spanish, the slaves
brought from Africa, Creoles, and the Acadians, or
Cajuns. It is important to note that the collecting of
material for this book was done either by members
of these groups or by people who have been long
associated with the group. For example, the stories
pertaining to African Americans were done mainly by
African American workers. Robert McKinny, Marcus
B. Christian (supervisor of the All-Negro Writers’
Project), as well as Edmund Burke all contributed to
the project. Other African Americans who were not
connected to the project contributed information
and suggestions, including Joseph Louis Gilmore,
Charles Barthelemy Rousseve (author of The Negro
in Louisiana), A. W. Dent (president of Dillard
University), and Sister Anastasia of the Convent of the
Holy Family.
While the entire book rings of the rich cultural
heritage that contributed to the music we now call
jazz, the narratives entitled “Kings, Baby Dolls, Zulus,
and Queens” and “Songs” particularly represent the
deep roots of music in New Orleans.
In “Kings, Baby Dolls, Zulus, and Queens” we get
a real feel for the activities that took place on Perdido
Street when preparing for the black celebration of
Mardi Gras, the Zulu Parade. This story, told from the
Children’s Books (annotated)
Dumont, Jean-François. A Blue So Blue. New York:
Sterling, 2005.
The children’s book A Blue So Blue tells the story of a
boy who lives in the middle of the city. The Prix SaintExupery Best Illustrated Children’s Book of
2004 takes the reader on a journey far from the city in
order to help the boy find the blue color that he sees
only in his dreams.
The boy loves to paint; in fact, it is almost the only
thing he will do. His adventure starts with a bus trip to
a museum. He sees a portrait and hopes it is the right
color blue. It isn’t. The saga continues with the boy
traveling to the big blue sea and the south sea skies.
He meets a turtle on the beach that tells him about the
blues. The turtle explains the blues “will sing to your
soul. It’ll make you happy. It’ll make you sad.”
At this point in the story, the boy comes to
Mississippi and goes to a club. While he hears the
music, it isn’t the blue of his dreams. The blues
musician, noticing the boy was upset, tells him about
his heritage in Africa. The boy heads to Africa and is
told that the blue of his dreams might not be so far
from home. The boy returns home to find the blue of
his dreams in the eyes of his mother.
While the story is tender and thought provoking,
especially considering the relationship between
mother and child, there are several interesting
narrative characteristics that relate to jazz and blues.
27
In the book, the boy is white and the musician
he meets is African American. In Africa, the boy
receives important wisdom from a chief. While other
characters describe things like the sea and sky, the
African chief leads him home.
This book has amazing illustrations and can
be read to a child of any age. It is appropriate for
independent reading for upper elementary students.
An interesting element of this story is the meaning and
the roles that the blues musician and chief play in the
boy’s discovery. The author also felt the importance of
the blues musician, for the cover shows the boy at the
blues club. Interestingly enough, the boy is the only
white person, and child, in the audience.
It is important to recognize that there are several
stereotypes that can be found in this book. While it
is unrealistic to imagine a little boy going on such an
amazing adventure, the reality is the author chose the
race of the characters. This would be a great example
for students that are examining the narrative roles of race
and culture in children’s books. (Elizabeth Patterson)
rhythmic creativity and can return at an older age
to see the representation of each specific musician.
One could even play musical examples in order to
relate a composition to the musician. It would also
be interesting to look at the illustrations and compare
them with original portraits.
The author and illustrator use clever ways to
communicate the narrative material to their audience.
Through the use of realistic yet abstract caricatures of
each musician and the fitting scat text, a child is told
many things about each performer. In this sense, the narrative
element comes also from pictures and music. It seems
to be a very simple way to introduce jazz but offers
complexities for interpretation and discussion.
While intended for smaller children with opportunities
for biographical exploration, This Jazz Man can also
be used in any other educational setting to discuss
jazz and its perceptions. The adapted nursery text is
the main idea of the book, but the illustrations and
additional biographies make this an excellent source
for any educator in any setting. (Elizabeth Patterson)
Ehrhardt, Karen. This Jazz Man. New York: Harcourt, 2006.
The children’s book This Jazz Man introduces the
reader to nine essential jazz performers using a clever
style of presentation. The author, Karen Ehrhardt,
takes the common nursery rhyme “This Old Man”
and changes it to “This Jazz Man.” Taking cue from
the style of “This Old Man,” This Jazz Man follows
the same melodic structure but uses improvisation to
introduce historical material to children in a fun and
carefree context. The illustrations, by Robert Roth, add
to the playful nature of the book. His use of color and
shapes allows the reader to imagine jazz as exciting
and exhilarating.
The text opens with Louis Armstrong behind the
microphone in a fun patterned suit, and instead of the
traditional text we are given words to highlight the
improvisational nature of jazz: “snap, snap, snazzysnap.” The man behind number two is Bill Robinson.
He is also pictured in a colorful nature and has
alternate text. He performs a “tap tap shuffle slap.”
The pattern continues with creative jazz text
taking the place of the traditional words. The other
examples include Luciano Pozo, Duke Ellington,
Charlie Parker, Art Blakey, Dizzy Gillespie, Fats
Waller, and Charles Mingus. All of these musicians are
represented in a positive and pleasant way in colorful
pictures with playful textual adaptations.
While the majority of the book is designed in
a simple fashion to stay true to the context of the
nursery rhyme, the author takes time in the last few
pages to present small biographical sketches for each
musician. Ideally, a child can become hooked on
this book through the lighthearted scat singing and
Gollub, Matthew. The Jazz Fly. Santa Rosa, CA:
Tortuga Press, 2000.
The Jazz Fly, along with the accompanying CD,
provides an entertaining story with lots of rhythm
chances for children to join in the fun. The book
has won numerous honors and awards such as the
Writer’s Digest National Self-Published Book, the
Benjamin Franklin Award, and Smithsonian’s Book for
Children. This book has also been featured on “West
Coast Live” and major jazz radio stations throughout
California. The hero, a fly who speaks only jazz and
is on his way to perform in a fancy dinner club, finds
himself lost. While trying to find his way he meets
different animals and asks for directions. Each animal
gives an answer in its own language, and the fly, with
the help of his new friends, finally arrives at the club.
He and his group, the Jazz Bugs, begin to play. When
the owner of the club is less than impressed, the Jazz
Fly remembers the new languages he encountered on
the way, and new music is born. The accompanying
audio CD not only invites children to sing along but
provides them with the creativity to come up with
their own ideas for their improvisations of movement
and rhythm. Karen Hanke’s illustrations are colorful,
and computer enhancement of the artwork only adds
to the fun. The musicians on the accompanying CD
are talented, and the music is perfectly suited to the
book and illustrations. (Judith Nador)
Isadora, Rachel. Bring on that Beat. New York:
Putnam, 2002.
Rachel Isadora’s stark black-and-white cover and
introductory pages falsely lead the reader into a world
28
of color, sound, and striking images and information.
Bring on that Beat, a Parent’s Choice Silver Honor
Book for 2002, gives us a hint of what is to come on
the first narrative page of the black, gray, and white
images of another time. We see over these images an
imposition in bright yellow, orange, and red capital
letters spelling out jazz. This device makes the reader
feel that it is necessary to turn the page to see what
comes next.
What comes next makes the stroll down memory
lane irresistible. We must go on. While the text and
images remain in the black, gray, and white shades,
every page has a surprise for us in the guise of brightly
colored, computer-generated designs that provide a
feeling of movement forward in time even while we
are enjoying the images of a past life.
The colors and text take us on a journey through
the beginnings of jazz in the cities where it flourished.
We see children dancing in the streets while their
families are listening to the saxophone, trumpet, and
bass players. There is a feeling of joyfulness in the
illustrations, and the simple text lends itself to readers
of a young age as well as being fun for the person
who is perhaps reading to the young reader.
Bring on that Beat is picture-book storytelling
at its best. Each and every page can be made into a
complete oral story of its own. Imagine the fun an
adult can have sharing the book with children and
listening to their interpretations of the many stories
in this one book. The journey we take will be all too
short, but look again, and there may be a whole new
story of the beginnings of jazz. (Judith Nador)
their faith in their churches with their gospel music a
big part of their lives. Steamboats, New Orleans, Louis
Armstrong—all of these contributing to the music we
know today as jazz.
Our young rappers and hip-hoppers of today
can use The Sound that Jazz Makes to clearly see and
understand that their music is a result of all of the
things that came before. They have had a rich heritage
upon which to build the rhythms and rhymes of today.
(Judith Nador)
Drama (annotated)
Baldwin, James. Blues for Mr. Charlie. New York: Dial
Press, 1964.
Blues for Mr. Charlie would not be a good selection
for teaching if a teacher is looking only for jazz
content, but while jazz is not mentioned all that often
in the play, there are constant references to music in
both the stage directions (incidental music) and in the
play’s text. The protagonist of the play, Richard Henry,
is a jazz singer. There is, of course, the blues of the
title, and the connections between blues and jazz are
ancient and solid.
The play would have to be taken with a mature
class. The sexual content of the play could be
problematic at some schools. On the plus side,
though, is the fact that the play is a major work by
an important African American writer. The play deals
with several very important themes and gives some
interesting insights into the nascent days of the civil
rights movement.
The play is about a jazz musician who returns to
his southern hometown after an incarceration and
rehabilitation for heroin use. He is staying with his
father, Meridian Henry, who is the town’s African
American minister. Richard rekindles a love for an old
sweetheart, Juanita, who has obviously been waiting
for his return. Marriage is discussed, but before any
plans can be made Richard insults the town’s most
violent white racist citizen, Lyle Bitten. Bitten had
already killed one African American whose wife Bitten
had been sleeping with. No punishment was given
to Bitten. Bitten shoots the protagonist when Richard
refuses to apologize. Bitten’s trial is a sham, and he is
once more set free.
On the printed page, the stage directions and the
lighting and music cues give the reader the impression
that this play would be stunning to experience on
stage. The sets, lighting, and sound underscore the
human drama and deep racial division in the town.
Richard is one of Baldwin’s troubled jazz
musicians who inhabit some of Baldwin’s best
work, in particular, “Sonny’s Blues” (listed in this
bibliography) and Rufus from Another Country.
Weatherford, Carole Boston. The Sound that Jazz
Makes. New York: Walker, 2000.
The Sound that Jazz Makes is a beautifully illustrated
(by Eric Velasquez) journey through the history of
African American music and the contributions it has
made to music throughout the world. While text is
simple, the story told is one of universality. This book
can be used to introduce music history to students
of all ages. The book is actually a beautifully crafted,
easy-to-read and -understand time line of the origins
of jazz.
We begin this journey with the African drums,
kalimba, and dancers, then move to the pain felt by
the captives thrown on ships and taken to unknown
futures. When destinations are reached, we see these
proud people being sold as if they were goods and
taken into a life of slavery. Field chants were passed
on to keep each other aware of possible escapes and
routes to follow.
The journey continues with “Cakewalkers” in
Harlem, workers on railroad crews, people who kept
on singing, playing the blues on guitars, and keeping
29
to save the life of their unborn child, which she is
considering aborting. She is also worried about her
young son Travis. Mama (Lena) is the matriarch of
the family who must decide how to use the $10,000
insurance check paid on the death of her husband.
Walter wants a liquor store, and Beneatha wants
a college education. Only Ruth supports Mama
when she spends part of the money on a house in a
white neighborhood. Besides the intrafamily issues,
the family also must deal with the issues of racism
(and its close relative, segregation), poverty, and the
deteriorating southside neighborhood.
The play is superb for high school use. Its issues of
family, responsibility, role modeling, and identity
development are all issues that students understand
and are willing to deal with. Racism and its contingent
issues are also things that are worth having students
grapple with. While set in the past, the historical
perspective is helpful, and the basic issue of racism
is sadly timeless. Existentialism and colonialism are
issues raised by an important African character. The play also
allows for interesting discussions on plot, character
development, symbolism, and other related issues.
With all of this going on, how does music, and
jazz in particular, come into play? While music does
not play a strong enough role to be considered a
motif or even an imagistic pattern, its presence in the
play is still worth looking at. Hansberry’s play is so
tightly written, the importance of the references to
music should not be ignored. The first time music is
mentioned is at the end of act 1, scene 1, when Mama
asks Ruth to sing a spiritual while ironing. (Ruth faints
before she sings.) In act 1, scene 2, Beneatha receives
a gift of recordings of African folk songs. At the
beginning of act 2, scene 1, Beneatha is in the process
of playing this music when the drunken Walter returns
home. The siblings, usually at odds with each other,
unselfconsciously and unsatirically sing and dance
together in celebration of their African heritage. In act
2, scene 2, Walter turns on the radio to play the blues
before Mama and Ruth confront him about his not
reporting to work. Walter tells the women that instead
of going to work that he frequently goes to the Green
Hat, a bar, where a “cat” plays what is obviously
bebop jazz.
The first three types of music mentioned—gospel,
African folk music, and the blues—are all elements
that went into the development of jazz, the last music
mentioned. All of these musical elements are a part
of African American heritage. Jazz brings Walter
comfort and pleasure. He says about the jazzman,
“he talks to me.” Questions to ask the students are,
Why does the music bring pleasure and comfort, and
about what does the jazzman speak? The answers of
course could vary. But certainly the jazz speaks to
(Sherley Anne Williams in her essay “The Black
Musician: The Black Hero as Light Bearer” offers
an interesting discussion of Baldwin’s use of jazz
musicians in the aforementioned works. Her essay
is also listed in this bibliography.) But music plays
a larger role in this play than just one character’s
occupation. Music is everywhere in the play. There
are several cues for music playing on a jukebox.
The African American church is always singing
gospel or protest songs. Music here is not just an
accompaniment for the lives of the African American
characters; it is woven into the fabric of their lives.
Interestingly, it is noticeably absent from the lives of
the whites. The question for the students, of course,
is why? The answers could vary, but one reason for
this musical dichotomy might be that the whites do
not need the music. In Whitetown, the whites are
secure, confident, in charge, and comfortable. Even
Bitten, whose store is faltering because of an African
American boycott and who is charged with murder,
decides to expand his business. He and his wife and
son have the backing of the law, church, and white community.
On the other hand, music is what gave
Richard the position he needed to build his
confidence so that he could challenge “Mr. Charlie.”
The music on the jukebox gave the community a
joyous distraction from Blacktown’s troubles as the
people dance to its tunes. The gospel music offers
comfort and faith in a better life to come. Blues is
the music of Blacktown. Why is the play called Blues
for Mr. Charlie? Cornel West in Democracy Matters
offers some good reasons. West states, “The blues is
not simply music to titillate; it is a hard-fought way
of life, and as such it should unsettle and unnerve
whites about the legacy of white supremacy.” He
goes on to say that blues offers “hope in the face of
dehumanizing hate and oppression.” The African
Americans sing for courage as they leave to protest the
court’s decision on Bitten’s guilt.
An interesting activity for the students reading
the play would be for them to research the music of
this period and make selections for the placement of
music at Baldwin’s sound cues. They should explain
their choices. An interesting question might be whether
today’s music would work as well. (Ken Froehlich)
Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun. New York:
Vintage, 1994.
A Raisin in the Sun is not a play about music, but
music is part of the play’s fabric. The play is about
an African American family that attempts to solve its
many problems in post–World War II Chicago. The
two adult children of Lena and deceased Big Walter
Younger, Walter and Beneatha, are seeking identity
and fulfillment. Ruth, Walter’s estranged wife, wants
30
Walter about who he is as an African American. The
music offers Walter his heritage. The jazzman also
knows something about Walter’s struggle. He and his
musical genre are seeking the same acceptance and
respectability as Walter. Jazz in the 1950s was seeking
the status of art, and the jazzman wanted to be
viewed as a serious artist. The sax player brings Walter
comfort but also says to him that I understand you and
your struggles.
Hansberry’s use of the music is subtle and it does
not distract from the flow of the play. It is simply part
of the play’s fabric, woven in as part of the Youngers’
lives. It is just another element of this ore-rich play
that can be mined for discussing, writing, or just
thinking. (Ken Froehlich)
contrast between thematic melodies and contrasting
lyrics. There does not seem to always be a realistic
connection between the harmonic chord progressions
and lyrics.
Many narrative questions are raised with the
musical Ain’t Misbehavin. What role does music
play in popular culture? How are the emotions of
the characters worked out through song? It would be
interesting to consider the text without the musical
interplay. Would it still be realistic? What are the
historical, social, and cultural contexts of this musical?
The audience is led to believe that during the Harlem
Renaissance young adults were focused only on love
and relationships. Is this truly the case? By examining
the societal connections between music and the
narrative of Ain’t Misbehavin, the audience is able to
understand the role of the show in the history of the
contemporary American musical. (Elizabeth Patterson)
Maltby, Richard Jr., Murray Horowitz, and Fats
Waller. Ain’t Misbehavin’. New York: Manhattan
Theatre Club, 1978.
Ain’t Misbehavin’ tells the story of five characters set
in the 1930s during the Harlem Renaissance. While
the music is written by Fats Waller, the show is set as
more of a tribute to him than a biography. The musical
opened on Broadway in February 1978 and had more
than 1600 performances. It stands as one of the most
popular and successful all–African American musicals
in history. Ain’t Misbehavin’ was recognized by the
critics also. In 1978 it received a Drama Desk award
in the actor and actress categories. It also was the
darling of the 1978 Tony Awards. Ain’t Misbehavin’
earned the award for Best Direction, Best Featured
Actress, and Best Musical. It took the musical theater
world by storm on all accounts.
Ain’t Misbehavin’ is set as a musical revue. There
is relatively little dialogue, and the majority of the
storytelling is told through song. The characters spend
the first act talking about the joy and happiness of
love, and the second act centers on the negative
elements of love. Armelia, Nell, Andre, Ken, and
Charlaine sing about how hard it is to find love in the
first act, but it is good when it is found. The first act
show-stoppers include “Handful of Keys” and “The
Joint Is Jumpin.’”
The music echoes the early big band sentiment,
and a great emphasis is placed on the stride piano
style. The songs are stereotypically set, though, as the
women sing about war, and the men sing about girls
that were more than just eye candy. To them, these
rare women could sing too! The musical plays into the
gender roles of the time but stick out glaringly today.
The second act of Ain’t Misbehavin’ tackles the
harsh realities of love: infidelity, a critical partner,
and loyalty as a form of self-sacrifice. Songs like
“That Ain’t Right,” “Your Feet’s Too Big,” and “I’ve
Got My Fingers Crossed” show an interesting musical
Films (annotated)
Anatomy of a Murder. Directed by Otto Preminger.
Columbia Pictures, 1959.
Anatomy of a Murder offers the interested high school
teacher numerous teachable moments in the areas of
film and music. When it first appeared in 1959 the
film was a bit controversial both for its discussion of
rape and undergarments and the evidentiary testimony
concerning these items during the trial. Today any TV
episode of CSI will offer more titillating and detailed
discussion of body parts and fluids than the presenters
of Anatomy of a Murder ever thought of offering
on the big screen. The controversy that the film
stimulated might develop a good classroom discussion
on shifting social and artistic mores that would make
the showing of the film worth the time it would take
for a screening. The film, with its moody black-andwhite photography and jazz sound track composed
by Duke Ellington, could lead to a presentation of
film noir characteristics. As a courtroom drama, the
film works marvelously well with James Stewart as
attorney Paul Biegler and George C. Scott as state
district attorney Claude Dancer setting off frequent
sparks as they legally rub each other the wrong way.
The film concerns a young lieutenant, Frederick
Manion (played by Ben Gazzara), who killed a man
who purportedly raped his wife, Laura (played by Lee
Remick). The defense offered is a type of temporary
insanity called “irresistible impulse.” There are several
interesting twists and turns as the Manions’ story
unfolds. Some of the ambiguities of the story are
realistically left unresolved. In real life and in good
drama, truth is not always attainable.
Duke Ellington wrote his first sound track for this
film. This fact would be reason enough for this film
31
to be of interest to Ellington fans and jazz buffs. The
sound track CD (there are several available) offers
several gems that are worth multiple listenings.
“Anatomy of a Murder,” “Flirtibird,” and “Almost
Cried” are this listener’s favorites. There is an interview
on the newest CD that is worth the price of the disc
simply to hear Ellington’s elegant voice. There are
different versions of the same songs offered on the
CD. The Dixieland version of “Happy Anatomy” is
very interesting.
Surprisingly little from the sound track recording
appears in the film. The actual use of music in the
film is very spare. The major use of the music, except
for the opening titles, is for transitional scenes when
characters are driving from one place to another.
The Paul Biegler character plays jazz piano, and he
plays snippets now and then in the film. He also
plays a brief duet with Ellington, who makes a brief
appearance as Pie Eye, leader of an all–African
American combo for all-white dancers. Discussing
Preminger’s use, or lack there of, of music in the film,
and use of a African American band for an all-white
audience might stimulate some interesting reactions
from the students.
Even with the paucity of played music in the
film, jazz is actually everywhere. It is just not always
played by real jazz musicians. Biegler owns many
albums that include music from Dixieland to Brubeck.
He constantly noodles at the piano, and his interest
in jazz is mentioned on several occasions. The state’s
attorney is named Claude “Dancer.” The trial itself is a
type of “cutting session” in which Dancer loses when
he commits the quintessential lawyer error when
he asks a question he does not know the answer to.
While the lawyers are the soloists, the judge is the
keeper of the rhythm. He constantly checks his watch.
He is the timekeeper. He decides who plays, when,
and for how long. There are other elements that could
allow students to pursue the analogy between jazz
and the practice of law in this film.
The use of this film and its sound track recording
should not be a matter of “irresistible impulse” but a
matter of good, solid judgment. (Ken Froehlich)
musical score, George Bruns featured the accordionlike musette for French flavor, and, drawing on his
considerable background with jazz bands in the
1940s, provided a great deal of jazz music.
In using The Aristocrats as a teaching tool for the
appreciation of jazz, the score gives the instructor a
wealth of songs from which to choose, notable among
them “Everybody Wants to Be a Cat” (written by Floyd
Huddleston and Al Rinker and performed by Scat Man
Crothers and Phil Harris), which has the feel of early
jazz rhythms, harmonies, and lyrics, and in addition,
is simply fun to hear. The underscore of the movie has
a strong jazz feel to it.
The Aristocats will set the stage for listening to
more jazz music by engaging the viewer with the
beautiful animation and the fun-to-listen-to score.
Discussions with the students about the music will
enhance their interest in learning more about the
genre of jazz.
A lesson plan to accompany the film could be
constructed fairly easily by creating a set of simple
listening exercises, questions about the music and
how it makes one feel, and how the music helps to
set the mood for the scenes in the movie. Does one
get a sense of being in France? Do you feel the danger
when Edgar, the evil butler, is in a scene? And how do
O’Malley, the alley cat, and his friends appear to you
when they play their music? These and many other
guiding questions can be developed easily in order
to work with young students when using the movie
as a source for beginning to initiate the young to an
appreciation of jazz as a part of their lives. (Judith Nador)
Chicago. Directed by Bill Condon. Mirimax, 2003.
The motion picture adaptation of the Broadway
musical Chicago highlights the extreme highs and
the dramatic lows of many popular jazz stereotypes.
Narrative themes are drawn using characters, settings,
and dialogue. While entertaining, Chicago glorifies
violence, sexual promiscuity, and hunger for fame.
In this movie, narratives present jazz figures in
an almost caricaturist sense. Billy Flynn, the moneyhungry lawyer played by Richard Gere, is extremely
animated. He plays with the sensitive nuance of his
character, but the dream sequences show him as an
incredibly deceitful, materialistic person. His more
dangerous qualities are glorified, and he receives fame
and fortune through bending the rules and breaking
the law.
Velma Kelly, played by Catherine Zeta-Jones, is
famous for killing her husband, who just happened
to be having an affair with her sister. Velma argues
that “he had it coming.” Roxie Hart, played by Renee
Zellweger, is the ingénue and is also a murder. Roxie
meets Velma in jail and plans to buy her way into
The Aristocats. Directed by Wolfgang Reitherman.
Walt Disney, 1970.
The Aristocats is a G-rated animated feature that tells
the story of a family of “aristocratic” cats and their
adventures after meeting an alley cat, who turns out
to be the hero of the piece. This movie can be used to
engage young listeners with the “jazzy” music used
as the sound track. The story is a simple one of heroes
and villains, appealing to young students, and the
sound track provides a friendly introduction to both
jazz and French-flavored music. For the background
32
fame and fortune. Roxie Hart’s husband, Amos,
played by John C. Reilly, is sincerely kind and loyal
and is looked at as an extremely weak and pathetic
character.
Roxie and Velma come to fame after Billy Flynn
lies his way to a mistrial or not guilty verdict. The
crooked characters are willing to do anything to be
famous and are worshipped by the public. They lie
and steal and cheat to become stars. This is a mature
film and is not appropriate for elementary or middle
school students.
Jazz is its own character in this film and is guilty
by association. Jazz is presented as being extremely
sexual, surrounded by illegal behavior, and totally
self-absorbed. At the same time, there is very little
diversity. The only main character that is African
American is the bandleader at the jazz club, played by
Taye Diggs. The only woman in a respected field is a
reporter, Mary Sunshine, played by Christine Baranski.
Ironically, she is a gossip reporter. It seems that major
narrative liberties are taken with the glorification of
criminal behavior and the lack of realistic diversity.
(Elizabeth Patterson)
time when African American children living in a city
could still have innocent fun, move freely around their
neighborhoods, have arguments with one another,
and still not be in fear for their lives. There were
certainly disagreements and even fights, but nobody
was likely to be shot over a pair of shoes.
While Crooklyn is not a completely “sugar and
spice” kind of film, it does show realistic relationships
between multigenerational family members and the
residents of a diverse neighborhood. In addition, the
variety of music in the score, 1970s R and B, pop, and
Woody Carmichael’s own compositions representing
the world of jazz, Crooklyn could be used as an
introduction to the life of musicians and their families
for young adults and older students. (Judith Nador)
Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Directed by Blake Edwards.
Paramount Pictures, 1961.
Throwing aside one of the basic rules of academic
writing, I am going to ignore third-person objectivity
and simply write first person and personal. I feel that
I must. The music that I am writing about has been
part of my life for over forty years. For more than four
decades, the sound track for Breakfast at Tiffany’s has
been part of my record library (minus a brief time
when I went from vinyl to CD). Only Dave Brubeck’s
Time Out can make a similar claim.
Henry Mancini, who wrote the sound track, first
came to my ears when I was in grade school when I
heard his music for the television series Peter Gunn.
Before I saw the film or heard the sound track, the
hit song from the movie, “Moon River,” became a
personal favorite. The song, with its sappy lyrics by
Johnny Mercer, in some ways became the theme song
for my adolescence. I attempted to keep an outward
appearance of the James Dean, cigarette-smoking
antihero, but, in fact, I was a “Moon River” emotional
blob on the inside. But I have to be fair to myself. I
wore out multiple copies of the Breakfast at Tiffany’s
album because (besides carelessness and bad stereos)
I played them so often. Not just “Moon River,” but the
whole album.
Everything in the album—except for “Moon River,”
which is a ballad that quickly became a standard—is
jazz, and fun jazz at that. It is big band jazz, the likes
of which filled numerous sound tracks from this era
and accompanied such musicians as Jimmy Smith on
songs such as “Walk on the Wild Side.”
The film that the sound track accompanied was
good but not great. The best thing about the film
was Audrey Hepburn. I will admit that I was in love
with her. Her voice could arouse me and soothe me
at the same time. Ah, the mysteries of adolescence.
The film was based on a Truman Capote novel. At
this time, Capote had not blown me away yet with In
Crooklyn. Directed by Spike Lee. 40 Acres and a
Mule Filmworks, 1994.
This movie gives us a look at the life of an African
American family in Brooklyn during the 1970s. The
film is considered to be a semi-autobiographical view
of Spike Lee’s life growing up with a schoolteacher
mother, her jazz musician husband, and their five
children. Crooklyn is one of only two films directed by
Spike Lee to earn a PG-13 rating in the United States,
the other being 1992’s Malcolm X. It is also interesting
to note that Spike Lee and two of his siblings, Joie and
Cinque, collaborated on the screenplay.
The story is told through the eyes of Troy, a
ten-year-old and the only girl in the family, played
by Zelda Harris. We see how she views the strife
between her parents, typical sibling arguments and
teasing, and her attempts to understand the problems
her parents are facing. The father, Woody Carmichael,
played by Delroy Lindo, is a jazz musician who insists
on remaining true to his craft, refusing to play “sellable”
music. His jobs are few and far between. The mother,
Carolyn Carmichael, played by Alfe Woodard, is
overworked and underpaid as a schoolteacher and is
trying to keep the family together.
We are also privy to the goings-on of other members
of the neighborhood and the relationships between
this very diverse group of people and the Carmichael
family. Although they have their differences, they come
together and support one another when circumstances
and events call for this kind of action.
The story line is family oriented and shows us a
33
Cold Blood. Many of the characters were unsavory.
Hepburn’s character, Holly Golightly, was a woman
who would go with any man who could raise her
social or financial status. The pre–A Team George
Peppard played Paul Varjak, a novelist who was a
kept man (kept by Patricia Neal, but still kept). Blake
Edwards was the director, and he and Mancini were
headed to the Pink Panther movies.
Much, but not all, of Mancini’s music here is
character driven. Three songs are directly related to
Holly Golightly: “Sally’s Tomato,” “Latin Golightly,”
and the exquisite “Holly.” An interesting experiment
would be to have the students write or talk about how
each song reveals the identity of Holly in the minds of
the students. The experiment might work better if they
listened to the music first and then discovered how it
worked with the film.
“Holly” opens with a short but sweet guitar solo
that is follow by a rich-sounding trombone section. A
tenor sax enters played over silken strings. There is an
aching, longing quality to the song that is accentuated
by a brief, returning guitar. The music gives Holly a
depth and complexity that her name belies. “Breakfast
at Tiffany’s” is about Holly also. The alto sax solo and
song in general speak of a dreaminess and softness
about Holly that the character would certainly try to
deny.
“The Big Heist,” background music for a comic
dime-store robbery, is fun and foreshadows the Pink
Panther music still to come. “Hub Caps and Tail
Lights” is stripper music and is very “Night Train”–ish.
There are great drums and good sax and flute solos,
which talk back and forth with one another. It also
ends in a good, clean guitar solo.
As stated before, I would be tempted to play
the music before viewing the film. The students
could then verify for themselves whether or not the
music evoked the proper characterization, mood,
atmosphere, or whatever. The students could also be
educated about the flute, the Latin influence, and
other aspects reflected in this music about jazz in the
late fifties and early sixties.
Deep stuff? Certainly not. But certainly fun.
(Ken Froehlich)
compositions created by Miles Davis. Davis, who
worked with bop drummer Kenny Clark and three
French musicians picked up in the studio, improvised
all of the music in an attempt to play with the
relationship between sound and image. Jazz historians
and music students may be interested to learn that
it was during these sound track sessions, according
to the supplemental information booklet issued with
the Criterion Collection DVD, that Davis began
to develop his interest in the modal approach to
composition—the same style that he would famously
employ on his landmark album Kind of Blue.
However, for those interested in narrative alone, the
music operates as both a mechanism for conveying a
tone and as a very real presence itself, almost as if it
were a character on screen.
The story centers around two pairs of lovers,
Florence and Julien, who are planning to murder Mr.
Carala (who just happens to be Florence’s husband
and Julien’s boss), and the juvenile delinquent Louis
and his romantic girlfriend Veronique. Through a
series of mistaken identities, incredible strings of bad
luck, and misunderstandings, each couple finds itself
in increasingly dire situations. With the backdrop of
noir conventions and the attendant suspense, Malle
was primarily focused on presenting a vision of Paris
that was, above all, modern. It is in this regard that
class discussions may evolve: What is modernism?
What are the conventions of modernism? How is the
film’s story modern? How does the musical score
accomplish Malle’s aims and expand upon the image
on the screen? Students may wish to consider how the
characters—world-weary, alienated, tired by war and
politics—are introduced.
As Malle said in an interview with Philip French
(reprinted in the Criterion Collection booklet), the
use of Miles Davis’s score “was not like a lot of film
music, emphasizing or trying to add the emotion
that is implicit in the images and the rest of the
soundtrack. It was a counterpoint, it was elegiac—and
it was somewhat detached…the Miles Davis trumpet
gave it a tone that added tremendously to the first
images.” It is this idea—that the trumpet adds something
tremendous to the images—that is definitely worth
investigating in class. If you wanted to show just
a scene or two rather than the whole film, there
is perhaps no better example of Davis’s evocative
playing and Malle’s conceptualization of the modern
than in the scene when Florence (played by French
film icon Jeanne Morreau) wanders through the lonely,
late night streets of Paris searching for her lover. The
stark beauty of the Parisian nighttime, Morreau’s
expressive look, and, of course, Davis’s cool trumpet
combine to create a lasting moment of desperation,
fear, longing, and heartbreak. (T. J. Gillespie)
Elevator to the Gallows (Ascenseur pour l’échafaud).
Directed by Louis Malle. Criterion Collection, 2006.
It may seem strange to suggest a black-and-white,
subtitled French noir film that features no jazz
musicians as characters, no nightclubs as settings, no
black characters, no American characters, and nary an
instrument in sight as a fitting tool for the discussion
of jazz and the literary narrative. This problem can
be answered very quickly, if only superficially, by
pointing out the legendary score, the atmospheric
34
language, some violence, and drug use, so it is best
reserved for older high school students and may
require some level of parental permission. (T. J.
Gillespie)
Kansas City. Directed by Robert Altman. Fine Line
Features, 1996.
Robert Altman, the acclaimed director of films
such as M*A*S*H*, Short Cuts, Nashville, and The
Player, returned to the city of his youth to recreate
a city teeming with vice, music, excitement, and
danger. Kansas City in 1934, ruled by “Boss Tom”
Pendergast’s Democratic political machine and John
Lazia’s criminal syndicate, is a world of gambling,
prostitution, hard drinking, political machinations,
crime, and of course jazz. The plot is set off when
Johnny O’Hara, a petty thief, colludes with a black
cab driver to rip off a high-rolling gambler named
Sheepshan. O’Hara disguises himself in blackface
but fails to consider Sheepshan’s close ties with the
notorious and powerful Seldom Seen, the owner of
the Hey-Hey Club, a jazz joint and gambling haven.
Desperate to rescue Johnny, his wife, Blondie, kidnaps
Carolyn Stilton, the laudanum-addicted wife of a
powerful local politician, and plans to negotiate
her husband’s release. While the melodramatic plot
and the suspenseful threat of violence are enough to
hook most viewers, the film’s greatest asset is in its
vivid recreation of the period, accurate replication
of the jazz sounds of the day, and superb casting of
contemporary musicians such as Joshua Redman,
Craig Handy, and James Carter to play the parts of
Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins, and Ben Webster,
respectively.
While much of the plot centers on the toughtalking, Jean Harlow–idolizing Blondie and her
attempts to bargain with Seldom, the most appealing
scenes of the film are those that take place in the
Hey-Hey Club. Altman makes use of many of the
most significant figures of Kansas City’s golden age
of jazz from Young and Hawkins to a piano player
named Bill Basie, who of course later adopted the title
of Count. An amusing small subplot involves a teenage saxophone player named Charlie who rescues
a pregnant teenager and helps her find her way to a
rest home for unwed girls. That young musician, we
discover, is none other than Charlie “Bird” Parker,
the great bop revolutionary. While there are other
elements that make the film worth recommending—
the allusions to important historical figures like
Marcus Garvey and President Roosevelt, the depiction
of city politics and corruption, the dangers of drug
use—there is one episode in particular that could be
shown in isolation if the class is most interested in
the music of the day. Identified as “Scene 12: Dueling
Saxes,” this single scene presents an exciting jazz
session complete with rousing competition of soloists
and is surely a highlight of the film.
It should be noted that this film is rated R for
Mo’ Better Blues. Directed by Spike Lee. Universal
Pictures, 1990.
In his Mo’ Better Blues, Spike Lee fictionalizes the
life of a modern-day jazz artist named Bleek and
presents many thematic problems that may plague
the jazz artist, including white business owners
taking advantage of black artists and the desire of
the musician not to conform. For the first two hours
of the film, Lee offers his audience an Aristotelian
tragic form, as Bleek’s (a man with seemingly
everything) pride contributes to his downward spiral;
however, Lee provides a more optimistic ending that
emphasizes the importance of options for African
Americans to succeed instead of limiting career
choices to music.
The film opens in 1969 when Bleek is approximately
ten years old. Bleek’s mother forbids him to play
baseball with the neighborhood boys and insists that
Bleek practice the trumpet. The idea that African
Americans could only excel in the musical field is
validated throughout history. Often, African Americans
would choose to forego their medical or law studies
to pursue a more lucrative career as a performer. The
scene flashes forward about twenty-five years, when
Bleek is the successful leader of a jazz quintet. Bleek
enjoys living in his spacious Brooklyn apartment,
loving two women, and being the charismatic center
of the band, which always comes first. Bleek even
says to his lover, “I know what I want, my music.
Everything else is secondary.” He later admits that
if he couldn’t play that he would “probably roll
up in the corner and die,” which foreshadows his
breakdown toward the end of the film. And Bleek
certainly does put his music first, as he reprimands his
girlfriend Clarke for coming over an hour early and
disrupting his practice. He feels confident and proud
enough to have two girlfriends and to reprimand them
if they disrupt his study. His pride continues to rule
when he chastises his popular saxophonist Shadow for
spending too much time performing solos, as Bleek
wants to remain the crowd pleaser. Clearly, Bleek, in
classic Aristotelian form, is a man with everything who
suffers from a tragic flaw, hubris.
There are also other factors that contribute
to Bleek’s eventual breakdown, which cannot be
considered a complete downfall because he does
exhibit resiliency. Lee includes two white club owners
who refuse to give the black musicians more money,
even though they are reason the club is flourishing
financially. The conflict between black performer and
35
white manager seems to be deeply embedded in the
jazz culture. Another viable conflict exists between
Bleek’s desire to play the jazz he loves and Shadow’s
insistence that they play what the audience wants
to hear. Bleek screams, “Jazz is our music! It’s black
music! It incenses me that our people don’t realize!
Our people aren’t coming!” This scene displays the
desire of the passionate artist to maintain his musical
and ancestral dignity, while others see making a profit
to survive as more important.
Toward the end of the film, Giant, Bleek’s
inefficient and gambling-addicted manager, is brutally
attacked by loan sharks, and Bleek is violently hit
in the mouth with his trumpet, which ultimately
precludes his ability to play the instrument. Bleek
becomes unmotivated and disconnected from
society; he experiences a downfall, but fortunately,
he also experiences a catharsis and realizes that he
wants one woman with whom to lead a decent life.
The last scene of the film depicts Bleek’s son in the
same position Bleek was once in. The son is being
beckoned by the neighborhood boys to play ball, but
this time, Bleek lets his son be a child and play ball.
Years later, Spike Lee shows his audience that not
everything ends in tragedy and that there are other
options for black Americans beyond music.
The film in its entirety may be too overtly sexually
suggestive for high school students, but there are
scenes that can be shown to illustrate some issues that
arise in the jazz culture. The soundtrack also features
important compositions, such as John Coltrane’s “A
Love Supreme,” which is used throughout Bleek’s
encounters with his women. (Melissa Papianou)
this theme is heard, the audience is immediately
reminded of the fragile relationship between the two
gangs. There is an air of violence, heard in the strings
and the strict articulation of the percussion.
The Sharks and the Jets both have unique jazz
elements. The Sharks, Puerto Ricans that have moved
to New York City, have Latin jazz elements. The Jets,
Americans threatened by the Sharks hovering on their
turf, have a traditional jazz combo sound. The tension
between these gangs only increases as Tony, best
friend of Jet leader Riff, meets Maria, sister of Shark
leader Bernardo, at the school dance.
The most brilliant use of instrumental narrative
takes place at the school dance. The audience
sees the Jets and the Sharks dancing to their own
styles of music and being encouraged to mingle,
which backfires completely. While the attempted
unity crumbles, Maria and Tony connect and fall in
love. Bernstein and Sondheim do an amazing job
of highlighting traditional American and Latin jazz
themes during their dance floor courtship. Maria
and Tony are able to see past all of the obstacles
that, according to Riff and Bernardo, should keep
them apart. The songs performed by Maria and Tony
throughout the rest of the movie fuse together the
elements of both backgrounds.
At the same time, there are several examples in
the movie where racial stereotypes are suggested.
When Anita goes to tell Tony at Doc’s that Maria will
indeed meet him, the Jets aggressively pursue her and
taunt her culture and background. The Sharks also
make negative comments regarding the difference
between Puerto Rico and America on the rooftop.
Cultural differences are highlighted, but Maria and
Tony are able to fall in love regardless. Is it safe to assume
that love conquers all, even in a time of racial tension?
West Side Story is a great way to introduce
students to the role of narrative instrumental music
in movies. Students can watch the movie and
discuss how the music sets the tone and mood and
encourages character development. Students become
extremely connected to this film, and it creates
opportunities for excellent classroom dialogue. West
Side Story is a concrete example of how music is used
in a narrative context. (Elizabeth Patterson)
West Side Story. Directed by Ernest Lehman.
UnitedArtists, 1961.
The movie adaptation of West Side Story has earned
its place in movie-musical history. With many awards
and endless recognition, West Side Story is much
more than entertainment. From the amazing music
of Leonard Bernstein and Steven Sondheim to the
passionate interpretation of character by actors like
Russ Tamblyn and George Chakiris, West Side Story is
a brilliant adaptation of Romeo and Juliet.
The movie stays extremely honest to the stage
production. The sets are relatively simple and allow
the focus to remain on the relationships between the
characters. Music and dance, over dialogue, are the integral
tools for plot formation and character development.
The use of jazz instrumentation and style, most specifically,
connect the mood and theme to the audience.
Several musical themes act as narrative clues for
the audience. The theme that is played at the opening
of the movie demonstrates the violently careless
relationship between the Sharks and the Jets. Anytime
Music Recordings (annotated)
Ellington, Duke. “In a Sentimental Mood.” 1935.
The lyrics to the Duke Ellington song “In a Sentimental
Mood” highlight some of the most dramatically romantic
elements of the jazz vocal. Ellington, responsible for
many great jazz lyrics, had the ability to make the
dramatic seem common. His lyrics explain the depth
and passion of love that some say can only be found
36
in the movies. His depiction of romance echoes the
drama of the jazz era and allows the listener to lose
themselves in the story.
Ellington opens with the song title and stresses the
effect of his love. He compares an attitude to a “flame
that lights the gloom.” Alluding to the fiery nature
of love allows Ellington to convey the power of the
feelings he presents. Another line—“drift a melody so
sweet”—draws a direct connection between music
and love.
Ellington uses musically complex chords to
create his introspective mood. He considers the
theme, treatment, and structure of each phrase and
uses original harmonic thoughts to express usually
conventional emotion. Middle rhymes are used
as a literary tool to enhance the narrative context.
Opening with a tonic arpeggiation that settles on
a harmonically dissonant note on the downbeat of
the second bar adds to the musical complexity of
Ellington’s compositional style.
Comparing his mood to paradise, Ellington’s
dramatic lyric selection echoes the graceful arc of
his melody and patient resolution of his phrases.
He seems to be willing to spend eternity sharing
the wonder of his mood. His world has become
“heavenly” for he captured the heart of his love.
These lyrics demonstrate the extreme joy and
passion that can be found in many jazz standards. It
seems to be a form of escapism also, for there is no
mention of any cultural, racial, or societal conflict.
Is it true that this love has the ability to fade out all
of the conflict in everyday life? Or, is it just a way
to imagine life in an ideal fashion? The purpose of
Ellington’s narrative lyrical design is a dynamic topic
for discussion in the high school or collegiate setting.
(Elizabeth Patterson)
and perhaps even tell a story.
Ellington’s initial work offered eleven songs, each
linked to a Shakespearean character: “Such Sweet
Thunder” is based on Othello; “Sonnet for Caesar”
on Julius Caesar; “Sonnet to Hank Cinq” on Henry V;
“Lady Mac” on Lady Macbeth; “Sonnet in Search of
a Moor” on Othello; “The Telecasters” is for both the
Three Witches from Macbeth and Iago from Othello;
“Up and Down, Up and Down, I Will Lead Them
(Up and Down)” on Puck from A Midsummer Night’s
Dream; “Sonnet for Sister Kate” on Katherine from
The Taming of the Shrew; “The Star-Crossed Lovers”
on Romeo and Juliet; “Madness in Great Ones” on
Hamlet; and “Half the Fun” on Cleopatra. While
some tracks work better than others as reflections
of Shakespeare’s characters, each is ambitious and
interesting in its own right and may be recommended
for classroom use.
