Its early history from the 17th century to the “Swing era” (1940’s), and its representation in pictorial arts.
If you have to ask what jazz is, you’ll never know” said Louis Armstrong, one of the most famous musicians of history. As jazz, he was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, and still today represents the symbol of a musical movement that deeply changed America’s culture and had a tremendous impact on the world’s arts. As Armstrong claimed, jazz is a very unique genre of music, almost impossible to define. However, it is often characterized by improvisation, syncopation (a shifting in the normal accent, stress on normally unaccented beats), a strong rhythm, and played with mainly brass, woodwind instruments and piano. Through a rare and uncommon history, and within a particular social, economic and political context, jazz became a full-fledged culture; however, this musical movement has also been subject to forces that framed and outlined its cultural representation.
First of all, let’s summarize jazz History through a study of its origins and of the way it became a recognized musical stream.
Jazz is the result of a multitude of diverse and varied influences.
Jazz’s two main African roots are the 17th century work songs and spirituals.
The work songs appeared in the American slave plantations, during the Triangular Trade era. The black workers expressed their pain, their hope and their homesickness through the bias of their only liberty: singing. They used their labor tools like pickaxes and shovels as instruments, and constructed their songs on a call and response structure, in which a leader would sing a verse and the chorus would repeat it. At the same time emerged the negro-spirituals, sacred melodies sung by the African slaves. This music was performed in the only places where the singers, felt secure: at church. Swing low, Sweet chariot by the Fisk Jubilee Singers (an Afro-American music group of the 1870’s), is an example of this music genre that spread the imparted Christian values and described the hardships of slavery:
“The brightest day that I can say
Coming for to carry me home
When Jesus washed my sins away
Coming for to carry me home.”
These deeply African rooted styles have multiple similarities. Both influenced jazz into its rhythmic, swinging, and polyrhythm impulsion, its improvised licks, the use of voices imitating instruments, and the repetitions of short melodies (also known as “riffs”).
Later on, these two music streams influenced other styles, that themselves became jazz origins. Indeed, the pain and despair caused by the difficult daily lives of Black community (poverty, racism, alcoholism…) found a voice in blues songs. These chants of the 19th century were born during the era of disillusioned idealism after the slavery abolition. Black free men aspiring to a better life were hit by the Segregation wall, at the time where racism was at its paroxysm: while the “Jim Crow Laws” divided the United States into North and South areas, the Ku Klux Klan rose and advocated White supremacy. In such a context of oppression and violence, the Black Community, represented by artists like Bessie Smith or Billie Holiday, found a new way to express itself through the melancholic tone of Blues.
Another essential origin of jazz born in the 1890’s is a musical genre known as “ragtime”. Considered the first completely American music, its cardinal trait is its syncopated, or “ragged”, rhythm (displace the beats or accents in music so that strong beats become weak and vice versa.). Structured in a way similar to the march, ragtime are often rhythmically broken up melodies. The more famous ragtime song is Maple Leaf Rag by Scott Joplin, composed in 1899.
Also, jazz has been influenced by European brass and marching bands. Very popular throughout the United States, they featured trombones, trumpets, tubas, drums. They became major jazz instruments, with which players improvised solos. Thus, combined with European influence, all of these melodies, from the work songs to the brass bands, passing by blues or ragtime, bred a whole new style of music in the 1910’s world, never heard before: jazz.
This slow emergence of jazz, deeply rooted in Black musical traditions, has also had a tremendous impact on the American social landscape. Jazz accompanied the history of this country, mostly through the Civil Rights Movement concerning the African-American during the 20th century.