One of the interesting things about the title
track, “Such Sweet Thunder,” is that while it purports
to describe the character of Othello, it is actually
a line lifted from another play—it is taken from
Hippolyta’s description of Hercules in A Midsummer
Night’s Dream. Some critics have argued that the
title is actually a clever reminder of how jazz was
initially dismissed by white listeners; the full quote
is “I never heard / so musical a discord, such sweet
thunder.” The song itself is a twelve-bar blues based
on strong drum beats and low horns, but how does
Ellington make this piece fit Othello? This may be
one of the issues worth exploring in class discussion,
as there seems to be no clear consensus. Stephen
M. Buhler, of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln,
suggests that the “music is applied to Othello’s
accounts of his own experiences (see Othello 1.3,
128–45). Ellington and Strayhorn factor in how these
adventures and the man who endured them might
have sounded to Desdemona.” Jack Chambers, in his
essay “Birdland: Shakespeare in Ellington’s World,”
is not so convinced, saying, “unlike the other scenes,
however, it is only tangentially Shakespearean. It has
no connection to its source play. Originally titled
‘Cleo,’ it might have been intended as an evocation
of Cleopatra’s sexuality, which certainly works, but
instead Ellington always introduced it as (at Juan les
Pins in 1966) the ‘sweet swinging line of talk that
Othello gave to Desdemona which swayed her into
his direction.’ That does not work. It is far from pillow
talk, by any criterion. Though it works perfectly as
overture, it is one of the pieces that only loosely
fits the thematic conception.” An ongoing debate
concerning music and the storytelling tradition, and
one I won’t attempt to answer here, is whether or
not music is properly equipped with the necessary
devices to narrate. While there is little question that
Ellington, Duke. “Such Sweet Thunder.” Such Sweet
Thunder. Sony Records, 1999.
After performing two concerts at the Shakespearean
Festival in Stratford, Ontario, in July 1956, Duke
Ellington, no doubt impressed by the brilliant
performance of a young Canadian actor named
William Shatner, was inspired to write a jazz suite
inspired by the works of the Bard. Working with
longtime collaborator Billy Strayhorn, Ellington sought
to create a series of musical portraits for some of
Shakespeare’s most famous characters. For students
and teachers of both literature and music, Ellington’s
daring work offers an exciting tool for the discussing
the individual personalities of Shakespearean
characterization, Ellington’s sophistication and
ambition, jazz’s musical vocabulary, and larger
questions about music’s ability to create mood, tone,
37
Productions, 2005.
The first of three albums, Jazz Baby, Session 1
introduces us to a concept of presenting jazz to young
children in a way that is entertaining to the children
and to the adult who is listening with them. The
group of talented performers, as well as the highly
qualified people behind the performances, make these
albums particularly valuable for anyone who wishes
to encourage an appreciation of the arts, and in
particular a love of jazz, in today’s young people.
Lisa Beth Kovetz, whose company is Flying South
Productions, is a respected, award-winning writer
and producer. Her producing awards include the Film
Advisory Board’s Award of Excellence, the Pinnacle
Book Achievement Award, and the Kodak Emerging
Filmmaker Award. Born in Brooklyn, New York, she
currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband, jazz
musician Eldad Tarmu, and their two sons. Others
involved in the production of the Jazz Baby series
include Joel Dorn, a four-time Grammy winner;
Cengiz Yaltkaya, whose résumé includes arrangements
for Herbie Mann, Dave Sanborn, and Joe Morello;
Tom Adams, and Cybil Shepard. Tom Adams has
accompanied some of the biggest names in the
entertainment industry, such as Anita O’Day, Keely
Smith, and Mel Torme. Cybil Shepard has a thirtyfive-year musical history, including working with Stan
Getz and Phineas Newborn Jr.
music, especially in the skilled hands of a composer
like Ellington, can evoke a mood, create a scene,
inspire feeling, and even invite listeners to visualize
action, students may enjoy debating the question of
whether or not the tracks on Such Sweet Thunder
reveal anything about character and plot. (T. J. Gillespie)
Gillespie, Dizzy. “I Remember Clifford.” At Newport,
Live. PolyGram, 1957.
While Dizzy Gillespie was known to be quite the
joker, hence the nickname “Diz,” there were many
times that he portrayed a musical sensitivity that was
incomprehensible. Such is the case with his song “I
Remember Clifford.” As a neutral listener, there is
something so sad and haunting about this recording.
The trumpet melody may be called simple, but the
tone and texture of Gillespie’s playing makes it sound
like so much more. There has been a good deal of
argument whether or not instrumental jazz music
is narrative. In some cases the points for both sides
are valid and worthy of healthy discussion. At the
same time, there are several songs that are so direct
with their emotional substance that it is hard to not
be moved by their themes. “I Remember Clifford” is
played with smooth lines and clean phrases. While
Gillespie includes sensitive vibrato, there is no sense
of the showman that he was known to be. This melody
was a tribute; it was meant to be absorbed.
Written for Clifford Brown, “I Remember Clifford”
has definite meaning and message for an audience.
While it does not have the contrast of Dizzy’s “A
Night in Tunisia” or the playfulness of “Salt Peanuts”;
it does have the sadness and pain that accompanies
loss. Born in 1930, Clifford Brown was killed in an
automobile accident on June 26, 1956. He was just
beginning to be recognized as a great composer but
was admired more for his ability to connect emotion
to music. Gillespie was inspired by Brown’s promise
and emotional capability. It is not hard to imagine the
impact that Brown would have had on the jazz world
if he had lived past the age of twenty-six. This song,
performed live a year after the death of Brown, tells
through music a profound story about life, love, and loss.
The musical composition is relatively simple.
There is a rhythm section and trumpet. The solo is
narrative in context, for it describes the emotions
that Brown played with and the grief that Gillespie
felt over the loss of his friend. The narrative is
constructed with simple phrase lines and is repeated
to demonstrate greater emotion. It is narrative because
it takes the listener through the story of Brown and his
effect on the jazz greats around him. While there are
no words, the music tells the story. (Elizabeth Patterson)
The performers on the albums include the following:
§ Claudia Acuna, a native of Chile. She began
singing before she turned sixteen and has
performed at such notable venues as the Blue
Note in New York.
§ Jim Belushi, actor and musician. He
contributes to the album a true “Blue’s
Brothers” version of “Momma Don’t Allow
No Guitar Playing around Here.”
§ Freddie Cole, younger brother (by twelve
years) of Nat King Cole. He lends his talents
to Session 1’s “Jamaica Farewell” and “Scarlet
Ribbons.” His training includes studying at
Juilliard and a master’s degree from the New
England Conservatory of Music.
§ In addition, there are performances by Megan
Mullally, Dr. John, Janis Siegel, Billy Preston,
Taj Majal, Poncho Sanchez, and Rosemary
Clooney, as well as many others equally talented.
The entire Jazz Baby Series lends itself easily to
a classroom setting. Each song can be listened and
danced to, and stories can be told from the songs.
Young children will relate to the simple lyrics and they
will easily, with a little guidance from their teacher,
give you their own interpretative narrative.
Jazz Baby, Session 1 is a collection of
Kovetz, Lisa Beth. Jazz Baby, Session 1. Flying South
38
traditional children’s songs, or standards that appeal to
children, performed by a variety of vocalists interpreted
within a jazz (or blues) framework with a bit of swing
instrumental interplay. The arrangements will appeal
to young children and provide them with a door to the
world of jazz in their future. The rhythmical patterns will
also lend themselves to the development of children’s
own developing motor skills and with guidance these
can be connected to patterning skills, which in turn will
greatly enhance the higher level thinking skills needed
for comprehensive reading and mathematics. (Judith Nador)
they will be enjoyed even more by all, young and
old, who hear them. The recordings will provide a
wonderful way to introduce the literary genre of fairy
tales and the musical genre of jazz to young children.
Jazzy Fairy Tales, a collaboration between
storyteller and musician, is a must-have for anyone
working with younger children and looking for a
foundation upon which to build a love of literature
and jazz. (Judith Nador)
Rogers, Louise, Susan Milligan, and Rick Strong.
Jazzy Fairy Tales. RILO Records, 2007.
The playfulness of jazz gives new life to such standard
tales as “Three Little Pigs,” “Three Billy Goats Gruff,”
and “Three Bears” through the reinterpreted songs
“The Jazzy Pigs,” The Jazzy Goats,” and “The Jazzy
Bears.” Storyteller Susan Milligan and jazz artists
Louise Rogers and Rick Strong make these tales come
alive with blues, boogie, and scat. The jazzy rhythms
prepare little ones for reading and patterning in
general. The revised stories teach conflict resolution.
Children can listen, get up and dance, and sing along
to the be-bopping songs.
Strong’s bass, Rogers’s voice, and Milligan’s
storytelling come together beautifully to present a
completely delightful introduction for children to
learn to listen to jazz and to incorporate the sounds
and stories into their developing repertoire of music
and literary appreciation.
Susan Milligan received a bachelor’s in English
literature from Farleigh Dickerson University and a
master’s in drama at New York University. She also
has a master’s in early childhood education and is
presently head teacher for four- and five-year-olds
at the Medical Center Nursery School, an affiliate of
Columbia University. Louise Rogers is a leading force
in the field of jazz education for children and is also
an accomplished performer. In addition to performing,
Louise runs a children’s jazz choir and works regularly
with students from preschool through high school.
She is the music specialist at the Medical Center
Nursery School, a teaching artist in NYC and Long
Island, and a voice instructor at Roxbury High School
in New Jersey. She is frequently hired as a clinician
to work with jazz choirs, primarily involving vocal
improvisation instruction. Her husband, Rick Strong,
provides the bass for the album.
Student participation will be a given when you place
this recording in the tray. Neither kids nor grown-ups
will be able to resist the toe-tapping music and the
jazzy lyrics that tell these stories. Indeed, new life is
given to the age-old stories, and due to this addition,
Kerouac, Jack. Part 3, chapters 4 and 10. In On the
Road. Reprint, New York: Penguin, 1985.
While the entirety of Kerouac’s 1957 novel has been
described as being written with the spontaneity and
spirit of jazz musicians, teachers who don’t have
the time or interest in assigning the whole work may
be served by focusing on just these two chapters,
both of which focus narrowly on jazz performance
and feature some of Kerouac’s most stylized prose.
As a general introduction, the story, written in long
stream-of-consciousness passages, is the fictionalized
account of Kerouac’s travel adventures as he and
partner-in-mischief Neal Cassady crisscross the
country looking for kicks. Transformed into the
characters of Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty, Kerouac
and Cassady, seeking the elusive it, embody the
restlessness and rebelliousness of a generation of
youth that would come to be known as the Beats.
As the young men continually reject contemporary
American culture as vacuous and stifling, they find
pleasure and freedom and energy in the music of
black bop musicians. While Kerouac’s description of
the players is filled with awe and reverence, the whole
picture may be more complex, as it once again raises
questions about the relationship between black artists
and white audiences.
Chapter 4 of book 3 is set in a sawdust saloon
in San Francisco where Dean, Sal, and a group of
women watch a small combo on stage giving an
uproarious, wild, frenetic performance. The audience,
rocking and standing on chairs, is ushered into a
kind of ecstatic trance, and Kerouac’s prose races
along: “Boom, kick, that drummer was kicking his
drums down the cellar and rolling the beat upstairs
with his murderous sticks, rattlety-boom!...everything
came out of the horn, no more phrases, just cries,
cries, ‘Baugh’ and down to ‘Beep!’ and up to ‘eeeee!’
and down to clinkers and over to sideways-echoing
horn-sounds.” In passages like this, students might be
able to see how Kerouac adjusts his writing to mimic
the sounds he hears at the club. Kerouac continues
descriptions like this and even offers an abbreviated
history of jazz in chapter 10 of book 3, when Sal
Novels (annotated)
39
and Dean are in Chicago. Teachers may then ask
questions about what Kerouac and his compatriots
find so appealing about jazz music and the musicians
in the first place. What attitudes do bebop jazz artists
espouse? What might white Beat poets find inspiriting
in black jazz music?
Another interesting point to address is how the
Beats treat the jazz musicians. Bebop historian and
University of Virginia professor Scott DeVeaux, author
of The Birth of Bebop: A Social and Musical History,
has claimed that the Beats, and Kerouac in particular,
have a distorted and perhaps even racist view of jazz
musicians. In claiming that the musicians “blow”
by instinct rather than play by intellect, Kerouac is
perpetuating the myth of primitivism and reinforcing
stereotypes about black musicality. In Chicago,
listening to an alto sax solo, Sal says, “it came from
angelical smiling lips upon the mouthpiece and it
was a soft, sweet, fairy-tale solo on alto. Lonely as
America, a throat-pierced sound in the night.” Is this
depiction laudatory, or is there an undercurrent of
prejudice? Is Kerouac unconsciously reflecting the
values of his era even as he tries to run away from
them? Questions about jazz and race, music and
social rebellion, the relationship between artist and
audience can all be illuminated through a close
reading and a careful discussion. (T. J. Gillespie)
Despite this apparent omniscience, the narrator on
occasions claims not to know certain things and is
actually wrong on some points (such as a predicted
murder at the end of the novel). There are times when
the narration and point of view shift between other
characters, both major and minor, in the novel. While most
of the story takes place in the middle and late 1920s,
there are numerous shifts back and forth in time.
Things can be sorted out, but there are challenges.
A challenge of sorts is set up even before the
beginning of the actual novel. Before the novel
begins, Morrison offers the reader a brief quotation
from a long poem called “Thunder, Perfect Mind.”
The poem is a part of the Nag Hammadi Library.
The quotation reads: “I am the name of the sound /
and the sound of the name / I am the sound of the
letter / and the designation of the division.” A quick
trip to the computer can give the students a context
for the quotation and a commentary on the poem
(http://deoxy.org/thunder.htm). The poem goes on for
several pages, giving numerous antipodal statements,
for example: “I am the honored one and the scorned
one. / I am the whore and the holy one.” (Veronique
Lesoinne in “Answer Jazz’s Call: Experiencing Toni
Morrison’s Jazz” offers some interesting and helpful
comments about the speaker in the poem and
the narrator of the novel. There are also pertinent
comments about Morrison’s use of jazz in the novel.
Lesoinne’s essay is listed in this bibliography.)
The novel offers numerous opportunities for the
teacher and the student to deal with jazz and related
issues. For example, why is the novel called Jazz
when the word “jazz” is not used (as far as this reader
can recollect) even once within the novel? Tracking
down the various meanings of the word should lead
students to one of its slang meanings: sex. While the
sex is presented in very restrained and tasteful fashion,
it is also rather ubiquitous. Interestingly, the sex is also
usually connected to love, generally not stimulated
solely by lust. Love, and the need to have people
to love and love the lover back, is a theme worth
pursuing in this novel.
Though unnamed, jazz as music is constantly
present in the novel. In fact, Lesoinne speculates that
jazz could be the narrator of the novel. A more easily
recognized use of jazz in the novel thought is the
frequent mention of old record labels, such as Okeh,
that recorded early jazz tunes. Jazz clubs and dance
halls are part of Joe and Violet’s cityscape. Musicians
even practice on the rooftops. Speaking of the city, it
surely is New York, but New York is never named. It
is simply called the City. It is really a character in the
novel. Joe and Violet dance to the music of the City
in their train car (which they had to change numerous
times in the South because of Jim Crow laws) as they
Morrison, Toni. Jazz. New York: Knopf, 1992.
The Bluest Eye and Sula are frequently taught at the
high school level, and Beloved less so. Jazz could
also be part of the high school–taught cannon of Toni
Morrison’s books. It does present some difficulties,
though. The novel would be best used with upper
level students (juniors and seniors) who have solid
reading abilities and have a willingness to face the
challenges of a difficult work of art.
When the basic story is presented in summary
form, the material seems deceptively simple. There
is a married couple, Joe and Violet Trace. They meet
under a tree next to a cotton field, fall in love, marry,
live briefly in the South, and migrate to New York. At
fifty, after years of faithfulness, Joe has an affair with a
teen-age girl named Dorcas. He shoots her when she
wishes to end their relationship. Joe is not prosecuted
because there is no real evidence against him. Violet
cuts the girl’s face while the corpse is laid out at the
funeral. Violet becomes known as Violent. Joe morns;
Violet seeks an understanding of the situation. After
several years, Joe and Violet reform their relationship.
Where do the complications arise? There are many
characters whose lives move around Joe and Violet.
The narration is fractured and complicated. There is
an important first-person, and oddly omniscient,
narrator whose identity and gender are indeterminate.
40
approached their new home. The juxtaposition of the
city and country (the South) could lead to fertile
discussion and research. The African American diaspora
from the South and its impact on jazz could be
discussed as part of the novel and as a historical event.
Morrison’s structuring of the novel and narrative
approach obviously have something to do with
jazz. The same scenes are often played out from
different characters’ points of view. But the reader
is not left with a Rashamon-esque set of separate
tales stemming from the same incident, obfuscating
the truth rather than revealing it. Instead, Morrison
gives separate ways of looking at the same event,
whether it is the first time that Joe meets Dorcas, or
the slashing of Dorcas’s face. A detail is added here,
another is dropped, much in the subtle way that good
musicians play their improvisations on their separate
instruments. The separate improvisations merge to
complete the performance. The perspectives of the
characters merge to bring the reader closer to the truth.
The novel is too rich to allow for exhausting its
possibilities in the classroom, but its richness should
not be a reason to avoid its use. It is often said that no
two jazz performances of the same tune, even played
by the same musician, will ever be the same. It is also
safe to venture the opinion that no two teachings of
Jazz by the same or separate teachers will ever result
in the same conclusions. The joys of good jazz and
good literature are in many ways the same. Vive la
différence. (Ken Froehlich)
pain of a changing, learning, hurting, and yet mostly
surviving African American people” (Ellison).
In the poem’s second verse, Baraka commands his
audience to consider the expeditious speed of time
and the fleeting nature of a lifetime. When Baraka
writes, “And those few sounds / that we breathe / in
that incredible speed / blurs of sight and sound / the
wind’s theories,” he suggests that a human’s short
life, perhaps made shorter by circumstance, leaves
an eternal impact in the past, present, and future, just
as music does. The phrase “breathe in that incredible
speed” also intimates that the actual playing of music,
paradoxically, does not blow away in the wind but
remains in the air and in people’s spirits to allow
communication from one generation to the next.
(Melissa Papianou)
Short Stories (annotated):
Baldwin, James. “Sonny’s Blues.” In Baldwin: Early
Novels and Stories. Edited by Toni Morrison, 831–64.
New York: Library of America, 1998.
“Sonny’s Blues” is a James Baldwin gift to high school
English teachers. Because it does not contain any of
the sexual themes that make some of Baldwin’s other
works, such as Another Country, problematic for the
high school classroom, this story is the perfect vehicle
for introducing students to this very important African
American writer. The story is beautifully written but
is very readable for even an average-reading-ability
ninth grader. The story uses a first-person narrative that
moves back and forth in time through reminiscences,
but the time shifts are easy to follow and will
not present any special difficulties for students in
following the narrative flow.
For many reasons, the story itself should hold
some innate interest for the young reader. Sonny,
of the title, finds himself at odds with the older
generation when he becomes the ward of his older
brother when both of their parents die in fairly quick
succession. Sonny has no real means of support as
he attempts to finish his high school education. His
older brother, the nameless narrator of the story, is in
the military during the Korean War. Sonny grudgingly
agrees to live with his brother’s wife and her mother
and father. Sonny concedes to this arrangement
because the family owns a piano, which would allow
him to practice his music.
The music, jazz, is the main area of disagreement
between Sonny and his brother. The brother does
not even know who Charlie Parker is. Jazz for the
older brother is represented by Louis Armstrong. The
brother sees Sonny’s interest in jazz as regrettable, an
avoidable mistake. He does not grasp Sonny’s need for
the music. It is Sonny’s only real interest, and it makes
Poetry (annotated)
Baraka, Amiri. New Music/New Poetry. Chicago:
Third World Press, 1965.
Amiri Baraka believes that blues and jazz contain
the painful story of African American history and that
this music must be heard by African Americans to
understand that past and to progress into the future.
In his poem “Ballad Air and Fire,” Baraka’s rhythmic
style enhances the theme that music has an indelible
past that influences the present and the future.
The short lines in the first stanza create a fluid,
jazzlike pace. The poem begins, “There is music /
sometimes / in lonely shadows.” The italicized is
emphasizes a stress on the word and its consequent
idea that even in “lonely shadows” music is present;
it is a gift bequeathed “from crowds / of people /
listening and singing / from generation / to generation.”
Baraka’s “few sinuous words” mirror the “pure
melancholic curve of a tenor sax played by John
Coltrane or Sonny Rollins” (Mary Ellison). Also, Baraka’s
seemingly simple syntax helps to encapsulate his theme
that this “blue music” heard in “lonely shadows” has
been passed down and that there is a “continuous
41
Alive, 103–24. New York: Random House, 1977.
High school teachers may be familiar with Toni
Cade Bambara’s frequently anthologized short
story “Gorilla, My Love,” but in her 1974 short
story “Medley,” Bambara uses the story of a young
manicurist as a way to express some of the most
important themes that dominate her oeuvre: black
female consciousness, the role of women in African
American culture, and their place in larger society.
What makes this story worth recommending is
Bambara’s central contention that jazz is an important
part of black women’s lives and it carries a unique
position for reclaiming strength and individuality in
both personal relationships and the world at large.
The narrator, Sweet Pea, is not a musician herself
but rather the inamorata of a dynamic but not very
successful bass player named Larry Landers. Despite
his lack of real musicianship, he has “these long arms
that drape down over the bass like they were grown
for that purpose,” and he’s got a special talent: “Larry
Landers was baad [sic] in the shower.” This passionate
sexuality, then, is at the heart of the relationship.
Larry and Sweet Pea never feels so close as when they
sing in the shower. “My Funny Valentine,” “Green
Dolphin Street,” Jelly Roll Morton’s “Deep Creek
Blues,” Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, Betty Roche, and
others all are sung with love and desire and longing.
However exciting and pleasurable the relationship is,
Sweet Pea begins to see that Larry’s magnetism hides
a suspicious and possessive side. After establishing a
very lucrative professional relationship with a gambler
named Moody, Sweet Pea asserts her true aim: “My
agenda is still to make a home for my girl.” In the
final climactic scene, Sweet Pea and Larry, singing in
shower for one last time, begin to move through their
repertoire, improvising and changing the melody line,
adding scat and a vocal pattern described as “Swahili
Wailing.” Finally, Sweat Pea is soloing, singing on her
own, not dependent on Larry’s supporting line, singing
for her little girl, singing for herself. (T. J. Gillespie)
him complete as a person.
Sonny leaves his sister-in-law’s home when he is
chastised for missing school. He realizes that his hours
of practicing and listening to records have disrupted
the lives of the other people in the household. He is
perceptive enough to realize that he is tolerated not
for himself or his music but because of the family’s
relationship with his brother. Sonny joins the navy.
The gulf widens between Sonny and his brother.
The older brother has no respect for Sonny’s interest,
lifestyle, or friends. He feels that he has made it. He is
a math teacher with a respectable family. His middle
class values are antithetical, in his mind, to everything
that Sonny stands for. The death of his child gives
him some insight into his brother’s and other people’s
suffering. He contacts Sonny to tell him of the child’s
death, but the gulf between them remains.
Sonny’s arrest and institutionalization for heroin
use and possession does not do much to ameliorate
the situation. But a remembered conversation with
their mother in which he promised to “be there” for
Sonny causes him to invite his brother to live with
his family after what would be called today rehab. By
learning to listen to Sonny and his music, the older
brother gains some genuine insight and respect for
his brother’s ideals, life, and vocation. The story ends
on an optimistic note, at least for the developing
relationship between Sonny and his brother. Drug
addiction still hangs over Sonny’s head. The dark
outside the window, a reoccurring image, is still there,
but, as this story realistically illustrates, other people
can help in dealing with it.
The conversations between Sonny and his brother
contain great verisimilitude. In fact, everything about
the story is saturated in truth. The sea change on the
part of the older brother is made totally believable.
The search for identity and fulfillment are themes
that young people can relate to. The gaps between
generations will never cease to exist. These themes
are universal and are always worth discussing and
contemplating.
The story also offers the teacher opportunity to
discuss a crucial time both in history in general and
the development of jazz, bebop in particular. The
development of the civil rights movement and the
attempts to have bebop accepted as a legitimate
art form are both at critical junctures. The use of
recordings, documentaries, and research projects
could enrich not only an understanding of this
story but an important time in social, political, and
cultural history. This bibliography contains three
critical studies that should be useful to the teacher in
developing lesson plans for this story. (Ken Froehlich)
Ellison, Ralph. “A Coupla Scalped Indians.” In Living
with Music: Ralph Ellison’s Jazz Writings, edited by
Robert G. O’Meally, 179–95. New York: Modern
Library, 2001.
Ralph Ellison’s “A Coupla Scalped Indians” features
two African American boys who create and
implement initiation tests using, ironically, an old
Boy Scout manual, an organization that forbade
African American membership. The short story deals
heavily with the importance of initiation and uses
jazz to show that the protagonist, whose lack of a
name suggests his lack of identity, will evolve into a
man who is influenced and inspired by the art of his
ancestry. From the beginning of the work until the
Bambara, Toni Cade. “Medley.” In The Sea Birds Are Still
42
end, jazz serves as a symbol of the male maturation
process, as the protagonist experiences a rite of
passage that motivates his entrance into manhood.
The story opens with a figurative description of
“horns bursting like bright metallic bubbles against the
sky,” and the nameless narrator continues to describe
the horns as “sounding like somebody flipping bright
handfuls of new small change against the sky.” These
similes suggest that the horns offer advancement into
a promising world, as the word “bright” connotes
positive promise. The two young, wistful boys have
recently been circumcised, an obvious rite of passage,
and are suffering from the physical consequences,
but the “horns made [them] forget [their] tiredness
and pain” as they wander farther into the woods.
The music invites them to transcend their childhood
and journey into adulthood. It is important to note
that the music is almost exclusively described using
metaphoric language; the narrator even describes
his friend Buster’s voice “like a trombone with a big,
fat pot-shaped mute stuck in it.” The implication
seems to be that music surpasses literal translation.
The metaphoric descriptions continue as the narrator
describes the sound coming “through the trees like
colored marbles glinting in the summer sun.”
As the boys continue their journey, the instruments
become a part of their dialogue. Buster translates what the
instruments’ sounds mean in words. Buster jokes about
the meaning of the sounds and says the “trumpet’s got
a real nasty mouth.” When the narrator warns Buster
that they need to stop cursing because whites do not use such
language, Buster replies, “Who wants to be just like
them? Me, I’m gon be a scout and play the twelves
too!” Buster uses the instruments as something that he
can relate and aspire to. He assertively acknowledges
that he does not have to play like white people and
that the trumpet will allow him, particularly in his
adulthood, the freedom to express himself.
Soon after their conversation about instruments,
the narrator comes into contact with the elusive
Aunt Mackie. She tries to seduce the eleven-year-old
narrator, and he becomes mentally and physically
agonized. His circumcision, her advancements,
and his resultant shame all pain him. When Aunt
Mackie discovers that the narrator is only eleven, she
brutally demands that he leave. The narrator is left
with confusion and wounded pride because of this
disturbing rite of passage. The narrator says that he
“felt much older” after this unexpected, premature,
and harmful initiation into adulthood. Consequently,
the horns are no longer described as bright and jovial;
instead the penultimate line of the story reads, “I was
again aware of the imperious calling of the horns and
moved again toward the carnival.” The horns now
connote something domineering and necessary, rather
than something merely light and fun. The narrator
has experienced many rites of passage, including
circumcision, self-created tests in the woods, and the
touch of a woman. It seems that the horns no longer
blow for his boyhood pleasures, but rather they invite
him to adulthood. (Melissa Papianou)
Hughes, Langston. “The Blues I’m Playing.” In The
Ways of White Folks, 99–125. New York: Vintage
Classic Books, 1990.
One could very easily teach all of the stories included
in Langston Hughes’s 1933 collection The Ways of
White Folks as an exploration of the relationship
between jazz and fictional narrative. From the
tragic homecoming of ailing musician Roy Williams
returning from Europe only to find brutal prejudice
in “Home” to the dissipated Mr. Lloyd, the wealthy
white socialite in “A Good Job Gone” who goes
slumming in Harlem for drink and women, Hughes
writes movingly and convincingly of whites and
blacks negotiating their place in a changing American
culture. In “The Blues I’m Playing,” Hughes explores
several issues central to the understanding of jazz
in American life, namely the complexities inherent
in a relationship between black artists and white
audiences, the misreading of European classical
traditions as a musical standard, and the unique
conflicts that exist for female artists.
The story’s principal characters are Oceola Jones,
a church choir director and music teacher from
Harlem, and Mrs. Dora Ellsworth, an incredibly
wealthy white woman whose only hobby seems to
be acting as a generous benefactor to needy artistic
protégées. Despite her passion for “beauty,” Mrs.
Ellsworth had never acted as a patron for a black artist
before, but Oceola’s piano playing—she performed
Rachmaninoff, Liszt, and “The St. Louis Blues” at
their first meeting—had been so striking that the old
woman took an immediate interest in her life. Very
quickly, Mrs. Ellsworth takes inventory of Oceola’s
whole life—from where works, where she lives, and
with whom she associates—and begins to institute
changes, all in the name of art. Things become even
more conflicted when Pete, a prospective suitor of
Oceola, makes his romantic intentions known.
One of the themes that classes may find most
interesting is the underlying significance behind the
obvious differences between the two women’s views
on music. For Oceola, music demands “movement
and expression, dancing and living to go with it.” In
Harlem, she visits house parties, and later in Paris
she prefers West Indian ball rooms and Bricktop’s
nightclub; she loves spirituals and blues and jazz.
Mrs. Ellsworth, however, prefers symphonies and
string quartets, Schubert and Beethoven; she “still
43
believed in the art of the old school, portraits that
really looked liked people, poems about nature,
music that had soul in it, not syncopation.” Here then
we see an illustration of one of the first great truths
concerning jazz: African Americans are creating
their own virtuosic compositions independent of the
Western classical authority. Students can examine
this further by exploring notions of modernism vs.
primitivism, experimentalism vs. traditionalism,
popular music vs. high art, and by seeking to
identify the criteria that establish an artistic standard.
Other areas worthy of discussion may include an
examination of Mrs. Ellsworth’s aesthetic philosophy
as opposed to Oceola’s more practical considerations,
the romantic complications involved in the artist’s life
(as seen with the conflict involving Pete), and finally
the role of emotion and personal expression play in
the performance of music. (T. J. Gillespie)
jazz musicians answering questions such as “What
instrument do you play and how did you select that
instrument?” A brief video shows the musician with
his instrument and a brief answer to the question. The
other links on the pages are also excellent for use as
an educational tool to begin the study of jazz for the
younger fans.
Overall, the site will provide the teacher and the
students with a solid base from which to proceed to
build future fans of the genre. The included Lesson
Page provides even the newest fans with a solid
foundation to begin the study of jazz with their young
students. The very first lesson included, “Learning
through the Duke,” gives the teacher a clear, stepby-step outline of objectives, materials, procedures.
Included as well in the lesson’s activities is the section
“Can you hear a story?” The students are encouraged
to take what they have heard and create narratives,
both literary and musical, using the moods and
feelings evoked by the music they have heard. In
this manner the study of the music can be linked
to other art forms such as storytelling and musical
composition. (Judith Nador)
Websites (annotated)
http://pbskids.org/jazz/index.html. “Jazz.” PBS Kids Go!
This website provides an introduction to jazz for
young future fans. The site is useful for teachers of
elementary grades K–5 to provide an introduction for
younger students to the world of jazz. In addition, the
site can, with modification, be used with somewhat
older students to provide a basis for further research.
The very fact that the information is on the web will
grab the interest of the students. Once the students
are engaged the site can be used as an introduction to
jazz, and the transition to more intensive study (for the
older students) will be made that much easier.
The home page of the site is straightforward and
easy to use with minimal instruction. There are clearly
labeled links for the various aspects of jazz: Timeline,
Join the Jazz Band, Jazz Greats, Bandleader, Meet
a Musician, and Lesson Page. Clicking on each of
the buttons takes the user to a new link with more
information. There are brief videos and sound clips
that can be easily accessed.
The Timeline link takes the student to an
interactive map with a time line of dates from the
1700s up to the 1960s. By clicking on either the
map or a date on the time line, the user is taken to a
site with photographs representative of the era, and
historical information is provided. The link for Jazz
Greats is also easy to use and provides the student
with a wealth of information. When the new page
comes up, the student need only click on the picture
of the musician, and a brief biography containing
both personal and professional information about that
musician can be seen. Meet a Musician is another
of the links that the students will find interesting and
exciting. They will be able to access present-day
44
Jazz and Gender
easier to live as a man than to perform as a woman.
Queer Noises by John Gill is an excellent source as
a basis for thinking about the influences of sexuality,
gender, and homophobia in the music industry as
well as providing distinct stories about musicians and
moments in musical history. Our intention and hope
in selecting these sources along with the others listed
here is to provide educators with a wide variety of
resources for building background knowledge of this
topic and also to provide concrete and accessible
sources for designing lessons.
Jazz, Gender, and Sexuality: Who’s Left Out and Why?
Amy Dilts, Aimee Hendrix, Hope Rias, and Franklin Webster
One of the simplest of our objectives in putting
together this list of resources on jazz, gender, and
sexuality was to collect attempts to recover what has
been left out of the story of jazz either because of
bias within the industry and art form itself or because
of biases in the nature of recording history. To that
end we have included books, articles, visual art, film,
and recordings about and by female jazz musicians
from the history of jazz as well as current female
performers. Though this is not a completely separate
category we have also included the same types of
works concerning musicians whose contributions to
jazz as gay musicians have typically been erased.
Since studies of gender and sexuality are not
merely about the important work of capturing
marginalized individuals to mix into history, we have
also included materials that either analyze or inspire
analysis of how gender and sexuality function within
the world of jazz music. The issues addressed are
the real or perceived masculinity associated with the
jazz world, the challenges faced by female and/or
gay musicians, the ways in which gender issues may
transcend or collide with other categories of identity
such as race and sexuality, and the gender coding of
instruments and band roles. Information can also be
found on the perspectives of females concerning jazz
and gender construction in film and art.
While not exhaustive, we feel that our list
represents a great starting point for thinking about
numerous aspects of jazz, gender, sexuality, historical
record, marketing, and marginalization. Though this
topic area is perhaps not as densely loaded with
sources as some others, what we did find was rich
in content. The photographs of jazz musicians in
Friedman’s The Jazz Pictures, for instance, though
simple and accessible on one level, contain a variety
of subtle messages about gender for students to tease
out through analysis. The chapter on Lil Harden in
The Louis Armstrong Companion could easily provide
a student or educator with a clearly defined example
of a woman challenging and negotiating with the
expected gender roles of her time through her own
career and her marriage to Louis Armstrong. The
documentary The Women of Tin Pan Alley stands
out in significance for its representation of female
composers whose contributions have stood so long as
popular American standards. Suits Me, the biography
of Billy Tipton, a female musician who spent fifty
years of her life performing and living as a man,
is notable in its comment on the plight of female
instrumentalists. It is very telling that she found it
Books and Book Chapters
Albany, A. J. Low Down: Junk, Jazz, and Other Fairy
Tales from Childhood. New York: Bloomsbury,
2003.
Bolden, Tonya. Take-Off: American All-Girl Bands
during World War II. New York: Knopf Books
for Young Readers, 2007.
Boutry, Katherine. “Black and Blue: The Female
Body of Blues Writing in Jean Toomer, Toni
Morrison, and Gayl Jones.” In Black Orpheus:
Music in African American Fiction from
the Harlem Renaissance to Toni Morrison,
edited by Saadi A. Simawe, 91–118. New
York: Garland, 2000.
Dahl, Linda. Stormy Weather: The Music and Lives
of a Century of Jazzwomen. New York:
Pantheon, 1984.
DeVeaux, Alexis. Don’t Explain: A Song of Billie
Holiday. New York: Harper and Row, 1980.
Enstice, Wayne, and Janis Stockhouse, eds.
Jazzwomen: Conversations with Twenty-One
Musicians. Bloomington: Indiana University
Press, 2004.
Goose, Leslie. Madame Jazz. New York: Oxford
University Press, 1995.
Hadju, David. Lush Life: A Biography of Billy
Strayhorn. New York: Farrar, Straus, and
Giroux, 1996.
Hayes, M. Eileen, and Linda F. Williams, eds. Black
Women and Music: More than the Blues.
Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2007.
Holiday, Billie, and William Dufty. Lady Sings the
Blues. New York: Harlem Moon, 2006.
Jones, Hettie. Big Star Fallin’ Mama: Five Women in
Black Music. New York: Penguin Group, 1974.
Wyman, Carolyn. Ella Fitzgerald: Jazz Singer Supreme.
New York: Franklin Watts, 1993.
Encyclopedia Entries
45
Kahlberg, Jeffery. “Sex, Sexuality.” Grove Music Online.
Edited by L. Macy.
<http://www.grovemusic.com> (accessed July 19, 2007).
Films
Websites
Billie Holliday: The Ultimate Collection. Produced by
Toby Byron. Universal Music Enterprises, 2005.
Jazz Icons: Ella Ftizgerald. Produced by David Peck
and Phillip Galloway. Reelin’ In the Years
Productions, 2006.
Lady Sings the Blues. Directed by Sidney J. Furie.
Paramount Pictures, 1972.
New Orleans. Directed by Arthur Lubin. Majestic
Productions, 1947.
On the Road Again: Down Home Blues, Jazz, Gospel,
and More, 1963. Produced and directed
by Sherwin Dunner and Richard Evans.
Shanachie Entertainment, 1999.
Orchestra Wives. Directed by Archie Mayo. Twentieth
Century Fox, 1942.
Swing. Produced and directed by Oscar Micheaux.
1938. (Available from www.midnightramble.
com)
Tiny and Ruby: Hell Diving Women. Directed by Greta Schiller and Andrea Weiss. Jezebel Productions, 1997.
http://www.internationalwomeninjazz.com
http://jazzwomen.org/
http://www.pbs.org/jazz/time/time_women.htm
http://www.womeninjazz.org/ht/about.html
Books and book chapters (annotated)
Barrett, Joshua. “Lil and Louis: Satchmo and Me.” In
The Louis Armstrong Companion: Eight Decades of
Commentary, 42–45. New York: Schirmer Books, 1999.
This book is a compilation of interviews, excerpts
from books, and articles from magazines. The people
involved in all of these things interacted with Louis
Armstrong in one way or another. They were spouse,
family, friends, coworkers, and people influenced
by his music. So the excerpts go from how he met
one of his spouses to a friend telling about a funny
experience with Mr. Armstrong. The author says that
the main focus of the book is for people to get an
idea of what Louis Armstrong’s spirit was like and his
contributions to twentieth-century entertainment.
There is an excerpt in this book from Lil Harden.
Lil Harden was Louis Armstrong’s second wife. It tells
about how they met and married. The expert also tells
how she perceived jazz at this time. This is important
because she was also a very well known musician.
How women perceived jazz is one of the things that
this section, Jazz and Gender, focuses on. This excerpt
also shows the gender roles in the case of Louis
Armstrong and his second wife, Lil Harden.
In the excerpt from the book, Lil Harden explains
that her perception of jazz was not very strong when
she met Louis Armstrong. She said that it was just
good because she was getting paid to sing it. She says
that as she got older her perception of jazz became
more in depth but during that time she was just in it
for the money. This may be how some musician felt
when they played jazz at first, not just female but
male also. They were interested in making the money
and playing what people would like to hear.
The excerpt shows the gender roles in their
relationship. In this relationship Lil Harden seemed to
make all of the decisions. She showed Mr. Armstrong
how to dress, what to do with his money, and how
much he should be charging for his shows. She really
cared about his carrier because she saw how good
he was. She was very instrumental in getting Louis
Armstrong well known to the people. So during this
time she was not the norm as far as gender roles are
concerned. (Franklin H. Webster)
Magazine and Newspaper Articles
Ireland, James. “Two for the Road: Gay Jazz Singers
Ian Shaw and Steven Kowalczyk.” The
Advocate, March 18, 1997.
Robinson, Greg. “Fred Hersch: A Candid Conversation
with the Pianist concerning Music,
Homosexuality, and the Gay Community.”
Jazz Times, September 1994.
White, Dave. “Openly Bey.” The Advocate, March 16,
2003.
Music Recordings
Armstrong, Lil Hardin. Lil Harden Armstrong and
Her Swing Orchestra, 1936–1940. France:
Classics, 1991.
Fruit Cocktail: A Gay Lounge Collection. Streeter
Music, 1999. 1005. Compilation of music
from Irene Farerra, Blazing Redheads, Tom
Robinson, Lea Delaria, Steven Grossman,
Melinda di Maio, Judy Barnett, Ian Shaw,
Holly Near, David Downing, Maja, Kellye
Gray, Rhiannon, and Steven Kowalczyk
Sissy Man Blues: Straight and Gay Blues and Jazz Vocals. Jass Label, 1989.
Williams, Mary Lou. Mary Lou Williams, 1927–1940. France: Classics, 1992.
Scholarly Articles
Kastin, David. “Nica’s Story: The Life and Legend
of the Jazz Baroness.” Popular Music and
Society 29 (July 2006): 279–98.
Bowers, Jane. “Writing the Biography of a Black
Woman Blues Singer.” In Music and Gender, edited
by Pirkko Moisala and Beverley Diamond, 140–65.
46
Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2000.
Bowers took on writing the biography of an
outstanding and creative American blues singer,
Estelle “Mama” Yancey, who lived from 1896 to 1986.
Mama Yancey has a unique story, as she began her
jazz career later in her life, after the passing of her
husband. In 1983, at age eighty-seven, her expressive
performance touched an audience of all ages, proving
that age could not limit her musical expression and
soul. Bowers states that finding accurate information
on this fine and expressive musician proved difficult,
as there is a substantial lack of information written
about her. Another point of frustration in writing
this particular biography was that Yancey was
contradictory in her accounts of her own life in
interviews, often giving different answers to similar
questions through the years, as well as contradicting
herself over the course of one interview.
Mama Yancey made only a few recordings on
small labels and had few public performances, which
has led to little being written about her work. Bowers’s
sources of information do include interviews of the
people who worked with Mama personally, as well
as interviews with her niece, with whom Mama was
close. Bowers comes to conclusions about Mama’s
personality and activities through the compiled
information and stories. This essay gives a very detailed
account of the facts of Mama’s life, as cited through
specific sources. Bowers states outright that she also
considers Mama Yancey’s life story through different
and varied perspectives, including the narratives of
male blues musicians, the male blues role, blues women’s
roles and images, black women’s history, and the
writing of feminist biography, doing so in depth.
In summary, this essay includes the background
history of what methods and approaches Bowers used
to compose Mama Yancey’s biography. This work
would be appropriate in a high school class focusing
on gender or gender as it relates to the music industry.
Students might grapple with the question of why so
little documentation exists for such an accomplished
female musician or examine the details of her life to
better understand the woman, her life decisions, and
her contributions to jazz. (Amy Dilts)
them is he wants it to give an accurate account of Lil
Harden Armstrong and jazz history. The second topic
is that he wants to establish Lil Harden Armstrong as a
very important person in the history of jazz.
Lil Armstrong was a very good female
instrumentalist and was involved in many great jazz
recordings—one of the greatest being the “Hot Five”
with Louis Armstrong. However, as with many female
jazz artists she is often forgotten when talking about
some of the great jazz instrumentalist. She is often just
placed in history as Louis Armstrong’s second wife,
but she is so much more than that.
Lil Armstrong was a well-established musician
before she met Louis Armstrong. Also while married
to Louis Armstrong she help to build his career. Lil
Armstrong was an instrumentalist, supporting wife,
and manager for Louis Armstrong. She arranged
the way he dressed, she told him how to spend his
money, and she negotiated some of the salaries for his
paying gigs. She was a very strong woman that stood
by her husband and made some very good business
decisions for him. The gender roles for women during
this time did not apply at all to Lil Armstrong. She
was in charge and tried to get the best for herself and
her husband. This book would be something very
entertaining and informative to high school students.
(Franklin H. Webster)
Friedman, Carol. The Jazz Pictures. Santa Fe: Tondo
Books, 1999.
An incredibly useful tool in any classroom where
jazz music or jazz history is taught, this book of
photography is a beautiful collection of Carol
Friedman’s portraits of jazz musicians. Included is a
thoughtful foreword by Gordon Parks, who eloquently
and complimentarily describes Friedman’s work in this
collection. An essay by Stanley Crouch calls Friedman
a “master” and calls her work the “counterpart of
the art of the invisible, which is music.” He artfully
describes and highlights the best features of chosen
photographs. The portraits themselves stand alone,
unobstructed by text beside or around them. The
book is oversized, and each portrait takes up the
full side of one or two pages. The portraits are
all black-and-white. What makes this collection
unique and Friedman outstanding is that she makes
viewers feel as if they are experiencing a moment
with each musician. The portraits are full of life, full
of personality, full of the musicians’ unique voice.
Photographs of males far outnumber the photographs
of females, but Friedman’s approach to each musician
seems to be just that: she approached a music master,
not a gender. Photographs of each subject, be it a male or
female musician, are equally stunning and respectfully
done. Photographs were taken between 1976 and 1998,
Dickerson, L. James. Just for a Thrill: Lil Harden
Armstrong, First Lady of Jazz. New York: Cooper
Square Press, 2002.
This book is about the life of Lil Harden Armstrong.
Lil Hardin Armstrong was the second wife of Louis
Armstrong. The writer gives an account of her life
from childhood to her death. He describes how she
became involved in music and how her and Louis
Armstrong met. The author states that he wants two
main topics to be addressed in this book. One of
47
documenting more than twenty years of jazz greats.
I strongly suggest that this book of jazz portraits is
added to every classroom collection. (Amy Dilts)
power that a plantation boss held over his subjects.
He describes jazz critics as security guards outside
of jazz musicians’ closets. In a manner that some
might find off-putting, and others refreshing, Gill
is unapologetic and unwavering in pinning down
instances of homophobia and assigning blame in the
chapters on jazz and in the stories of other types of
music. The narratives in his book have the effect of
poking holes in the heterosexually biased stories that
have been told (or not told, as sometimes is the silent
case) in music history and music journalism.
This book would be a great asset for an
educator wanting to do what Gill describes as “tracking
and tagging” queer musicians for the purpose of either
lesson planning, or just the full sort of understanding
of a queer musician’s history that we often have for
heterosexual musicians. The book certainly represents
scholarship but does not use an abundance of
scholarly jargon. Thus, excerpts of the book could be
used in the classroom. (Aimee Hendrix)
Gill, John. Queer Noises. Minneapolis: University of
Minnesota Press, 1995.
John Gill’s book is about music, homosexuality, and
most prominently the homophobia that has distorted
the way in which musicians’ lives get perceived,
portrayed, and recorded. Gill acknowledges many
factors contributing to this homophobia but focuses
intently on the role of the critics, historians, and
journalists in perpetuating it.
The book is organized into distinct chapters
on different topics within music, but each is sewn
together with ideas that develop as the book
progresses. As such I recommend the entire book as
a read, even if jazz is the specific area of interest.
For instance, in the opening chapter on the Pet Shop
Boys, Gill introduces the idea of the “glass closet,”
wherein a musician’s queer sexual orientation is not
exactly a secret but is never discussed—maybe out of
respectful privacy, or maybe as a sort of unspeakable
embarrassment. He then goes on to discuss the ways
in which the media erases the story of Benjamin
Bishop’s sexuality, then through a discussion of
Bessie Smith’s undeniable lesbian affairs moves on
to the various factors that have contributed to the
erasure of the acceptance of homosexuality within
black communities. The concepts in those chapters
are necessary for understanding the issues that Gill
raises in his three chapters that address jazz directly:
“And His Mother Called Him Bill,” “Miles in the
Sky,” and “Two Live Ones: Gary and Graham.”
The first two in this list comment on the effects of
homophobia, the macho associations of jazz, and
rumor in policing what information is allowed to
be expressed or preserved concerning a musician’s
sexuality. Bix Beiderbecke, Billy Strayhorn, Miles
Davis, Sun Ra, and Wilbur Ware are discussed in the
two chapters. “Two Live Ones” is decidedly more
personal, discussing his own personal relationship
with jazz musician Graham Collier and the backlash
against their casual inclusion of their relationship in a
documentary about Collier. This chapter also includes
a powerful narrative from vibraphonist Gary Burton.
The story of his closeting and decision to come out
provides a very concrete example of the homophobia
within jazz culture and the extent to which gay
audiences do not perceive jazz as a music they can
identify with.
In a perfect example of Gill’s attitude toward jazz
homophobia, he says that “jazz criticism is one of the
last bastions of intellectualized homophobia,” calling
it a “virulent bigotry” and likening this practice to the
Gourse, Leslie. Sophisticated Ladies: The Great Women
of Jazz. New York: Dutton Children’s Books, 2007.
Sophisticated Ladies is a children’s book that
introduces fourteen famous women of jazz. The
book is illustrated, offering a colorful drawing of
each artist at the start of each chapter. It is intended
for elementary school children. The book provides
an introduction to a number of female jazz greats,
including Ethel Waters, Billie Holiday, Peggy Lee,
and contemporary artist Diana Krall. Chapters are
organized chronologically by the years in which
the artists began performing. Although the book is
in children’s language, the author gently discusses
complex issues for female artists. For example, the
author writes about the discrimination that some
black artists faced. Gourse touches upon drug use
that hurt the careers of some. Gourse even blatently
points out that for artist Diana Krall, her good looks
became famous before her music. Gourse has
managed a very difficult task. She has given these
artists an introduction that respects their complexities.
However, she has managed to write about these
complexities in gentle ways. Teachers reading this
book to their students can decide to pursue the issues
of discrimination or drug abuse, if they choose. This is
a very good book to introduce students to women of
jazz. Children who read this book may be encouraged
to ask what was different about being a female jazz
artist than a male jazz artist. They may also ask why
there were many famous jazz musicians at a certain
time period. This opens the to door to discussions
about jazz being a cultural movement and not just a
style of music. The book can be used as the gateway
for students to learn more about jazz. (Hope Rias)
48
Middlebrook, Diane Wood. Suits Me: The Double
Life of Billy Tipton. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1998.
This brilliantly written biography of jazz musician
Billy Tipton researches one of the most complex issues
of gender to date. Billy Tipton was born a woman
yet lived convincingly as a man. Tipton’s secret was
not discovered until after her death in 1989. Because
Tipton left no journals or memoirs, the author is
left to reconstruct her life based on interviews with
relatives and friends. The author does a wonderful
job in uncovering how and why Tipton was able to
successfully live as a man for more than five decades.
Dorothy Lucille Tipton was born in Oklahoma in
1914. By the time she was nineteen years old, she
was clear about her goal to become a professional
musician. She believed that opportunities to find
steady work would only present themselves if she
pretended to be a man. It appears that Tipton’s initial
reason for dressing as a man was economic. While
relatives found her choice distasteful, close friends
who knew Tipton were accepting of her choice.
The plot thickens when Tipton becomes involved
in her first romantic relationship. Tipton’s first love
is an avant-garde female entertainer, Non Earl,
who rejects conventional ideas about how women
should behave. Tipton and Non Earl live together
as husband and wife for nearly seven years. Here,
again, the author takes the opportunity to delve into
interesting and complex issues of gender. The most
obvious question is, was Tipton gay? If so, why did she
choose to live as a man and not as a lesbian? Through
extensive interviews, author Diane Middlebrook
discovered that many of the couples’ friends would
have been very accepting of a lesbian couple.
This book raises questions about what sexuality
really is. Is it possible to be straight and find love with
someone of the same gender? Tipton “married” (the
legality of her marriages is questionable since Tipton
married under a false identity) five times. Each time,
she married a woman. The author concludes that
Tipton’s sexuality was not in question. Her career
options were. Middlebrook believes that Tipton
found it less threatening to live as a man and have
relationships with women than to live as a woman
attempting to make a career in music. Living as
a man was an easier option for Tipton than living
as a lesbian. Fundamentally, this raises questions
about American society at the time. What were
Americans ideals about the roles of women, and why
were those ideals so constrained? Finally, the book
raises questions about the gender identity of men in
America. As a jazz musician, Tipton embraces the
traditionally male role. She participated in bawdy
entertainment and was famous for blue humor
routines. It appears that publicly degrading women
became a part of her act as a man. In fact, when her
“wives” were not around, Tipton was said to be an
aggressive flirt (with women).
The book is well written and uncovers the very
secretive life of an important jazz musician. Because
of the nature of the story, the author does offer
detailed descriptions of Tipton’s sex life with her
wives. This book is appropriate only for mature high
school students. It is a fascinating biography and also
an incredible investigation of gender and sexuality.
(Hope Rias)
Morgenstern, Dan, and Ole Brask. Jazz People. New
York: Da Capo Press, 1993.
This book was first published in 1976 and was
reprinted in 1993. The book contains only blackand-white photographs of the jazz “giants.”
Descriptive stories and histories of each artist
are printed alongside the photographs. The book
begins with a foreword by Dizzy Gillespie and an
introduction by James Jones, which makes the book
worthwhile in itself if one was to consult it just those
sections. Gillespie’s fantastic foreword is an essay
on his feelings about where jazz is headed (from his
perspective in 1976), about the role of photography
as it serves as a representation of jazz musicians,
the different contributions of different generations of
jazz artists to jazz, and how as the world changes so
does the sound of jazz. The earliest photograph in the
book is of the Superior Band of New Orleans, circa
1910, and the book concludes with pictures of the
more contemporary artists Grady Tate, Archie Shepp,
Anthony Braxton, Dizzy Gillespie, and Jon Faddis.
Contents are divided into two major sections,
“The Music,” commenting on where jazz came from,
where it’s been, where it is, and where it’s going, and
“The People,” which includes what Morgenstern calls
the “jazz masters, giants, and keepers of the flame.”
The collection features bands’ publicity shots, jazz
musicians together and alone in session, as well as
posed portraits of the musicians—a full variety of style of
photograph. Also contained in the book is a selected
biography of recommended reading as well as a
selected discography of recommended jazz listening.
From a gender perspective, there is unfortunately
very limited female representation in the book. Mary
Lou Williams is pictured (surrounded by children, a
typical female role as teacher/nurturer) in the section
“More Giants of the Golden Age.” The text written for
her includes the statement “she keeps busy touring,
recording, writing, helping others, and staying young.”
Marian McPartland is the only female featured in
the “Keepers of the Flame” section. Morgenstern
writes that she is “bright and personable,” a very
“hip lady.” In his final thoughts of her, he says of her
49
edited by Sophie Fuller and Lloyd Whitesell, 293–
310. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2002.
This article by Sherrie Tucker is decidedly scholarly.
I don’t believe that the majority of secondary
students will find reading it in its entirety valuable;
in fact, it has enough jargon specific to gender and
sexuality studies that a reader will need to have some
background in that area to make the whole essay
navigable. Even if that presents some problems for
the reader, I think it would be very useful to someone
researching the ways in which gender and sexuality,
along with other things, intersect within the history
of jazz. This would be especially so if the researcher
has become frustrated to any degree with the lack of
information available on this topic or is still struggling
with even pinning down the relevance of sexuality
within the story of music.
Tucker tells the story of how as a researcher of allgirl jazz bands, a researcher determined not to isolate
sexuality from her discussions of gender, she originally
set out to explore how all-girl bands of the 1940s may
have functioned as a safe space for women to practice
nontraditional sexuality. Throughout the course of her
research, she interviews many women, often in their
own homes, and is somewhat disappointed that no
one “came out.” She notices over and over again how
carefully constructed the interviews and interview
settings are—requests to discuss only music rather
than anything personal, being shown the separate
bedrooms of two cohabitating women, etc. 
Tucker sticks with her hunt, but when it still fails
to provide her with the first-hand lesbian foremother
narrative she thought she wanted, she has to
reexamine her goals. The new avenues that this opens
for her were very enlightening for me as an educator
who works specifically with GLBTQ youth because I
realized that I, too, had been assuming that the out-inthe-open homosexual is the primary model of queer
heroism, and to the extent that I have acknowledged
that coming out isn’t the only option, I’ve had trouble
articulating that to my students. Tucker looks closely
why she wants to know who was a lesbian and
examines the metaphor of the closet, citing the ideas
of others who point out that the closet is a thing that
must constantly be negotiated by those out as gay,
those in the gay closet, and straight individuals. Overreliance on the tool of “coming out” has produced the
myths that coming out fixes everything and that the
past, which often necessitated closeting, was abysmal
for gay people.
Eventually Tucker gets one of her interviewees
to talk about the presence of lesbians within all-girl
bands of the 40s. Though the subject does not deliver
the profound narrative Tucker was originally after, she
does explain that there were lesbians within the band.
musicianship that “she is no match for fellow pianist
Billy Taylor.”
Nine females were pictured in “The Singers”
section, the section that contains the most women. I
admit that I was looking for signs of gender classification,
and I noticed that three women were pictured with
flowers, and one was photographed in a kitchen.
For its pictures, this book could be used in any
aged classroom to introduce and categorize historical
jazz musicians. Eighth through twelfth graders will
find the biographical information and history useful
in their studies. A gender class could dissect the
contents of the book: what it is missing as far as race
or gender classification, and what it does contain and
represent, and how it represents it through word and
photograph. (Amy Dilts)
Tucker, Sherrie. Swing Shift: “All-Girl” Bands of the
1940s. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2000.
Based heavily on the interviews of one hundred
female jazz musicians who were professionals in the
1940s, Tucker takes a feminist approach in relaying
the stories and the history of the all-female jazz bands
of the World War II era in America. Tucker focuses
on why the swing jazz world was segregated by both
gender and race, and why also many women of jazz
were omitted from the major historical texts about
this era and music. Major topics include the effects
of WWII on the careers of female jazz musicians,
the effects that racism and segregation had on the
female bands as compared with the male bands, and
how it was for women to travel and star in the USO
shows of that time. Tucker fights the long-standing
belief that all-girl bands were not professional
bands or important to jazz history. She explores the
ideological, social, and political reasons why they
were considered to be “inauthentic” and compares
her findings with the major texts that cover the history
of swing and jazz bands but do not cover the major
female bands. Tucker explains that female bands
were not given full and proper recognition for their
contribution to jazz history in part because of the
gender construction, political propaganda, media
propaganda, and social norms and values held by the
blue-collar working class of the time.
This text includes an extensive bibliography, many
photos, and opens each chapter with selected quotes.
This is a suitable and relevant source for a high school
jazz or history course that is focusing on the history of
women in jazz, and the social and political struggles
that came with being female professionals before,
during, and after WWII. (Amy Dilts)
Tucker, Sherrie. “When Subjects Don’t Come Out.”
In Queer Episodes in Music and Modern Identity,
50
This section of the essay is excellent for understanding
the issues that female musicians faced. The musician
talks about the extent to which all the girls, regardless of
sexuality, had to police their behavior and represent
only the most acceptable form of femininity in order to
work at all. Tucker concludes that the discreet lesbians
were more respected than those less so because in
the context in which they performed, it was that
discretion that allowed them to keeping working and
continue in the struggle that was important to them—
the struggle to be accepted as real musicians.
In the end, Tucker, like so many who write about
jazz and sexuality, is left with more questions than
answers. Her work has taught her to “read” the
closeting for the messages it tells and that what seems
like an important struggle to her as a postfeminist
researcher of jazz and gender is not necessarily the
most important thing to her subjects. In the end, she
still isn’t sure what to do when her “subjects won’t
come out” and turns the question over to her readers.
Anyone wanting to do research in this area will likely
face similar problems; thus I think this is a must-read
for any such researcher or anyone interested in this
topic. (Aimee Hendrix)
The article on musical theater, jazz, and popular
music also addresses issues that continually surface on
this topic. It explores the reasons why musical theater
has often been a place for gay identification (though
notably not always gay content), while jazz has been
typically thought of as a thoroughly heterosexual
space. The story of jazz and sexuality is addressed
through discussion of Billy Tipton, a transgender
instrumentalist, and Billy Strayhorn, a gay composer
known for his works for Duke Ellington. The section
on popular music contains an interesting discussion of
how, and why, representations of homosexuality have
alternately flared up and died down in popular music.
Other articles provide information on the gay and
lesbian movement (pre-Stonewall through the present)
and its effect on music and musician, the impact of
AIDS on music, the admiration of music divas by
gay audiences, the rise of gay-identified, politically
assertive artists in the 1990s, and the treatment of
homosexuality in music in non-Western cultures
and times other than modern. Though these articles
don’t address jazz directly, they do provide valuable
information for understanding the intersection of
music and sexuality. (Aimee Hendrix)
Encyclopedia entries (annotated)
Films (annotated)
Brett, Philip, and Elizabeth Wood. “Gay and
Lesbian Music.” Grove Music Online. <http://www.
grovemusic.com/shared/views/article.html?section=
music.42824.1> (accessed July 19, 2007).
This collection of articles in the Grove Encyclopedia
under the heading of “Gay and Lesbian Music” works
as both a starting point for thinking about music and sexuality
and an informative source. Its stated purpose is to
consider the record of the “struggles and sensibilities
of homosexual people of the West that came out in
their music, and of the contribution of homosexual
men and women to the music profession.”
The first article in the entry, “Homosexuality
and Musicality,” contains theoretical explanations
of sexuality, queer theory, and the perceived
connections between homosexuality and musicality.
Discussion includes the effects of the Oscar Wilde
trial on acknowledging gay contributions to music,
the doctrine of autonomy that developed historically
in an effort to disassociate music from social issues,
the many mechanisms used by various artists (list
included) for both covering up and displaying
homosexuality within music, and the layers of
complexity added by other categories of identity such
as gender, race, and class. Though dense, it does
provide rewarding explanations of issues that pop up
over and over again when reading about jazz, gender,
and sexuality.
Carmen Jones. Directed by Otto Preminger.
Twentieth Century Fox, 1954.
Carmen Jones is a “black opera” based upon the
original French opera by Georges Bizet. While the
music performed in the film isn’t jazz, the film speaks
to the rise of jazz in America. Early jazz was seen as
a low class, black style of music. The musical Carmen
Jones was, in part, created to show that blacks could
sing opera. It served as proof that black Americans
could perform high art.
This film provides a wonderful opportunity to
deconstruct issues of gender. In Carmen Jones there
are two types of women: good and bad. The good
women did not sing (not much) and the bad women
sang all the time. Carmen is sexy, promiscuous, and
aggressive. Her sex appeal, which is expressed through
song, leads to pain and death. While the men in the
film begin as strong characters, they eventually all fall
victim to the evil ways of the sexy, immoral singer.
This film raises questions about jazz being
associated with vice. Was it true that jazz clubs
contributed to smoking, drinking, and violence? If so,
why would it be true? Students may also question why
the women in the film seem to always be the cause of
the trouble. This film is appropriate for middle through
high school. (Hope Rias)
51
Hoodlum. Directed by Bill Duke. United Artists
Pictures, 1997.
The movie Hoodlum takes place during the 1930s in
Harlem, and its main focus is gangsters trying to get
control of the numbers racket. The gangsters involved
in this movie are Lucky Luciano, Dutch Schultz, and
Ellsworth “Bumpy” Johnson. In the movie, Dutch
Shultz is trying to take over the numbers racket in all
of Harlem and in the process is killing many innocent
African Americans. Bumpy Johnson is a leader of the
African Americans that control the numbers racket in
Harlem that Shultz has not taken over yet. The two
gangsters are fighting during the whole movie, each
trying to outdo the other with more and more people
getting killed. Eventually Bumpy Johnson uses Luck
Luciano to get rid of Dutch Shultz.
The movie has a lot of violence, sex, and
gambling, and there is always jazz playing in
the background. I believe that this feeds into the
stereotype of the time that jazz was related to all of
these things. One of the most exciting and violent
scenes takes place in the Cotton Club while Duke
Ellington is performing “It Don’t Mean a Thing if It
Ain’t Got that Swing.” Another scene takes place at a
“rent party” with a piano player doing a jazz tune and
a man singing some rather explicit lyrics.
This movie also relates to jazz and gender in a
way. The second focus of the movie is the relationship
between Bumpy Johnson and his newfound love,
Francine Hughes. Francine Hughes is a church-going
woman that helps the poor and is against the numbers
racket and other illegal activities. However, soon after
she meets Bumpy Johnson she is attracted to him and
seems to forget his evil ways. She is then thrown into
this world of violence and gambling. This is the classic
story of how women were portrayed back in this
day. Women are tricked into the life of jazz, sex, and
violence. These stereotypes of jazz may not have been
intentional by the writer but they are definitely there.
(Franklin H. Webster)
a dancer. When it became painfully obvious that
she couldn’t dance, she turned to singing. Career
opportunities for black women were limited. Likely
career options for Holiday were to become a maid, a
prostitute, or a musician. She chose the latter.
The film traces the discrimination that Holiday
faced in her career. When she accepted a job with
Artie Shaw, she became one of the first black artists to
headline a white band. On occasion she would not
be allowed to perform in the clubs in which the band
had been booked. Shaw would have to substitute a
white female singer to perform the songs that had
been arranged for Holiday.
Billie Holiday is less famous for her good voice
than she is for her dead-on emotional delivery of
a song. This is obvious in the clips shown of her
performing. The film clip of her performance of
“Strange Fruit” is the best example of this. Holiday
used her voice to record a groundbreaking protest
song, called “Strange Fruit.” The song, with its painful
lyrics, gives a graphic description of the lynchings that
were prominent in the South. Only a woman could
have sung this song. Holiday’s gentle delivery of such
explosive lyrics could have easily provoked mass
violence. Instead, the song made her famous.
Holiday was also an actress. The film New Orleans
starred Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong. Holiday
was cast as a maid. Although she was one of the most
famous musicians of the time, American audiences
wanted to see black women in certain roles. The film
deals with the irony of Holiday (rich and famous)
being cast as a maid. It raises interesting questions
about stereotypes about blacks in America.
While the documentary brushes past Holiday’s
drug problems, it does suggest that loneliness may
have been a contributing factor. Because the jazz
world was predominately male, Holiday attempted to
do what men did. She drank, smoke, and took on the
recreational habits of men. The film suggests that her
many failed relationships and lack of true friendships
contributed to her drug use and, ultimately, her
demise. It raises the questions of what the unique
difficulties were of being a female musician. (Hope Rias)
Masters of American Music: Lady Day: The Many
Faces of Billie Holiday. Directed by Toby Byron and
Richards Saylor. Kultur, 1991.
This film is a documentary of the life of jazz great
Billie Holiday. It uses film clips from original
performances juxtaposed with clips of modern
interviews of musicians who knew Holiday. Ruby Dee
provides the voice that reads the words from Holiday’s
autobiography, Lady Sings the Blues. This work is
intended for viewers who are somewhat familiar with
the life and legacy of Billie Holiday. It is a well-done
biography.
The film explains how and why Holiday became
a jazz musician. She first attempted to take a job as
Masters of American Music: Yours for a Song: The
Women of Tin Pan Alley. Directed by Terry Benes. PBS
Home Video, 1998.
This documentary presents the stories of four female
songwriters who became famous in the Tin Pan Alley
era. The documentary follows the careers of Dorothy
Fields, Kay Swift, Dana Suesse, and Ann Ronell. The
documentary shows photos and clips of performances
from the women when they were writing during
the Jazz Age and shows interviews with friends and
relatives of the women from modern times. The film
52
shows that these women played an integral role in the
music industry.
This film is a useful tool to hear music that was
produced at the time. Students might be shocked
to know that many of the tunes that are familiar to
them were written by women. Music is played and
performances are shown throughout the film. It gives
students a rare opportunity to actually see the writers
and listen to the music at the same time. The film is
very positive in its recounting of the experiences of
these women. It shows the bright spots of their careers
and credits their hard work and talent for their success.
This film raises several questions. Students may
wonder why no women of color are profiled. It is an
opportunity to discuss which groups of people were
marginalized during this time. Questions also arise
about what kind of problems and roadblocks the
women of Tin Pan Alley faced. Finally, students may
ask how these popular songs have been reinterpreted.
This documentary could be a springboard to research
the various artists who have recorded these popular
songs. This film is appropriate for middle and high
school students. (Hope Rias)
with it, and it is shown near the bed in another scene.
Connections are made about the trumpet being a
masculine object and instrument, as well as being
the main draw for these women’s sexual attraction to
Bleek. The women’s characters are portrayed as rather
weak, as neither is fulfilled in her relationship with
Bleek, yet they stay with him despite their heartache.
Bleek is absolutely in charge of the direction of the
relationships; he is the one in control. His all-male
quintet has pinup pictures in their dressing rooms, and
all female characters in the movie play no other role
than the band’s supportive and admiring girlfriends.
A jazz song sung by one of the girlfriends (the only
music we see a female making in the movie) is a
song sung about the “man I love,” which serves to
enforce the idea that a female jazz musician must
be, of course, a singer. After a year of ignoring her
communication, Bleek returns to one lover after he
has lost the ability to play his trumpet and perform.
Only now is he ready to make a relationship with her
his first commitment, and though she is upset and
resistant to him, it only takes a few minutes for her to
succumb to his suave charm, and they are reunited.
She bears him a child, and she insists that the child
learn to play and practice the trumpet, much like
Bleek’s mother insisted for him.
Clearly, females play a secondary and submissive
role in this film, and in the context of jazz they play
the predictable roles of enamored audience members,
the enamored lovers of the music makers. Jazz music
brings on a sexual desire in the women, and the
music serves to empower the males who make the
music. Connections with the music are masculine
ones, as are the instruments used to make the music.
If a female is a jazz musician, she sings. This movie
could not be shown in its entirety to a high school
class, due to several graphic scenes, but certainly clips
could be used in a class discussing jazz and gender to
show the media’s impact on the viewer’s impressions
of gender and jazz. This movie takes old stereotypes
of jazz musicians and the story of their lives and puts
it in a contemporary setting. It reinforces outdated
notions about the life, loves, and priorities of a jazz
musician. (Amy Dilts)
Mo’ Better Blues. Directed by Spike Lee. Universal
Studios, 1990.
In viewing “Mo’ Better Blues” from a jazz-and-gender
perspective—meaning, how males and females are
portrayed in a jazz context—I can say that this movie
hits heavily on some long-standing stereotypes of jazz
musicians. That is, men play the role of musical leader
and genius, and women are drawn to them because
of their skill and music-making ability. The movie
opens with a sultry overture, a colorful collage of jazz
instruments intertwined with images of lovers. It takes
place in New York City and is about a fictional jazz
musician named Bleek. Bleek struggled as a child, as
he was repeatedly instructed by his parents to practice
his trumpet instead of doing what he wanted to do at
the time, which was mostly leaving the house to play
with friends. Flash-forward to his adult life and Bleek
is the leader of a jazz quintet in the city; he loves
what he does and is the best at it. He is involved with
two women who admire and idolize him. He “likes
them both” and enjoys dating them both. The very
first line of one of his girlfriends is “my mother told
me not to date or marry a musician; it would only
lead to grief, pain, tears, and heartache.” The viewer
is now set in the belief that musicians are unable to
commit to the demands of a relationship, as music
will always take first place in their lives. Bleek does
not disappoint us in what we expect. He is very vocal
in telling both lovers that music and his trumpet
come first; all else is secondary to him. His trumpet
is included in each love scene: he caresses his lover
Storyville: The Naked Dance. Directed by Anne O.
Craig. Shanachie, 2000.
The movie Storyville: The Naked Dance is a
documentary on a place in New Orleans called
Storyville. Storyville was a section of town that was
located right next to the French. It was also one of
the only legal red light districts in 1898. The fact
that it was a legal place makes it a very historical
documentary. It is a history that most people would
like to forget but it is still a part of history. The movie
53
is narrated by a woman that worked in Storyville and
is telling what she remembers about it. The rest of the
movie is filled with interviews from people that were
around during the time of Storyville or people who
have studied it. The movie gives you an idea of what
it was like there, the types of people that lived there,
and the people who were well known in that area.
This movie is related to gender in many different
ways. The movie lays out specific gender roles for
females and males. It answers a question like how
females and males are portrayed in this time. It
portrays all of the women in a certain way. The movie
shows that females were classified in two different
categories: “women” or “ladies.” “Women” were
females who were promiscuous, curious, or involved
with sex in anyway. “Ladies” were wives; they were
the females that a man should marry. “Ladies” were
not supposed to think about or desire sex. They were
to take care of the children and do the housework.
The movie lays out these to gender roles for females
very specifically. Any female that was a “woman”
was considered reckless and not the norm in society.
“Ladies” were high class and would not involve
themselves in things of a sexual nature. However,
the movie points out that the “women” were not so
much sexually promiscuous but just needed money
and that it was a lucrative business. The movie points
out the fact that the driving force of Storyville was
money. It was not just a group of females who loved
sex; it consisted of females that needed to make
money to support themselves. This movie also portrays
men in a certain way. The perception of women
is clear: they were either housewives or “working
girls.” However, the perception of the men was that
they were supposed to be involved in this area. They
were not considered reckless or a blight on society if
they frequented Storyville. The movie made it clear
that males were not looked down upon if they were
involved with Storyville; it was just kept a secret and
considered normal. If a man wanted to go there after
work and relax, it was generally considered okay. The
gender roles laid out in this movie are clear.
Storyville and jazz in New Orleans came about
during the same time period. Jazz was labeled
as bottom-feeding, reckless, no-class, sexually
promiscuous music. These are the same things that
people said about Storyville. This is why the two
became synonymous with each other. The music that
they played in the brothels while the ladies sang and
danced was jazz. Jazz music played a big part in
showing the gender roles during this time. The music’s
lyrics and rhythms made it seem that the “women”
that danced to or liked it were not the norm in society.
If this movie was used in a classroom setting it
would have to be in a college class. The language
and visuals of the movie would not be allowed in any
other area besides a college classroom. (Franklin H. Webster)
Swing Kids. Directed by Thomas Carter. Buena Vista
Home Entertainment, 1993. 
This film is Hollywood’s version of the story of
German teens rebelling against the culture of Nazi
Germany by listening to jazz. Jazz music and dance
are used as characters in the film. The film’s treatment
of gender is very gentle. All of the jazz musicians
in the film are men. When the students go to dance
halls, gender construction is obvious. Men lead the
dances and men choose the women to be their dance
partners. Women are seen as complementary to men.
Women assist but do not lead in the jazz movement.
The film is less gentle in its gender construction of
men. Men who did not listen to jazz were considered
cold, unfeeling, harsh, and robotic followers of the
German government. The men who were jazz lovers
were portrayed as passionate, creative, and free. Men
who listened to jazz attracted pretty girls. This is a
common gender construction in jazz. While the film
does not focus on gender, the issues are present.
This film raises questions about why the Nazi
government would feel threatened by jazz. What
social constructions were associated with the music?
It also raises questions about why young audiences
were so attracted to this style of music. The idea of
young people gravitating toward any art form that is
restricted may resonate with students. This film is rated
PG-13 and would be appropriate for middle school
(age thirteen) and high school. (Hope Rias)
“Swing Sally.” In “Musical Madness,” vol. 4 in Betty
Boop: The Definitive Collection. Republic Pictures, 1996.
This cartoon episode features cultural icon Betty Boop
as a business owner who desperately needs to book
a jazz singer for the night’s big show. Betty auditions
several acts but none meets her standards. Finally,
she hears her cleaning lady singing jazz and knows,
instantly, that she is who Betty has been looking for.
The show is successful.
Early episodes of Betty Boop are sexually and
racially provocative. This mild episode is likely from
the later collection of Betty Boop cartoons. This
episode may be a good tool to interest students in
jazz. The music played in the cartoon is swing and
it is sung by a woman. The story line shows that,
initially, the club owner is furious that this type of
music is being played in his club. Eventually, even he
falls in love with the music and joins Betty Boop and
Swing Sally on stage to dance.
This cartoon raises interesting questions about
women in jazz. The animators may have been making
a statement about jazz being associated with the
54
lower class when they decided to give the cleaning
lady the jazz voice. Atypical of perceptions of jazz,
the actual jazz singer was dressed very conservatively
for her performance, while Betty Boop appeared
in sexy clothing. Again, it appears that Betty’s sex
appeal was tuned down in this episode. The cartoon
also raises questions about why jazz music was so
objectionable and why women were often absent in
the jazz world when, clearly, they could perform the
music. By creating a female talent agent and female
singer, this cartoon seems to celebrate women in jazz.
It is appropriate for all ages. (Hope Rias)
careers as females, as lesbians, and as a couple. In
addition, the article talks about the ways in which
they interact with each other through music (and
the ways in which they don’t, as they never play
together), and the ways in which their status as openly
gay musicians influences their playing. Both feel
that they are better able to communicate with their
audiences because they are open and comfortable
with their identities. The two assert that they never
compete with each other because jazz is competitive
enough for women, particularly gay women. Bailey
addresses jazz and gender by saying that gender has
been her clearest obstacle and lamenting that things
may have happened sooner for her if she wasn’t a
female musician struggling to be recognized in the
traditionally male world of jazz guitar. She doesn’t
dwell on that, though, and in general the tone is
positive and upbeat—concerning both their careers
and their relationships.
This article might not provide much for someone
looking for in-depth information about jazz or a
jazz musician’s career, but I think it could be very
useful for representing the wide range of people
creating jazz music. Not only does it elaborate on
what contemporary jazz musicians are like, but
it also provides one real world example of what
lesbians, lesbian-identified musicians, and more
importantly lesbian couples are like. For most, few
models of healthy homosexual relationships will be
encountered in education, and perhaps not even in
popular culture. I believe that the representation of
the two women as a three-dimensional, functional
unit—and also vibrant autonomous individuals within
that unit—provides much needed information on what
positive relationships, lesbian or otherwise, are like.
The article does contain one instance of profanity
that will probably not be considered acceptable in
most classroom situations. Otherwise, the article
would be age appropriate for middle and high school
students. In general, I recommend The Advocate as a
source for highly readable and positive articles about
gay individuals. (Aimee Hendrix)
Magazine and Newspaper Articles
Davis, Francis. “In the Macho World of Jazz, Don’t
Ask, Don’t Tell.” New York Times, Art and Leisure,
September 1, 2002.
In this brief article, Mr. Davis presents far more
questions about jazz and homosexuality than he
answers, but they are all important questions and
a great place for anyone to start thinking about
the relationship between sexuality and music.
The discussion is anchored by his recounting of
an April 2002 Village Vanguard panel on jazz and
homosexuality, the first of its kind. (See annotation of
transcript.) Various musicians, such as vibraphonist
Gary Burton, asked questions like why is race
considered such a rich topic within discussion of
jazz, while sexuality is often absent. Questioning this
erasure of sexuality is a chief purpose of this article.
The author asserts that the unwritten policy is “don’t
ask, don’t tell” within jazz culture but wonders if this
is because it is considered nobody’s business or if it
is the result of homophobia with jazz communities.
The article also discusses the general masculinity of
jazz and wonders how this might affect gay male
musicians and female musicians of all sexualities,
both potential outsiders to what is often considered
a boys club. The author leaves us wondering about
all of these issues, including the very relevance of
the answers, but he makes it clear that we just don’t
know the answers because the very jazz culture that
is known for being progressive musically and socially
has looked away on the issue. (Aimee Hendrix)
Music Recordings
Cats vs. Chicks, “Anything You Can Do” and Various
artists, “A Woman’s Place Is in the Groove.” Forty
Years of Women in Jazz. Jass Records, 1989.
This double CD is a compilation of some of the
female instrumentalists from the 1920s through the
1960s. The first CD contains female instrumentalist,
and the second CD has all-female bands performing.
This CD only contains some of the many female
instrumentalists during this time. This CD is very
important because during the time of these recordings
women had the choice of being a piano player or a
DuLong, Jessica. “Jazz Lovers.” The Advocate, July,
22, 2003.
This article profiles an openly lesbian couple
comprised of two jazz musicians, singer-pianist Dena
DeRose and jazz guitarist Sheryl Bailey. Both were
named, individually, to Jazz Week’s Top Ten in 2002
and are successful nationally and internationally. The
profile is about more than just their musical careers
though; it is about how they have negotiated those
55
singer. If they wanted to play another instrument it was
very hard for them to find work. The CD cover indicates
that the selection process for the instrumentalists
included two criteria. These were the dates the
recordings were made and the female instrumentalists
that they thought should be recognized.
There are many great songs on these CDs.
However, I choose two specific songs that I thought
were relevant to jazz and gender. The two songs I
choose were “Anything You Can Do” and “A Woman’s
Place Is in the Groove.” These two songs represent
what many women had to deal with when looking
for work during this time. They had to deal with the
discrimination because of their sex. So when they
got a chance to perform music they had to be able to
do it better that their male counterparts, just so to be
considered “worthy” of being a jazz musician. Male
artist only had to be able to play well to be accepted.
Female artists had to be able to play great, look nice,
and still be a lady. I am sure this made it hard for
many women to find work.
The tempo of both songs is kind of like a
conversation going back and forth. The songs sound
like the males are telling the women that they do not
belong, and the women are coming back stronger
to prove the men wrong. The songs have a very strong
sound to them to help prove that the women are
supposed to be included when talking about jazz
instrumentalists. The instruments that they use come out
loud and clear when expressing how the women feel
about being told they do not belong. In my opinion
when the women are responding the instruments are
played louder and better. (Franklin H. Webster)
as the birth of “free jazz” and focuses on what also
went along with this musical movement. In his essay,
Ake reviews the “historical crisis” that took place both
in and out of jazz between the ending of the second
World War and 1959. He explores the breakdown
of the established codes of masculinity and how the
bebop world of jazz reflected those changes. Ake
delivers his argument by meticulously describing
and musically analyzing the song “Lonely Woman,”
from its nonconventional, nonobjectifying title to its
complete lack of tonal center and rhythmic pulse.
At approximately 2 minutes and 40 seconds into the
performance, Colman’s phrasing in his solo “does not
serve to stimulate carnal desire in the listener, but to
bear witness to—and for—the ‘lonely woman.’”
Outside of “Lonely Woman,” the essay goes
on to explore the offstage representations of jazz
masculinity specifically through describing the
influential jazz album covers of the late 1950s and
early 1960s. Coleman’s covers are compared with
those of Sonny Clark and Jimmy Rowles, which serves
again to prove that Coleman was a trend breaker
when it came to jazz consistently being infused with
hip male sexuality by others.
To conclude, Ake defends his assertions that
Ornette Coleman helped influence the sound,
look, and sexual implications of jazz music both
in Coleman’s own time and in the times to come.
Coleman was an important “model of identity”
concerning gender and the jazz world. Ake states,
“In many ways, the challenges posed by Coleman’s
group are far from resolved to this day.” This article
contains an in-depth look at the cultural, social, and
musical history of America from the late 1940s into
the early 1960s. The article would be appropriate for
a high school jazz and gender class exploring how
the accepted notions of jazz and male sexuality were
changing during that time period, why they were
changing, and who in the jazz world was behind
those changes. (Amy Dilts)
Scholarly Articles/Essays
Ake, David. “Re-Masculating Jazz: Ornette Coleman,
‘Lonely Woman,’ and the New York Jazz Scene in
the Late 1950s.” American Music 16, no. 1 (Spring
1998): 25–44.
This article focuses on the well-established codes of
masculinity that existed in jazz until the late 1950s
and the particular performer that challenged those
established codes in 1959. Jazz was, since its earliest
days, a male-dominated domain. As social and
cultural climates in early twentieth-century America
changed, so jazz musicians too had the flexibility
through their genre to change and challenge the
image of what it was to be a man in the jazz world.
Ake focuses on Ornette Coleman’s performance of
the song “Lonely Woman” in 1959 at New York’s
Five Spot jazz club as an example of a time when the
notions of jazz and gender were represented in an
alternative way, undermining the accepted notions of
jazz and masculinity. Ake regards this performance
Lawrence, Ava. “Rosetta Reitz: Rediscovering Women
in Jazz and Blues.” Association for Recorded Sound
Collections Journal 36, no. 2 (2005): 214–23.
This article is a summary of Rosetta Reitz’s role in
female jazz music. She was one of the women that
started a record company that was made to help
women’s jazz and blues music become known. Her
company was called Rosetta Records. It explains
how and why she became involved with music and
also why she decided to become involved with the
women that played music. She started out finding
music by women and letting her girlfriends listen to
it and making copies of what they heard. She was
very adamant about getting women’s music its own
56
Pollock, Mary S., and Susanne Vincenza. “Feminist
Aesthetics in Jazz: An Interview with Susanne
Vincenza of Alive!” Frontiers: A Journal of Women
Studies 8, no. 5 (1984): 60–63.
This is a fascinating article about an all-female jazz
group from the late 1970s. The band Alive! was
created when three women met at San Francisco’s
Jazz Workshop in 1977. Bass player Susanne
Vincenza, singer Rhiannon, and percussionist Carolyn
Brandy formed the innovative group to compose and
perform feminist-driven jazz music. In 1979 the group
expanded to include drummer Barbara Borden and
pianist Janet Small. The group put out three albums in
the early 1980s, the first of which was called Alive!,
recorded in 1980. Their second was the live album
Call It Jazz, and their third, City Life, was recorded on
their own label. The group was a success because of
their empowering lyrics, eclectic musical innovations,
and unconventional approach to the male-driven
jazz world. These women rose above the stereotypes
of women in jazz and were a commercial success,
playing for audiences across the country, including
the major women’s music festivals. They found
success in writing lyrics that had a feminist emphasis,
an element the jazz world did not have enough of
until that time. The article contains an interview
with Vincenza, which offers the reader a voice from
the band answering questions about their unique
musical “sound,” their choice of instrumentation, their
own jazz role models, and why it is so difficult for
women in the industry to be taken seriously as jazz
instrumentalists.
This article should absolutely be shared with
middle and high school jazz and gender classes as a
success story of a contemporary and innovative allfemale jazz band. (Amy Dilts)
identity. Her record company is no longer in business
but she is still very involved in getting the music of
women listened to.
In the article Reitz says that she wants to answer
questions like “Where were the women? Weren’t
women interested? Or weren’t they involved? So I
started hunting about and looking for the women...
But were they only vocalists? Who were they? What
were they singing about?” She goes on to say that
women were always involved in the music but that
the problem is that they were not recognized as being
“worthy” of being considered musicians. All of the
things that Reitz is addressing in this article is what
this section, Jazz and Gender, is relating to. These are
the questions that people ask about jazz and gender.
This article on Rosetta Reitz helps to shed some light
on the answers to some of these questions. (Franklin
H. Webster)
McKeage, Kathleen. “Where Are All of the Girls?”
Gender, Education, Music, Society 1 (Spring 2002).
<http://www.queensu.ca/music/links/gems/past/
No.%201/KMarticle.htm>
This author of this article is a senior lecturer at the
University of Wyoming, where she teaches double
bass, aural theory, and courses in music education.
She decided to study the issue of why there were not
many women involved in jazz at the university level.
The reason she did this is because one of the visiting
students that was thinking about joining the jazz band
asked where all the women were. So she looked at
the jazz courses offered, interviewed jazz ensemble
directors, and chose three female participants to study
over a four-month period. The female participants all
had a similar background in jazz. They all played in
the jazz band in high school for three years, each had
participated in a particular jazz course freshman
year, and each had moved to vocal jazz class during
her sophomore year. Also all of them attended jam
sessions but did not play in them very often. In the article
Mrs. McKeage comes to the conclusion that three
factors contribute to why some females are not involved
in jazz at the university level. One is the lack of female
role models as jazz instrumentalist. Another is that the females
are pressured to concentrate more on traditional forms
of expression with music. Finally she says that there is
a lack of a positive learning environment.
This is a very good article to relate to jazz and
gender. It tries to answer the question it poses in a
scientific way. It uses facts to come to the conclusion
of why more female instrumentalist are not seen in
jazz ensembles. The reasons the author comes up with
may not be true in all cases. However, the reasons
that the author concludes do make a lot of sense.
(Franklin H. Webster)
Websites (annotated)
http://www.najp.org/events/talkingjazz/transcript1.
html. “Talking Jazz: Three Panel Discussions:
Destination Out.” National Arts Journalism Program,
Columbia University (accessed July 15, 2007).
This transcript of a panel discussion provides highly
interesting firsthand accounts of experiences and
opinions of jazz and homosexuality from individuals
active within the jazz community. The panel
discussion, called “Destination Out” was one of three
discussions in a conference called “Talking Jazz”
sponsored by the National Arts Journalism Program at
Columbia University at the well-known New York City
jazz space, the Village Vanguard. Participants included
journalist and moderator Francis Davis, jazz historian
Grover Sales, and gay and out musicians Fred Hersch,
Andy Bey, Charlie Kohlhase, and Gary Burton.
57
Transcribed is an introduction by Mr. Davis noting
the difficulty of finding a truly representative panel,
outlining the careers of each of the participants,
and posing an opening set of questions for the
musicians. He asks and the musicians comment
on what it was like for each of them to come out
as gay, what led to that decision, what they feared,
and what the actual results have been. Most of the
experiences reported were positive; the musicians
experienced support from audiences and other
musicians. Negative experiences included a letter
to Jazz Times condemning gay jazz musicians as not
swinging. Andy Bey, who discussed the difficulty of
being a black, gay, and HIV+ musicians, reported
experiencing more homophobia from both writers and
club owners, including the very club where the panel
discussions occurred. Many of the musicians also say
that the openness in their lives has had positive effects
on their music.
The panel also engages ideas from the work
of Mr. Sales about why jazz seems to exclude gay
people—musicians and audiences. In addition, the
musicians weigh in on queer musicology, which,
among other things, seeks to read codes of queerness
within music. Once questioning is turned over to
the audience, there is a good deal of exploration of
why homosexuality and jazz are not written about
more often. Is it because it is a private issue with no
relevance to music? If so, why are straight musicians’
wives deemed relevant topics within jazz interviews
with straight musicians?
As a somewhat free-flowing discussion of issues,
not every issue here is explored as thoroughly as it
might be in a scholarly article, but the panel highlights
the dominant issues within studies of sexuality and
music, and the firsthand information is extremely
compelling. The transcript would probably be most
useful to an educator exploring this topic; however,
students with moderately strong reading skills and an
interest in the topic might also find it useful. Another
option for students would be one of the summaries of
this discussion, such as Mr. Davis’s newspaper article
referenced in this bibliography. (Aimee Hendrix)
section, “Queer Jazz” contains pictures, playlists, and
information on gay jazz musicians, such as current
out lesbian musician Patricia Barber and historical
figures like the respected composer Billy Strayhorn.
Though the actual tracks are not available, a playlist
from the show can be found separately or integrated
into the transcript of the show. In addition to the
music, the transcript of the show contains some
commentary such as the introduction, in which the
producer discusses his opinions on why jazz has
historically not been a very “out” type of music. The website and radio show are put together for
the purpose of entertaining and providing exposure on
a wide range of topics. As the depth of the information
is not very deep, this website is great for providing
numerous jumping off points for further research; if
you want plentiful information on any one topic, it
will be necessary to look beyond the website. Doyle
does provide numerous links for this purpose, though
some of them are no longer working. As far as the
long-term stability of this website, it seems that it will
exist and be added to for at least as long as the Queer
Music Heritage radio show exists. (Aimee Hendrix)
http://www.queermusicheritage.us/feb2003.htm.
“Queer Jazz.” Queer Music Heritage l (accessed July
17, 2007).
Queer Music Heritage is a Houston radio show and
website that takes the position that gay is not just an
identity but a culture. As such, the producer, J. D.
Doyle, does his radio show and posts related info on
the website in order to showcase music in gay culture.
This would be a useful website for anyone wanting
to explore that broad topic, but for information on
jazz and gay culture specifically, the February 2003
58
Jazz and Race
a slanderous way to belittle a race. In brighter times, it
led the way for social change (e.g., desegregation) by
providing a model for interracial collaboration. One
resource that highlights the way jazz music has led
for social change is a recording by Max Roach, We
Insist! Freedom Now Suite. It could be known as the
opening soundtrack to the Black Power movement.
Recorded in 1960, five years after the Montgomery
Bus Boycott, it shocked listeners with songs such as
“Freedom Day,” “All Africa,” “Tears for Johannesburg,”
and the piercing centerpiece sung by Abby Lincoln,
“Triptych: Prayer, Protest, and Peace.” There are
also a number of resources that are identified with
the civil rights movement, including “Strange Fruit”
and “Alabama,” musical selections that lamented
the social injustice of racism and segregation while
providing hope for change.
Race and jazz has been the subject of intense
dialogue. The two are connected on multiple
levels. Conversations associated with jazz and race
have been ongoing since its inception. Multiple
questions arose about the intersection of jazz and
race throughout the research for the resource guide.
These questions only created more questions, thus
demonstrating the complexity of the issues related
to jazz and race. There are many resources included
in this bibliography that are helpful in teaching and
understanding the complex issues surrounding jazz
and race.
Robert Evans, Allen Stith, Herbert West,
and Keith Westbrook
To suggest that jazz is a true American art form
requires that it be composed of and proclaim the
thoughts, fears, and beliefs important to the American
identity. It is the role of an art form to comment
on and influence the world in which it is created.
Therefore, it is no surprise that jazz music has strong
connections to one of America’s greatest areas for
shame: race. This section is designed to offer teachers
a look at resources that show the connection between
jazz and race. These resources were not chosen to be
the definitive answer to understanding jazz and race.
They were chosen to show the complexity and depth
of the issues as they relate to jazz and race. For those
interested in studying humanities, the role of jazz and
race is a vital category to engage multiple disciplines
in understanding American culture.
In our study of jazz and race, one complex issue
was that of authenticity. The argument is not so much
that all jazz musicians are African American but that
most significant contributors and innovators have
been African American—like Louis Armstrong, Duke
Ellington, Count Basie, and Miles Davis. This view,
of course, is very controversial, because there are
others who view this music as a creation of many
different people. There are many white artists—such
as Benny Goodman and Dave Brubeck—who have
contributed as well. Some, like Albert Murray, argue
that the ability to play the blues is the definitive
trait of authentic jazz musicians, but when jazz was
becoming popular African Americans and whites
were playing similar forms of the music. We found
the dissertation by Patrick Burke an enlightening
source for working through issues of authenticity or
ownership of jazz. The film New Orleans is another
source that will engage students in discussions centered
on the question, Who can claim ownership of jazz?
As with many attempts to oppress ethnic groups,
stereotypes can be used to create division and
humiliate. The essay “Jungle Jive: Race, Jazz, and Cartoons”
allows students and teachers the opportunity to take
a historical look at stereotypes in cartoons and the
way jazz intentionally and unintentionally perpetuates
those stereotypes. This work forces the reader to
question the existing power structure. Again, a
question of ownership comes into the debate. African
Americans rarely owned the means to develop their
own cartoons but lacked the resources to market their
sound. Due to the lack of capital and exposure in
the existing structure, African Americans subjected
themselves to denigrating caricatures.
In some historical moments, jazz has been used in
Articles and Essays
Austerlitz, Paul. “Jazz Consciousness: Music, Race,
and Humanity.” Music and Letters 88, no. 2
(May 2007): 335–40.
Dougherty, Carissa K. “The Coloring of Jazz: Race
and Record Cover Design in American Jazz,
1950–1970.” Design Issue 23, no. 1 (Spring
2007): 47–60.
Gray, Herman. “Black Masculinity and Visual
Culture.” Callaloo 18, no. 2 (Spring 1995):
401–5.
Peretti, Burton W. “The Creation of Jazz: Music, Race,
and Culture in Urban America.” Popular
Music 13, no. 1 (January 1994): 123–26.
Books and Book Chapters
Baraka, Amiri. Black Music. New York: William
Morrow, 1967.
Berrrett, Joshua. Louis Armstrong and Paul Whiteman:
Two Kings of Jazz. New Haven, CT: Yale
University Press, 2004.
Crouch, Stanley. Considering Genius: Writings on
Jazz. New York: Basic Civitas Books, 2006.
Daniels, Douglas H. One O’Clock Jump: The
Unforgettable History of the Oklahoma City
59
Blue Devils. Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 2006.
Davis, Angela Y. Blues Legacies and Black Feminism:
Gertrude “Ma” Rainey, Bessie Smith, and
Billie Holiday. New York: Vintage Books,
1999.
DeVeaux, Scott Knowles. The Birth of Bebop: A Social
and Musical History. Berkeley: University of
California Press, 1997.
Gaines, William, and Howard Reich. Jelly’s Blues:
The Life, Music, and Redemption of Jelly Roll
Morton. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press,
2003.
Panish, John. The Color of Jazz: Race and
Representation in Postwar American Culture.
Jackson: University of Mississippi Press, 1997.
Radano, Ronald. Lying Up a Nation: Race and Black
Music. Chicago: University of Chicago Press,
2003.
Smith, Catherine Parsons. William Grant Still: A Study
in Contradictions. Berkeley: University of
California Press, 2000.
Smith, R. J. The Great Black Way: L.A.’s in the 1940s
and the Lost African-American Renaissance.
New York: PublicAffairs, 2006.
Starr, Larry. American Popular Music: From Minstrelsy
to MP3. New York: Oxford University Press,
2007.
Weinstein, Norman. A Night in Tunisia. Lanham, MD:
Scarecrow Press, 1992.
Armstrong, Danny Kaye, Virginia Mayo,
Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, and Lionel
Hampton)
Stormy Weather. Directed by Andrew Stone. Twentieth
Century Fox, 1943.
Music Recordings
Brubeck, Dave, and Louis Armstrong and His Band.
“Cultural Exchange.” The Real Ambassadors,
Columbia, 1962.
Burns, Ken. Jazz: The Story of American Jazz.
Columbia/Legacy, 2000.
Gary Bartz/Ntu Troop. Harlem Bush Music Ghuru. Milestone Records, 1971.
Morton, Jelly Roll. “Black Bottom Stomp.” The
Smithsonian Collection of Jazz. Disc 1,
Smithsonian Collection, 1992. B0000048H9
Shepp, Archie. Poem for Malcolm. BYG Records, 1969.
Articles and Essays (annotated)
Goldmark, Daniel. “Jungle Jive: Race, Jazz, and
Cartoons.” Institute for Studies in American Music
Conservatory of Music, Brooklyn College of the City
University of New York Newsletter 34, no. 2 (Spring
2005) <http://depthome.brooklyn.cuny.edu/isam/
NewsletS05/cover.htm>.
In “Jungle Jive: Race, Jazz, and Cartoons,” Daniel
Goldmark tells the story of jazz in cartoons. He
gives a historical overview of the music in cartoons
and how the music has changed. According to the
article, jazz in cartoons began as early as the 1920s.
Goldmark describes the role of jazz in the cartoons.
Its initial role in the cartoon began as the sound track
for the cartoons and ended as the basis for the story
on a number of occasions. At one point in animation
history, the title, entire plot, and characters were all
jazz based. Goldmark also identifies some of the
different jazz bands that were participated in the
animation.
The underlying message of the article is centered
on the theme of race and jazz, as is clear from the
title. The author makes the connection between jazz
and race early and often. He begins by arguing that
jazz in the early part of the century was viewed as
primal and exotic. He supports this argument by
suggesting that the use of the jazz in cartoons usually
takes place in jungles or in nightclubs. Goldmark
identifies in great detail the perceptions of jazz and
African Americans during this period of U.S. history.
The writers of the cartoons based their story lines on
the prevalent stereotypes of African Americans and
the ideas that suggested jazz music was primitive
and exotic. Were the black jazz bands depicted
as primal and exotic because they were black, or
Children’s Books
Collier, James L. The Jazz Kid. New York: Henry Holt, 1994.
Dissertation
Cawthra, Benjamin. “Blue Notes in Black and
White: Photography, Race, and the Image of
Jazz, 1936–1965.” Ph.D. diss., Washington
University, 2007.
Fiction
Santon, Thomas. Songs for My Fathers: A New
Orleans Story in Black and White. New York:
Other Press, 2006.
Films
Birth of the Blues. Directed by Victor Schertzinger. Paramount Pictures, 1946.
Harlem Nights. Directed by Eddie Murphy. Eddie Murphy Productions, 1989.
The Jazz Singer. Directed by Alan Crosland. Warner Brothers, 1927.
Nina Simone: Live at Ronnie Scott’s. Wadham Film, 1985.
A Song Is Born. Directed by Howard Hawks.
HBO Home Video, 1992. (Features Louis
60
because they played jazz? How did the images of
jazz and African Americans in cartoons perpetuate
negative stereotypes? Why black musicians allow
such a portrayal to be presented? Did white musicians
experience the same type of treatment? Were white
jazz bands depicted in a way that was viewed as
primitive?
The article is short and informative. It provides the
reader with a historical and critical analysis of race
and music, specifically jazz in the United States. The
article looks primarily at the first half of the twentieth
century. Due to the nature of some of the language,
this article is best reserved for high school students.
(Robert Evans)
career in jazz. Morgan was a teen-age phenomenon
from the streets of Philadelphia and the son of poor
African American migrants from the South. As a high
school student he was playing in clubs with his own
ensembles and sat in on jam sessions with several
great African American musicians. The speed of his
musical meteoric rise increased when he became
eighteen. He moved to New York City to join Dizzy
Gillespie’s big band and within weeks was offered
recording work as a leader himself. In a little over a
year he recorded six albums under his own name and
appeared as a sideman on numerous others.
In 1957, at the young age of nineteen, Morgan
began years of drug addiction, although he continued
to play with several bands. His sound and styling
made him one of the more sought after jazz players.
He joined the Jazz Messengers in 1958 and was
soon a heroin addict. While working with the Jazz
Messengers, Morgan formed a great partnership with
several giants of jazz—Benny Golson, Hank Mobley,
and Wayne Shorter—until his heroin problem forced
him to leave the band in 1961.
After this setback, Morgan returned for a few years
to his hometown, Philadelphia, where he maintained
a low profile while battling his addiction and working
occasionally with saxophonist Jimmy Heath. In 1963
he returned to New York and recorded his most
successful tune, “The Sidewinder.” He entered his
greatest period, recording one memorable album
after another, writing “Ceora” and “Speedball,” and
spending a second period with Blakey (1964–65).
As Morgan continued to make new attempts to
move away from drug addiction, he moved toward
a new community of politically active African
Americans. In them he found a new consciousness
that would get him involved in the African American
liberation movement in the 1960s. He began to attack
the white control over African American musicians.
At this point he wanted the music to be viewed as an
African American product, with more visibility and
equal pay. Morgan is now becoming a vociferous
campaigner for African American musicians’ rights
and representation.
Tom Perchard’s biography of Lee Morgan is a
great reading experience for high school seniors who
are blind to the world of some African American
musicians. It can support a serious discussion of
the economic and racial plight that many African
Americans encountered. Also, the book will give
students the chance to analyze why so many African
American musicians became involved in drugs and
provides the opportunity to examine the lines of white
musicians in regards to African Americans.
Although Morgan was actively demanding a better
position for African Americans in the jazz world,
Haley, Alex. “Miles Davis: Candid Conversation.”
Playboy, September 1962, 57–66.
Miles Davis—born May 26, 1926, in Alton,
Illinois, and died September 25, 1991, in Santa
Monica, California—made his mark in jazz through
neither technical mastery like Charlie Parker nor a
single identifiable style like Thelonious Monk but
rather through his constant evolution and stylistic
innovation. Davis three times altered the history
of jazz, by introducing cool jazz, modal jazz and
fusion. Miles’s first great quintet included John
Coltrane, Red Garland, Paul Chambers, and Philly Joe
Jones. They produced classic albums such as Miles
Ahead (1957) and Cookin (1956). Miles’s second
great quintet included Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter,
Tony Williams, and Wayne Shorter. This rhythm
section is generally considered one of the best alltime jazz units. In 1962 Miles made Quiet Night
and Sorcerer. He also did an interview for Playboy
magazine the same year.
The brilliant bad man of jazz unburdened
himself of his hate and anger for a nice, candid
interview. Davis shared his opinions on his bad boy
reputation, racism, jazz, Louis Armstrong, women,
critics, and European audiences. Here’s a response
to a question regarding his tough guy image: “I’m
like I am and I ain’t planning to change. I ain’t scared
of nothing or nobody. I’ve already been through too
much. I ought to be dead from what I went through
when I was on dope. I just say what I think, and that
bugs people, especially a lot of white people, when
they look in my eyes and don’t see no fear, they know
it’s a draw.” (Keith Westbrook)
Biography and Autobiography (annotated)
Perchard, Tom. Lee Morgan: His Life, Music, and
Culture. Oakville, CT: Equinox Publisher, 2006.
The biography of jazz musician Lee Morgan tells the
story of his plight to balance his life while pursuing his
61
his life remained troubled. During a fight with his
common-law wife, Helen Moore, he was shot and
died on February 19, 1972, at the young age of thirtythree. (Herbert West)
Age, or the Harlem Renaissance. (Robert Evans)
Books and Book Chapters
Baraka, Amiri. Blues People: Negro Music in White
America. New York: William Morrow, 1963.
Amiri Baraka was born October 7, 1934, in Newark,
New Jersey. He is a prolific writer, playwright, activist,
and intellectual completing important works in poetry,
drama, jazz, history, and nonfiction. Baraka was a
key figure in the avant-garde movement of the New
American literature in the 1950–1960s, as well as
the black arts movement in the late 1960s and early
1970s. His plays Dutchman and The Slave (both
1964) combined experimental theater with militant
and violent assertions of black pride. Baraka was
deeply influenced by jazz musicians such as Ornette
Coleman, John Coltrane, Cecil Taylor, and Sun Ra. In
the 1950s and 1960s many jazz musicians produced
avant-garde art rooted in African American cultural
traditions. In 1963 Baraka published Blues People:
Negro Music in White America.
Blues People was the first analytical and historical
study of jazz and blues written by an African
American. The book suggests that music can be used
as a gauge to measure the cultural assimilation of
Africans in North America from the early eighteenth
century to the twentieth century. Baraka contends
that although slavery destroyed many formal artistic
traditions, African American music represents certain
African survivals. 
Baraka also argues that while Africans adapted
their culture to the English language and musical
instruments, they maintained an ethnic viewpoint that
is preserved and transmitted by their music. Stylistic
changes in the music mirror historical changes and
social conditions of African Americans. The chapter
“Enter the Middle Class” discusses the middle class
abandonment of certain African forms. “Only Negro
music, because perhaps, it drew its strength and
beauty out of the depths of the black man’s soul
and because to a large extent its traditions could
be carried on by the ‘lowest classes’ of Negroes,
has been able to survive the constant and willful
dilutions of the black middle class and the persistent
calls to oblivion made by the mainstream of the
society.” Blues People offers an interesting view
of how cultural products determine other social
developments. It is broad in scope and insightfully
opinionated. (Keith Westbrook)
X, Malcolm. The Autobiography of Malcolm X.
Contribution by Alex Haley. New York: Random
House, 1964.
Malcolm X, with the help of Alex Haley, tells the story
of his life. The socially constructed idea of race is
introduced early and continues throughout the entire
book. In the beginning of the book, he explains his early
childhood and the tragic death of his father. The death
of his father sent things in his life spiraling downward
and out of control. He uses specific examples to
explain how race and the racial discrimination
mentally crippled his mother and dissolved his family
structure. Malcolm details his adolescent adventures
and his migration amid the discouragement from
school and his stay in the foster care system.
Throughout the book, Malcolm addresses love, sex,
his criminal life, prison, and the changes that the
Nation of Islam provided his life. Finally, Malcolm
recounts his break from the Nation of Islam and his
discovery of the broader world, greater Islam, and self.
This book serves as one man’s story for
understanding race relations in the United States.
As it relates to jazz and race, The Autobiography
of Malcolm X is very provocative and informative.
There are chapters in the book that have specific
jazz undertones. From his best friend, Shorty, taking
saxophone lessons and eventually playing in a band
to the numerous jazz musicians that he watched
play and got a chance to meet, jazz is definitely a
recurring motif in the book. The motif can be viewed
on at least two levels, if not more. On one level,
Malcolm describes the way the music makes him feel.
He enjoys listening to it and enjoys dancing to it. On
another level, his encounters with artists like Count
Basie, Duke Ellington, Lionel Hampton, and others
take place in environments that are predominantly
segregated. Malcolm even used the term improvise to
describe “Showtime” at the Roseland Ballroom and
dance styles of people from different races. Malcolm
suggested that one style was mechanical and the other
as free. How would Malcolm X define jazz? Malcolm
also enjoyed Benny Goodman, a white jazz musician.
Would he limit jazz to an African American music?
What challenges did the musicians he met face?
The segregation in jazz provides an appropriate
starting point to begin understanding the complex
history of jazz and race in the United States. This book
is a popular account of his life intended for at least
high school students. It would be a great supplement
to any discussion on race relations in jazz, the Jazz
Keepnews, Orrin, and Bill Grauer Jr. A Pictorial
History of Jazz: People and Places from New Orleans
to Modern Jazz. New York: Crown Publishers, 1955.
A great deal can be learned about a time, place, and
62
people by studying pictorial records. This collection
of unique photos is an excellent resource for seeing
the development of a culture without the bias often
found in written accounts. Photographs of individual
players, bands, personal letters, posters, and recording
documents from the nineteenth century to the middle
twentieth century are contained within this collection.
The pictorial account is divided into sections,
somewhat chronological, that highlight the major
places, players, and trends in jazz history. Beginning
with New Orleans, the book depicts the development
of Dixieland, Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton,
Chicago jazz, Kansas City swing, the New York jazz
scene, big band, and bebop.
As jazz grew, photography became more prolific.
Therefore, many of the photos that documented the
swing era thru bebop are easily accessible today.
However, many of the photos from the early days of
jazz in New Orleans are unique records. Pictures of
New Orleans in its infancy (4–9) highlight slave trade,
New Orleans in the 1850s and early 1900s, and the
development of zoned districts (divided by skin color)
for legal prostitution and the other vices.
Of particular importance to the issue of jazz
and race are photographs that show the integration
of many ethnic backgrounds (regardless of skin
color) in the first brass bands and jazz bands. Some
photographs suggest that there were many segregated
ensembles, but segregation did not rule the landscape.
One is also able to see the development of jazz
from its humble beginnings (players in impoverished
surroundings, ragged instruments, and little-cared-for
appearance) to a highly professionalized culture (see
images of the Onward Brass Band and other groups
dressed tuxes or uniforms, 10–18). Photographic
depictions of jazz music taking place in areas known
for vice (e.g., Storyville) assist in demonstrating the
early connotation of jazz as a dirty musical form.
Though photographs are often considered safe
from bias, the inclusion of some photos and exclusion
of others is a subjective process. Awkwardly, as one
peruses the book’s later pages, there is almost a tacit
bias in the collection of these particular documents.
In other words, most of the pictures chosen show
jazz performed in segregated groups. For high school
students studying a historical artifact, there is value
in exploring the underlying presuppositions (biases,
prejudices) that were at work when compiling this
book. There are also several ways this book can be
used to discuss the relationship between jazz and
race. When examining early photographs, is there
evidence that jazz musicians were more concerned
with the quality of musicianship over skin color?
What changes occurred in society to take away the
altruistic nature of jazz in regards to race integration?
What pictorial evidence exists to argue that jazz is an
American art form? Is the term “jazz” limited to music
or are there other associations that can be made?
This is a resource that provides numerous facets
for studying jazz and race. (Allen Stith)
Werner, Craig Hansen. A Change Is Gonna Come:
Music, Race and the Soul of America. Ann Arbor:
University of Michigan Press, 2006.
The author pens this book in an attempt to “renew
a process of racial healing that at times seems to
have stopped dead.” Craig Werner writes from the
perspective that music plays an important role in
establishing our identity and, in the case of race,
healing. Starting with the 1950s, Werner examines
the historical events in America and the dialogue that
took place between white and black voices.
Werner exhausts a number of musical styles,
from gospel to hip hop, in exploring the role of music
in race relations. Many chapters are very enticing
reads, including his chapters “The View from Black
America” and “Duke Ellington for Our Time: The
Symbol Formerly Known as Prince.” Of particular
importance to this category of study is the chapter
“Black Is an’ Black Ain’t: JB, Miles and Jimi.” This
chapter juxtaposes the creative processes of three
musicians who shared a desire to reach a higher
understanding of their identity as black men. They
were contemporaries and well aware of the African
influences that each was brining to the forefront of the
musical landscape. Brown, for example, basically
abandoned the elements of melody and harmony in
exchange for the rhythm that became the heart of
funk. Werner discusses the impact that Brown had on
African music (becoming more popular than Ella) and
the evolving style that allowed blacks to claim pride
in their heritage. Werner points out, however, that
this new sound that celebrated black pride eventually
became a stereotype for the black sound.
Werner spends a fair amount of space discussing
the importance of Miles Davis’s album Bitches Brew
as a seminal effort to infuse the new sound of James
Brown with his appreciation for German composer
Karlheinz Stockhausen. There are several quotations
attributed to Miles that speak directly to the role
of race in jazz. Like Armstrong, Miles also faced
criticism for using white musicians in his bands.
Werner uses this issue to point out the ways that Miles
best embodied what it meant to be a jazz musician.
Like many jazz musicians who chose to play in
integrated bands, the reasons were both aesthetic and
economic. It is a true American ideal to say that the
color of the skin did not matter as much as the color
of the paper in one’s pocket. The best players helped
to produce the best records.
63
Werner concludes his comparisons by examining
the role of Jimi Hendrix. Though many think of rock
’n’ roll when they first hear the name, the author
points out that Hendrix was a “jazz musician trapped
in a rock format” (141). Attention is also given to the
way Hendrix preferred to live in a world that was not
so obsessed by color and the role of his own heritage
in developing his musical identity.
Excerpts of this book are appropriate for high school
juniors or seniors with proper notification that strong
language is often used in quotations of musicians.
Most chapters are brief (some only two to three pages)
and encourage students to ask more questions about
the role of race in jazz music. (Allen Stith)
explain how they might have affected race relations
the United States. (Herbert West)
Children’s Books (annotated)
Curtis, Christopher Paul. Bud, Not Buddy. New York:
Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 1999.
Bud, Not Buddy tells the story of a ten-year-old boy
during the Depression year of 1936. Set in Michigan,
the story details the journey of Bud, an orphan, as
he searches for the father he never knew. Bud is a
resourceful young man. Upon running away from his
cruel foster parents, he manages to travel across the
state and find meals along the way. Bud finds the man
he believes is his father. However, the homecoming is
not quite what he expected.
In this fictional account, jazz and race are subtly
intertwined. Bud is an African American kid living
in a time when race and racism are major problems.
The father that Bud is looking for is a famous jazz
bandleader, Herman Calloway. One of the ways jazz
and race in this story are connected can be seen by
the racial makeup of the band. The band is all black
with the exceptions of one white musician, Roy
“Dirty Deed” Breed. Dirty Deed is also responsible
for booking gigs for the band. Why was it necessary
to have Dirty Deed in the band? Did having Dirty
Deed give the band legitimacy? Did this kind of thing
happen often in 1936? The property that Calloway
owns is in the name of Dirty Deed. According the
story, African Americans in 1936 Michigan were not
allowed to own property. Other characters in the story
suggest that Dirty Deed is an exceptional player. They
also stated that the music would not be compromised
and his race did not matter. Does this mean that
anyone can play jazz? Why were they willing to
accept Dirty Deed into the band? Would the black
musicians have had the option of playing in a white
band in 1936?
The examples of the connections between
jazz and race are simplistic and shallow but are
appropriate for the intended audience. This is a
very interesting read and will best serve students in
elementary grade levels. (Robert Evans)
Cartoons (annotated)
“Jazzy Guest Stars.” In “Pre-Code,” vol. 2 in Betty Boop:
The Definitive Collection. Republic Pictures, 1996.
Politically Incorrect Cartoons. Yo Ho Video, n.d.
During the 1940s there were several attacks on jazz.
In some cases people viewed it as primitive, junglelike
gutter music. Some people traced it back to a vulgar
term used for sexual acts, and some of the sounds of
jazz were associated with whorehouses and “ladies
of ill repute.” To make matters worse some protested
against this music through animated cartoons.
Two prime examples of this would be Betty Boop:
The Definitive Collection and Yo Ho Video Presents
Politically Incorrect Cartoons.
In these videos we are provided with some
seriously negative images of African Americans while
jazz music is being expressed. In Betty Boop we see
women often as sex objects with rhythms and coded
language used. When jazz sections are shown we
see some of the most important jazz musicians of the
time portrayed as buffoons and other negative and
degrading images. In the Politically Incorrect Cartoons
we are showered with several short cartoons that
show lazy, happy-go-lucky people, fat and robust
individuals who are lost in life.
The tragedy of these cartoons is that they are
designed to express negative images of jazz and
African American people. These videos are ideal
use for an African American history class. They will
allow the students to challenge these images and
allow them to develop a good discussion on jazz.
Through analyzing these videos in the class, students
can share with others why these videos were made
and what they really represented. The videos can
also assist the students in understanding that these
are not images of African Americans and that their
real purpose, perhaps, was to taint jazz music. As a
class assignment, have the students write individual
reaction papers to what they see in the videos and
Monceaux, Morgan. Jazz: My Music, My People.
New York: Knopf Books for Young Readers, 1994.
Morgan Monceaux grew up listening to and singing
music, specifically jazz. In Jazz: My Music, My
People, he tells the story of jazz as it was told to
him. Not only does Monceaux retell the story, he
also creates all of the illustrations for this children’s
book. He offers short biographies of many blues and
jazz musicians, including Buddy Bolden, Sidney
Bechet, the International Sweethearts of Rhythm,
64
Sarah Vaughan, and John Coltrane. Monceaux also
insightfully lists some of the different eras of jazz
beginning with the shaping of jazz, followed by the
swing years and ending with bebop and modern
jazz. The introduction to the book sets the stage for a
captivating trip through history. Buddy Bolden is the
subject of the foreword by Wynton Marsalis and the
first biography in the book. The end of the book offers
a glossary of musical terminology and terms specific
to jazz.
The rich history of jazz has been documented in
several works. The intersection of jazz and race are
visible points in this account. From the early years
to bebop and modern jazz, Monceaux includes only
the African American contributors to jazz. Why? The
contributions of African Americans to the creation
and formation of jazz are immeasurable. Racially
speaking, were the contributions of people from other
groups not valuable? This is part of the ongoing debate
about jazz. Are there other genres of music that are
associated or claimed by racial or ethnic groups? If
not, then why is there a need in the United States for
African Americans to claim jazz? Maybe Monceaux
chose to only focus on the individual contributions of
African Americans because they are so marginalized
in “traditional” history books.
While the book is classified as a children’s book, it
is best suited for students in middle school and junior
high. It is an engaging first book on jazz for students.
However, due to the fact that it does not address the
contributions of jazz musicians of races other than
African Americans, supplemental information will
need to be provided to the student readers. (Robert Evans)
Eventually, some grew tired of the playing dances and
standard riffs. A place for authentic expression and creative
exercise was needed. Burke discusses how a close-knit
group of musicians began to meet in small clubs for
jam sessions. Race played a major role in the music
produced during these sessions. Burke points to 52nd Street
as a place where many white musicians collaborated
under the influence of African American musicians.
Though it was a complex relationship, as some merely
used the stereotypes of black minstrelsy, there was a
definite adoption of black styling in their playing.
Burke explores the importance of the Onyx Club
as a place where jazz musicians sought refuge from
the social pressures they faced during their day gigs.
It was in clubs like the Onyx where jam sessions
cultivated the birth of a new style: bebop. With regard
to race issues, it is important to examine Burke’s
writings in his section “Playing Black” (45–66) to get a
sense of the way that white and black musicians were
able to create an environment that was a playground
for musicians to be themselves—creators and artists—
regardless of their skin tone.
The issue of authenticity is one that must be
addressed when dealing with jazz and race. African
American performers on 52nd Street had to deal with the
stereotypes that associated jazz as black, irreverent,
anticommercial, and lascivious. During this time period
white musicians were able to temporarily assume
black personas for performing jazz. However, African
American musicians did not have such a privilege of
transference. Clearly, there existed a very complex
social construct that was full of hypocrisy and prejudice.
Sometimes it is best to look at one area to gauge
how social beliefs sculpt a culture. For teachers
interested in having students explore a complex world
where race and jazz meet in the mud of social inequality,
this dissertation provides many avenues for adventure.
Though much of the content mentioned here is from
Burke’s first chapter, other chapters provide more
insight on racial and authenticity issues. (Allen Stith)
Dissertation (annotated)
Burke, Patrick Lawrence. “Come In and Hear the
Truth: Jazz, Race, and Authenticity on Manhattan’s
52nd Street, 1930–1950.” Ph.D. diss., University of
Wisconsin–Madison, 2003.
This resource is a good reference for teachers who
are interested in learning more about the role of race
in the development of the jazz scene in Manhattan
from 1930 to 1950. A time period of great commercial
development for jazz in New York, there were also
a number of ways blacks musicians were left out
of the commercial success enjoyed by many white
musicians. The gigs that paid the most belonged
almost exclusively to whites. Racist attitudes not only
left blacks out of the best jobs, their influence on jazz
was also under fire.
The first chapter of this dissertation deals with
the development of the jazz scene in New York that
catered to musicians first. Prior to this time, many
musicians worked a day job and played a night gig.
Films (annotated)
Charles Mingus: Triumph of the Underdog. Directed
by Don McGlynn. Shanachie Entertainment, 1999.
Charles Mingus was a complicated melody. He
was a bassist, bandleader, and composer. In this
documentary, his friends and family highlight his adult
life and exceptional composing ability. Throughout
the film there is also mention of the impact that Duke
Ellington had on his life and his music. He challenged
himself to compose better on multiple occasions
due, in part, to the influence of Ellington. In 1989,
ten years after his death, his unknown masterpiece,
Epitaph, was performed by musicians from all over the
65
during the 1960s. After reading The Autobiography of
Malcolm X he identified with the Nkrumahist ideology
of Pan-Africanism. While in the United States he met
members of the Black Panther Party, James Brown, and
played briefly with jazz musician Roy Ayers.
Returning to Nigeria in 1973, Fela form his own
band, Nigeria 70. When performing onstage there
might be thirty to forty musicians and dancers at one
time. He attacked government corruption in his songs
and criticized European standards in religion, politics,
feminine beauty, dress customs, and more. 
Music Is the Weapon is the definitive documentary
on Fela. This DVD contains two version of the film,
English and French, and is an essential film for all who
wish to learn more about the artist. Shot in Lagos in
1982 by Stephane Tchal-Gaddieff and Jean Jacques
Flori, this documentary takes you from the “Kalakuta
Republic” to the mythical Shrine nightclub. At the
height of his popularity in Nigeria, Fela wanted to be
president. He stated: “no food, no water, no lights,
no government. The roots have been lost, but I see
a future in my party. Pan-Africanism is in the minds
of everybody.” The army responded by attacking and
ransacking his community, raping his wives, and
throwing his mother from a window, who later died
from her injuries.
After returning from time in prison, Fela was
more determined than ever, along with his wives. The
film includes versions of the songs “ITT,” “Army
Arrangement,” “Power Show,” and “Authority Stealing
(Live at the Shrine).” Fela transmits on camera his
thoughts on politics, Pan Africanism, music, and
religion. He fearlessly confronts the neocolonial
Nigerian government in a race war to the end. Most
people think that the fight is between white and black,
but rather black on black. The British have physically
left Nigeria but still rule economically through black
puppet regimes, which are Fela’s favorite target in his
music. (Keith Westbrook)
country, including Gunther Schuller, John Handy, Don
Butterfield, Wynton Marsalis, and Snooky Young. This
performance signifies the life of Mingus coming full
circle. Ultimately, the documentary looks at the rise,
fall, revitalization, and tragedy of Charles Mingus.
Triumph of the Underdog will provide
opportunities for different types of conversations
on race in the classroom. It opens with Mingus
commenting on how he fits in in the United States
racially and describes himself as feeling alone in the
world. Charles Mingus was of mixed heritage. His
father was the product of an African American man
and a Swedish woman, while his mother’s parents
were African American and Chinese. Throughout
the documentary, he is visually frustrated at the
state of race relations in the United States. He was
exceptionally vocal and critical of the United States
as it related to race. This frustration may or may not
have had something to do with his racial background,
as the topic of racial identity was not explored
throughout the film. As it relates to jazz and race,
Mingus was also disappointed at the classification
of jazz. In the documentary, he simply felt like it
should be referred to as music, and not black music.
This brings forward some really thought-provoking
questions for the classroom. What is black music?
What classifies someone as a jazz musician? Did
Mingus play jazz? Would he classify himself as a jazz
musician and composer?
This documentary is a great account of his adult
life. However, it should be noted that if you are
expecting to watch or show this film as a biography,
you will probably be disappointed. The film does not
address his early childhood or adolescence. It does
not discuss his initial desire to play or the impact of
his ability as an instrumentalist and focuses primarily
on his composing ability. Therefore, the film should be
used to supplement information presented about the
life of Charles Mingus. Due to the nature of some of
the language, this film is best reserved for high school
students. (Robert Evans)
High Society. Directed by Charles Walters. Bing
Crosby Productions, 1956.
A musical interpretation of the movie The Philadelphia
Story, this classic film features performances by Louis
Armstrong among an all-star cast, including Frank
Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, and Grace Kelly.
The plot is centered on a “society” wedding that takes
place in Newport, Rhode Island. Throughout the story,
Tracy Samantha Lord (Grace Kelly) is torn between
marrying a man who is new to the society life and her
feelings for her ex-husband, songwriter C. K. DexterHaven (Bing Crosby). A series of events told in song
and dance lead Grace Kelly’s character to fall back
in love with her ex-husband. In dramatic fashion, of
course, her decision is made moments before her
Fela Kuti: Music Is the Weapon. Directed by Stephane
Tchalgadjieff and Jean-Jacques Flori. Universal Music
Group, 2004.
Born October 15, 1938, in Abeokuta, Nigeria, Fela
Kuti, the self-proclaimed black president of Nigeria,
made more than eighty albums during his twentyfive-year career. Flamboyant, he often performed and
conducted interview wearing only his underwear. In
1978 Fela took twenty-seven wives, mostly singers
and dancers from his own band. In 1986, after
serving twenty months in prison on drug charges, he
divorced them all, stating he no longer believed in
the institution of marriage. He lived in Los Angeles
66
wedding is to take place. Embarrassment in front of all
the social elite who made their way to the wedding is
avoided when she decides to remarry her ex-husband.
Originally released in 1956, the film relies heavily
on popular jazz music. Louis Armstrong and his band
make a cameo appearance as the featured musicians
for a jazz festival that happens to be taking place at
the same time as the wedding. Armstrong also plays
the role of a narrator, setting up the scene at the very
opening of the film as his band arrives in Newport on
its tour bus.
High Society is a good resource for showing high
school students what American culture was like in
the middle of the twentieth century. It is especially
helpful to observe the way race and gender roles are
portrayed. Students will be forced to grapple with
questioning the tacit prejudices that surround the
production of the film as well as the audience it was
originally intended for.
The most obvious connection between race and
jazz displayed in this film is the inclusion of Louis
Armstrong. Armstrong and his band members are
the only African Americans featured in the film.
Moreover, there is a great contrast between the
lifestyles of the jazz musicians and the Newport high
class they entertain. In the opening scene, Armstrong’s
band pulls up to a mansion and begins its role as
entertainers on call.
Some have accused Louis Armstrong of being an
“Uncle Tom” because of the way he acts in films like
this one. Teachers may choose to engage their classes
in discussions about race and jazz by asking students
to contemplate the following questions: How is jazz
presented in the film? High art or minstrel folk song?
Why would some in the black community be upset
with the way Louis Armstrong portrays his character?
What does the musical collaboration of white and
black musicians say about jazz? (Allen Stith)
after white supremacists burned a church, killing four
young black girls in Alabama, Coltrane and his quartet
went into the studio to record a musical response.
Although Coltrane avoided attaching a political
statement to “Alabama,” LeRoi Jones memorializes
how Coltrane felt “something that I saw down there
translated into music from inside me.” One might
infer that the work is at least Coltrane’s eulogy for the
death of innocent children and, in a larger way, the
apparent death of justice in our society.
Another important work for examining the
relationship between jazz and race is the performance
of “Afro Blue” featured on this video. Coltrane’s
involvement in the civil rights movement is somewhat
limited to “Alabama.” Looking at a discography, it is
much clearer to see that Coltrane went out of his way
to relate his musical work to the heritage of Africa.
Many of his compositions feature the word “Africa”
or a derivative. Therefore, this recording is helpful
in encouraging students to explore the complex
relationships between jazz and the roots of jazz in
African music. (Allen Stith)
New Orleans. Directed by Arthur Lubin. Majestic
Productions, 1947.
The movie New Orleans is a fictional account of
life in the city of the same name beginning in 1917.
The cast of characters for the movie includes jazz
greats Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, and Woody
Herman. The cast also includes notable actors Arturo
de Córdova as the leading man and Dorothy Patrick
as the leading woman. This movie has multiple
plots that run simultaneously throughout it. In the
movie, the story of jazz is born amid the dark and
seductive streets of Storyville, the red light district
of New Orleans. The movie also details the trials
and tribulations of the people involved with jazz,
specifically Nick, Miralee, Louis, Endie, and Henry
Ferber. Finally, the movie carefully describes the
dissemination of jazz to other parts of the country
and its rise above acceptance to high class. While the
story of jazz is being told, there is also a story of love
taking place.
New Orleans seems to be connected by the
theme of race and class. The appropriation of jazz by
white people is just one example of connections that
exist in the movie. In one story line, a black maid,
played by Billie Holiday, enjoys singing jazz. Her
employer, a wealthy white woman, is dismayed with
the music, which she associates with vice. However,
her daughter, Miralee, is completely engaged and
hypnotized by the music. She inquires all about
jazz and in the end is one of the people that brings
legitimacy to jazz. The story of Miralee and her maid
is a microcosm of the entire movie. Initially, jazz was
Jazz Casual: John Coltrane. Produced by Ralph J.
Gleason. Koch Entertainment, 2002.
This video resource documents a period of Coltrane’s
development between his performances with Miles
Davis and his experiments in the avant-garde. It is
a great resource for high school teachers wishing to
discuss the contributions of John Coltrane during the
civil rights movement.
Originally broadcast as a television performance
in 1964, there are three musical selections featured
in the thirty-minute film. The John Coltrane Quartet
performs “Afro Blue,” “Alabama,” and “Impressions,”
with Coltrane on tenor saxophone, pianist McCoy Tyner,
bassist Jimmy Garrison, and drummer Elvin Jones.
Coltrane wrote one song that had a direct
connection to the civil rights movement. Two months
67
associated with vice, as it was born in Storyville. By
the end of the movie, jazz finally penetrates high art
and culture. But, in the process, the initial musicians,
singers, and composers of the music become
completely invisible in the United States. Why is it
that only after African Americans are phased out can
jazz achieve high art? Why was it that the standard
of success for jazz was to have a stage and audience
equivalent to classical music? Another theme that
exists in the movie is the connection between
minstrelsy and buffoonery to jazz. Most of the African
American men, led by Louis Armstrong, behave in a
manner that goes beyond mere entertainment. Why
was this common for the men in the movie? What is
the significance between aloof behavior and the way
African Americans were viewed in the Untied States
during this time period?
This documentary is a great fictional account of
the story of jazz. However, it should be noted that
there are some truths that can be picked out of the
story. The movie subtly addresses some of the major
racial problems that existed in the United States in the
early part of the twentieth century. This movie is easy
to follow and can be used with students in middle and
high school. (Robert Evans)
keyboardist, and composer from 1980 is sixty minutes
of eccentric entertainment. Speaking in front of
Egyptian hieroglyphs, Ra says, “I don’t consider myself
one of the humans. I’m a spiritual being.” Some jazz
musicians indulge in the vices of the street, but Ra
and the Arkstra escape only through the joyful noise
that produced 24/7. The music is infused with a strong
sense of discipline and precision. 
It’s free, sometimes chaotic, and clearly blues
based. Somewhat reminiscent of Monk or Mingus, Ra
clearly loves having an audience. Standing in front of
the White House he declares, “If you have a White
House you must have a Black House. Universal laws
require parallel opposites.”
Along with making great music Sun Ra confronts
racism. Whether standing in a museum surrounded
by Egyptian artifacts and discussing the racial bias in
educational system, or standing at the White House
gates, Sun Ra preaches racial separation, starting with
him first. This DVD is a necessary purchase for all jazz
fans. (Keith Westbrook)
Music Recordings (annotated)
Armstrong, Louis. “I’ll Be Glad When You’re Dead,
You, Rascal, You.” Louis Armstrong: The Complete
RCA Victor Recordings. Bluebird, 2001.
This recording was made in Camden, December
1932, during Armstrong’s first sessions with RCA.
Accompanied by his orchestra, Armstrong solos on
trumpet and sings the vocals for this song, which is
based on the chord changes and form of “When the
Saints Go Marching In.” This is in no way an epic
work or a watershed recording from the Armstrong
anthology; however, it is a good example of the joyful
exuberance that Armstrong brought to jazz music.
Though revered and beloved by many, Louis
Armstrong endured criticism from fellow African
Americans for the ways in which he carried himself
during concert and film performances. To some
Armstrong sold out to the white upper class and
played up racial stereotypes to further his career. In
defense of his true motivations, one might analyze the
history and use of this song. “I’ll Be Glad When You’re
Dead, You Rascal, You” was dedicated by Armstrong
to the city police of Memphis, Tennessee, after they
arrested Armstrong and his band for traveling on
a bus with a white woman, their manager’s wife.
Armstrong took a risk in making a public statement
that humiliated the police (at least those not too naive
to notice).
High school age students can use this recording
as a starting point for debating the role that Armstrong
(and jazz) had in fighting racial injustice. Teachers
should encourage students to investigate more about
Sun Ra: A Joyful Noise. Directed by Robert Mugge.
Winstar Home Entertainment, 1998.
Sun Ra was born Herman “Sonny” Blount in
Birmingham, Alabama, on May 22, 1914, and
died in same location May 30, 1993. He studied
music at Alabama A & M and moved to Chicago in
1946. He played with Fletcher Henderson, Gene
Wright, Coleman Hawkins, and Stuff Smith. At
around this time he renamed himself Sun Ra and
became interested in the history of ancient Egypt,
along with Arkestra members John Gilmore and Pat
Patrick. According to Ra, in space the idea that the
planet he lives on can provide a fair alternative for
Africans looking to create a self-sufficient society. His
philosophy deeply impacted the music in the mid
to late 1950s. He adopted futuristic costumes for
performances and gave titles related to outer space
and Egypt to numerous compositions. He also
began to emphasize percussion by using multiple
drummers. Ra was a pioneer in jazz with the use of
electric keyboard and two bassists, before Ornette
Coleman. Ra, a separatist in jazz circles, believed in
communal living for his band, which they did first in
Chicago and then Philadelphia. When Sun Ra moved
to New York in 1961, he marked the beginning of
what may be considered his “free jazz” period. From
the 1970s to the early 1990s he continued to use and
extend the techniques he developed during the 1960s.
This Robert Mugge profile of the late bandleader,
68
Armstrong and the evidence some use to suggest that
Armstrong had sold out or betrayed his black heritage.
(Allen Stith)
night club, introduced the song to Billie Holiday
and she performed it. She later stated the imagery in
“Strange Fruit” reminded her of her father’s death, and
that played a role in her persistence in performing it.
Holiday recorded “Strange Fruit” with Commodore,
Milt Gabler’s alternative jazz label, in 1939. It
became her biggest selling record. Until the end of
Holiday’s life “Strange Fruit” remained a fixture in her
performances; whenever she sang it, it was an event.
This song is a good teaching tool for eleventh and
twelfth graders who are critical thinkers and who will
be able to understand the story of lynching through
music. The basic content of the work is the graphic
picture and the history that the song presents. This
song presents a vivid picture of some of the racial
interaction and it provides a description of the horror
of lynching. A good assignment could be to have
the students listen to the lyrics of the song and write
a reaction paper to what they think is taking place.
Have the students discuss how this (lynching) might
have affected Billie. Finally, have the students discuss
whether music should be used to address social
issues. (Herbert West)
Brown, Oscar Jr. Sin and Soul. Columbia, 1960.
Oscar Brown Jr. was born in Chicago and was a
singer, actor, poet, and composer. He busted his way
to prominence in the early 1960s with the album
Sin and Soul on Columbia Records. The songs on
the album spring from the folklore, tunes, rhythms,
chants, calls, and cries of African oral traditions. The
words of “Dat Dere” in African vernacular:
Hey Lookit ober dere!
Hey wat dey doin dere?
N’where dey go dere?
N’daddy can I hab dat
big elepunt ober dere?
His lyrics are verses about feelings of a single
artist communicating the collective experience
of a voiceless, oppressed mass in the African folk
tradition. Appearing on the front cover of the album
are quotations by various people in entertainment
like Steve Allen, Lorraine Hansberry, and Nina
Simon. One such quotation says, “He is beyond all
categories. One of the most gifted and imaginative
artist that we have.” The signature songs on Sin and
Soul are “But I Was Cool,” “Bid ’Em In,” “Signifyin’
Monkey,” and “Dat Dere.” Brown portrays clueless
losers, slave auctioneers, and clever underdogs in
tender ballads delivered like theatrical productions.
His lyrics are socially conscious, reflecting various
themes on racism in America. Brown’s songs are
not all neutral; the majority are pro-black, exploring
Africa, slavery, or the African American experience
from the viewpoint of an insider. (Keith Westbrook)
Mingus, Charles. “Fables of Faubus.” Mingus Ah Um.
Columbia, 1959. CK 40648.
Recorded in 1959 as a protest against social injustice
taking place in the south, “Fables of Faubus” is a
seminal composition that reflects the climate of U.S.
race relations during the civil rights period. The first
recording, produced in 1959, was only instrumental.
Columbia Records considered Mingus’s lyrics too
controversial, as they directly criticized the actions
of Arkansas governor Orval E. Faubus, who blocked
the integration of a Little Rock high school in 1957.
In 1960 Mingus finally was able to record the song as
originally intended (with lyrics) for the independent
label Candid. Mingus often performed the song on
recordings and in concert.
Mingus was not a passive artist. He engaged the
world around him and was willing to use his talent
to influence change. “Fables” is one of many protest
songs for social justice. Others included the “Haitian
Fight Song” and “Prayer for Passive Resistance.” In his
own words, “I was always doing revolutionary things,
things that would alert people.”
The use of this recording is intended to engage high
school students in learning about the historical events
of the civil rights movement. The Columbia recording
demonstrates the concessions black musicians were
sometimes forced to make. Comparing the Columbia
instrumental recording and the later Candid recording
with vocals demonstrates how censorship of art is
used to suppress social comment.
“Fables of Faubus” provides students with
Holiday, Billie. “Strange Fruit.” Commodore, 1939.
All through the early history of jazz—the music
many people view as “America’s classical music” or
“African American classical music”—it has been filled
with race and race issues. Thus was the case of the
song “Strange Fruit,” which was famously performed
by Billie Holiday and which condemned American
racism. The song expressed the practice of lynching
and burning of African Americans that was prevalent
in the South when it was written.
It was first introduced as a poem written by a
Jewish teacher in New York City, who expressed the
horror at the lynching of two men in Marion, Indiana.
According to her autobiography, Lady Sings the Blues,
Holiday, along with her accompanist and arranger,
put the poem to music. Although the song had been
performed by several people, it did not bring major
attention until 1939. At this time Barney Josephson,
the founder of Café Society, New York’s first integrated
69
an opportunity to explore complex social issues
surrounding the civil right movement. One may chose
to investigate how other prominent jazz musicians
reacted to social injustice. Also, questions can be
raised about why Mingus conceded to recording the
instrumental version with Columbia instead of taking
a stronger stand. Finally, one can explore how jazz
musicians modeled social justice and provided a
nonviolent method for social change. (Allen Stith)
music became a part of the civil rights movement.
There were many forms of music involved in
this period, and without reservation jazz played a
very important role in bringing out the social ills of
America. One of the most profound individuals to
get involved in this musical movement was Eunice
Kathleen Waymon, better known as Nina Simone.
She was an amazing songwriter, pianist, and most
all a civil rights activist. Her preface was not to be
categorized as a singer but was generally classified as
a jazz musician.
Nina’s civil rights movement participation
perhaps started when she was a teenager living in
Philadelphia, where she taught piano. With this
job, her hope was to earn enough money to pay
a private tutor to prepare her for admission to the
Julliard School of Music to study classical music.
Unfortunately, she was rejected. Simone believed this
rejection was due to the fact that she was an African
American woman. This perhaps ignited her hatred for
racial injustice in America.
In 1964 she went through a strong musical
transition by changing record label and the content of
her recordings. In the past she had always included
songs in her repertoire that hinted to her African
American origins. On her first album under her new
label she openly addressed the racial inequality
that was prevalent in the United States with the
song “Mississippi Goddam.” This song of protest
was written after the murders of Medgar Evers in
Mississippi and four African American school children
who were bombed in Birmingham, Alabama. From
then onward, the civil rights message was standard in
her recording repertoire. Oftentimes she surrounded
herself with her friends Langston Hughes, James
Baldwin, and Lorraine Hansberry, who were activists
in their own way.
In 1967 she recorded “I Wish I Knew How It
Would Feel to Be Free.” In the eyes of many African
American activists this song was regarded as a
civil rights anthem. Thus, these songs, “Mississippi
Goddam” and “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel
to Be Free,” can be used to teach how it takes many
avenues to end racial injustices. To get students
more involved, teachers should allow the students to
examine the lines of each song. Engage the students in
a discussion on Simone and her role in the civil rights
period. Finally, have the students create a protest song
for the time period for comparison. (Herbert West)
Roach, Max. We Insist! Freedom Now Suite. Candid
Records, 1960.
Max Roach was born January 10, 1924, in Elizabeth
City, North Carolina, and grew up in Brooklyn,
New York. He began playing drums at age ten and
studied at the Manhattan School of Music. During the
1940s and 1950s he performed with Charlie Parker,
Thelonious Monk, Duke Ellington, Coleman Hawkins,
Dizzy Gillespie, and Clifford Brown. Although he
has collaborated with various artists, composers, and
arrangers, he has been the composer on most material
performed on the drums. In 1960 he gave birth to
militant jazz with We Insist! Freedom Now Suite.
It could be known as the opening sound track to
the black power movement. Roach delivers a musical
journey through the African American experience
in five parts. “Driva’ Man” begins on the plantation.
Abbey Lincoln provides piercing vocals of being a
victim to the slave master’s brutality. Coleman Hawkin
delivers a saxophone solo. “Freedom Day,” with
lyrics by Oscar Brown, expresses the joy that many
slaves felt right after the Emancipation Proclamation
. “Triptych: Prayer, Protest, Peace” is the centerpiece
of the recording. Max Roach plays the drums, and
Abbey Lincoln provides vocals. Lincoln sings, shouts,
cries, and moans to convey more than any words
could. Michael Olatunsi of Nigeria is highlighted
on the last two pieces, “All Africa” and “Tears for
Johannesburg,” confirming unity in struggle between
African Americans in the United States and Africans
on the continent itself. A point could be made on the
positive relationship between hard bop and the civil
rights movement. This should be remembered as a
piece of African American history. (Keith Westbrook)
Simone, Nina. “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to
Be Free.” Silk and Soul. RCA Victor, 1967.
———. “Mississippi Goddam.” Nina Simone. Philips, 1963.
These songs were written and recorded during the
turbulent period called the civil rights period. This
period lasted from the 1950s through the mid 1970s.
It was a time when African Americans were striving
to knock down the walls of segregation and racism in
America. These songs can provide high school social
studies students with some understanding of how
Websites (annotated)
http://www.redhotjazz.com/blackswan.html. “The
Rise and Fall of Black Swan Records” by Kitu Weusi.
Red Hot Jazz (accessed July 11, 2007).
70
“The Rise and Fall of Black Swan Records” is a
website that tells the story of self-sufficiency, selfdetermination, black nationalism, and capitalism.
Black Swan Records was a recording company
founded by Harry Herbert Pace. He was a pioneer
in the music industry and an advocate for black selfdetermination. However, he has been relegated to
the back shelves of history. Pace created the company
because of the racially discriminatory practices of
the recording industry. The website, created by Kitu
Weusi, documents the history of Black Swan Records
and provides a historical account of the rise and fall of
the company. Founded in 1921, Black Swan Records
served many jazz composers, singers, and musicians,
most notably Fletcher Henderson, Ethel Waters, and
William Grant Still. According to the author, Harry
Pace encountered many obstacles in his quest to
form and maintain the company. At the height of its
short success, Black Swan Records and Harry Pace
distributed seven thousand records daily.
“The Rise and Fall of Black Swan Records” will
provide students with an opportunity to examine early
forms of racism in the music industry, specifically
jazz. The author uses the website to tell a story that
has been neglected in mainstream education. The
story he tells begins with a brief history of the early
life of Pace and his education. He was a student
of W. E. B. DuBois, and the education he received
helped to shape him into an individual that was
aware of the circumstances of African Americans in
America. There are numerous connections throughout
that relate to jazz and race; some are shallow, yet
some of them are really deep and profound. For
example, Pace encountered a number of internal
obstacles. He initially advocated for all blacks in the
company, but success meant that he had to expand
the company. This expansion allowed whites to get
involved with the company, and many black artists
were upset by this move. Other examples include
the impact that Fletcher Henderson and William
Grant Still had on jazz and the jazz scene and the
role of the mainstream (white) recording companies
in the decline of Black Swan Records. The success
of Black Swan Records caught the eye of larger
recording companies. Ironically, after ignoring and
marginalizing black artists, the mainstream companies
began to heavily recruit them, which resulted in
artists’ departure from Black Swan Records.
“The Rise and Fall of Black Swan Records” is a
very informative website. The website is dedicated
to jazz. It provides a comprehensive look at essays,
films, and musicians. This website is easy to read and
can be used with students in middle and high school.
(Robert Evans)
71
Jazz and the Urban Landscape
is infused into the historical concepts. Fats Waller’s
“The Joint Is Jumpin’” provides both an inspiring look
into the importance of music in the everyday life of
people and insight into the phenomenon of the rent
party. Autobiographies such as I Paid My Dues by
Babs Gonzales demonstrate the effect of the city on
the lives of individual artists. Young adult novels like
Harlem Summer by Walter Dean Myers can help
students see vivid pictures of urban areas during the
Great Migration of the 1920s.
We hope that our selective bibliography
and annotations will help teachers to navigate a
rather immense topic and will help them to bring the
essence of urban jazz into their classrooms.
Monica Freese, John Gornell, Patrick Harris,
Mark Halperin, and Jerome Love
We often think of jazz as the music of cities.
From its origins in New Orleans through its years of
development in Kansas City, Chicago, and New York,
jazz has been music that was made by city people
for city people. Like all generalities this idea could
be challenged, but it makes sense to examine the
symbiotic relationship between jazz and the cities in which
it was created and recreated. We have attempted to
assemble a bibliography of works that show not only
how jazz has been the product of the cities but also
the effect that jazz had on the cultural life of the cities
in which it thrived during its formative years.
There are many trends that recur again and
again when examining jazz in the urban landscape.
The Jazz Age of the 1920s is set during Prohibition.
Connected to Prohibition are other factors that are
woven through the fabric of the Jazz Age and beyond.
Organized crime, crooked politics, and the culture
of speakeasies are part of the urban landscape.
Powerful urban political machines zoned African
American neighborhoods for vice, which connected
jazz with prostitution and drugs. While born in the era
of Prohibition, these aspects of the jazz experience
persisted through much of the history of jazz. In fact,
this music was a divisive element within the African
American community, where some people called it
“devil’s music.”
The jazz of early decades struggled for
acceptance by the musical elite. This struggle parallels
the struggle for economic survival faced by many of
the musicians in a segregated urban environment.
Events such as the closing of Storyville and race riots
after World War I fostered the migration of many
African Americans to cities like New York, Chicago,
and Kansas City. Challenges of segregation persisted
in these cities, too. Elements like “rent parties,”
“whites only” nightclubs, and competition for jobs
illustrate the challenges faced by many jazz musicians
in northern cities.
The complexities of the urban landscape
can be taught through several media. Personal
accounts woven into the history of a region bring
the realities of the jazz scene to life. Books such
as Goin’ to Kansas City and Swing City: Newark
Nightlife 1925–1950 provide rich anecdotal histories
of the social and political culture of the city through
dozens of interviews. The story of St. Louis is
unfolded and brought to life through audio and video
interviews with artists in the documentary Collective
Improvisation: The Story of Jazz in St. Louis. The
individual descriptions are enhanced when music
Articles and Essays
Levine, Lawrence. “Jazz and American Culture.”
Journal of American Folklore 102 (January–
March 1989): 6–8.
Walling, William. “The Politics of Jazz: Some
Preliminary Notes.” Journal of Jazz Studies 2,
no. 1 (December 1974): 46–57.
Books and Book Chapters
Early, Gerald, ed. Miles Davis and American Culture.
St. Louis: Missouri Historical Society Press,
2001.
Hawes, Hampton. Raise Up Off Me: A Portrait of
Hampton Hawes. New York: Da Capo Press,
1979.
Lewis, David Levering. When Harlem Was in Vogue.
New York: Oxford University Press, 1989.
Reprint, New York: Penguin, 1997.
Meltzer, David, ed. Reading Jazz. San Francisco: Mercury House, 1993.
Osofsky, Gilbert. Harlem: The Making of a Ghetto:
Negro New York, 1890–1930. Chicago: Ivan
R. Dee, 1996.
Owsley, Dennis. City of Gabriels: The History of Jazz
in St. Louis, 1895–1973. St. Louis: Reedy
Press, 2006.
Peretti, Burton W. The Creation of Jazz: Music, Race,
and Culture in Urban America. Urbana:
University of Illinois Press, 1994.
Children’s Books
Burleigh, Robert. Lookin’ for Bird in the Big City. New
York: Silver Whistle (Harcourt), 2001.
Curtis, Christopher Paul. Bud, Not Buddy. New York: Delacorte Press, 1999.
Fiction and Poetry
Baldwin, James. Sonny’s Blues. New York: Vintage, 1957.
Blackburn, Paul. “Listening to Sonny Rollins at the
Five Spot.” In The Collected Poems of Paul
72
Blackburn, 15. New York: Persea Books, 1985.
Carruth, Hayden. “Paragraphs.” In Brothers I Loved
You All, 81–99. New York: Sheep Meadow
Press, 1978.
Ellison, Ralph. The Invisible Man. New York: Random House, 1952.
Hughes, Langston. “The Blues I’m Playing.” In The
Ways of White Folks. Reprint, Vintage Classics
Edition, 1990.
Shange, Ntozake. Ellington Was Not a Street. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2004.
Welty, Eudora. “Powerhouse.” The Atlantic Monthly, June 1941, 707–13.
work as a means of looking at the development of
his music. His career spanned many of the major
movements in modern jazz and as an artist he
adapted to each new terrain. The author contends that
through all of his music, blues seems to be his base.
The article looks at the development of his music
from the Afro-modernism perspective. This thought is
that music is a social phenomenon and is not detached.
Looking at his music from this perspective it is
presumed that the urban environments that he lived
in had an impact on his music. The author makes this
case by contrasting Davis’s childhood with the fact
that he plays the blues. He was the son of a wealthy
dentist in East St. Louis and went to Julliard but
played a music that was thought to be representative
of the poor in the South. The article speaks to Davis
trying to break the stereotype of blues being a rural
music about suffering and sadness. Looking at his
music through the lens of the Afro-modernism gives
insight into how the urban landscapes he was part of
influenced his music.
This article is for the advanced student or the
teacher. It can be used as a guide to the music
referenced in the article. The article will provide many
avenues for discussion and analysis. (Monica Freese)
Films
Bird. Directed by Clint Eastwood. Warner Brothers, 1988.
The Cotton Club. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Orion Pictures, 1984.
Devil in a Blue Dress. Directed by Carl Franklin. TriStar Pictures, 1995.
Gaslight Square: The Forgotten Landmark. Produced by Bruce Marren. Callop, 2001.
The Naked City. Directed by Jules Dassin. Hellinger Productions, 1948.
Young Man with a Horn. Directed by Michael Curtiz. Warner Brothers, 1950.
Children’s Books (annotated)
Music Recordings
Myers, Walter Dean. Jazz. New York: Holiday House
Books, 2006.
This book is a fun way to start the story of jazz.
Its fifteen poems trace the history of jazz and are
accompanied by illustrations that will engage students
immediately.
The poems give a rhythmic beat to the history
implanted in each. The book covers many of the jazz
styles from its inception to the smooth sounds of jazz
today. The city of New Orleans is directly referenced
through a funeral procession poem and a later poem
about jazz today. Although New Orleans is the only
urban environment directly referenced, the poems can
be used to introduce the stylistic influence that other
urban environments have had on the development of
jazz. The illustrations alone can be used to discuss
the urban environment. They are vibrant and full
of activity, which can be used to discuss the urban
environment at the time the music the poems refer to
was being played. For example, the two pictures that
illustrate the funeral procession provide opportunities
for discussions regarding the parade’s influence on the
development of music in New Orleans. The poems
and illustrations provide a lively introduction to the
styles of jazz in other urban environments.
The book has a wonderful time line at the back
that outlines major events in jazz history. The time line
Ellington, Duke. “Take the ‘A’ Train.” Never No
Lament: The Blanton-Webster Band. RCA,
1939.
Humphreys, Bobbi. “Harlem River Drive.” The Best of
Bobbi Humphreys. Blue Note/Capitol, 1992.
———. “New York Times.” Satin Doll. Blue Note,
1974. BN A 344 G
The Jazz Age: New York in the Twenties. BMG Music,
1991.
Jones, Quincy. “Harlem Nocturne.” Quincy’s Got a
Brand New Bag. Verve Reissues, 1992.
The Real Kansas City of the ’20s, ’30s, and ’40s. Sony,
1996.
Simone, Nina. “Mississippi Goddam.” Nina Simone in
Concert. Phillips, 1964. PHS-600-135
Stolen Moments: Red, Hot, and Cool. GRP Records,
1994. GRD-9794
Articles and Essays (annotated)
Magee, Jeffrey. “Kinds of Blue: Miles Davis, AfroModernism, and the Blues.” Jazz Perspectives 1, no. 1
(April 2007): 5–27.
This article provides insight into the music of Miles
Davis and the influences that are infused into his
music. The article dissects several pieces of Davis’s
73
also makes reference to major urban environments
like Chicago and New York. The younger student can
enjoy the book as it is, and the older student can be
engaged in the discussion of the urban influence by
using the poems and the illustrations as a starting point.
This book is intended for children ages four to
eight but can have applications for a wide range
of students. The book can be used to reinforce or
complement a particular urban environment. The
book’s lively poems and illustrations will be sure to
engage a conversation. (Monica Freese)
students. Yet, it is an important resource for teachers
interested in teaching their students about the early
days of jazz in Manhattan.
In her attempt at being all-inclusive (at times
one feels that everyone listed in the Manhattan
phone directory in 1922 is mentioned in this book),
Professor Douglas has produced a book that is full of
information that it would be difficult to find in any
other place. Her chapters on black Manhattan and
blacks in the entertainment industry are especially
important for teachers trying to figure out how jazz fit
into the general social fabric of New York.
She is especially good on the convergence of
jazz and the Broadway musical. She explains why
Shuffle Along was a breakthrough show musically
and socially. In doing this she reminds us of the
importance of Sissle and Blake in the development
of the all-black musical. She describes the early
development of entertainers like Ethel Waters and
John Bubbles, who had parallel careers, appearing
on stage in New York in the 1920s and in Hollywood
films in the 1940s. She also notes that the prestigious
critic Alexander Wollcott wrote about the obvious
separation of the audience in his review of Shuffle
Along: The wealthy white people sitting up front and
the poorer black people sitting in the cheap seats in
the back of the theater.
She also does well in describing the connection
between black entertainers and the mostly Jewish
songwriters of Tin Pan Alley. Sometimes they would
interconnect in unexpected ways. The Gershwins,
who had begun as Tin Pan Alley song pluggers,
decided to cast Porgy and Bess as an all-black
musical, but they had considered using white
performers in black face. According to Professor
Douglas, Al Jolson actively campaigned for the role of
Porgy. Try to imagine that performance.
This book is full of the kind of detail that you can
use to focus and enliven your lessons. The one part
of the book that you might consider using with your
students is Professor Douglas’ section of photographs.
These are not the standard photos that most of us
have seen before. There is an excellent selection of
photos of African Americans, including a dashing and
youthful Fats Waller. There is even a picture of the
outside entrance of the Cotton Club that would make
an point of departure for a discussion of street life in
Harlem. (Mark Halperin)
Books and Book Chapters (annotated)
Bryant, Clora, ed. Central Avenue Sounds: Jazz in Los
Angeles. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998.
In this book, the musical and social history of
Los Angeles’s black community from the 1920s
through the early 1950s is spoken about in this
oral history collection. Recounted by the musicians
who performed on L.A.’s Central Avenue during
those years, a clear vision of the Avenue’s place in
American musical history takes shape. Central Avenue
is depicted as the economic and social center for
blacks in Los Angeles during the day. At night, it was a
hub for Southern Californians, black and white, who
wanted to hear jazz music.
Because it is based on interviews of the musicians,
this book provides firsthand accounts by and about
some of our great jazz legends. For instance, Art
Farmer recalls the first time Charlie Parker and Dizzy
Gillespie played bebop on the West Coast; Britt
Woodman tells of how Charles Mingus switching from
cello to bass; and female trumpeter Clora Bryant talks
about the hard times on the road with Billie Holiday. Additionally, there are tales of how Hollywood
affected the local culture, the precedent-setting
merger of the black and white musicians unions, and
the repercussions from the racism in the Los Angeles
police department in the late 1940s and early 1950s
to prevent “race mixing.” Central Avenue Sounds not
only tells the story of the cultural history for blacks
in Los Angeles, but it also shows the influence of a
community whose role became as significant in the
jazz world as that of Harlem and New Orleans.
While this is an academic text, this would be a
great source for high school teachers to review with
the students or as a reference for the instructor to aid
in the creation of a comprehensive lesson plan on
jazz in Los Angeles. (Patrick Harris)
Kukla, Barbara J. Swing City: Newark Night Life, 1925–
1950. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1991.
Swing City is a broad history of nightlife in Newark,
New Jersey. Kukla uses interviews with musicians,
singers, dancers, comedians, bartenders, waitresses,
nightclub owners, and their families and more than
Douglas, Ann. Terrible Honesty: Mongrel Manhattan
in the 1920s. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1995.
This is a long and dense work that would be
unsuitable reading for any but the most dedicated of
74
a hundred photographs to tell the story that Newark
could swing as well as better known jazz cities like
New York and Chicago. But Kukla’s best depictions
are those of African American social and economic
survival in the segregated urban landscape of
1925–50. Kukla covers the musicians who started
at Newark’s Orpheum Theater and went on to join
famous bands. She also describes the house rent
parties of the 1930s, the “colored only” clubs, the
entertainment at Newark’s one thousand saloons
during Prohibition, and the Coleman Hotel, where
Billie Holiday often stayed.
Kukla begins her book with a description of
the layout of the city and its residents. She offers a
short history of jazz and how it came to Newark.
She also offers a couple of excuses for why Newark
is not hailed with the other great cities of the swing
era. The bulk of the book is divided into three big
chapters: “The Performers,” “The Bands,” and “The
Clubs.” These chapters are full of wonderful personal
anecdotes. Another chapter examines Savoy Records
and the “Negroes only” Coleman Hotel. Lastly, sixty
pages of appendices list the who’s who in Newark
nightlife and who played where and when.
Kukla describes the city as a mosaic of ethnic
enclaves, including Irish, German, Italian, central
European, and African American. She focuses
primarily on the African American experience,
though. Kukla explains how nightlife was a source
of hundreds of jobs for the African American
community in a segregated environment where other
opportunities were rare, especially in the 1930s.
One good classroom discussion prompted by Swing
City can cover the relationship between a segregated
economic and social environment and a thriving African
American nightlife. Is it a causal relationship or are
these features of Newark independent of each other?
Swing City is an excellent source for images of
the urban environment. During the decades between
the twenties and forties Newark was a city of crooked
politics, jobs, joblessness, hooch, numbers running,
prostitution, and, of course, music. Newark was a
veritable maze of thriving theaters, clubs, and afterhours joints. Educators may want to discuss why jazz
thrived in this environment. Some students may be
surprised to see the degree of segregation described
by Kukla. Swing City could also support a discussion
on segregation in the North. (John Gornell)
The book is a biographical look at Tom Pendergast.
However, a look into his politics can provide insight
into how a relatively small midwestern venue became
a major player in the jazz scene.
The authors contend that Tom Pendergast had
enough power over the statewide Missouri politicians
and courts to allow him to suppress any involvement
into the politics and activities of Kansas City. He
is thought to have been a sort of silent partner in a
very liberal entertainment industry. The strength of
his political machine is what made this possible.
His machine was so powerful that during a time of
national prohibition, Kansas City became a center
for those looking for drink and the more subversive
entertainment of the day. The book examines how the
Pendergast machine manipulated elections in order to
control the politics and keep control over his interests.
This book is a good reference for background
information on Kansas City. It only addresses the jazz
scene once, and with little detail. However, the book
addresses the openness of the urban landscape and
the corruption of its politics. The development of the
jazz scene can be inferred, but further details would
need to be added to complete the picture. This book
would complement a book studying the jazz scene in
Kansas City. (Monica Freese)
Ogren, Kathy J. The Jazz Revolution: Twenties
America and the Meaning of Jazz. New York: Oxford
University Press, 1989.
An educator looking for information on the impact of
jazz during the 1920s will find that Ogren’s book is
filled with a wealth of information. Ogren accesses
the subject of jazz in the 1920s from several different
angles. She opens with a fascinating account from a
1926 New York Times article that summarizes that the
Salvation Army in Cincinnati obtained an injunction
to prevent the building of theater next to their girls
home on the grounds that the music from the theater
would implant “jazz emotions” in the babies born at
the home. Ogren claims that the readers of this article
would not have been surprised because there was a
growing controversy concerning the influence of jazz.
Ogren offers her theory of the growth of jazz
during the 20s to the reader in the introduction of the
book. She traces this controversy in the social and
cultural context of 1920s America and sheds new
light on jazz’s impact on the nation as she traces its
dissemination from the honky-tonks of New Orleans,
New York, and Chicago to the clubs and cabarets
of such places as Kansas City and Los Angeles and
further to the airwaves. Ogren argues that certain
characteristics of jazz—notably the contributory
nature of the music and its unusual rhythms and
emphasis—gave it a special character for a society
Larsen, Lawrence H., and Nancy J. Hulston.
Pendergast! Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1997.
Any look into the jazz scene in Kansas City must also
include a look at Tom Pendergast. Pendergast was the
legendary and infamous “boss” of Kansas City. The
book explains his dominance in Kansas City politics.
75
undergoing rapid change. Those who resisted
the changes criticized the new music; those who
accepted them embraced jazz.
This book has significant value in expressing
“Jazz and the Urban Landscape” in that it could
provoke discussion around who were the people
who criticized the new music and why. Additionally,
discussion could be centered on how the spread of
jazz affected the cultural landscape of the cities it
migrated to during the 1920s. (Patrick Harris)
The personal anecdotes from the interviews are
particularly remarkable in these chapters. Some are
graphic, and educators should use caution before
assigning any to high school age students. “The
Musicians’ Nightlife” provides the bridge from these
chapters primarily about the city back to chapters
primarily about the musicians. (John Gornell)
Sengstock, Charles A. Jr. “Jazz Music in Chicago’s
Early South-Side Theaters.” Northbrook, IL:
Canterbury Press, 2000.
An educator looking for information on jazz in
Charles Sengstock’s fifty-five-page pamphlet “Jazz
Music in Chicago’s Early South-Side Theaters” may
be disappointed. A better title for this publication
would be “The Rise and Fall of Great Jazz Age
Theaters on Chicago’s South Side.” Sengstock pulls
several different articles together that describe the
many theaters that thrived in Chicago’s mostly African
American south side. Four of the articles were written
between 1959 and 1963, when much of the once
bustling neighborhood was being razed to build the
Illinois Institute of Technology. Each article is nostalgic
for the heyday of the 1910s and 1920s but also offers
an optimistic view of the future through the plans of
urban renewal.
Sengstock, publishing in 2000, offers a few pages
of preface and introduction to the reader. It is in these
pages where one finds the most information on the
important role of Chicago’s south-side theaters in the
spread of jazz music to a national audience between
1915 and 1925. He recounts how jazz, first played
before a predominantly black audience, found a fertile
environment in many south-side clubs and ballrooms
and was soon being recorded by small record labels.
The articles, however, offer little more than
straight, factual accounts of when landmark theaters
were built, who played there, and when they were
closed. The musicians who played these theaters
and clubs include many jazz greats like Jelly Roll
Morton, Joe Oliver, and Kid Ory, to name just a few.
Some theaters offered a multitude of acts, including
vaudeville and cabaret as well as jazz. Others put an
emphasis on movies. Virtually all thrived in the 1920s,
and virtually all closed in the economic depression
of the 1930s. Any structures that were still standing
in the 1950s fell to the wrecking ball in the 1960s to
build the Illinois Institute of Technology.
Sengstock’s book has some value in painting
the urban landscape of Chicago’s south side during
the 1910s and 1920s. It could support a limited
discussion that considered why jazz found fertile
ground to take root and grow there. But since this
pamphlet is more about the theaters than about the
music, the richer discussion may be about why it is
Pearson, Nathan W. Jr. Goin’ to Kansas City. Urbana:
University of Illinois Press, 1987.
Author Nathan W. Pearson tells the stories of Kansas
City and its great bands through firsthand accounts
of the people who lived and played music there.
Pearson also examines the social and political culture
of the city and explains why Kansas City was such
an important center for jazz in the 1920s and 1930s.
Each of the eighteen chapters begins with a relatively
short account of the history from Pearson followed by
extensive excerpts from forty-one different interviews
conducted between 1977 and 1980. The interviews
are a rich source for anecdotal history. Pearson
supplements his accounts and interviews with many
contemporary photos and a few political cartoons.
Pearson’s audience is any adult with an interest in
jazz history. With all the personal quotes, the book
reads like an insider’s guide. The reading level is not
challenging; however, there is some adult content in
some of the chapters covering Kansas City vice. While
the book is primarily about the lives and personalities
of the music makers themselves—including Bennie
Moten, Count Basie and Jay McShann—it does
provide a good glimpse into the urban and, to a lesser
degree, rural lifestyles in and around Kansas City in
the 1920s and 1930s. Pearson describes Kansas City
as a “loosely controlled free spirited city where those
with cash could find anything they wanted” since as
early as the 1880s, but he credits the environment
created by the corrupt but socially progressive
political machine of Tom Pendergast for the
development of jazz in Kansas City. The confluence
of money and vice encouraged job growth for many
musicians—even during the Depression years, during
which the Kansas City vice economy flourished.
Four chapters in particular examine the social and
political aspects of the urban landscape of Kansas
City. “The Road Leads to Kansas City” examines
why musicians were drawn to the city even before
the Pendergast years. “The Pendergast Years” and
“The Wide-Open Town” explain the operation of the
Pendergast machine and the positive and negative
aspects of major vices during those years: gangsters,
gambling, prostitution, and bootlegging and narcotics.
76
not there anymore. Why did theaters showing movies
endure longer through the Depression than those that
featured jazz bands? This pamphlet could also launch
a discussion about urban renewal. Razing African
American neighborhoods in the name of urban
renewal was common in most American cities during
the 1950s and 1960s. How does the jazz of the 1960s
reflect this? (John Gornell)
but as a general result of the lifestyle these men have
chosen for themselves. The poem comes across as a
light treatment of a serious subject. (Mark Halperin)
Morrison, Toni. Jazz. New York: Penguin, 1992.
In studying “Jazz and the Urban Landscape,” a useful
source for how jazz is used to portray the urban
environment can be found in Toni Morrison’s 1992
novel Jazz. Due to the subject matter, this text should
be geared toward high school level students. Within
the context of the story, the characters are faced with
many issues from a historical standpoint that many
African Americans faced: race riots, migration from
rural roots to metropolitan areas, and the influence
that jazz had not only on these new communities but
also how it affected the spirit of the people.
The title of the novel itself is a play on the musical
genre. Throughout the novel, the idea of music is
discussed. While some of the characters interpret the
“jazz” music in the novel as the anthem of hell, others
find passion and pleasure in the music. In fact, the
novel directly deals with the notion that jazz within
the confines of an urban area that brings with it many
negative vices that infect the community. An example
of this in the novel is in the tragic death of one of the
main characters, Dorcas, while she was in an illegal
speakeasy with another man at the hands of her
former lover.
As with the music, the novel is written with a
syncopated style. The chapters are unnumbered,
and the narrators are unknown, which allows them
the freedom to move throughout the story. It is also
because of this style that it is recommend that the
novel be read as a class and not as individual reading,
for there are many layers in the novel that could lead
to excellent discussion. (Patrick Harris)
Fiction and Poetry (annotated)
Brooks, Gwendolyn. “We Real Cool.” In The World of
Gwendolyn Brooks, 315. New York: Harper and Row, 1971.
The story told about this poem is that Gwendolyn
Brooks actually met a group of teenagers playing pool
at a local poolroom, when they should have been
at school or could have been working. Students of
all ages would respond to the poem’s rhythm, which
seems deceptively simple. It could be scanned in
several ways, none of them very satisfying. I believe
that the beats of the poem should be read as if they
were beats in music, and that each word of the
poem should carry a beat. The spaces between the
words should be treated as if they were syllables
between beats. This would give the poem a kind of
jazz swing when it is read. Combined with the other
poetic effects of the poem, the use of stanzas and the
insistence on enjambment in almost every line creates
a distinctive jazz rhythm.
The poem, unlike so many jazz poems, does
not try to imitate the sounds of jazz or to explain
the effect jazz has on a listener. Instead, it uses an
up-tempo jazz beat to tell us something about the
seven (?) young men who are the putative speakers
of the poem, and through them to comment on the
general experience of African American urban life.
The Golden Shovel seems like an odd name to give to
a poolroom, seeming to be no reflection on the game.
The concept of a golden shovel is odd in any case,
perhaps intended as a sly reference to being born with
a golden spoon in one’s mouth; it could be taken as
the opposite of a golden spoon.
The absence of a noun in the poem’s first
line establishes the coolness of the players and their
slangy way with words. The idea of singing sin in the
third stanza would be an interesting one to play with,
especially with older students. They could be singing
bawdy, sexually suggestive lyrics, or they could be
singing songs about the use of drugs. These would
seem equally possible in a jazz song. “Jazz” in the
fourth stanza would make sense as meaning having
sexual intercourse with, and goes back to an old
tradition about the origin of the word coming from
the sex act. Presumably the ironic ending of the poem
does not come about as a direct result of jazzing June,
Myers, Walter Dean. Harlem Summer. New York:
Scholastic, 2007.
In the study of “Jazz and the Urban Landscape,”
Harlem Summer is a wonderful book that melds
historical fiction with the day-to-day struggles of
a teenager trying to find his place in life. Mark’s
character has a universal appeal, and his voice is
genuine and humorous. At the end of the book there
are brief biographical sketches and photos of many of
the famous people who find their way into the story.
Walter Dean Myers has written a funny and engaging
book that reminds us that all of our decisions have
consequences and that a life of crime involves more
than a quick payday.
This novel fits in with the topic area perfectly
in that it is set in 1920s Harlem at the start of the
Harlem Renaissance, during the period of the Great
Migration of African Americans into Harlem once the
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laws against renting dwellings to African Americans
was lifted. A perfect depiction of this relationship can
be found on page 123 of the novel. The protagonist
Mark narrates the fact that in New York City and in his
neighborhood, people come from various backgrounds
and have different values. He mentions on this page
the people he knew and what they meant to his
neighborhood and community. He specifically mentions
W. E. B DuBois, Fats Waller, Langston Hughes, as well
as the street hustlers who he came in contact with.
Harlem Summer is a novel that is written for
young people grades six through nine, depending on
the reading level of the students, and addresses the
issues of the embodiment of both the best and worse
of urban life, from poverty and crime to city life being
both cosmopolitan and sophisticated. (Patrick Harris)
the entire front page. It might not have even made
the front page of the Herald Tribune. In the end we
are presented with the picture of a sophisticated and
jazzy city that has lost one of its irreplaceable assets
and is frozen at the moment when it discovered she
had died.
Poems about death are never an easy sell to
students. I would recommend using this poem with
fairly sophisticated students in eleventh- or twelfthgrade classes. While it might be used as a historical
artifact of a time and place long vanished, it might
be better used as a model for students who might be
interested in writing their own poetry. It could be used
to show students how to create a poem that freezes a
place at one particular moment. It would first generate
a discussion of what place and what point in time the
students would like to capture in their word pictures.
Using this particular poem would be a good way of
showing students the importance of particular detail
in creating poetry. (Mark Halperin)
O’Hara, Frank. “The Day Lady Died.” In The Jazz
Poetry Anthology, edited by Sascha Feinstein and
Yusef Komunyakaa, 162–63. Bloomington: Indiana
University Press, 1991.
Modern poets seem to have written a fairly large
number of elegies for jazz greats who have died.
What makes this particular poem unique is that it is
as much a snapshot of the Upper West Side on July
17, 1959, as it is a song in honor of Billie Holiday.
The speaker of the poem presents the reader with a
picture of an incredibly hip New York as seen through
the eyes of an incredibly hip New Yorker. This hipness
is established in several ways. We are told in the
first stanza that he is off to the Hamptons for dinner
in midsummer. There are a number of references to
France and the French: he knows that it is Bastille
Day; he buys Gauloises and Picayunes instead
of Camels or Lucky Strikes. He makes knowing
references to Verlaine, Bonnard, and Genet. In
addition he has an up-to-date knowledge of literature:
“Brendan Behan’s new play,” a new translation of
Hesiod, the latest magazine containing the works of
Ghanan poets. Taken together all these details create
an image of New York as a cosmopolitan city.
At the same time, the speaker makes enough
local references to enable us to know exactly where
on the island of Manhattan he is as he travels from
place to place. The Golden Griffin, the Park Lane
Liquor Store, the Ziegfeld Theatre are/were all real
places. He doesn’t just buy any newspaper. He buys
the New York Post. In 1959, the Post was owned by
the Schiff family and had a decidedly liberal tendency
(far different from the Rupert Murdoch–owned
archconservative paper that it is today). His purchase
of a liberal paper also contributes to the hip image
he is presenting of himself. Why the Post instead of
the more respectable Herald Tribune? In the Post, a
tabloid, Billie Holiday’s picture would have covered
Films (annotated)
American Experience: Zoot Suit Riots. Written, directed,
and produced by Joseph Tovares. PBS Home Video, 2002.
Zoot Suit Riots is a dynamic film about horrific
discrimination in 1940s Los Angeles. The film gives
a brief description of the history of Los Angeles but
focuses on how the culture of discrimination led to
major riots.
The film depicts an urban environment that was
one of segregation and discrimination. Mexican
Americans had their own neighborhoods. Although
the L.A. culture was less then equal, Mexican
American youths began to venture out of their
traditional neighborhoods. Jazz is depicted as the
favorite entertainment venue. They began using
phrases such as “cool” and “hip” and began to dress
in the jazz style of the “zoot suit.” This type of dress
made them very noticeable and directly conflicted
with the segregation ideas of the day. When a
young Mexican American was murdered, the police
decided that this would be the excuse they needed to
control the Mexican American youths. Many young
Mexican Americans were arrested, imprisoned, and
brutalized on the streets of L.A. because of their
race and the attire that they wore. The Caucasian
servicemen stationed in L.A. were at the forefront
of the brutalization. The film details how the zoot
suit emerged as the symbol of defiance for Mexican
Americans but a symbol of delinquency to the Caucasians.
This film presents the unfairness of stereotyping
and discrimination that was prevalent in the urban
environment of Los Angeles. There are graphic
pictures and racial elements of the film that need to
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be treated with sensitivity. The film is appropriate for
upper middle grade students and higher. There is a
complete curriculum guide to this film on the PBS
website. (Monica Freese)
race, culture, and crime are integrated throughout the
theme of the band’s struggle to gain acceptance.
This movie can be used with a variety of students.
There are strong racial stereotypes throughout the
movie that need to be handled with sensitivity.
(Monica Freese)
Birth of the Blues. Directed by Victor Schertzinger.
Paramount Pictures, 1941.
Birth of the Blues is a lively look into the struggles
of an early blues band in New Orleans to gain
legitimacy. The struggle is based around a band
made up of Caucasian musicians that are thought to
be playing African American music that is not fit for
sophisticated society. The implications of the urban
landscape—such as race relations, crime, and the
societal structures of New Orleans at the time—are
clearly related to the development of the music and
the struggle to be accepted.
The movie opens with a young Caucasian boy,
who is being trained to play traditional music, hiding
down by the docks in New Orleans playing off of an
African American musical group. This develops the
idea that the urban landscape of New Orleans leads
to a cultural fusion that facilitated the development of
the blues. Conversely the implications of segregation
and an inability to fully participate is a thread in this
theme. For example, there are references throughout
the movie to the blues being an African American
music and the Caucasian band seeking the input of
African Americans about how to play and sing the
blues. However, they are never asked to play with
the band. The urban landscape of New Orleans is
interwoven throughout this theme, portraying the
blues music as influenced by the complex urban
makeup of New Orleans and why its acceptance did
not happen easily.
The struggle to gain musical acceptance is the
main theme of this movie. This theme is developed by
portraying the blues music at odds with sophistication
and having a criminal element associated with it. The
struggle to gain legitimacy in sophisticated society is
complicated by the view that the music is, initially,
associated with part of the criminal urban culture.
This theme is developed by scenes that show the
band leader in a pool hall and going to a jail to bail
a musician out so he can be part of the band, and
the band traveling in a beer wagon and getting hired
by what is clearly a café operated by gangsters. In
contrast, the sophisticated clubs are portrayed with
French-speaking managers dressed in tuxedos and
bands playing traditional music. The disregard for
the blues is depicted in a scene where the band
gets a job at a movie theater in which only “refined
entertainment” is provided. The audience is appalled
at the music, and the manager closes the curtain
and fires the band. The urban landscape elements of
Collective Improvisation: The Story of Jazz in St.
Louis. Produced by Christian Cudnik. HEC-TV (St.
Louis), 2006.
Collective Improvisation: The Story of Jazz in St. Louis
gives an overview of the complex world of jazz in St.
Louis. The film traces the early St. Louis influence on
jazz through jazz’s heyday in St. Louis, its decline,
and finally its revitalization.
The film begins with a look at the musical
influence of Scott Joplin. It then moves to the musical
influence of musicians that played on the steamboats
that came to St. Louis. As the music develops through
local and outside influences, music venues begin to
appear. The rise and fall of venues such as Gaslight
Square as well as the careers of many musicians are
examined. The documentary looks at the decline of
the jazz scene in St. Louis and some of the reasons for
its decline. It traces the effort to revitalize the music
scene and where it stands today.
The story of St. Louis is unfolded through the
history of the music scene. The story of both comes
alive through audio- and video-recorded interviews
with artists. The film does not gloss over any elements
of St. Louis history. It refers to an urban climate
that was segregated and often hostile. The firsthand
accounts bring the history to life and provide personal
insight into the jazz scene and the realities of living in
St. Louis.
The film has many applications. It can be used
as a supplement to St. Louis history or as a means
to make local connections to periods in American
history. The film can be used in its entirety or in
segments. Some of the scenes are graphic and need
to be treated with sensitivity. The segments are short
and clearly marked, making them easy to incorporate.
The contents pave the way for many discussion topics
ranging from the influence of the Great Migration
on the urban culture to the discriminatory practices
segregation had on the urban culture. The applications
of this are wide ranging. A curriculum guide is
provided to complement the many elements of this
film at www.hectv.org. (Monica Freese)
“Cosmopolis, 1919–1931.” Episode 5 in New York: A
Documentary Film. PBS Home Video, 1999.
“Cosmopolis,” episode 5 of Ric Burns’s seven-part
documentary on New York examines the history and
culture of 1920s New York City. He specifically details
79
the African American experience, the birth of new
media industries, and the incredible array of human
and cultural energies that converge in New York.
Burns does not offer a specific examination of New
York jazz. He does, however, spend considerable time
exploring the urban culture created by the interfusion
of different peoples that live and come to New York,
paying particular attention to Harlem and the “New
Negro” movement.
An educator could show the segment covering
Harlem in about ten minutes. This section can easier
foster discussion on why Harlem was unique in
American history and why it was an important center
of African American jazz and other artistic expression.
What was it about Harlem that made it a destination
for European travelers? Burns moves from Harlem to
the general idea of New York as a melting pot, not just
of different ethnic groups, races and religions but also
of high and low art. He credits this mixing with the
creation of American musical theater.
Another segment of the film offers value to
the student of the American urban experience by
juxtaposing it with the rural cultural standards of the
day. Already a leader in the production of consumer
goods, New York became the leader of American
culture through the advent of radio in the 1920s. New
York’s cultural influence increased year after year,
and many people in the countryside did not like it.
“New York is alien. It’s full of immigrants, commies,
Tammany Hall, gangsters…. It’s not us,” explains
one historian. Jazz music was resented by many in
the countryside because it was sweeping away other
traditional American music. Burns uses the 1928
presidential campaign of Al Smith, an Irish Catholic
New Yorker, to illustrate the antipathy many in the
countryside held toward the city. Jazz was part of the
urban package that traditionalists in the countryside
attacked. A good discussion could include how
people in the country could be repulsed by New York
(or urban centers in general, which became the places
where the majority of Americans lived in the 1920s)
and attracted at the same time. (John Gornell)
Bach’s audience is any adult who is interested in jazz
history. The documentary is rich with interviews of
many of the key figures that made this historical photo
possible, many of whom have passed away since
the making of the film. Notable interviews with the
likes of Art Blakey, Dizzy Gillespie, Gerry Mulligan,
and Horace Silver add a historical element to the
documentary that would be useful to educators.
The fact that this photograph was taken in Harlem
in 1958 for a national publication, Esquire magazine,
relates to “Jazz and the Urban Landscape” in that
never before or since has there been a collection
of great musicians in one place at the same time.
The fact that this takes place in Harlem shows how
this music brought together people from all over the
world, regardless of race.
From a language arts standpoint, an educator
could use this documentary as a springboard into
a creative writing assignment asking the students
which people from their generation they would have
collectively gather for a photograph.
This documentary could be very useful for
teachers from middle and high school. It would have
an even greater impact if the teacher played music by
some of the artists featured in the program. (Patrick Harris)
Mo’ Better Blues. Directed by Spike Lee. Universal
Studios, 1992.
In Mo’ Better Blues, Denzel Washington plays a
young trumpeter, Bleek, rising to stardom in the jazz
world of Brooklyn, New York. His life is complicated
by a rival saxophone player, two jealous girlfriends,
and a manager with a gambling problem. The movie
meanders for a long two and a quarter hours. Spike
Lee uses Brooklyn street scenes as the backdrop for
his movie. The situations facing the main characters
are certainly those of the urban environment;
however, the “soap opera” aspect of the choices
facing Bleek dominate the movie.
Jazz music provides an excellent sound track.
The score is by Bill Lee (the director’s father), and the
music of Bleek’s quintet is played by the Branford
Marsalis Quintet, with Terence Blanchard as the
trumpet soloist. John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme”
provides inspiration for Bleek and can be heard here
and there throughout the movie. Unfortunately, Lee
doesn’t seem to have thought through the role of
the music. The music’s relationship to contemporary
culture is incoherent. At times it is the focus, but most
often it is the backdrop to the soap opera. Should
Bleek chose his love life, his artistic life, or can he
connect them?
The elements of the urban environment that Spike
Lee shows struggling against each other yet existing
symbiotically in the big city are clichés. The musicians
A Great Day in Harlem. Directed by Jean Bach. FloBert Ltd., 1994.
This film tells the story of a legendary jazz photograph
taken in 1958 for Esquire magazine by first-time
photographer Art Kane. The photograph looks much
like a class picture and features fifty-seven of the
greatest jazz stars of all time, who had never been all
together at one time. The photo included performing
legends such as Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie,
Roy Eldridge, Count Basie, and dozens of others.
Jean Bach turned the legendary photo shoot into a
labor of love that resulted in this great documentary.
80
are exclusively African American. The girlfriends are
clingy oversexualized groupie types. The bookie is
Puerto Rican. The hit man is Samuel L. Jackson. And
the club owners are Jewish. In fact the money-hungry
club owners, perpetually shrouded in darkness, are
a classic anti-Semitic caricature, almost cartoonish
in their portrayal. The only representation that defied
the usual stereotype was that of the gangster’s car, a
Citroen. After all the other clichés, seeing Samuel L.
Jackson in a French car was unexpected.
A teacher of jazz and/or urban culture could
find better feature films than this one. An educator
might want to consider the cultural caricatures in a
discussion on urban race stereotypes and relations.
But one should not rely on Lee’s portrayal of
urban life in Brooklyn to paint a balanced picture.
Regarding jazz in the modern day, one interesting
scene is an argument between Bleek and his rival
(played by Wesley Snipes). Bleek laments that “our
people aren’t coming.” His complaint is that African
Americans do not, but should, embrace jazz music.
Snipes’s character blames the music, not the African
Americans. It is an interesting exchange and should
provide a foundation for a good discussion on the
modern jazz audience.
Mo’ Better Blues is rated R. It is full of adult
language, some violence, and a few sex scenes. An
educator should use caution when selecting scenes
for classroom viewing. (John Gornell)
In this film Hawks seems to want to say something
important about jazz. In one scene the main
character, played by Danny Kaye, leaves his sheltered
home to encounter the music of the city. He finds
jazz in the form of Dixieland, big band swing, the
blues, or even as swinging gospel music everywhere
he goes. In these scenes, white musicians play for
white audiences, and black musicians play for black
audiences. Once the professor has gathered all the
musicians together at the institute, they play together
as an integrated band. They are socially integrated
as well as racially integrated when the professors
of music join the professional jazz players. They
also manage to merge the long-haired music of the
academics with the jazz sounds of the professional
musicians.
Jazz is not only the music of the city it is also
the stuff that unifies us and makes us one people in
this film. It might be useful to compare this film with
New Orleans, which was released in the same year.
Both films feature Louis Armstrong playing himself.
This film, made for a major studio by a director who
was a Hollywood insider, seems to actually be more
radical than New Orleans, which was intended to be
a radical film.
This would be a good film to use in conjunctions
with literature of the 1940s or 1950s, or as a
document for the study of the civil rights movement
after World War II. (Mark Halperin)
A Song Is Born. Directed by Howard Hawks. Samuel
Goldwyn, 1948.
This is a film directed by Howard Hawks in 1948 that
is a remake of Ball of Fire, a film directed by Hawks in
1941. One of the obvious questions to ask about the
relationship between these two films is why Hawks
wanted to remake a film that was only six years old.
Both films are updated versions of the story of
“Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” Both films are
set in New York City. Both films include elements of
jazz. Ball of Fire has a famous early scene in which
Barbara Stanwyck sings while Gene Krupa plays the
drums to “Drum Boogie.” After that scene, jazz plays
almost no part in the film.
Jazz is front and center in A Song Is Born.
The seven college professors who stand in for the
seven dwarfs are writing a general encyclopedia in
the first film. In the second film they are writing a
comprehensive encyclopedia of music. Through the
machinations of the plot this brings them into contact
with gangsters, window cleaners, and jazz musicians.
Benny Goodman plays one of the professors. All the
other jazz musicians—including Louis Armstrong,
Lionel Hampton, Tommy Dorsey, and Mel Powell—
play themselves.
Stolen Moments: Red, Hot, and Cool. Produced
by John Carlin and Earle Sebastian. Independent
Television Service, 1994.
On this 1994 release, Stolen Moments: Red, Hot, and
Cool, jazz giants and hip-hop artists came together
and produced this project for AIDS awareness. The
project consisted of an album and video documentary
that included hip-hop artists the Roots, Digable
Planets, the Pharcyde, and French-speaking rapper
MC Solaar. Along with the hip-hop artists, jazz
legends Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Donald Byrd,
Roy Ayers, and Ramsey Lewis collaborate to provide a
meeting place where several generations and musical
styles meld together into a musical dialogue that
speaks to young people of this generation about a
topic that is of paramount importance in our urban
community today.
The album’s cover brilliantly merges the styles
of music from the outset. There is a black-and-white
picture of Pharoah Sanders’s long gray beard, and
on the opposite side of the picture in color are the
names of the hip-hop artists, symbolizing the melding
of the two genres. The music doesn’t just sample
jazz elements on top of modern beats; these artists
created songs that resulted in a true collaboration and
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improvisational masterpiece.
The documentary features footage of live
performances, interviews with famed Princeton
professor Cornel West, and people who are infected
with HIV, talking about experiences and concerns
such as homophobia, the role of churches, and drug
addiction as a response to oppression.
Stolen Moments: Red, Hot, and Cool clearly is
an example of “Jazz and the Urban Landscape” in
that the creators of this project recognize the need
for there to be a dialogue with the urban community
regarding the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and the melding of
jazz and hip-hop is the vehicle they are using to speak
to a generation of young people.
An educator could use both forms of Stolen
Moments: Red, Hot, and Cool within a high school
setting to evoke a wide range of discussions, such as
gender roles with the urban setting. (Patrick Harris)
a riverboat to Memphis, from Memphis to Harlem,
and eventually from Harlem to Hollywood. Each
move represents a rise in the world for him and
metaphorically for his people. Thus, it gently opens
the way for a more general discussion of the Great
Migration. It could also be used to discuss certain
questions about the development of jazz in the first
half of the twentieth century. How accurate is the
film’s demonstration of a linear progression from
ragtime to blues to Cotton Club–style “jungle music”
to swing? What is the connection between the
development of jazz and the development of dance
in America? This question is especially raised by one
scene in the film in which Bill Robinson’s taps seem to
be a musical instrument playing a duet with a piano
player. And finally, how central was the entertainment
industry to the lives of most African Americans of the
time? Why is our hero a tap dancer and not a defenseplant worker?
The film raises so many interesting questions that
it is tempting to suggest that it could be used in any
classroom. However, I would recommend that it only
be used with students who would not be too disturbed
by its negative images to discuss its fuller implications.
Teachers might consider showing individual scenes
rather than the entire film. (Mark Halperin)
Stormy Weather. Directed by Andrew L. Stone.
Twentieth Century Fox, 1943.
This film purports to be a picture of the progress made
by African Americans in the United States from 1918
to 1943. There could be little doubt that the film is
a piece of propaganda. It was made in the middle
of World War II when the government needed all its
citizens to be on board with the war effort. That would
explain why a major studio would be making a film
that had to be intended for a predominantly African
American audience.
One of the discussion points about the film
would be how effective it seems to be as propaganda.
A related issue would be what image of African
Americans the film’s production team considered to
be positive. The cast of the film was entirely black, but
the production team—the director, screenwriters, and
so on—were entirely white. This meant that there was
a black cast projecting a white ideal of black America.
This might explain why so many scenes in the film
might make a modern audience cringe, or at least
scratch their heads in confusion. Some examples of
these are the cakewalk scene at the beginning of the
film in which the dancers are dressed in exaggerated
minstrel show outfits, the parallel scene at the end of
the film in which the modern dancers are dressed in
exaggerated zoot suits, and the scene in which the
two black comedians perform in black face.
It would also be useful to discuss with students the
things that the film gets right. By making use of some
of the best talent available at the time—Lena Horne,
Bill Robinson, Fats Waller, Cab Calloway, Katherine
Dunham—it shows the depth of African American
achievement in the performing arts. The film fairly
accurately reflects the story of the Great Migration
through the movement of the main character from
Music Recordings (annotated)
Ellington, Duke. “Harlem Airshaft.” Never No
Lament: The Blanton-Webster Band. RCA, 1939.
Duke Ellington’s Blanton-Webster Band recordings
were created in the climate of the Harlem
Renaissance. “Harlem Airshaft” was one of many
pieces played to white crowds at the Cotton Club
during the 1930s. The Cotton Club featured dancing
and production acts with an exotic jungle motif.
Ellington’s music in this environment was known for
its driving rhythms and unusual effects produced by
muted brass. The music popularized here became
known as “jungle music.”
Drawing from life in the urban environment, many
of Ellington’s compositions reflected sounds of the
cars, trains, streets, and bustling city life. “Harlem
Airshaft” conveys the life clustered around the backs
of Harlem tenement buildings, an area that Ellington
referred to as “one big loudspeaker.” Students
should know that airshafts became official code for
tenements in New York City in the late nineteenth
century to bring air and light to center apartments.
Before this ordinance, center apartments were dark all
day and had no access to fresh air. Airshafts measured
mere feet from window to window, so when windows
were open, the sounds from each apartment on every
floor filled the airshaft.
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The song is a typical twelve-bar blues piece
running a little over three minutes. During each
chorus, a different brass section plays above the
others. Each section yields to another until the end
of the song, when they all cheer together. The song
creates the image of the sounds one might hear in an
airshaft in a Harlem tenement. One chorus sounds
like the yakety yak of women gossiping. Another has
the singsongy tenor of a mother calling her children.
Another trombone section sounds like men talking.
Another sounds like an old curmudgeon complaining.
Clarinets squealing sound like children. Then all these
sounds come together at the end of the song. (Just one
man’s impression of these sounds.)
“Harlem Airshaft” is a musical picture of the
urban environment. An educator might ask students
before playing the song what sounds they might
expect to hear in a tenement airshaft. This discussion
could explore lifestyles in an overcrowded urban
neighborhood. Consider hot nights without airconditioning, when everyone has their windows open.
This song is appropriate for use with students of all
ages. (John Gornell)
Another question would be how the patrons at
the Savoy are different from those at Waller’s rent
party. While the music in this song has swing, it seems
considerably toned down when compared with the
other song. Also, how does the music of the song
relate to modern students’ ideas of the word “stomp.”
While this song would be especially good to use
with high school history or English classes, it could
probably be used to introduce students of any age to
the music of the period. As with “The Joint Is Jumpin’,”
it can demonstrate the central position that music held
in the life of Harlem in the 1930s. (Mark Halperin)
Marsalis, Wynton. “Hustle Bustle.” Citi Movement.
Sony, 1993.
This musical selection is a wonderful interpretation
of the sounds of a city. The music starts with the
sounds of a traffic jam and then intensifies, giving
a forbidding sensation, and then evolves into the
whirlwind sounds of the movement of a city.
This fast-paced composition leaves the heart
pounding as a picture is painted of what a day might
have been like in an urban environment of the 1930s
or 1940s. The instruments seem to come alive as they
interpret the sounds of a city. The tune seems to start
with the traffic of the morning rush and then is full of
feelings of excitement, yielding, confusion, hesitation,
and interruptions. It then comes to a conclusion with
music reminiscent of nightly traffic and a slower, more
peaceful melody that seems to bring the day to an
end.
The cover of the CD is the perfect place to
start a discussion of the selection. The picture is an
aerial view of New York City. The picture is in black
and white and a little blurry. This serves as a good
analytical start to the music.
This selection can be adapted to a variety of
students. The analysis of the cover picture and the
music can be cursory or in depth. Students will
enjoy this lively musical interpretation of the urban
landscape of the 1930s or 1940s. (Monica Freese)
Fitzgerald, Ella, and Louis Armstrong. “Stompin’ at
the Savoy.” Ella and Louis Again. Verve, 1997.
This song was written by Benny Goodman, Edgar
Samson, Andy Razaf, and Chick Webb. This song
would be a good one to use in conjunction with
Fats Waller’s “The Joint Is Jumpin’,” as it presents
another side of the musical life in Harlem in the
1930s. It celebrates the famous dance palace, the
Savoy Ballroom. The celebration here is much more
restrained than Waller’s celebration of rent parties. The
music seems elegant and formal compared with the
other song’s exuberance.
The song is also self-referential in several ways.
Chick Webb was the leader of one of the Savoy’s
house bands. Fitzgerald was a protégé of Chick Webb
and became a singer with his band. Goodman was
involved in one of the famous battle-of-the-band
encounters at the Savoy with his band, taking on
Webb’s in a head-to-head encounter. While not part
of the original lyrics, the line “Chick Webb’ll be there”
is sometimes added when the song is performed.
One of the questions to explore with students
would be whether this song celebrates integration in
Harlem. The writers of the song are two white men
and two black men. The Savoy itself was famous for
hiring black and white bands—though not to play
on the same bandstand, as the ballroom had two
bandstands—but to play in the same room on the
same night. The patrons could also be mixed. There
was no color line at the Savoy. This made it unique for
its time and place.
Waller, Fats. “The Joint Is Jumpin’.” The Joint Is
Jumpin’. Bluebird/RCA, 1990.
This is a song written by Waller, Andy Razaf and J. C.
Johnson. I could imagine it being used in a history
class studying either the United States in the 1930s
or the life of African Americans in Harlem in the
1930s. Alternately, it could be used in an English class
studying the Harlem Renaissance, possibly as a foil to
one of the more literary poems of the period. Waller’s
performance is so joyful and inspiring that while I
would normally consider it for use in a high school
class there is no reason why this poem could not be
studied by almost any age group.
83
The song has interesting things to say about the
importance of music in the everyday life of the period.
While we tend to think of music as coming to us
electronically, in the 1930s, despite the encroachment
of radio and recordings, live music was still a vital
part of ordinary life. The song is a celebration of a
rent party. The students would have to be told that this
was a party thrown to raise the money for someone’s
monthly rent. The host would provide food and music;
the guests would pay an admission fee at the door.
Since part of Waller’s reputation was built on his
appearing as a singer-pianist at rent parities in Harlem,
the song is at least partly self-referential. The song
celebrates the feel-good, anything-goes atmosphere
of this type of entertainment. The songwriters seem
to sum up this attitude with the line “Grab anybody’s
daughter.”
A close reading of the lyrics of the song would
certainly be one way of approaching it with students.
From the lyrics, what can we tell about these kinds of
parties? If the students have read other material from
the same period, how does this song either help them
perceive a fuller picture of the time or counter ideas
that they may have constructed about the place and
period?
The song’s exuberance is also worth exploring.
The song does not deny the harsh conditions (after
all, the police do come in at the end to stop a party
that has become too exuberant) or the poverty of the
participants. The song seems to be about defiantly
combating the grinding down of everyday life through
the sheer joy of having a good time. (Mark Halperin)
known incidents of racial profiling.
The use of these two songs is an example of “Jazz
and the Urban Landscape” in that it shows how
through the use of technology (the art of sampling),
jazz could be kept alive in the minds and spirits of
young people via the music of their experience, hip hop.
Teachers of both middle school as well as high
school students in either history or language arts could
use both songs as a lead-in for a lesson on the Bill of
Rights by playing both songs in the classroom and
discussing the lyrics of the “Probable Cause.” Parental
permission should be considered before playing the
hip-hop track due to its lyrical content. (Patrick Harris)
Washington, Grover Jr. “Knucklehead.” Feels So
Good. Motown, 1975. MOTD-5177
Brand Nubian. “Probable Cause.” Foundation. Arista,
1998. 19024
On his 1975 release Feels So Good, saxophonist
Grover Washington Jr. was at the apex of his electric
funk sound. The album is produced by Creed Taylor
and arranged by Bob James, with his trademark
horn sections, which here included Randy Brecker
and Jon Faddis on trumpet. James also plays piano,
electric piano, and synthesizer. Reaching number
one on both the soul and jazz charts, Feels So Good
has become one of the most heavily sampled jazz
albums ever. Rappers like DMX (“Slippin’”), EPMD
(“Underground”), Guru (“Slicker Than Most”), and
Brand Nubian (“Probable Cause”) have all benefited
from sampling this album.
With the release of Foundation in 1998, conscious
hip-hop artists Brand Nubian sampled the baseline
and horn sections of Grover Washington Jr.’s
“Knucklehead” to create “Probable Cause,” a scathing
indictment of the New Jersey state troopers and their
84
Jazz and the Visual Imagination
Germany, when jazz fans covered record labels so
that they wouldn’t be persecuted for listening to jazz.
We also considered ways in which the creative
enterprise is just that: an enterprise affected by
merchandising and corporate control. The Blue Note
record label, for example, attempted to present its
jazz music through photographs by Francis Wolff that
convey the idea of jazz musicians as serious artists.
Just as jazz artists are influenced by the necessity
of earning a living, so too are they affected by the
political and social milieu in which they live. To what
degree does the intersection of music and visual art
shape and reflect sociopolitical realities? Then we
turned these questions about intersecting disciplines
back to our students: what music and visual material
will spark our students’ interest in jazz? How do we
save what is good about jazz and jazz history so that
it doesn’t disappear?
In viewing visual material we investigated not
only what we were looking at but also what was
missing—for example, in jazz photographs, women
are generally depicted only as singers or, rarely, as
piano players, yet women also played other jazz
instruments. Furthermore, incorporating material
from other cultures raises issues related to influence,
appropriation, and authenticity. Last, and particularly
in connection to the latter, we examined the ways in
which race and racism manifested in visual materials
associated with jazz.
Works we felt were particularly helpful include
Bruce Ricker’s film The Last of the Blue Devils, Aaron
Douglas’s painting “Song of the Towers,” Mura Dehn’s
film The Spirit Moves, the cartoon “I Love to Singa,”
the Herman Leonard Photography Catalogue, back
issues of Downbeat magazine, and Ornette Coleman’s
CD Free Jazz.
Judy Gregorc, Rob Matlock, Martha Jewell Meeker,
Ellen Rennard, Laura Rochette, and Larissa Young
We interpreted the category “visual imagination”
broadly in order to include many kinds of visual
possibilities: animation, films, photographs, paintings,
collage, sculpture, album (and CD) cover art, book
illustrations, dance, posters, websites, and fashion.
This kind of material is particularly useful to the
humanities teacher for a number of reasons. Of
course, interdisciplinary approaches reflect current
pedagogical trends as reflected in, among other
instances, the theme of the upcoming convention of
the National Council of Teachers of English, titled
“Mapping Diverse Literacies.” In addition, multiple
learning styles—visual, aural, kinesthetic, linguistic—
can be accessed through visual materials, which in
turn can be linked to jazz, itself an ideal subject for
interdisciplinary work.
Because jazz is as much a movement as it is a
musical form, to comprehend jazz, students need a
greater context: political, social, economic, historical,
and artistic. Since most of today’s students belong to
what is primarily a visual culture, it makes sense to
turn to visual material to help them understand jazz
and its contexts. For instance, the visual images in
the opening sequence of Spike Lee’s film Malcolm
X are made all the more powerful by the music of
John Coltrane’s “Alabama,” and by connecting these
elements, students can clearly—and literally—see as
well as hear the relationship between images, jazz,
racism, and historical moments.
Visual images invite questions about the degree
to which one art form influences another within
a particular context. A 1946 New York City art
exhibition, Homage to Jazz, made this connection
between jazz music and visual art explicit; more
recently, the Smithsonian published a book, Seeing
Jazz, which incorporates visual art and text related
to jazz. An interesting question to consider is how a
jazz aesthetic might apply to the visual imagination.
How do characteristics of jazz such as call-andresponse, musical improvisation, blue notes, and
syncopation manifest in visual art forms? To what
extent can jazz and visual art be described with a
common vocabulary including words like “interval,”
“harmony,” “dissonance,” “rhythm,” and “movement”?
Thinking more theoretically, the ideas of
improvisation, spontaneity, and freedom extend
from jazz to visual material. We looked at Shadows,
Cassavetes’ groundbreaking improvisational film and
at the paintings of Jackson Pollock, Romare Bearden,
and others. Throughout its history jazz has represented
freedom in a number of ways, as in the case of Nazi
Art
Bearden, Romare. Empress of the Blues. Smithsonian
American Art Museum. <http://americanart.
si.edu/search/search_artworks.cfm>.
———. The Block II. National Gallery of Art. <http:
www.nga.gov/feature/bearden/img-list.shtm>.
———. Boppin at Birdland (Stompin Time) from
the Jazz Series. Smithsonian American Art
Museum. <http://americanart.si.edu/search/
search_artworks.cfm>.
———. The Street. Milwaukee Art Museum. <http://
mam.org/collections/printsanddrawings_
detail_bearden.htm>.
Eye-Music: Kandinsky, Klee, and All that Jazz.
Pallant House Gallery (UK). <http://www.
smithsonianjazz.org/class/armstrong/la_class_1.asp>.
Hayden, Palmer. Jeunesse. <www.artlex.com/ArtLex/h/
harlemrenaissance.html.> Includes a series of
85
Brougher, Kerry. Visual Music: Synesthesia in Art and
Music since 1900. New York: Thames and
Hudson, 2005.
Campbell, Mary Schmidt. Harlem Renaissance: Art
of Black America. New York: Harry Abrams,
1987.
Chusid, Irwin. The Mischievous Art of Jim Flora.
Seattle: Phantagraphic Books, 2007. (A
collection of Flora’s zany, quirky, and colorful
record covers with his own commentary.)
Dillion, Leo, and Diane Dillion. Rap A Tap Tap. Blue
Sky Press, 2002.
Dodge, Roger Pryor. Hot Jazz and Jazz Dance: Roger
Pryor Dodge Collected Writings 1929–1964.
Edited by Roger Pryor Dodge. New York:
Oxford University Press, 1995.
Drowne, Kathleen, and Patrick Huber. “Fashion.” In
The 1920s. American Popular Culture through
History Series, ed. Ray B. Browne, 95–118.
Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2004.
Duncan, Alice Faye. Willie Jerome. New York: Simon
and Schuster/Macmillan Press, 1995.
Friedlander, Lee. The Jazz People of New Orleans.
London: Jonathan Cape, 1992.
Goldmark, Daniel. Tunes for Toons. Berkeley:
University of California Press, 2005.
Hasse, John Edward, ed. Jazz: The First Century. New
York: William Morrow, 1999.
Houston, David. Jazz, Giants and Journeys: The
Photography of Herman Leonard. New York:
Scala Publishers, 2006.
Kohler, Eric. In the Groove: Vintage Record Graphics,
1940–1960. San Francisco: Chronicle Books,
1999.
Metzer, David. “Shadow Play: The Spiritual in Duke
Ellington’s ‘Black and Tan Fantasy.’” Black
Music Research Journal 17, no. 2 (Autumn
1997): 137–58.
O’Meally, Robert G., ed. The Jazz Cadence of
American Culture. New York: Columbia
University Press, 1998.
Powell, Richard J. Homecoming: The Art and Life of
William H. Johnson. New York: Rizzoli, 1991.
Turner, Pete. The Color of Jazz: Album Cover
Photographs by Pete Turner. New York:
Rizzoli, 2006.
paintings from the Harlem Renaissance with
explanatory notes
Matisse, Henri. Jazz. Munich: R. Piper, 1957.
Available with essay at www.gregkucera.com/
matisse.htm
Mondrian, Piet. Broadway Boogie-Woogie. New York
Museum of Modern Art. Also available on
www.wikipedia.org with essay
Weeks, James. Jazz Musician. Howard University
Collection. <http://www.howard.edu/library/Art@
Howard/HUCollection/WeeksJamesJazz.htm>
Articles and Essays
Gaither, Edmund Barry. “Instructional Resources:
Afro-American Art.” Art Education 43, no. 6
(November 1990): 37–40.
Gayford, Martin. “Art’s Brush with Boogie-Woogie.”
Daily Telegraph, June 30, 2007. <http://
www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/
arts/2007/06/30/nosplit/bajazz130.xml>
(accessed August 30, 2007).
George, Luvenia A. “Duke Ellington: The Man and His
Music.” Music Educators Journal 85, no. 6.
(May 1999): 15–21.
Locke, Alain. “A Note on African Art.” Opportunity 2
(May 1924): 134–38.
Osby, Greg, “If You Don’t Create It, It Won’t Exist.”
Downbeat 74 (May 2007): 34–36. (A
distillation of an hour-long interview with
Ornette Coleman; its photographs are
priceless.)
Powell, Richard J. “Jacob Lawrence: Keep on Movin’.”
American Art 15, no. 1 (Spring 2001): 90–93.
Salaam, Kalamu ya. “Herman Leonard: Making Music
with Light.” African American Review 29, no.
2 (Summer 1995): 241–46.
Wheat, Ellen Harkins. “Jacob Lawrence and the
Legacy of Harlem.” Archives of American Art
Journal 26, no. 1 (1986): 18–25.
Books and Book Chapters
Appel, Alfred Jr. Jazz Modernism: From Ellington and
Armstrong to Matisse and Joyce. New York:
Knopf, 2002.
Bergerot, Frank, and Arnaud Merlin. The Story of
Jazz: Bop and Beyond. New York: Harry N.
Abrams, 1993.
Blake, Jody. Le Tumulte nior: Modernist Jazz and
Popular Entertainment in Jazz-Age Paris,
1900–1930. University Park: Pennsylvania
State University Press, 1999. (In 1922 the
British critic Clive Bell advocated, “The jazz
theory of art seems stupid enough.” Blake’s
work is a thorough, scholarly refutation of Mr.
Bell’s somewhat racist views.)
Children’s Books
Isadora, Rachel. Bring On that Beat. New York: G. P.
Putnam’s Sons, 2002.
Kirgiss, Crystal. Jazz. Mankato, MN: Smart Apple
Media, 2002.
Films
Against the Odds: Artists of the Harlem Renaissance.
86
Directed by Amber Edwards. PBS Home
Video, 1994.
The Art of Romare Bearden. National Gallery of Art, 2003.
A Great Day in Harlem. Directed by Jean Bach. Flo-Bert
Ltd., 1994.
Jacob Lawrence: The Glory of Expression. Directed by
David Irving. L & S Video Enterprises, 1993.
Jacob Lawrence: An Intimate Portrait. Directed
by Grover Babcock. Los Angeles County
Museum of Art, 1993.
Jazz on a Summer’s Day. Directed by Aram Avakian
and Bert Stern. Galaxy Productions, 1960.
(From day to night, mixing audience and
performers, water and notes, this was shot at
the Newport in 1958. It is a close-up of the
ambience surrounding the jazz festival.)
A Man Called Adam. Directed by Leo Penn. Embassy
Pictures, 1966.
Malcolm X. Directed by Spike Lee. Warner Home
Video, 1992.
Masters of American Music: Lady Day: The Many
Faces of Billie Holiday. Directed by Toby
Byron and Richards Saylor. Kultur, 1991.
Sousa to Satchmo: Wynton on the Jazz Band.
Directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg. Sony,
1995.
http://artcyclopedia.com. Artcyclopedia
http://www.howard.edu/library/Art@Howard/
HUCollection/Index.htm. “Art@Howard.”
American Art from the Howard University
Collection
Art (annotated)
Bearden, Romare. Serenade. Madison Museum
of Contemporary Art. <http://www.mmoca.org/
mmocacollects/artwork_page.php?id=1 >.
Romare Bearden’s art is the story of black experience
in the culture and politics of America. He lived in
North Carolina, in industrial Pittsburgh, and in vibrant
Harlem, where he knew many of the significant artists,
musicians, and intellectuals of the era. This piece
by Romare Bearden is significant as a manifestation
of jazz in several ways. We see an intimate African
American couple, a musician and a woman. The
juxtaposition of curves and angles could seem to
suggest jazz in its syncopation. The man looks like
he has just played a guitar for the woman and has
placed his hand on her shoulder. The use of realistic
photos seems to heighten our connection to her, and
perhaps her mixed feelings. The man holds the guitar
as she points to it. There’s a feeling of spontaneity and
improvisation on the work’s variety of textures, colors,
and media. Does the prevalent blue suggest they
will come together and/or a literal blues theme? The
blue gives it an overall oneness, while the repeated
yellows and red suggest a rhythm, and the musician
and woman balance each other in the work. The work
avoids realism, while using real images. We are not
sure what comes next in their relationship. The piece
comes together like a puzzle, or instruments in a jazz
piece. Bearden took images from his native Harlem
neighborhood, which viewers may recognize (for
instance, in the hats). It might be interesting to have
viewers create their own collage, using the images
from their neighborhood and time. More can be
learned about Bearden at www.beardenfoundation.
org. (Rob Matlock)
Music Recordings
Coltrane, John. The Impulse! Years. Impulse!, 1992.
(Program notes by David Wild / John
Coltrane, soprano and tenor saxophones;
with various ensembles. Originally recorded
1961–67 at Van Gelder Studio, Englewood
Cliffs, NJ.)
Coleman, Ornette. Free Jazz. Rhino, 1998. (Originally
released as Atlantic SD-1364, September
1961 (Free Jazz), and SD-1588, October
1971 (First Take). Program notes by Gunther
Schuller and from the original LP by Martin
Williams.)
Davis, Miles. Miles Davis Love Songs 2. Sony, 2003.
CK-90337
Fitzgerald, Ella. Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter
Songbook. PolyGram, 1997. B0000047EG
Holiday, Billie. Lady Day: The Best of Billie Holiday.
Sony, 2001. C2K 85979
Miller, Glenn. The Unforgettable Glenn Miller. RCA,
1985. PDC1-5459.
Douglas, Aaron. Life in an African Setting. <http://
www.artic.edu/artaccess/AA_AfAm/pages/AfAm_
3.shtml> and Song of the Towers <http://xroads.
virginia.edu/~MA03/staples/douglas/song.html>.
As representations of the fundamental principles,
if not debates, helping to define the arts of the
Harlem Renaissance, paintings by Aaron Douglas
are terrific visual texts with which to begin. Part of
a WPA project, his entire four-panel series, Aspects
of Negro Life (1934), is worth study, but “Life in an
African Setting” and “Song of the Towers” specifically
illustrate the central role jazz plays in communal
Websites
http://americanart.si.edu/index. Smithsonian American
Art Museum
http://americanart.si.edu/hightlights/h_index.cfm?id.
Smithsonian American Art Museum: African
American Masters Collection
87
identity. The first painting evokes cultural ancestry
in its dancing figures, tribal icon, and “ring shout”
formation; this evocation is balanced with Douglas’s
abstract use of color and circles of light as if giving
the viewer lenses with which to gaze at the scene.
The gradations of color also add to the feeling of our
gaze being filtered. Also at issue is Douglas’s style: is
he celebrating, honoring, and modernizing an African
aesthetic, or is he pandering to an audience (or
patron) who desires a primitive art form (think Waller’s
“African Ripples” or Johnson’s “Jungle Drums”; see
annotations)? “Song of the Towers” puts the viewer
amid the chaos, danger, trial, and hectic dynamic that
is the city. Framed by skyscrapers, industrial gears,
and ghostlike hands, the central figure is a saxophone
player standing prominently in silhouette, with hand
and head raised. Behind him, in the distance, is the
Statue of Liberty. There is a languishing figure in one
corner, and another trying to outrun the wheel of
industry with a briefcase in hand. The instrumental
symbol of jazz holds all together here, but there are
threats to people’s aspirations and desire for freedom
that are racially, politically, and economically
motivated. (Laura Rochette)
each set of dancers in progressively more abstract and
geometric form. In Jitterbugs I, we find a couple in
full “swing,” with their bodies leaning out from one
another to implicate the force of their spinning. The
man is on his toes and holding onto his partner as
if in a solo dance. She supports him but is still a full
partner; they are still a team. Their bodies and features
are angular but still convey a sense of humanity. Line
plays an important role in setting the rhythm of the
painting. The floor is set in horizontal lines, like a
bar of music, and his checkered shirt implies notes
hanging in the high register. Combined with the man’s
pointed toes, we get the feeling he is lifting off the
floor and is being transported by the music. Johnson’s
placement of contrasting colors (warm reds against
cool blues) guides the viewer in the direction of the
male dancer by using a field of red in the upper right
corner, down through her dress, to the bows of her
shoes, and finally to his bright orange shoes, where
the action is. He then pauses the viewer on the man’s
blue trousers and to bring the viewer full circle for the
whole story, he uses red on her nails and their lips.
As the series progresses, instruments are introduced,
and the figures begin to absorb them into their bodies
as each composition becomes more abstract. The
dancers are losing their identity and becoming one
with the music, one indistinguishable from the other
until the last painting. In Jitterbugs V, the dancers
emerge and separate from the instruments. Their
clothing is now coordinated and complementary.
In my interpretation, they are changed but yet they
are the same couple from the first painting. The one
unifying element that holds this theory together is the
man’s shoes: they’re orange in every painting.
As a teaching resource, William H. Johnson’s paintings
are a valuable tool. The flat, primitive style allows
students of all ages to find and interpret the musical
elements of jazz in each painting. Like jazz, there are
rhythm changes, stop times, blue notes, harmonies
in color, solos, and a sense of swing. Johnson has
other paintings that reflect a jazz influence and can
be found in his catalog at the Smithsonian American
Art Museum (http://americanart.si.edu/search/search_
artwork.cfm). (Judy Gregorc)
Johnson, William Henry. Jitterbugs Series (I–V).
Smithsonian American Art Museum. <http://
americanart.si.edu/search/search_artworks.cfm>.
American painter William Henry Johnson was born in
Florence, South Carolina, in 1901 to a working class
black family. At age seventeen, he realized that he
could not pursue his dream of becoming an artist in
the segregated South. He migrated to New York City,
where he began his formal training at the prestigious
National Academy of Design. Charles Webster
Hawthorne, an instructor, realized that Johnson would
face many obstacles as a black artist in the United
States and raised private funds for him to study in
France for a year.
When Johnson returned home in the 1930s to
New York, times were hard, and within six months
he joined the Works Progress Administration (WPA)
Federal Art Project. As an art teacher at the local
community center, he became part of a thriving black
culture. The Harlem Renaissance was in full swing,
and he was mesmerized by the sights, sounds, and
people of the city. He set out to capture scenes of
everyday life, fashions of the day, and the gyrations of
a dance called the jitterbug. Also during this period,
Johnson’s style began to change. While in Europe, he
had developed the expressionistic “full brush” style
of representing figures and landscape,s but now he
began to explore a flat, two-dimensional style he
termed “primitive.”
In the series Jitterbugs, Johnson has represented
Lawrence, Jacob. Bar and Grill, Interior Scene, This
Is Harlem, and Village Quartet. In Over the Line: The
Art and Life of Jacob Lawrence. Edited by Peter T.
Nesbett and Michelle DuBois. Seattle: University of
Washington Press, 2000.
In all four of these paintings, music has a presence
in one form or another and serves, one could
argue, as the moral center, making Lawrence an
interesting addition to any discussion about the role
of jazz and Harlem’s urban life. This idea becomes
88
to Jazz exhibition, adding that Black and Tan Fantasy
was inspired by Bubber Miley and Duke Ellington’s
tune of that name. It also lists all of the works in
the exhibition in a footnote. (It would be interesting
to compare this list with the visual art included in
the Smithsonian’s Seeing Jazz, which, as I stated in
an earlier annotation, seems to take a more literal
approach to a jazz aesthetic. One might compare the
artworks in both and try to work backward to the jazz
aesthetic that drives each collection.)
Stuart Davis’s outright enthusiasm for jazz has
been well documented, and the notes in this article
provide a useful bibliography for the jazz element in
Davis’s work. The article also mentions the crossover
between jazz artists and visual art; Coleman Hawkins,
for instance, has a piece called “Picasso,” and Ornette
Coleman was friends with numerous artists including
Barnett Newman and Franz Kline. The connection
between Pollock and jazz is expanded to include
not just his structural principles but also his interest
in “primitive” arts. Here, I found myself going back
to consider the voyeuristic interest of Van Vechten
in what he considered to be the primitive (although
by the time this article was written, 1979, the word
“primitive” itself appears in quotation marks).
Pollock’s She Wolf and Totem Lesson II contain
“archaic illusions,” as do titles of jazz compositions
from the 1920s on—Jelly Roll Morton’s “The Chant”
and “Jungle Blues,” Red Norvo’s “Congo Blues,”
for example—but Kagan makes this point without
examining the sociological and economic context for
these songs or considering the reasons for those titles
to have come into being.
The article also mentions a John Graham piece
written in 1937, “Primitive Art and Picasso.” For
Graham, “primitive art. . .permits a persistent and
spontaneous exercise of design and composition as
opposed to the deliberate.” It seems to me that the
consideration of so-called primitivism as a force in
visual art is different than in jazz, however. Unlike
the spectacle of the dance shows at the Cotton
Club, Picasso incorporates “primitive” elements in
sophisticated ways that do not diminish his sources
but also transform them into his own distinctive style.
The matter of “African percussive ideas” that Kagan
mentions as having had a “particularly powerful
impact on jazz musicians” strikes me as more
complicated in that if indeed some sort of reference
to African drumming was incorporated in jazz (and
I’m not sure if that conclusion can be supported), it
does not enter the music in the same fashion, at least
initially, that primitive forms infused modern art.
In his work of the 1940s Pollock used an
“improvisatory method” of pouring paint, a method
that Kagan likens to the bebop idiom, which emerged
interesting when considering that jazz, in the 1920s
and 1930s, had, for some, vulgar, sinful, if not
criminal, associations. Likewise, his structured, yet
skewed, geometric compositions, combined with a
kind of improvisational “staging” of his figures and
dynamic use of color make it easy to liken his works
to Ellington, Waller, Basie, or Johnson. Both Bar and
Grill and Interior Scene are exercises in examining
detail and considering how all of the figures relate
to one another. Together, what story do they tell? In
the first painting an escorted blind accordion player
seems to be offering music to those who are drinking
or are already drunk; the female escort is questionable
in terms of motive, but she possesses a vitality that
the people sitting at the bar do not. The blind man’s
music is at the center and is in contrast to the drab,
despondent, alienated figures. Similarly, in Interior
Scene, a brothel, there are base transactions taking
place (the exchange of money, the children peeking
in at the window, the flies on the cat food, the dead
animal in a trap), but amid all of this squalor is a
properly dressed woman seated at the end of a sofa
with her head upturned, seemingly singing. Whether
she is singing gospel, the blues, or jazz, she adds
an uplifting element to the otherwise grim scene. In
This Is Harlem, the chaos and dissonance of urban
life are illustrated by the crowded buildings, the
haphazard arrangement of the representative social
“institutions”—a beauty shop, a bar, a dance hall, a
church—and the small people bustling about. This
“visual polyphony” seems unified and disjointed at
the same time; I would argue that the cityscape is held
together by the church, not only identifiable by its
cross but also by its abstractly arranged stained glass
windows—the same colors of the city. Jazz and the
traditional moral center coexist. One finds a different
story in Lawrence’s later Village Quartet, an illustration
of a jazz quartet, which would pair well with
Ellington’s “Black and Tan Fantasy” (see annotation)
and Dunbar’s poem “We Wear the Mask.” Again,
what do white audiences expect of African American
entertainers? How is Lawrence playing into that? How
is he subverting it? The harlequin-like design of the
backdrop, the puppet minstrel figures, the black faces,
the red jackets, and the illustration of shine and sound
nearly make the image an advertisement of a sort. It
would not be unlike Lawrence, certainly, to be ironic
here in his portrayal of musicians. (Laura Rochette)
Articles and Essays (annotated)
Kagan, Andrew. “Improvisations: Notes on Jackson
Pollock and the Black Contribution to American High
Culture.” Arts Magazine (March 1979): 96–99.
This article contains more information on the Homage
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during the same years. In addition, just as bebop
musicians used recognizable tunes as vehicles for
jazz (e.g., Coltrane’s version of “My Favorite Things”),
Kagan asserts that so too did Pollock improvise on
recognizable imagery. He compares Pollock’s method
of improvisation specifically to Ornette Coleman’s
Free Jazz, adding that the liner of Coleman’s Free
Jazz included a reproduction of Pollock’s White Light,
although its inclusion was initiated independently of
Coleman. Coleman did recognize that Pollock was
someone “in the same state I was in—doing what I
was doing.” Kagan adds one last example: Jane Ira
Bloom’s piece “Jackson Pollock,” inspired by Pollock’s
Autumn Rhythm, adding that its “unself-conscious
spontaneity” recalls the spirit of Pollock’s painting.
(Ellen Rennard)
His analysis is easy enough to follow, especially
for those who have practice in analyzing literature;
his vocabulary is comfortable and should engender
confidence in leading discussions of paintings with
students. Furthermore, he makes connections (albeit
not specific ones) between Douglas’s work and the
music of Fletcher Henderson, Duke Ellington, and
Count Basie. He goes on to argue how Romare
Bearden, the artist of the following generation, takes
Douglas’s principles to another level. Ultimately,
Powell asserts that Aaron Douglas’s development
of a “blues aesthetic” is defined by a blending of
visual and musical aesthetics with African American
historical memory.
For those who have a strong foundation already
in the Harlem Renaissance and some knowledge of
Aaron Douglas’s work, this readable essay is useful
and enlightening. (Laura Rochette)
Mandeles, Chad. “Jackson Pollock and Jazz: Structural
Parallels.” Arts Magazine, October 1981, 139–41.
A review by critic Alfred Frankenstein, written in
1945, speculated that there might be a correlation
between Pollock’s work and certain jazz structures,
and this essay sets out to illustrate that theory. Clearly
Pollock listened to jazz; Lee Krasner has said that
Pollock would “get into grooves of listening to his
jazz records—not just for days—day and night, day
and night for three days running, until you thought
you would climb the roof! . . . Jazz? He thought it
was the only other really creative thing happening
in this country.” The qualities in Pollock’s paintings
that are correlated with jazz include improvisation,
elements of chance and accident, and directness.
(Ellen Rennard)
Wolf, Ben. “Abstract Artists Pay Homage to Jazz.” Art
Digest, December 1, 1946, p. 15.
This short article comments on the Homage to
Jazz exhibition that was current at the time. The
magazine printed only one picture from the show
and chose Romare Bearden’s A Blue Note, which
the article described as interesting compositionally,
with its creation of a circular movement within a
rectangle. The article also mentions other artists and
titles of works included in the exhibition: Carl Holtz
(Drum Riff, Solo Flight), Byron Browne (Jazz Trio),
Adolph Gottlieb (Black and Tan Fantasy), and Robert
Motherwell (Homage to John Cage). (Ellen Rennard)
Books and Book Chapters (annotated)
Powell, Richard J. “Art History and Black Memory:
Toward a ‘Blues Aesthetic.’” In The Jazz Cadence of
American Culture. Edited by Robert G. O’Meally,
182–95. New York: Columbia University Press, 1998.
For a scholarly framework with which to understand
Aaron Douglas’s illustrations and paintings, this
essay is useful in its consideration of the connections
between visual and musical aesthetics in the late
1920s, Douglas’s early career as an artist. In addition
to helpful footnotes, Powell describes how Douglas
traversed the “spaces between African American
music, memory, and visual art.” What defines
Douglas’s early work is a quest for a style and a
growing interest in a “reassessment of and a new
appreciation for African musical arts.” In particular,
Powell’s discussion of Douglas’s Crucifixion (1927)
and Song of the Towers (1934, one of four panels in a
series entitled Aspects of Negro Life at the New York
Public Library and produced under the auspices of
the WPA) is a cogent analysis of the artist’s style and
these two works’ incorporations of a musical idiom.
Cassidy, Donna M. Painting the Musical City: Jazz
and Cultural Identity in American Art, 1910–1940.
Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1997.
Most useful for any teacher preparing to integrate
visual art and jazz of the 1920s and 1930s is Cassidy’s
introduction and her chapters on Arthur Dove,
Stuart Davis (both in chapter 3), and Aaron Douglas
(chapter 4). Overall, she provides an analysis that
connects music and the visual arts within the context
of American modernism and America’s quest for a
national identity. There is also a brief discussion in
her introduction about the “vocabularies used to
talk about” music and the visual arts; this will help
the teacher who may be working outside his or her
main discipline (like English or history teachers,
for example). In her discussion of Arthur Dove and
Stuart Davis, she argues how jazz offered both
artists a “formal model of abstraction intended to
embody the…American spirit.” She sets up these
two artists as representative of those who, through
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the visual arts, “de-Africanized” and “sanitized” jazz
(connected to the efforts of those who wanted lowbrow jazz to become high-brow music). This is in
contrast to Aaron Douglas, her focus of chapter 4.
Cassidy offers specific, detailed analyses of a variety
of Douglas’s illustrations as well as his Song of the
Towers, emphasizing his intention to put jazz makers
center stage in his art (as opposed to the abstract
intentions of Dove and Stuart). In the end, Cassidy
places Douglas’s work in the context of African
American contributions to jazz and African American
cultural identity. This example of racial tension forms
an important foundation for American identity during
this time period; she points out that “Douglas’s
iconography…was as much linked to national as to
ethnic or racial identity. He appropriated pre-existing
signs to represent African American identity and
include blacks in an imagined national community.”
Her conclusion that “we cannot talk about
Americanness absent from race or ethnicity” provides
a valuable foundation from which to build an
understanding of American identity. (Laura Rochette)
Much is made in the accompanying essays by
Leonard Feather and Terry Southern to establish
Claxton as someone who knew many of the musicians
he photographed and who also knew jazz, but the
photographs do not convey any sense of intimacy
with either the subjects or the music, nor do the
photographs convey a unified vision. In addition,
the captions are placed oddly, about every six pages,
listing the musicians’ names and the years (and often
locations) of the photographs, but without page
numbers. Although this book would be suitable for
anyone interested in jazz, in photography, and in the
history of jazz, the primary usefulness of these images
is to provide a contrast to other, better photographs of
jazz musicians. (Ellen Rennard)
Collier, James Lincoln. Jazz: An American Saga. New
York: Henry Holt, 1997.
In Jazz: An American Saga, jazz critic and children’s
author James Lincoln Collier traces the history
of jazz from tribal African music to free jazz and
fusion. Rather than presenting the story of jazz in
a strictly chronological order, he devotes chapters
to styles of jazz, the heartbeat of jazz (which is a
simplified musical theory explanation), and a chapter
explaining what improvisation is and isn’t. Also
noteworthy is its collection of black-and-white photos
of jazz musicians. The book is significant because it
combines photos and text for a younger audience that
might be turned off by jazz children’s books that seem
too primary but aren’t ready for an adult reading level
jazz book.
Mr. Collier’s account, written for young adults,
attempts to explain West African music in more detail
than is often found in children’s books. He corrects
some common misunderstandings, such as that a
lot of jazz was played in Storyville, or that most
slaves worked in big plantations, when in fact most
blacks worked and lived alongside their masters,
where they would be exposed to European music.
Syncretism is the melding of elements that occurred
as polyrhythmic African music met European melody
and harmony.
Mr. Collier covers all the well-known artists while
introducing us to others such as Frank Johnson, a free
black who led a concert orchestra for Queen Victoria
in 1837, and Django Reinhardt, the first great nonAmerican jazz musician playing in the early 1930s.
Themes are explored such as the end of the Victorian
era and America’s admiration for individualism and innovation.
Some issues to be explored by readers include
the limited mention of women in jazz, limited to
Bessie Smith and Billie Holiday. Little mention is
made of more recent historical influences such as the
segregation, Great Migration, World War II, or the
Claxton, William. Jazz. San Francisco: Chronicle
Books, 1996.
This book contains more than seventy duotone
black-and-white photographs of jazz musicians
taken by William Claxton, whose work also appears
in Jazz West Coast, published in 1955, and in Jazz
Life, which was published in Europe. Some of the
photographs are formal, posed studio shots; others
are informal, made only with natural light. The quality
of the photographs also varies; the formal studio
portraits are posed and quite commercial looking,
whereas some of the other shots are more candid.
Aesthetically, many of the environmental portraits
suffer from distracting elements such as the park in the
foreground of an otherwise interesting picture of Jim
Robinson (trombone) and Slow Drag Pavageau (bass)
taken in New Orleans in 1960. There is an attempt
at drama that seems to me to be as heavy-handed as
the text, which tries too hard to establish this book
as “perhaps the first art photography book devoted to
jazz musicians.” For example, one photograph shows
Art Pepper walking up a hill “with his smile and his
horn,” supposedly an “eloquent symbol” of his uphill
struggle with his life. To be sure, there are a couple
of good photographs here, particularly one of Will
Shade with his tub bass (1960) and of Donald Byrd in
a New York subway. Many of the shots taken with only
available light are understandably grainy (a technical
necessity, and an aesthetic choice), but some are also
out of focus in a way that doesn’t seem to serve any
aesthetic purpose, as in the case of the photograph of
Mahalia Jackson.
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civil rights movement.
One of the wonderful things about the book is its
collection of black-and-white photos. We see Louis
Armstrong not just playing but in a family picture,
as well as in a portrait without an instrument. We
see early jazz vaudeville acts, and the Fisk Jubilee
Singers, both featuring women’s photos. We see early
Basin Street and Pete Lala’s club. Dave Brubeck is
pictured playing with his children, which strikes the
viewer as unique, given our expectation for jazz
photos. Also interesting is the progression of photos
over time, as the proud posed band in uniform
becomes the clowning poses of the swing era, to the
photos of bebop and cool jazz musicians, usually
with their eyes closed. There are exceptions to this
generalization, such as photos of Duke Ellington
meeting Princess Margaret or Benny Goodman
meeting Khrushchev.
This book would be appropriate for ages ten
to teen, but adult novice jazz fans will also find it
enlightening. (Rob Matlock)
York at the age of six, Bubber graduated to trumpet
and coronet lessons, and by the age of fifteen had
joined the navy. Within eighteen months he was
honorably discharged, sat in with the Carolina Five,
and played gigs in New York, then went on tour.
Eventually he became part of the Duke’s band,
traveled to Paris, returned to the States where Pryor
“had the great luck to find Bubber” and to form a
duo. Miley moved on to recording and a show called
the Harlem Scandals and within a year, at the age of
twenty-nine, had succumbed to tuberculosis.
Completely ignored in death, Miley had been coarranger of many of Ellington’s tunes, was “the first
to use a rubber plunger as a mute,” and when shown
notations transcribed from his recordings could not
believe he was capable of such marvelous playing.
Of varying lengths, Pryor’s thoughts should be
approached individually, sampled, allowing the
reader time to ponder a lifetime of ideas and insights.
It’s possible that some of the shorter works could be
used with a general high school population, and many
would be valuable for dance and music students.
Select quotations would foster discussion:
“music is tone rhythm, while dancing is movement
in rhythm”; “jazz needs protection”; “art comes
from somewhere in life and that a valid art should
be expressing its time”; “jazz is the most important
significant music of recent centuries”; and
“photography is of paramount importance to the dance.”
This is jazz and dance history, lived and studied,
with a passionate eloquence. (Martha Jewell Meeker)
Dodge, Roger Pryor. Hot Jazz and Jazz Dance:
Collected Writings 1929–1965. New York: Oxford
University Press, 1995.
Three photographs speak of this man, Roger Pryor
Dodge: the first captures a young angulated dancer
dressed in frocked coat, white bow tie, and top hat;
in the next he is posed with partner Mura Dehn;
and last some thirty years later he sits arms crossed,
piercing eyes, sturdy jawed, distant. Gathering these
essays becomes a tribute from son to father and makes
a unique contribution to the literature of criticism.
R. P. Dodge trained as a professional ballet dancer,
created as a choreographer, met and listened to jazz
musicians, and began to write from experience and
with clarity. He filmed jazz dances he’d composed
in the thirties using “The Mooche” and “King of the
Zulus”; he reviewed releases such as Gems of Jazz,
Ellingtonia, Capitol’s History of Jazz, and a reissue, the
piano solos of Earl Hines.
Philosophically Pryor believed that classical
music and jazz share characteristics, that peculiar
rhythms are the foundation of jazz, and that these
rhythms owe their birth to dance. He was distraught
that dancers, especially Isadora Duncan, failed to use
cinematography to preserve their artistry. He disagreed
with Van Vechten’s criteria for modern art but was
sympathetic to the analysis of Ansermet concerning
“Negro” jazz, in which musicians follow their “own way.”
“Bubber” is the most poignant entry in this
book. In a black-and-white photo Dodge is shown
performing an interpretation of Ellington’s “East St.
Louis Toodle-Oo” with his accompanist, trumpeter
James “Bubber” Miley. Singing on the streets of New
Eyrman, Scott. The Speed of Sound: Hollywood and
the Talkie Revolution, 1926–1930. New York: Simon
and Schuster, 1997.
Scott Eyrman discusses how the utilization of sound
impacts the American film industry. During this
transitional period from silence to sound, the film
industry resisted changes because of the threat to
the careers of some of its major film stars, whose
voices were not suitable for sound films. Their careers
instantly ended. As a result, famous movie stars
contemplated and committed suicide or began living
in seclusion. Scott Eyrman refutes the myth that sound
in film happened overnight and discusses how the
famous movie entitled The Jazz Singer was not the first
sound film. There were various failed attempts prior to
this famous film to bring forth change in the industry.
After the appearance of the famous movie The Jazz
Singer, the industry continued to resist the change to
sound films.
Lessons from this book would be designed for
middle and high school audiences. This lesson will
build students’ prior knowledge about the history of
how music influenced the American film industry.
92
Throughout the study of the lesson, questions will
be raised about how music affects the movies and
television sitcoms of today and about the criteria
for what makes an actor talented. Terminologies
and elements will be discussed in class to assist
students in defining the characteristics of jazz music.
Furthermore, students will be encouraged to analyze
their own interpretation of jazz by listening to the
music and watching movies that demonstrate or
display jazz through actors, musicians, costumes,
and scenes. I find this historical document of factual
events as educational to all educators and historians
who are in search of accurate, detailed truth of one
of America’s fascinating events. I definitely would
recommend this book to those who are interested in
learning how sounds and jazz music advanced the
development of the American film industry. (Larissa Young)
aesthetic that transcends the boundaries of artistic
disciplines” (137). This collection of photographs,
pictures of visual artworks (paintings, collages,
sculptures, etc.), and snippets of writing presents
various ideas or interpretations of jazz and suggests
areas and/or artists for further study. (The carefully
culled list of artists and writers alone is valuable.)
No doubt the traveling exhibition itself would have
provided a much richer experience, at least insofar
as the visual art is concerned, since many of the
photographs of artworks cannot begin to convey
the power of the originals. Much of the writing, too,
would be more satisfying if read in its entirety rather
than as short excerpts. Nonetheless the book provides
a way in, a field guide of sorts, that is very useful
in pointing the way to many of the best established
artists and writers who have explored jazz and/or jazz
musicians as the subject(s) of their work.
The book is organized in three main sections:
rhythm, improvisation, and call-and-response, which
are taken as hallmarks of jazz and also themes for the
different sections. It might be interesting to consider
how these different aspects of jazz play out in the
various works of art in each section. That is left for the
reader/viewer to do.
Milt Hinton wrote the afterword, contributed a
number of photographs to the book, and describes
himself as “just a musician with a camera.” He
suggests that “art—in all of its forms—can reveal and
preserve the spirit and essence of jazz” (144). What’s
particularly interesting as you think about Hinton’s
idea and look at the images in the book is the great
diversity of art and literature that (as the book has
it) might be called “jazz art.” But what makes it
jazz art? Is it merely that the painting is titled, for
example, Yellow Dog Blues, or Art Tatum? That the
piece of writing is a biography of a jazz musician,
or a poem about a particular jazz musician? To what
degree is the content itself the reason for the art to
be considered jazz art (as in, for example, a painting
called Street Music, Jenkins Band)? I found the book
to present quite a literal aesthetic; these are works
that specifically reference jazz and jazz musicians.
For example, absent are the works of Jackson Pollack,
who painted while listening to jazz and whose work
clearly, but not literally (to this writer’s eye), conveys
the feeling of jazz music. The multiplicity of visual
and literary interpretations of the idea of jazz seems to
parallel the great variety inherent in the jazz tradition
itself, but the book presents another way to consider
how to define or describe the essence of jazz. (Ellen Rennard)
Goldmark, Daniel, and Yuval Taylor, eds. The Cartoon
Music Book. Chicago: A Capella Press, 2002.
This book is an anthology of essays compiled to
convey to audiences how cartoons and music have
played a vital role in the construction of both history
and education in America. In part 1 of the book,
entitled “Hidey Hidey Hidey Ho… Boop-Boop-A
Doop! The Fleischer Studio and Jazz Cartoons,” Jake
Austen discusses how the Fleischer studio cartoons
became very popular in the 1930s. By utilizing jazz
tunes from famous artists such as Cab Calloway
and Louis Armstrong, Americans were drawn in to
the fascinating details of the cartoon story lines.
Although Fleischer’s cartoons conveyed disturbing
racial stereotypes of African Americans and women,
they compelled the audience to view this ugly picture
of American society. For example, in the cartoon
performance by Louis Armstrong of “I’ll Be Glad
When You’re Dead, You Rascal, You,” the animators of
this cartoon designed the African characters as apelike
creatures or the free spirit Betty Boop character
represents some form of prostitution. Fleischer Studio’s
works were aimed at adult audiences in that they
addressed lust and fear in the real world.
Lessons from this book would be designed for a
high school audience. Relating to how music and the
media play an important role in aspects of American
culture such as race and gender, high school students
would have an opportunity to connect past issues to
current issues and see how these problems still affect
society. (Larissa Young)
Goldson, Elizabeth, ed. Seeing Jazz: Artists and
Writers on Jazz. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1997.
This book (and the traveling exhibition which it
accompanied) combine works of visual art and
literature; the selections reflect the “idea of a jazz
Johnson, James Weldon. God’s Trombones: Seven
Negro Sermons in Verse. New York: Penguin, 1990.
It is not difficult to locate poems from the Harlem
93
Renaissance that concern themselves with jazz
(Langston Hughes and Claude McKay for example),
but I mention Johnson’s fifty-six-page text because it
weaves together music, illustration, poetry, and the
sermon tradition essential to the foundations of jazz.
Implied is the tension between the “modern” and its
accompanying sinful lifestyle and the upstanding,
spiritual, mindful lifestyle based in the African
American Protestant tradition. Johnson not only
reveals the tension but also shows, slyly, how they
intersect and can exist simultaneously. The trombone
(not Gabriel’s trumpet), as Johnson notes in his
preface, is a “powerful brass instrument…the only
wind instrument possessing a complete chromatic
scale enharmonically true, like the human voice.”
Thus, an integral instrument of jazz becomes the
preacher, the vehicle for God’s admonitions and
praise. His seven poems, based on standard topics for
sermons (creation, prodigality, death, sin, sacrifice,
etc.), are easily readable for students and would be
material for discussions about musicality in poems,
sermon rhetoric, and the irony behind utilizing jazz
motifs for such moralizing. This text would help
place jazz in a broader social context. Furthermore,
each poem is accompanied by an illustration by
Aaron Douglas, drawn specifically for this text. These
illustrations show the influence of African art and
cubism, as well as demonstrate Douglas’s ability
to narrate in the visual medium. His use of shade
gradations, abstract representation, geometric design,
and dynamic silhouetted figures helps to further link
Johnson’s poems to the modern and to the principles
underlying jazz composition. This text is a great
example of how jazz and its tools infiltrate the written
and illustrative arts during this time. (Laura Rochette)
“New Negro” movement in Harlem even before he
moves there. Early on, Douglas experiences, Kirschke
asserts, an artist’s exile that can only emerge out of
a minority’s experience in white America. In order
to situate Douglas within the context of the Harlem
Renaissance, she offers a useful summary and analysis
of Alain Locke’s intellectual work and leadership and
its connection to Douglas once he arrives in New York
in 1925. While she does not go into depth about how
Douglas employs jazz themes, she does offer helpful,
interesting analyses/discussions of his illustrations for
James Weldon Johnson’s God’s Trombones: Seven
Negro Sermons in Verse (1927), his four-panel series
Aspects of Negro Life (1934), commissioned work
for Fisk University, and a host of other illustrations
done for a variety of journals and magazines in the
1920s and 1930s. Kirschke effectively shows the
layers of influence that make up the artist’s voice and
his interactions/collaborations with other Harlem
Renaissance figures, including Langston Hughes
and Zora Neale Hurston. She also addresses the
controversy surrounding primitivism and where
Douglas stood on this, as well as the issue of white
patronage and its role in the development of art in this
time period.
This is a great start for teachers new to the Harlem
Renaissance, particularly for those who wish to teach
with literature and the visual arts. (Laura Rochette)
Kohler, Eric. In the Groove: Vintage Record Graphics,
1940–1960. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1999.
Intrigued by record jackets, the artistry hinting at the
music within, the author began his own collection,
a cross-section. Kohler saw this art and its music as
inseparable. He studied at Cooper Hewit under Ralph
deHarak, a featured designer in the 1950s.
Marketing focused on selling phonographs,
the 1920 standard Victrola. Records were kept up
on a shelf as an add-on sale. Few stores sold only
recordings. With the coming of the Great Depression,
the record industry almost disappeared, but the
repeal of Prohibition would reverse that. Cheap
public entertainment became available through the
invention of the jukebox. Big band recordings were in
demand on the heels of Benny Goodman’s success at
Chicago’s Palomar
Ballroom.
Alex Steinweiss was hired by Columbia Records
to produce posters and catalogs. Here commerce
becomes historically important, as discs were still
being marketed in brown paper sleeves.
Steinweiss suggested creating special covers, an
idea that met management’s resistance for a time. Eventually
a small trial number of artistic jackets were produced,
which dramatically increased recording sales and a
Kirschke, Amy Helene. Aaron Douglas: Art, Race,
and the Harlem Renaissance. Jackson: University
Press of Mississippi, 1995.
If you don’t know anything about Aaron Douglas
(1899–1979), you can safely begin with this concise
book, which takes a look at the artist’s upbringing,
his education (formal and informal), his influences,
and the social, intellectual, and political context
of Harlem, which helped him develop his style.
Ultimately, she argues the value of studying Douglas,
who often goes unnoticed, because he is the
“innovator” of the late 1920s, becoming the “father
of Black American art” who developed expressions
of African American culture and history. Organizing
her chapters chronologically, Kirschke describes his
upbringing in Topeka, Kansas, his post-secondary
education at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln,
his brief stint as a teacher at Lincoln High School
in Kansas City, and his awareness of the growing
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created a new occupation: the record cover artist.
Kohler concentrates on two decades and eight
artists. The 1940s become a transition period, a
holdover of the art deco style. Vertical and amoebic
shapes, shadowboxes, diamonds, and lowercase
lettering dominate. In 1945, 109 million records were
sold, more than double the 48.4 million purchased
in 1940. This is the decade of Jim Flora, Robert Jones,
and Steinweiss. Flora’s passion for jazz led to a series
of quirky, colorful jackets.
Columbia Set C-44 is titled “Boogie Woogie,”
picturing a black-and-yellow piano placed beneath
dominant black-and-white hands. The pages following
are devoted to Steinweiss, his bold type, flat colors,
and utilization of cultural and musical symbols. His
work was hand lettered, a technical restriction of
typesetting. No photos of musicians are utilized until
they appear in Jones’s layouts.
Initially, LPs were distributed in generic paper
envelopes, which neither promoted the music or
protected the grooves. Again Steinweiss came up with
a solution: a folded cardboard covered with paper,
developing more space for eye-catching graphics. Erik
Nitsche, Davis Stone Martin, Burt Gioldblatt, and Reid
Miles represent 1950s design, along with anonymous
artists who chose not to sign their work or who were
employed as part of a corporation’s nameless pool.
Biographies address influences and shifting elements
of design demand.
An overview of a highly specialized art form, this
book should find an audience of any age. It brings
the reader thoughts relating to the marketing of
jazz, artistic inspiration, and the issue of institution
oversight. What is it about packaging that attracts the
buyer? Are jazz covers different from classical? Did
musicians ever have input into the choice of photos
and other details of marketing? Could they reject
renderings? (Martha Jewell Meeker)
New Negro” and “Harlem” by Alain Locke and “Jazz
at Home” by J. A. Rogers. It is also interesting to
note that this is the issue in which Countee Cullen’s
poem “Heritage” appears. “Enter the New Negro” is a
lengthy essay, but one that establishes the intellectual
foundation of the Harlem Renaissance. What is of
more interest here is Locke’s essay “Harlem.” This
essay is easily digestible for high school students and
will provoke an interesting discussion about defining
the city with its people and its culture. Pair this with
Langston Hughes’s “The Negro Artist and the Racial
Mountain” from 1926 (available online at http://www.
hartford-hwp.com/archives/45a/360.html), in which
Hughes describes Harlem as a vibrant community
alive with music and artistic energy. Students will be
able to tie Locke’s Harlem and Hughes’s images to
music by Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, and James P.
Johnson (see annotations). Likewise, this essay would
pair nicely with Jacob Lawrence’s early paintings of
urban life (see annotations) because of his dynamic
use of color, composition, and realistic content.
Finally, J. A. Rogers’s “Jazz at Home” is more explicit
in its discussion of the role of jazz in the mid 1920s—
from his viewpoint. He delivers an interesting history
and definition of jazz that would be material for
discussion; to compare his characterizations of jazz to
the music itself, “Jazzonia” by Langston Hughes, and
to paintings by Aaron Douglass or Jacob Lawrence
would make an interesting multidisciplinary exercise
with students. What is jazz? What is the rhetoric
of jazz? Is there a jazz aesthetic? Of course, these
questions have no single answer, but they certainly
can jump-start a useful discussion. These works also
serve to highlight the debates and issues within the
African American artistic community during this time
about how to achieve an African American identity
and race consciousness. What exactly does it mean to
be a “New Negro”? (Laura Rochette)
Locke, Alain, ed. “Harlem” and “Mecca of the New
Negro.” In Survey Graphic 6, no. 6 (March 1925).
<http://etext.virginia.edu/harlem/contents.html>.
In addition to possessing the complete contents of this
important issue, the hypermedia edition also comes
with facsimile pages that contain some insets of poetry
and illustrations that the digital content does not.
This would give students a taste of what the journal
may have looked like at the time of its publication.
These aesthetics aside, the content provides a variety
of angles on the intellectual and artistic happenings
in Harlem at the time. This hypermedia edition
also comes with useful background information,
including why this issue is significant. What may be
of particular interest to history, English, or American
studies teachers are the following essays: “Enter the
Marsalis, Wynton. ABZ: An A to Z Collection of Jazz
Portraits. Illustrated by Paul Rogers. Cambridge, MA:
Candlewick Press, 2005.
Opening this book, one sees a replica of an old brown
record sleeve, and upon that the image of a record
appears, then introductions by both artist and the
author. It is a tale of friends, one sitting at the ballet,
daydreaming. “Can I think of a jazz musician for
every letter of the alphabet?” He begins to see images
of musicians and has a sense of their sound. Later Paul
Rogers phones Wynton Marsalis suggesting they work
together on a book. He waits, they talk again. Finally,
Rogers begins painting and mails the completed
portfolio to Marsalis.
This is the inspiration Marsalis needed as he
ponders his approach. The descriptions will be poems;
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he loves to play with words. On the road he reads
Yeats to his photographer and manager. During the
long hours of traveling from gig to gig his thoughts
take shape. Each of the poems will use a unique
poetic form, with emphasis on words and phrases that
sum up a particular musician’s essence. As Marsalis
finishes each poem, he recites it for his captive critics,
and the response, refining suggestions. Marsalis
substitutes, pushes words around. There are further
recitations and finally approval: “It was cool man,
but it was cool before.” Intermittently Rogers begins
to receive faxes from all over the world, and page by
page, the leaves come together.
The artwork contains strong images on bold
background colors: symbolism, song titles, artifacts,
and a sense of place along with the singer or
musician’s name. Each posterlike portrait fills an
entire page opposite the poem. A is pictured with
a trumpet, and below is a shape poem, an A, built
out of adjectives, each one beginning with “a”, an
amazingly funny tribute to Louis Armstrong.
The Empire State Building, the Cotton Club,
klieg lights, mutes and microphones, a portable
phonograph, the musician’s case an upright piano,
a chair, a stool are deftly placed next to individual
letters. Drummer Art Blakey’s pages fold out in
imitation of a score, sounds replacing notes. Another
three-page spread is devoted to Sidney Becket, as in S;
next comes Thelonious Monk, just four words. In one
poem Marsalis uses the art to structure his poem.
e u b i e b l a k e appears on the individual black keys
of a piano, and an adjective is printed on each of the
ten fingers resting on the ivories.
This parade of letters continues, Marsalis’s
words reflecting the nuances of jazz personalities.
An appendix explains the structural characteristics
of each poem. Paul Schaap has written concise
biographical entries for each musician, and a strip
of artwork becomes a riff at the bottom of these
pages. The book ends with notes on Marsalis, Rogers,
and Schapp. Located inside the back cover is a
discography; the back cover indexes the musicians,
using a single characteristic to describe each one.
Sophisticated, this might be fun to read to younger
children, but it would take an older student to analyze
vocabulary and the history presented. How did the
artists decide which visuals to employ? What is the
nature of the collaboration between the artist and
author? In what ways do the drawings compare to
photographs of these jazz greats? Does the language
present a correct image of their personality? Are there
persons who should have been included?
Sweet Swing Blues on the Road is a journal of
Marsalis on the road, along with some masterful
photographs that truly capture the hours and days
of modern musicians: their travel, their friends, their
families, their fans. A contrast, all images are black
and white, could be developed between symbolic
representation and personalities found through a
camera, a moment in time. (Martha Jewell Meeker)
Nesbett, Peter T., and Michelle DuBois, eds. Over
the Line: The Art and Life of Jacob Lawrence. Seattle:
University of Washington Press, 2000.
A comprehensive collection of essays with beautiful
color plates, Over the Line offers a useful survey on
one of the more popular African American artists
of the twentieth century. In their introduction,
Nesbett and DuBois voice their intention to present
a “textured” overview of Lawrence’s work to
demonstrate a “multifaceted and complex career.”
Indeed the essays do just that. From Leslie KingHammond’s assessment of Lawrence’s working class
context to Richard Powell’s argument that Lawrence
was a “harmonizer of chaos,” the essays enlighten and
are informative for English, art, and history teachers
who wish to bring Lawrence into the classroom. For
teachers, it is easy to choose which essays you wish
to focus on depending on which era of Lawrence’s
work you wish to discuss with your students. All of
his major series (Migration, Toussaint L’Ouverture,
Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, The Builders)
are discussed and analyzed. The connection between
Lawrence and jazz is general, but more than one
scholar acknowledges the influence of the intellectual,
artistic, and political climate of the 1930s; KingHammond asserts that Lawrence “incorporated the
aural elements of rhythms, breaks, and changes
into the visual polyphony of Harlem’s environment,
people and culture.” Not technically of the Harlem
Renaissance, Lawrence is worth considering in
conjunction with the era in that he benefits from the
art programs and workshops established by the artists
and patrons of the decade before. Likewise, Harlem is
still a vibrant and alive community during the 1930s,
and Lawrence’s early work demonstrates this. Most
importantly, these scholars remind us that Lawrence
was indeed part of the modernist era, making his own
contributions and challenging form and content to
propel art forward.
Whether you are teaching how paintings tell a
story, or how an artist’s style can incorporate jazz,
or how themes in a painting connect to themes in
literature, or how painting can narrate history (or
any combination of the four), Lawrence’s work is
provocative and possesses something for all ages and
grade levels. (Laura Rochette)
Powell, Robert J. The Life and Art of William H.
Johnson. Wilton, CT: Reading and O’Reilly, 1991.
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William H. Johnson became one of the most
important African American artists and painters of the
twentieth century, but his life was one of misfortune,
lost love, and tragedy. After the death of his wife, he
battled mental illness and spent the last twenty-three
years of his life in an institution, dying in relative
obscurity in 1970. Having no heir, a New York court
ordered all of his work in storage be destroyed (more
than a thousand pieces); but with the help of his friends
and the Harmon Foundation, his legacy was saved.
Strongly influenced by the changing role of the
African American in the early part of the century,
Johnson saw himself as the “symbol of the New Negro
Art Movement.” His large body of work (more than
thirteen hundred pieces) reflected the unobserved
condition of the black American experience. In his
1940 series, he painted his memories of life in the
rural South and the Great Migration north titled The
Broke Down Series. Laden with symbolism, he tells
the story of the “broken down condition” of the
black family. Energized by the support of the Harlem
Renaissance movement and the jazz music of New
York City, Johnson created a vibrant series of five
progressively abstract paintings called Jitterbugs I–V.
Here he explores the visual expression of musical
themes such as call-and-response, spirituals, and
work songs rooted in African heritage—themes
which influence his art for the rest of his life. They
were considered moving works of cubism with very
daring use of color and geometric form in a flat, twodimensional style. Other series covered emotionally
charged events such as the race riots in the summer of
1943 and the degradation blacks faced in the armed
forces (racism and desegregation) during World War
II. William H. Johnson captured the soul of a people
and chronicled their story. His comprehensive body
of work demonstrates how the context of the 1920s
through the 1940s affected the themes and aesthetic
development of African American art.
Included in this biography is a range of music
dating from each period that includes: “The
Daintiness Rag” by James P. Johnson, “Golliwog’s
Cakewalk” by Daniel Smith Bassoon, “Painful Hearted
Man” by Blind Boy Fuller, and more. (Judy Gregorc)
of jazz on visual art. Anyone looking for a wellwritten account of jazz in New York would find this
book to be a good resource, and there are some
photographs of jazz musicians, art, and the city itself
that might also be useful. I was looking specifically
for connections between jazz and visual art, and in
that context there were a couple of specific pieces
of information I found to be particularly interesting,
so rather than summarize the entirety of the chapters
I read, I want to focus a bit more narrowly in order
to link my comments to the larger question of a jazz
aesthetic in modern art.
First, the text deals with the influence of Carl
Van Vechten, the “self-appointed guide to Harlem’s
nightlife, host to New York’s first interracial social
gatherings, and author of several best-selling New
York novels,” (134) including Nigger Heaven, which
portrays the destruction of a young middle class black
couple by Harlem’s “irresistible and sordid street
life of mobsters, pimps, prostitutes, bootleggers, and
entertainers” (137).
Van Vechten “worked to erase the color line
that had barred black writers and artists from full
participation in New York cultural life,” and his novels
and articles in Vanity Fair brought Harlem and jazz
to his readers. However, Van Vechten also “harbored
residual and unexamined racial and class prejudices”
(136). His fascination with jazz and blues rested in
part on his belief that they sprang from “primitive,
primordial” roots. “Towards cultivated, middle-class
African Americans, Van Vechten seemed free of
racial prejudice; but towards working-class African
Americans, he harbored an image of blacks as exotic
primitives” (136). We have seen this view clearly in,
for example, film clips of the dancers at the Cotton Club.
Second, the text mentions a group exhibition
titled Homage to Jazz sponsored by Samuel Kootz,
an art dealer and patron of abstract expressionists.
The show featured work from a number of abstract
painters including Jackson Pollock, Adolph Gottlieb,
as well as three pieces by Romare Bearden, whose
work “evoked the blues, bebop, and the second
Great Migration” (318). Bearden wrote, “Jazz has
shown me the ways of achieving artistic structures
that are personal to me; but it also provides me
continuing finger-snapping, head-shaking enjoyment”
(318). Bearden was interested, for instance, in the
“disharmony” of colors. Bearden’s connection to jazz
is transparent, and Gottlieb’s Black and Tan Fantasy,
which tied abstract expressionism to Duke Ellington,
also makes the connection clear, but it is interesting
to see that Kootz included the work of Pollock in this
exhibition and that this text clearly connects Pollock
to jazz: “Pollock found bebop’s speed and jarring
harmony an apt analogue to his own work” (288).
Scott, William B., and Peter M. Rutkoff. “Rhapsody
in Black: New York Modern in Harlem”; “New York
Blues: The Bebop Revolution”; and “Homage to the
Spanish Republic: Abstract Expressionism and the
New York Avant-Garde.” Chapters 5, 9, and 10 in
New York Modern: The Arts and the City. Baltimore:
Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999.
This book deals with the entirety of the modern art
scene in New York, but I looked only at the three
chapters that deal with jazz and the influence
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The Kootz exhibit ties bebop, specifically, to abstract
expressionism. (Ellen Rennard)
Fuller, Kenny Drew, Paul Chambers, and Philly Joe
Jones. The book does offer a biased view in favor of
Wolff, Lion, and Blue Note Records; other sources
might offer a more balanced perspective, but the
photographs do speak for themselves to a great extent. Blue Note’s initial statement of purpose provides
an interesting definition of jazz, and reads as follows:
Blue Note Records are designed
simply to serve the uncompromising
expressions of hot jazz or swing, in
general. Any particular style of playing
which represents an authentic way of
musical feeling is genuine expression.
By virtue of its significance in place,
time and circumstance, it possesses
its own tradition, artistic standards
and audience that keep it alive. Hot
jazz, therefore, is expression and
communication, a musical and social
manifestation, and Blue Note Records
are concerned with identifying its
impulse, not its sensational and
commercial adornments. (16)
These photographs serve that end. (Ellen Rennard)
Wolff, Francis. The Blue Note Years: The Jazz
Photography of Francis Wolff. New York: Rizzoli, 1995.
This book of beautifully printed black-and-white
documentary photographs of jazz musicians who
recorded for the Blue Note label between 1939
and 1966 (when the label was sold to Liberty
Records), is intended for anyone interested in jazz,
photography, and the history of jazz. Francis Wolff,
the partner and friend of Alfred Lion, Blue Note’s
founder, photographed almost every Blue Note
session. According to Herbie Hancock, who wrote the
foreword, Wolff “was a part of the very inspirational
environment” (7). These relaxed, intimate (never
posed) photographs came to be a distinctive element
of hundreds of album covers and helped to define the
Blue Note gestalt. According to jazz musician Bobby
Hutcherson, Alfred and Frank “were more like jazz
musicians than record executives. They loved to hang
out and have a great time. They loved the music and
had a real feel for it” (98). This passion for jazz comes
across in the photographs. Like jazz, these images are
“challenging compositions, improvisations that come
from and speak to both the heart and mind. [They
have] a rhythmic swing that can be felt, regardless
of [their] complexity” (23). The musicians are
photographed from a variety of angles and distances;
the instrument may be the focal point or not visible;
the lighting is always dramatic without seeming
artificial; the energy, intense.
The Blue Note recordings always included
planning sessions and rehearsals, and Wolff’s
photographs document and even emphasize this part
of the process as well as the actual recording. From
these photos you get a real sense of artists at work,
studying sheet music, making notes with pencils. You
see pictures of musicians taking a break, sitting on
stools, smoking, talking. You also see the trappings of
the recording studio: microphones, headsets, a wall of
acoustical tile. You even see Milt Hinton with a Canon
camera (instead of his bass). In short, you get a sense
of what these jazz recording sessions really looked
like. In addition to photographs, the book contains
some text, including a brief history of the Blue Note
label and comments about significant recording
sessions. For example, when Lion wanted to get the
idea of a very real, bluesy after-hours performances,
he set recording sessions to start at 4:30 a.m. Sidney
Bechet’s “Summertime” was made in this manner. In
addition, for someone trying to sort out the best jazz
recordings, the text is helpful in that it contextualizes
and comments on particular recording sessions, such
as Coltrane’s “Blue Train” with Lee Morgan, Curtis
Zwerin, Mike. Swing under the Nazis: Jazz as a Metaphor
for Freedom. New York: Cooper Square, 2000.
The cover of Mike Zwerin’s book is the focus here
(image available for viewing at www.usmbooks.com/
nazi_posters.html ). Its caption reads “Degenerate
Music: A Reckoning by Privy Counselor Dr. H. S.
Ziegler” (translated). It features a caricature of a black
monkey playing a saxophone, wearing a top hat,
gloves, and tuxedo tails. His lapel features a flower
with a Jewish star. Jazz music is tied in the viewer’s
mind with Jews and blacks, and labeled degenerate.
This obnoxious Nazi poster of jazz is significant
for many reasons, some of which become clearer in
the text of the book. It is meant, of course, for the
German public, to warn them of the danger of what
was called degenerate art. It insults both African
Americans and Jews at the same time. Its meaning is
clear within seconds. But I think it can be studied as
a strong statement of propaganda, a reaffirmation of
the importance of jazz, which the Nazis felt had to
be suppressed. Jazz was banned in the early 1930s in
Nazi Germany, and “degenerate” was used alternately
with Bolshevik or Jewish. The Nazis tolerated jazz that
could be seen as European, or non-Jewish or black
music. Clearly it was seen a low form of art, not unlike
comments made in the United States in the 1920s.
Jazz, however, survived through the war,
sometimes tolerated under different names, sometimes
in prison camp bands, sometimes in performances
for German officers. There was certainly a double
98
standard, as is found in other totalitarian regimes, for
instance the Soviet Union’s repression and tolerance
of jazz. People took risks for their music, but they also
made compromises to survive. What do we make of
those who played for the Nazis—is it different than a
taxi driver who has to drive them? Should we expect
more or less from an artist?
This piece should certainly be reserved for older
high school students, perhaps studying history, ethics,
or propaganda. It will certainly provoke discussion
of the role of art and the media and of the threat and
power of jazz. (Rob Matlock)
of jazz music that shaped and strengthen communities
in the American culture. The inspiration of this text
tweaks the interest of young minds when constructing
ideas and beliefs on how African Americans inspired
and contributed to these various jazz art forms that
have not only impacted America, but the entire world.
Lessons from this book would be designed for
primary and middle school audiences. This book
would be very beneficial for children visualizing
through art and poetic text, how jazz emerged and
transformed from generation to generation. Through
the reading of the text, students can conceptualize
the meaning of rhythm by its feel of short and
long durations of sounds in each poetic phrase. In
the course of this lesson, this book will not only
incorporate the history of jazz emerging and fusing
into other genres of music, but it will reconstruct new
ways on how to define rhythm. (Larissa Young)
Children’s Books (annotated)
Gollub, Matthew. The Jazz Fly. Santa Rosa, CA:
Tortuga, 2000.
Matthew Gollub, along with the illustrator, Karen
Hanke ,creates a storybook that is centered on jazz.
Both create a humorous and exciting story of a fly that
becomes lost in a huge city and asks other animated
characters—such as the frog, pig, etc.—which way
to town. Through conversations, the fly begins to
use jazz lingo with the other animated characters.
Through scatting, call-and-response, and the playing
of various musical instruments, the animated
characters are able to converse with one another
and create a beautiful jazz composition. This book
is a great learning tool to introduce many aspects of
jazz such as terminologies, elements, and musical
instrument family characteristics.
Lessons from this book would be designed for
primary and intermediate grade levels. This lesson
would be helpful in teaching about instrument
families. Also, it will be a useful guide to assist
students in the understanding of how to identify
elements in jazz music. Furthermore, the illustrations
from this book can help students get a vivid picture of
what a jazz scene may look like when an audience is
being entertained. (Larissa Young)
Isadora, Rachel. Ben’s Trumpet. New York:
Greenwillow Books, 1979.
The children’s book Ben’s Trumpet tells the story of
a little boy who wants to become a trumpet player,
but like so many children he only has an imaginary
instrument to play. One of the musicians in a
neighborhood nightclub discovers his dream and in
the end gives Ben music lessons.
Although the book has no color, each page still
conveys a sense of mood through its manipulation
of value, abstract space, perspective, contrast, and
line. In the beginning, Ben is sitting on his fire escape
listening to music coming from the Zig Zag Jazz Club.
Isadora shows us a gray world devoid of interest and
detail except for the flashy sign of the club (which
emphasizes the excitement of jazz). When we enter
the club, we encounter many contrasting values and
details. For Ben, it’s the place to be. Next, we are
introduced to the musicians. The illustrative style is
meant to capture the essence of the emotion and
sound of each performer: the piano player has a stark
black-and-white keyboard running through him; the
sax player has a gritty background to match the sound
of the reed work while a light focuses on the emotion
in his face; the brass bell of the trombone is the focus;
and the most exciting depiction is of the drummer.
Isadora successfully illustrates the vibration and
rhythm pulsing out of the drum set with action lines
bouncing out into the air. You feel it! You hear it! The
trumpeter’s page gives a good example of how music
could be represented with just a line. After spending
time in the Zig Zag, Isadora shows how Ben’s world
has changed by bending the visual perspective and
abstract space through which he sees. New details
emerge along with new possibilities as he transcends
his environment through the music. As the story
Igus, Toyomi. I See the Rhythm. San Francisco:
Children’s Book Press, 1998.
In the book entitled I See the Rhythm, the author
(Toyomi Igus) and illustrator (Michelle Wood) take
their young audience on not only a musical journey
but a visual journey through the life span of jazz.
It conveys how jazz transformed, transitioned, and
fused into various forms of expressions from the
original complex drumbeats and chants of African
nations to the birth of spirituals, work songs, blues,
ragtime, swing, bebop, gospel, rhythm and blues,
rock, funk, current rap, and hip hop. The elements of
this captivating text include art, poetic text, musical
style descriptions, and a time line of historical events
99
progresses, patterns represent the rising influence
the music has on Ben, with each one growing more
complex and beautiful with his passion. Throughout
the book, the viewer feels as though they are in a
swirling, energetic world of visual sound. All of the
devices used by Isadora are used by jazz musicians
and composers when they want to create the same
emotions with sound.
Using the illustration work of this book as a visual
art example of how jazz music, its environment, and
its musicians can be portrayed, we can discuss a
number of parallel theories between art and music,
including use of negative and positive space, rhythm,
pattern, bending of forms, pointillism, forward or
backward movement, and assemblages of different
elements. The fashions and history of jazz within its
social context would be areas of further discussion
and research. (Judy Gregorc)
into the board in full detail. Next, he tints in areas
with transparent dyes and finishes with acrylic paint.
Through color, movement, and fantasy, Pinkney
captures the joy of jazz.
The book also suggests a selection of music
to accompany the story: Ella Fitzgerald Sings Cole
Porter’s Songbook (Verve), Ella Fitzgerald Sings George
and Ira Gershwin’s Songbook (Verve), Ella in Berlin
(Verve), Ella and Louis (Verve). (Judy Gregorc)
Taylor, Debbie A. Sweet Music in Harlem. Illustrated
by Frank Morrison. New York: Lee and Low Books, 2004.
C. J. is sent on a mission to find his uncle Click’s
beret, which has been forgotten somewhere.
Zigzagging about the streets of Harlem he passes
through his uncle’s haunts: the barbershop, a diner,
and the jazz club where Click plays the trumpet. C. J.
locates Uncle Click’s belongings, just not the favorite
signature hat.
Along the way he relates to people that Uncle
Click needs his beret because he is going to appear
in a photograph for Highnote Magazine. Magically,
many of Harlem’s musicians head toward the photo
shoot. A shared life and a strong sense of camaraderie
draw these jazz greats together and in the hubbub are
all arranged on the steps of a brownstone. The camera
captures a very special split-second in a very special
place—an unbelievable spur-of-the-moment reunion
filled with laughter, greetings, and smiles.
Based on Al Kane’s famous photograph that
appeared in Esquire in 1958, this children’s story
recreates a historical fact. Kane had expected only
a few musicians to show, but fifty-seven jazzmen,
singers, assorted children, and neighbors posed for the
legendary picture. That photo appears at the end of
the book, with all of the musicians being identified.
This book is appropriate for younger readers. Its
vibrancy and plot, the sense of a larger family, are to
be enjoyed by anyone loving art and language.
Of special note are illustrator Frank Morrison’s
uniquely stylized acrylics. His figures stretch out
across the pages, capturing both the spirit and color
of this improvisational happening in Harlem. Insights
into Morrison’s creative thought and his other works
are located at (www.morrisongraphics.com) where
a series of paintings, the Urban Jazz Collection, are
reproduced. These come alive, burst with rhythmic
movement.
How do the author and illustrator capture time
and place? In what ways are the words chosen by the
writer a mirror of the language of jazz music? Is there
a recordable, set pattern? In what ways will children
react to this tale of “some old musicians”?
Another book of equal merit would be William
Miller’s Rent Party Jazz, illustrated by Charlotte Riley-
Pinkney, Andrea Davis, and Brian Pinkney. Ella
Fitzgerald: The Tale of a Vocal Virtuosa. New York:
Jump at the Sun (Hyperion Books for Children), 2005.
This is the loosely based children’s story of Ella
Fitzgerald’s life as told by Scat Cat Monroe, a kitty
dressed in a colorful zoot suit and spats. He narrates
the story as though it were a record with four tracks
instead of chapters, which is very befitting of story.
“Track 1: Ella’s Beginnings” tells how as a child
she wanted to be a dancer and entered a contest at
the Apollo Theater. She was so scared she couldn’t
dance so she sang and won! On “Track 2: Jammin’
at Yale,” Ella embarks on her career with the Chick
Webb Orchestra and swings the band at the Harlem
Opera House. “Track 3: Stompin’ at the Savoy” tells
about some of the dances and the “battle of the
bands” competitions. “Track 4: Carnegie Hall Scat”
finds Ella singing her hit song “A-Tisket, A-Tasket” and
playing with Dizzy Gillespie at Carnegie Hall (where
she’s called the “Queen of Scat”).
The story is well suited for young audiences, but
the illustration work of Brian Pinkney is of particular
interest. Each page is colorful, inventive, and
unusually textured (many of the characteristics found
in jazz). Pinkney uses the cool color palette of the art
deco movement, which corresponds with the time
period and emphasizes the mood of “being cool.” His
character Scat Cat (the ultimate in “coolness”) uses
the historic vernacular of jazz musicians and gives
the reader a glimpse of how the style of the music
affected both fashion and language. His portrayal of
“swinging the band” in Track 2 is really clever and
fun. The viewer really gets the feeling of swinging. In
his notes, Pinkney discusses the process of how he
creates his art: starting with a black scratchboard and
a white background, he scratches the composition
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Webb. This is the New Orleans of the 1930s, where a
family faces dire financial straits. Lively acrylics show
jazz musicians and partygoers coming to the aid of
young Sonny. (Martha Jewell Meeker)
becomes noticed and recognized as a talent by Jack
Bunny. The family of the little owl, who declares
himself Owl Jolson, heard his great performance on
the radio. Because of the little owl’s recognition, the
owl family was able to value his singing talent and
accepted him back into the family.
Lessons from this cartoon would be designed
for primary and intermediate grade levels, focusing
on the history of how jazz was not considered a
respected form of music. Prior to the watching of the
cartoon, the students will learn how middle and upper
classes rejected this art form and did not want their
children to listen to or learn how to play it due to their
opinions of jazz being only for lower class society.
During this discussion, we will compare the history of
jazz music with rap of today. Questions will be raised
to determine if jazz was like the rap of today. Will rap
ever be recognized as a respected art form? Why or
why not? (Larissa Young)
Films (annotated)
The Last of the Blue Devils. Directed by Bruce Ricker.
Rhapsody Films, 1979.
The Last of the Blue Devils is an informative but fun
ninety-minute positive movie featuring a reunion of
such Kansas City jazz stars as Count Basie, Big Joe
Turner, Jay McShann, and others, filmed in 1979.
In the 1930s Kansas City had more than a hundred
clubs, and the Blue Devils were the rage, led by
Bennie Moten and later Count Basie. The film features
the above (except Molten, who died in 1935) playing
together in a reunion, with sixteen classic jazz and
blues songs. Also included are early film clips of
Count Basie, scenes from Kansas City then and now,
as well as interviews with club owners, still photos,
and commentary from the musicians. The film shows
how much fun jazz players had, as they play and
interact with one another, and some clips of dancing
are shown. The film could be used as a whole or in
part to familiarize students with Kansas City jazz, and
the lifestyle that went with the music. Students could
compare these actual jazz players with the way they
tend to be portrayed in fictional accounts. Students
may note that all players here are black, and the only
club owner interviewed is white. They may contrast
the music as it is played with the scenes typically used
in fiction with such songs. The film could be shown in
its entirety to any age, but is directed toward a young
teen or an adult audience. (Rob Matlock)
Mystery in Swing. Directed by Arthur Dreifuss.
VideoYesteryear, 1940.
Mystery in Swing is a black-and-white movie (66
minutes) starring Monte Hawley, Marguerite Whitten,
and swing jazz musicians the Four Toppers with
CeePee Johnson and his orchestra. It’s a “whodunit
comedy murder mystery” with rhythm and blues
numbers and swing sounds, and it features an allblack cast. Prince Ellis is a debonair and seductive
trumpet player who has made a number of enemies.
Who has done him in? Maxine, his ex-girlfriend and
singer for the band? His newest girlfriend, sweet
young May? Her father, who is angry at Prince for
seducing May? Or Prince’s assistant, who has a secret
motive? The police captain and his bumbling sergeant
are completely baffled when the prime suspect herself
is killed. It takes a reporter to solve the case by setting
a trap with (what else?) all suspects in a room at
midnight during a thunderstorm.
The movie, while mildly humorous and no
different from many other murder mysteries of the
time, does present the viewers with some topics for
discussion. It gives us a portrait of a black middle
class, shows styles of dress and dance in swing
dance, and features some scat singing. The victim is
a jazz trumpet player, but clearly a double crosser,
and who has had relationships with four women. The
well-meaning father arranges music for the band but
is trying to protect his daughter from jazz players.
Women are portrayed as only jazz singers, not playing
instruments and generally not in a positive light.
A reference is made to one women who commits
suicide because her jazz lover (Prince) leaves her.
Most of the main actors are light skinned, with clown
or servant roles going to darker skinned actors, though
I Love to Singa. Directed by Tex Avery. Warner
Brothers, 1956.
The cartoon entitled I Love to Singa by Charles Jones
and Virgil Ross is a comical story that expresses how
jazz music was not considered of value in its earliest
days by middle and upper class Americans. The
writers convey this attitude by creating an animation
of an owl family that represents middle and upper
class society who rejects the art form of jazz. At
the beginning of the story, Professor Owl, who is
the music teacher, and his wife are waiting for the
owl babies to hatch from their eggs. When they all
hatched all of their musically talented babies were
accepted except one because he wanted to sing jazz
instead of classical music. Because of the little owl’s
passion to sing jazz music only, he was kicked out of
the house by his unpleased father, leading him to the
Jack Bunny Amateur Radio Show. When he performs
for the Jack Bunny Radio Show, his jazz singing
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Irving. L & S Video Enterprises, 1995.
Romare Bearden Visual Jazz is a documentary about
the art and life of Romare Bearden. Relying on his
experience as an African American and his love of
music, Bearden created a large body of work that
he termed “visual jazz.” His paintings and collages
were bold, brilliant compositions in which he aimed
to “redefine the image of man” through the African
American experience. They were not imaginings but
interpretations of his environment and memories.
Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1911,
he moved to New York in the 1920s. At this time,
New York was alive with the energy of the the
“Negro movement,” which later became the Harlem
Renaissance, and it is here that Bearden finds his
inspiration and creative voice. Early in his career,
he meets many of the jazz world’s greatest artists
including Duke Ellington and Billie Holiday. He even
considered becoming a jazz composer. Eventually, he
receives a bachelor’s degree in math and develops an
interest in geometrical forms.
Drawing on the similar properties of art
theory and jazz, he incorporated auditory and
musical associations into visual art, creating what he
termed “sound imagery.” Jazz music was all around
him, and as he listened he began to deconstruct it
through the elements and principles of art. Both are
structured compositions that share a background,
middle ground, and foreground, giving them a feeling
of depth or layers. Rhythm and movement direct the
flow and contribute to the mood, which helps the
artist guide the viewer/listener to the important focal
points of the piece. If the artist is successful, they can
actually trigger an auditory experience (you can hear
what you see). Like the jazz composer, his art dances
around the image theme, letting the viewer complete
some part of it in an effort to expand their conception
of the subject. The work may not be all or it may be
even more than what the artist intended; in this way,
the art continues to grow with time and takes on a life
of its own. Most importantly, the modern art and jazz
movements shared a unifying philosophy of expressive
freedom, of escaping the constraints of traditional art
ideologies. The utilitarian aspect was cast off at great
expense (critical/economic) and “art for art’s sake”
become the focus.
The video is narrated by Wynton Marsalis, who
guides the viewer through the parallels between jazz
and the art of Romare Bearden. Historic accounts
help viewers understand the artist’s background.
Bearden discusses his process, theories, and reasons
for making art, which includes numerous examples of
his paintings, collages, prints, and drawings. We also
get a rare glimpse of the artist at work in his studio.
Supporting the documentary are interviews with many
not all. The movie was marketed to a black audience,
with movie posters advertising a “100 percent all
star colored cast.” No social or segregation issues are
acknowledged. Blacks play roles as intelligent reporters
or editors as well as more stereotyped clown roles.
Not all jazz musicians are portrayed negatively, for
instance the previously mentioned Four Toppers and
CeePee Johnson. Viewers may consider if the movie
succeeds for its time in trying to be entertaining to
a black audience without stereotyping itself. It may
not be appropriate for younger audiences, with brief
references to suicide, drinking, and philandering. (Rob Matlock)
New Orleans. Directed by Arthur Lubin. Majestic
Productions, 1947.
In the famous film entitled New Orleans, featuring
Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday, the story line
is centered around a ghetto of New Orleans called
Storyville and presents jazz as a something new,
exciting, but mysterious and taboo for an upscale
society. During the evolving of jazz music, the
reputation of this genre of sound was thought of
as a bizarre form of jungle music not holding the
same class as the popular music of that decade,
such as classical. Therefore, many musicians began
to withhold their interest, not allowing the general
public to see how much they value this new art form.
In the beginning of the film, Louis Armstrong and
Billie Holiday present fabulous jazz performances,
sparking their white counterparts’ interest and
intrigue in this mysterious music. Further along the
film, the interest in this genre escalates to the point
where white musicians bring the style to the upper
class, transforming it from a low class style of music
to swing and big band, which became respectable
among white audiences.
Lessons from this film would be designed for
middle and high school audiences. This lesson will be
a focal point of African American history in the study
of jazz and how race played a majored factor in the
formation of jazz music. Students will be comparing
the roles of African Americans and white Americans
in the film when discussing stereotypes of races and
gender. Questions will be presented for students
to think about when discussing race and gender.
Questions will be as follows: What roles did you see
African Americans played in the New Orleans film?
Describe the masculine and feminine roles of each
performer, or would you consider this as a masculine
or feminine role? This discussion will be a leading
discussion to concerns about race and gender roles of
film industry roles of today. (Larissa Young)
Romare Bearden Visual Jazz. Directed by David
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of his contemporaries, like master printmaker Robert
Blackburn, who recalls collaborating with Bearden on
many print series. Playwright Barrie Stavis sheds light
on the drama and expressiveness of Bearden’s work.
Historic jazz performances, including Billie Holiday,
help set the mood and context of his world.
As an educational resource, this documentary
provides insight into the artist’s creative process, the
social and political setting of the Harlem Renaissance,
and the way art, music and social development
intertwine. (Judy Gregorc)
cameraman Herbert Matter shot footage of both local
dance legends and ordinary people at the Savoy
Ballroom, the Palladium, P.S. 28, and other locations.
Chapter 1, the first tape, provides views of ragtime
including the Strut, Cakewalk, and breaks, showcasing
specific steps in the cakewalk. Jazztime follows
with the Charleston and dances from the 1930s: the
Boogie-woogie, Shimmy, Susie-Q, Snake Hips, Black
Bottom, and Fish Tail.
Short on introductions, these black-and-white
images focus on movement. Even the sound
of accompanying music has been dubbed as
background; except for one short take musicians are
absent. Camera work may seem primitive but it is very
effective, giving the flavor of a night out at a social
gathering in another era.
The spotlight focuses on a single performer, then
the shadow that accentuates his movement. There
is further interplay between human and silhouette.
Clapping hands project from screen left as the
dancing figure almost disappears in the blackness of
the screen. Another clip shows a body moving against
white walls and flooring, the seam connecting them is
visibly erased. To the beat of cymbals and drums the
lens concentrates on legwork. The image flips and the
dancer appears to step up the side wall. Arms move
gracefully, birdlike scissors cutting the whiteness.
Full body, to face, to feet,and back. Hands and
shoulders. Matter captures the faces of the “general
public” concentrating, joyful, communicating.
Tape 2 includes cuts of some of Savoy champions,
a line routine, Charleston solo, and the Lindy Hop
challenge. Along with Leon James and Al Minns, dance
fans show off fast turns, splits, somersaults, and jumps.
This choreography is reminiscent of ice dancing.
One, two, three over-coated young men with
fedoras move onto the floor, becoming a trio in what
might appear a “gansta” routine, coats swinging. Stop.
P.S. 28 and the Mambo challenge, with its crowded
floor, dancing pairs vie to show their moves. Then,
onto the Catham Gardens Avant Garde Ball, with a
haunting sax solo, drums, and what might pass for an
electronic piano sound. This is chapter 3, the third tape.
Because the music actually is submerged it is
easy to lose. Replaying the tapes without viewing
allows the instrumental language, jazz talk, to surface.
Connected to the mood, notes, and rhythm the human
body becomes the visible incarnation of vibes; it too
is played. Syncopated, improvisational, fast, slow,
crescendo. Smooth, sinewy.
A graphic distillation of vernacular dance from
the 1920s through the 1950s, these films should be
used in the classroom first as an early example of
ethnographic documentation. They open the window to
seldom-seen entertainment and social dancing within
Shadows. Directed by John Cassavetes. Lion
International, 1959.
This groundbreaking film directed by John Cassavetes,
originally released in 1959, is often thought of as
the beginning of the independent film movement.
The story revolves around an interracial romance
between Tony, who is white, and Lelia, a light-skinned
black woman living in New York City with her two
brothers. When Tony meets Lelia’s brother Hugh, a
talented, dark-skinned jazz singer struggling to find
work, and discovers the truth about Lelia’s racial
heritage, the romantic relationship between Tony
and Lelia falls apart. Shot on location in Manhattan
with a cast and crew made up primarily of amateurs,
Cassavetes’ Shadows might work for older high school
students if they have enough context to make sense
of its innovative nature—context that might include
information about film history, jazz, New York life,
and racial constructions. It might also help for them to
have another, more accessible, work (film or literature)
as a point of comparison—either one that deals with
the same topic (an interracial relationship) or which
is filmed in the same improvisational style. This film
might also be a good point of departure for students
to create their own films based on improvisation,
perhaps with jazz sound tracks.
The music, by Charles Mingus, weaves brilliantly
with the dialogue, action, and emotional content of
the film; it serves almost as the voice of a narrator.
The improvisational nature of the film’s construction,
combined with the film’s visual style (for instance,
the lighting looks natural) and the lack of any sort of
definite resolution, give it a kind of edgy realism. Just
as jazz audiences must participate as listeners, so too
this film demands a full response from its viewers.
(Ellen Rennard)
The Spirit Moves: A History of Black Social Dance on
Film. Directed by Mura Dehn. Tango Catalogue, 1991.
Three remarkable films were the dream and creation
of Mura Dehn, a Russian émigré and professional
dancer who began her “fieldwork” about 1932
in Harlem. Over the next forty years Dean and
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the African American community, not a commercial
production but rather a home movie. They will also
provide students with comparative material relating to
contemporary popular dance and its origins.
Dehn herself is featured in the documentary In a
Jazz Way: A Portrait of Mura Dehn, giving a sense of
the person who became a force with her Traditional
Jazz Dance Company, a group of black entertainers
working from 1932 to 1973. (Martha Jewell Meeker)
few familiar tunes to connect with.
There are four jazz vocal songs, including “It
Don’t Mean a Thing If It Ain’t Got that Swing” from
1932, featuring the vocal talents of Ivie Anderson,
while Al Hibbler provides his renditions of “Do
Nothing Till You Hear from Me” and “Don’t Get
Around Much Anymore” from 1947. Yvonne Lanauze
gives the latest performance recorded her in the 1960
version of “Sophisticated Lady.” The remaining twelve
tracks are some of his most popular instrumental
works including “Caravan,” “Mood Indigo,” and “Take
the ‘A’ Train.”
When reviewing tracks to play for students, there
are a few of particular interest. “Take the ‘A’ Train”
is considered Ellington’s signature song and has a
legend to accompany it. Its title refers to the “A”
subway that (at the time) ran through New York City,
from eastern Brooklyn up to Harlem. Billy Strayhorn,
an aspiring composer and piano player, had been
trying to land a gig with Ellington and had written
the tune to showcase his piano skills. It worked! He
was impressed and when he asked what the title was,
Strayhorn couldn’t remember anything except the
directions on how to get to Ellington’s office. That’s
how it got its name. When listening to it with students,
the tune is a good example of the AABA form and can
be used to help students identify the structure.
Another interesting track is the well-known jazz
standard “Caravan,” composed by Juan Tizol and
Duke Ellington and with lyrics written by Irving Mills.
Most versions are instrumentals and sometimes do
not list Mills as a contributor. Considered by some to
be the first Latin jazz song, its exotic flavor and title
evoke a vision of Arabian nights and long journeys
across faraway deserts. As students listen, have them
try to identify what culture/s has/have influenced the
music without giving them the title. What do they
visualize as they listen?
“Mood Indigo” is another track that might present
an opportunity for a visualization exercise. Based on
the title, listening to the music or both, what images
could be used to represent the mood, and how does
the color indigo blue play a part in it? Originally known
as “Dreamy Blues,” it was written by Duke Ellington,
Barney Bigard, and Irving Mills (the main theme was
provided by Lorenzo Tio and was called “Mexican
Blues”). Would the images be different for this title?
Does it change the mood or color of the piece?
As an instructional resource, this CD presents
a variety of opportunities for dialogue through
interpretation and visualization, which easily translate
into themes for art, music, and literary production.
Many of the songs are familiar even to younger
audiences and give students an immediate connection
to the music. (Judy Gregorc)
Music Recordings (annotated)
Davis, Miles. “Right Off.” A Tribute to Jack Johnson.
Columbia, 1970. AAD 47036
How would a jazz composition portray the visual
composition of a movie? What would boxer Jack
Johnson’s life sound like in music? In 1970, Miles
Davis did the sound track for a documentary about
1908 black boxer Jack Johnson. Johnson lived a
flamboyant life, defeating the Great White Hope,
boxer Jim Jeffries, which was followed by a riot that
left ten dead. As Davis says, Johnson lived a life
portraying freedom and fast living.
The documentary is difficult to find, but in 1992
Columbia re-released the sound track that Davis said, “fit
perfectly with that film.” Without the movie, listeners
can judge the sound for themselves. Davis says he
had a boxer’s moves in mind when he recorded this.
Davis himself boxed. In the music we alternately hear
a pensive, slow-building style, and a more aggressive
and intensive anger. The CD is more rock than jazz,
with the electrified guitar of John McLaughlin.
The CD cover features a T-shirted, muscular Miles
Davis playing trumpet. The dramatic black-and-white
photo suggests the athleticism of jazz playing, as a
singular pose reminds us of Johnson, though the CD
is certainly a collaborative effort. It’s a cool image, not
the cool of the fifties, but a tough, fighter image. The
back cover features a drawing of Johnson in a flashy
convertible, accompanied by well-dressed white and
black women in Paris, the kind of image that would
incense a white audience.
The CD raises questions of how music directly
interprets a mood or story, and how jazz and its images
change from the 1950s into the more confrontational
times of the 1960s to 1970s. (Rob Matlock)
Ellington, Duke. Duke Ellington: 16 Most Requested
Songs. Sony, 1994. CK-57901
An excellent introduction to Duke Ellington’s work
as a bandleader and composer, this single-CD
compilation of his sixteen most requested songs
includes original recordings dating from 1932 to
1960. Although these may not have been his greatest
accomplishments, they will allow the novice listener a
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rhythm to “Black and Tan,” the title of which makes
for useful discussion. All three pieces may be used
in conjunction with Aaron Douglas’s use of color
and light in his four-paneled series Aspects of Negro
Life. Consider not only mood but also how the layers
of Ellington’s orchestrations might reflect Douglas’s
geometric layers of light and color. All three pieces
beg the question of music’s role in helping to form an
African American identity during this period (or an
American one, for that matter). (Laura Rochette)
Ellington, Duke. “Black and Tan Fantasy” and “Mood
Indigo.” Duke Ellington: The Centennial Collection
RCA, 2004.
———. “East St. Louis Toodle-Oo.” Early Ellington
Complete Brunswick Recordings. Verve, 1994.
Music, history, English, or American studies teachers
can use these three pieces, from the early Ellington
era, to discuss race and patronage (the Cotton Club),
segregation during this era, Ellington’s innovations
and “sound,” the broader context of African American
movement or migration, and whatever images
students conjure while listening to each piece. Posing
questions about the titles alone is an interesting
place to begin discussion. “Black and Tan Fantasy”
(1927) is a loaded title, for example, referring to a
term for the integrated club (allowing blacks and
whites in the audience) and is made a complex issue
by its marching 4/4 rhythm (this steady on-the-beat
rhythm makes it innovative for its time, as opposed
to stressing every other beat), dirgelike tempo, and
languorous improvisations of the alto sax, muted
trumpet, and trombone. “Fantasy” as well could be
material for discussion, considering Ellington’s piece
in relation to the musical term, “fantasia,” or simply
in relation to a daydream or hallucination. The stride
style piano offers interesting comparisons to James P.
Johnson and Fats Waller. Some questions to consider:
Is Ellington giving his white audience what it wants?
Or is he slyly poking fun of the privileged white
audience’s desire to go “slumming” in Harlem? What
exactly is the “fantasy”? How does this piece compare
with Aaron Douglas’s conception of urban existence
illustrated in Song of the Towers (see annotation)?
For that matter, what does this piece of music evoke
that may “converse” with Locke’s essay “Harlem” or
Rogers’s essay “Jazz at Home”? In turn, Ellington’s
“East St. Louis Toodle-Oo” (recorded in 1926 by Duke
Ellington and the Washingtonians) evokes departures,
movement, even placelessness. Does this evoke the
life of a musician? Or may it tie in to the broader
context of the Great Migration? “Toodle-oo” also
refers to a type of dance, and one might want to ask
whether invoking East St. Louis is political; there was
a significant race riot in East St. Louis in 1917. The
bluesy opening and closing measures evoke a certain
amount of sadness, but moments of improvisation
imply nostalgia for a time gone by. This piece seems
less for a white audience, although its sophisticated
orchestration may give a different impression;
this piece is worth comparing with Waller’s “Ain’t
Misbehavin’” (see annotation), which seems more
“vernacular.” Or is it? Both of these Ellington numbers
are useful in setting up the complexity of “Mood
Indigo” (1931), another dirgelike piece with similar
Fisher, Eddie. Eddie Fisher and the Next One
Hundred Years. Verve, 2006. B0005955-02
“Jazz musician, community arts promoter” reads the
headline for an obituary in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Eddie Fisher died Monday July 9, 2007; he was sixtyfour. Never heard of him? Raised in Little Rock, taught
the blues by his father, in his teens he began playing
in Memphis for Isaac Hayes and later on the road.
Eventually he lands a gig at a locally known venue,
the Blue Note, in Alorton—that is, East St. Louis.
The original album cover (reduced to a minuscule
CD format) is a time wrap: white background and a
smallish photo, dark mahogany edges shade to maroon
and a musician appears, as if from the smoke-clouded
club, barely visible.
Imagine any night of the week after ten. Owner
Leo Goodin, a heavy-set, fair skinned man greets the
jazz aficionados as they move through doors into the
already crowded space. Music rolls out into the night,
that funky guitar sound. A man in a rumpled white
shirt, sleeves rolled above his elbows heads toward
the circular bar and leans against it, lights a cigarette.
His thin frame begins to sway; his gaze is distant.
Two couples seat themselves on bentwood chairs
covered with worn vinyl cushions. The table is round,
its black Formica top has a patina, finely scratched
by thousands of bottles and glasses—this is after all a
venerable joint, for some the only place to be seen.
Stepping toward the microphone is a skinny
young man dressed in a Nehru jacket with red piping
and slightly flared pants, his brow hidden under a
bouffant Afro. His eyes scan the room through square,
rimless lenses and he announces quietly, “Beautiful
Things.” Voices taper and disappear. Richard tucks
a violin under his chin. Bow in hand, his arm draws
out a melody as James bends into the piano, hands
delicately touching the keys. Johnny, the drummer,
brushes lightly, the light catching his Zen-like face.
Entering quietly, Fisher’s fingers manipulate the strings
through a running labyrinth of notes; they move up,
round, up, and back again, moving toward some
rather bombastic plucking, creating a series of riffs.
Heads nod and feet pick up the beat. Faces smile with
the wah-wah, eyes close to capture the mood of a
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with Fats Waller’s “African Ripples.” How do both of
these pieces help to illustrate (or not) Aaron Douglas’s
painting Life in an African Setting (see annotation)?
Students might also be interested in knowing that
“The Charleston,” the tune that popularly identifies
the Roaring Twenties, comes from Johnson’s musical
Runnin’ Wild, which hit the stage in 1923. (Laura Rochette)
gypsylike violin solo.
This set over, two teenagers furtively slip through
the crowd, each carrying a stool. Logistically placing
these at the edge of the raised performance platform,
they perch behind a navy velvet drape, just out of
sight of the older listeners. Excitedly whispering, their
animation suggests a familiarity with the scene as one
points toward a furred, feathered, and sequined grand
dame. If there is a dress code, sharp dressers, campus
types, hers is an extreme. Oblivious to the youngsters’
stares, she nibbles on her catfish, fries, and slaw.
Toe tapping begins anew with “Jeremiah Pucket”
and the groove virtuoso. Fisher’s guitar is talking over
the very defined drums and bass. The musicians signal
one another and begin “Either Or.” Fisher hunches
around his guitar, laying a line as the bassist looks and
rapidly kicks in; sticks hit the cymbals punctuating the
arrangement. As the people listen to a final “East St.
Louis Blues,” the house spots come up. Hands clap
and patrons begin to gather their belongings; there are
hugs, handshakes, and voices bidding “safe drive” and
“see you tomorrow?” A Coca Cola clock marks the
hour as three-thirty. Lights become dimmer as folks
take leave of each other and slip from this precious
place into the soft shadows of night and the streets.
At times it is difficult to hear individual
instruments. How does remastering effect an original
track? Where are the visual continuities among jazz
clubs: commonalities of décor, colors, lighting,
staging, layout? Placing this scene against the jazz
festival, what are some noticeable differences?
(Martha Jewell Meeker)
Reeves, Dianne. Quiet After the Storm: Nine. Capitol
Records, 1995.
On the thrilling jazz CD entitled Quiet after the Storm
by Dianne Reeves, the musical selection “Nine”
brings back visual memories of familiar childhood
experiences when growing up in a close-knit
community, a time when raising children was a shared
responsibility of everyone in the neighborhood.
Dianne Reeves, in a exhilarating and sultry style,
performs this song in an uplifting approach to
encourage her listeners to take a journey with her
back in time. Recapturing the fun and enjoyable
cultivating experiences of childhood friends and
mentors in the community creates a personal moment
of reflection. The song discusses how a child’s
imagination was the primary ingredient of play. A light
and rhythmic introduction of a piano accompaniment
along with the delightful sounds of children
triggers nostalgic memories. After the introduction,
instrumental accompaniments enter simultaneously
with Reeves. The other accompanied instruments
include the acoustic guitar, bass, and percussion
instruments. This remarkable piece concludes with
Reeves’s memorable mocking highlights of children’s
sayings during play times. 
This material would be designed for use with high
school students. During the implementation of this
material, lyrics and jazz elements would be analyzed
by the students to form and grasp an understanding
of the interpretation of the song. Questions would be
presented to the students in reference to the song’s
articulation of the representation of jazz. The objective
of this material is to help students recall, identify, and
analyze jazz elements. Also, consideration can be
given to why the song is thought of as a part of the
jazz genre. (Larissa Young)
Johnson, James P. “Carolina Shout.” Snowy Morning
Blues. Verve, 1991.
———. “Harlem Strut.” Carolina Shout. Biograph,
1993.
———. “Jungle Drums.” Every Tone a Testimony
Smithsonian Folkways, 2001.
Because Johnson was a mentor for both Fats Waller
and Count Basie, it is worth playing these three, uptempo, short piano pieces—“Carolina Shout” (1921),
“Harlem Strut” (1921), and “Jungle Drums”—as a
prelude to the more famous tunes listed here. Students
would have a sense of a “rag” rhythm combined
with sophisticated, improvisational movement on the
upper end. The titles of these three pieces also would
evoke a discussion of terminology—“shout” and
“strut”—as well as another discussion of perceptions
of Africa and how elements of the exotic were being
appropriated for a variety of reasons in different art
forms. What might the place names—Carolina and
Harlem—evoke? Are these two pieces meant to be
juxtaposed? Do the two together evoke the Great
Migration? “Jungle Drums” is also worth comparing
Various artists. Jackson Pollock: Jazz. Museum of
Modern Art, 1998.
In the liner notes to this CD, which contains seventeen
recordings from Jackson Pollock’s collection of more
than one hundred 78s, Pepe Karmel, adjunct assistant
curator at the Museum of Modern Art, points out that
many writers have noted the affinity between Pollock’s
painting and jazz. According to Karmel, “Dripping,
pouring, and throwing paint onto a horizontal canvas,
Pollock infused his painting with an unprecedented
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sense of rhythmic improvisation, creating a visual
equivalent to the most innovative music of his time.”
(His important paintings were made between about
1940 and 1955.) What is interesting, however, is that
this compilation, which purports to document the
“range of his musical tastes,” excludes bebop players
such as Charlie Parker and Thelonius Monk.
Pollock’s painting is likened to jazz primarily
because of the improvisational nature of his methods
of applying paint (as well as to the finished paintings
themselves); however, the music he listened to
included ballads such as Billie Holiday’s “When a
Woman Loves a Man,” stride piano (Fats Waller’s
“Carolina Shout”), and ragtime rhythms (in Jelly Roll
Morton’s “Beale Street Blues”). While Pollock once
claimed to like only Dixieland music, this collection
suggests a somewhat broader range, including the
sophisticated harmonies of Duke Ellington (“Delta
Serenade,” “Solitude”) and the lyricism of Coleman
Hawkins. Pollock’s taste also runs to popular tunes
such as Artie Shaw’s “It Had to Be You” and Count
Basie’s “Boogie Woogie.”
Pollock seems to have preferred upbeat songs
with clear, recognizable rhythms on the one hand
and bluesy ballads on the other. In all cases, these are
selections you could dance to (whether fast or slow),
not so surprising given the dancelike way Pollock
moved when he painted. Still, the sense of spontaneity
in his approach to painting does not seem to match
his taste in music, and it is almost ironic that his
painting White Light appears on Ornette Coleman’s
CD Free Jazz, a highly improvisational recording that
bears little if any resemblance to the sort of jazz that
Pollock himself enjoyed. (Coleman himself was not
responsible for the selection of the Pollock painting
on the album cover, although apparently he approved
of it. In the liner notes for that CD, Bob Carlton of
Rhino Records notes that the “Jackson Pollock cover
helped make the connection for many of us between
the recording and other contemporary art movements
of the day.”) It isn’t exactly clear what Carlton meant
by “art movements of the day,” since Coleman first
recorded Free Jazz in 1961 and Pollock painted
White Light in 1954. Furthermore, although Pollock’s
career spanned a number of jazz styles, the MoMA
collection is limited to selections recorded between
1927 and 1943. Thus in considering Pollock as a
jazz artist it is important to realize that there isn’t
necessarily an even match between his painting and
the music that informed it. (Ellen Rennard)
Since Waller studied with James P. Johnson, it is worth
comparing the latter with a couple of Waller’s well
known tunes, “The Joint Is Jumpin’” (1938) and “Ain’t
Misbehavin’” (1929). What differences do you hear
in the stride piano techniques? Are rhythms different?
Both songs also come with lyrics, in addition to fine
piano, and they both tell stories: one of the subculture
of basement-type clubs, and its accompanying vice
and social mayhem, and one of the lonely lifestyle
of a musician. After discussing what stories the lyrics
evoke, including images of Harlem of this time period,
compare to Jacob Lawrence’s paintings Interior Scene,
This Is Harlem, Bar and Grill, and Village Quartet (also
useful with Ellington’s “Black and Tan Fantasy”; see
annotation). To continue the discussion about how
African American musicians might have “played” for
their white audiences in more than one way, compare
Waller’s “African Ripples” (1931) with Johnson’s
“Jungle Drums” (see annotation). How do the moods
and images evoked compare with Aaron Douglas’s
use of African style and motifs in his paintings (see
annotation)? Do these titles, combined with the stride
piano, say more about the white audience or urban
life of Harlem? Titles aside, how do both pieces relate
to Jacob Lawrence (see annotation)? (Laura Rochette)
Websites (annotated)
http://hermanleonard.com/catalogue/music/index.
htm. Herman Leonard Photography Catalog
Herman Leonard was born in Allentown,
Pennsylvania, in 1923, and his love of jazz started
at an early age, when he borrowed a camera from
his brother and started hanging out in the smoking
jazz clubs of New York City. The clubs were dark
and the stages were poorly lit, which gave rise to his
signature style of backlighting that makes his photos
so recognizably dramatic.
After serving as a military photographer in Burma
during World War II, he finished his bachelor’s of
fine arts in photography from Ohio University in
1947. He then did a one-year internship with the
famous Canadian portrait photographer Yousuf Karsh.
In 1949, Leonard opened his own studio in the
Greenwich Village section of New York and began
photography work for such notable magazines as
Life, Cosmopolitan, Playboy, Time, and others. At
age twenty-five, he was still passionate about jazz,
and with his camera as a free ticket he frequented
the swing clubs up and down Broadway and 52nd
Street in Harlem. Utilizing the smoky atmosphere and
poorly lit stages, he began perfecting his signature
“backlighting” technique that gave his portraits so
much drama and ambiance.
Beyond their aesthetic appeal, Leonard’s images
Waller, Fats. “Ain’t Misbehavin.’” Fats Waller Greatest
Hits. RCA, 1996.
———. “The Joint Is Jumpin’” and “African Ripples.”
Fats Waller: The Centennial Collection. RCA, 2004.
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document the development of jazz through his
intimate, informal style of portraiture. Most of his
photographs were taken in candid, private moments
during rehearsals, back stage, during cigarette
breaks, or performances. They are truly snapshots
of real jazz moments. He captured the larger-thanlife personalities of such notables as Ella Fitzgerald,
Louis Armstrong, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis,
Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Benny Goodman,
Dizzy Gillespie, and the list goes on. Along the way
he documents the dances, fashions, and places that
were part of the jazz world. Through the lens of his
camera he captured that ephemeral moment when the
artist transcended the performance. In his photograph
of Billie Holiday (New York City, 1949) he found
her caressing, almost praying to the microphone,
her fingers reaching out for an unseen lover. The
halo of light behind her illuminates a rising spire of
smoke from which an angel appears as if to answer
her prayer. Leonard connects us with the musicians
in a deeply personal way. We hear their voices and
feel what they feel. As a visual reference, Herman
Leonard’s jazz catalog is an immeasurable resource.
(Judy Gregorc)
Philip Frazier appear. Scroll to the bottom, hit
www.art4now.com, and the online collectibles that
support the festival pop up. This artwork is contained
in two series: Congo Square, recreating New Orleans
historical themes, and Jazz Fest, showcasing the
festival itself. Vintage posters, music, and fleur de jazz
clothing may be ordered. Of interest to a collector are
the biographical notes about each artist and current
value of posters.
Just viewing the poster is delightful and a reminder
of the connectedness between visual and musical art.
Favorites from the Congo series include Bill Pajuad’s
Eureka Brass Band (he is noted for capturing the
“spiritual essence” that is New Orleans) and Terrance
Osborne’s painting of Philip Frazier, whose tuba
pulsates as the base of his Rebirth Brass Band. Dating
from 1976 in the Jazz Fest series is a portrayal of Fats
Houston, Marshal of the Eureka. Later posters include
Bucky Bolden and his coronet; Louis Armstrong, horn
in hand, walking beneath a cast iron street lamp; and
Al Hirt alongside the blue dog and a score of linear
notations broken by jazz symbols.
Newport, Detroit, Cincinnati, Monterey, New
York, and other jazz cities have similar websites,
electronic graphics, fun, and invaluable help to
anyone looking for annual venues or information
chronicling the history, atmosphere, and performers at
festival locations. Another to investigate is
www.nps.gov/jazz/, the New Orleans Jazz National
Historic Park site. Students would have a bird’s eye
view of extravaganza jazz. (Martha Jewell Meeker)
http://www.npg.si.edu/exh/noir/index.htm.
Smithsonian Nation Portrait Gallery. Le Temulte noir
exhibit of Paul Colin (1997) (accessed August 30, 2007).
In 1997, the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery
featured an exhibit called Le Temulte noir (The Black
Craze). Fourteen colored lithographs by French artist
Paul Colin, Josephine Baker’s one-time lover and
lifelong friend, were exhibited from a portfolio (1927)
with the same name by Colin. These lithographs and
commentary are still available at this website.
Colin and Baker’s relationship was beneficial to
both. Baker got a devoted supporter, publicity, and
an introduction to Paris artists, while Colin’s career
took off as an artist. At the age of twenty-one, Baker
published her memoirs, illustrated by Colin. It was a
time of fascination with black culture. Earlier minstrel
shows were replaced as radio, records, and touring
bands spread the popularity of jazz. Non-Western art
was seen as a pure and creative force, used by artists
such as Picasso. Sidney Bechet played in Paris before
appearing with the Revue Negre.
The Jazz Age portrayed by Colin shows the
excitement of the age and its fascination with
primitivism and black culture. The African dancers
http://www.nojazzfest.com. New Orleans Jazz and
Heritage Festival
The eye is drawn immediately to a blue square:
“Live Web cast! Please visit the AT&T Blue Room
for highlights from the 2007 Jazz Fest.” Clicking
blueroom.com/music places one amid the actual
sounds of this grand celebration. An animated graphic
depicts a line of folks with beribboned umbrellas,
flapping bellbottoms. Notes fly from a trumpeter.
Still-shot glimpses of the musicians are located in
a gallery; each year from 2004 forward is available.
Pick a year, pick a day, pick a photo from the
composite, move the icon, and click for an enlarged
view against the backdrops of sidemen and crowds.
Moving along the menu the reader may view the
daily music schedule over six days, tens stages’ worth,
beginning at 11:00 a.m. and with the last performance
at 7:00 p.m. Food and snack locations with featured
menu items can be summoned with another press
of the key, and the flavor is definitely New Orleans:
crawfish bread, Cajun jambalaya, andouille, catfish
meuniere, muffuletta, and etouffee, ending with red
velvet cake or beignets and fresh lemonade.
Plan an imaginary trip to “jazzland.” You never
have to step onto a plane or train to capture virtual
New Orleans and its unique cultural environment.
Getting real? Traveling to the Crescent City? There are
links to hotels, airlines, and ticket purchases for these
jazz performances.
Punch “posters.” Headliners Jerry Lee Lewis and
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are performing topless, in a clearly sexualized dance.
Figures are made in dynamic angular drawings,
emphasizing the energy and movement of a new
performing art.
While Colin made hundreds of lithographs,
students can identify how these are influenced by
jazz. How is black culture explained, with women
either topless natives or dancing by themselves in
the rain? Why are males only in tuxes? Why do white
women dance with black males, but not black women
with white or black men? Why was Paris so eager to
accept these portrayals? What art forms (art deco and
cubism) can be found in the images?
This website could be used by older high school
audiences in a study of the Jazz Age or art of the
period. (Rob Matlock)
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