Nobody knows the creator of jazz for certain. However, the credit is often attributed to Charles “Buddy” Bolden, a New Orleans legend described by the pianist Jelly Roll Morton as a very charismatic, talented man, and probably “the most powerful [cornetist] in history” in the 1900’s. He played in group composed like jazz bands (a trombonist, bassist, guitarist, clarinetist, and a drummer) in the famous New Orleans district known as Storyville. This place was the lair of debauchery, the only neighborhood where prostitution was allowed after the policy of 1897, and the living quarters of the isolated Black Community. Musicians such as Jelly Roll Morton and bands like the Original Dixieland Jazz Band or as the creole community (the first colonists of New Orleans, often originated of Spain or France) were the only ones educated enough to read the scores and play the free-flowing sounds of jazz. They participated in its spread, first in the Storyville brothels, and then worldwide. At the same time emerged a close brother of jazz: blues, a musical stream through which Black musicians expressed their harsh everyday life, between poverty, racism, alcoholism and lack of love. Where jazz first was inspired from blues, it diverged from its melancholic and desperate tone to become a more optimist stream. Then, the district which saw the birth of jazz was closed in 1917 because of “morals principles”, which caused a tremendous rise of unemployment rate amongst jazzmen. This situation led to a massive exodus of the musicians to Northern cities like Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles, as African-Americans were fleeing the agricultural Southern states to the industrial North. The establishment of the Prohibition law by the federal government, prohibiting the distribution or consumption of any kind of alcohol throughout the nation drove people to frequent bars known as the “speakeasies”. In these illegal nightclubs which were supplying the demand for illicit beverages, many jazz musicians were hired to play for the clients. This phenomenon also had a critical role in jazz history regarding its spread around the globe: this was the first time jazz left New Orleans and conquered new territories in the United States.
Therefore, at this time, jazz created bonds between isolated migrant Black communities, and was appreciated by a certain White public. This music genre gave credit to a once oppressed population, especially with the rise of the Black public as an economic actor due to the first jazz record in 1920 by Mamie Smith. The following year, the first Black label was created, “the Black Swan Records”: the Afro-American finally broke free in the music industry. These accomplishments marked the beginning of a new era in music: “the music that was once confined to the sordid hotels of the Big Easy found new respectability in restaurants, theaters, and concert halls” says Stuart A. Kallen in The History of Jazz. Jazz has been the witness of racial mixing during a time when segregation was still very present. The first band composed of White men, Austin High Gang, was formed in 1923, and quickly accepted in the midst of Black musicians. For the first time, Black and White communities shared jazz culture, performed with the same instruments and played the same music: they lived in harmony under jazz melodies. The 1920’s really were the Jazz Age, the period where this music reached its apogee. This success was mostly due to a complexity and sophistication of jazz, thanks to the new musical and recording technologies such as electric phonographs. These major evolutions made jazz music more available to a public living in an epoch of deep social and economic transitions, caused by the innovations of the century. While American mobility and freedom was revolutionized by the appearance of new transport mediums like the automobile. Their lives were also changed by the appearance of new electric devices such as lighting or refrigeration. This profoundly transformed their living conditions, and oriented their recreational activities towards music: “Jazz has come to stay because it is an expression of the times, of the breathless, energetic, super active times in which [they were] living” says J. A. Rogers in Survey Magazine in 1925.
Finally, whereas the 1920’s were prosperous and allowed the breakthrough of jazz as a renowned music stream, the 1930’s and 1940’s allowed this music to be diffused and known by a larger public, facing the harsh difficulties of economic and social realities. Indeed, in 1929, the Great Depression hit with full force the world’s economy. Millions of Americans lost their jobs, savings, and ended up living in terrible conditions. During this time, jazz offered an escape, a way for people to forget the struggles of their daily lives. In order to satisfy this new desire to dance and enjoy music as a liberation from reality, a new type of jazz emerged: swing. Swing appeared as an extension of the New Orleans – style jazz, and its lively rhythm was particularly suitable for dancing. Also, it differed from “traditional jazz” by the size of the bands, definitely larger for swing: twelve to twenty musicians now played together, instead of five or seven piece combos. New instruments like saxophones or guitars were added to the musical creations, and were emphasized by new solo improvisations, preferred to group jams. By the 1940’s, swing had thus become a crucial form of popular entertainment, and was famed worldwide. Jazz success was complete.
Thus, jazz was a crucial actor in social changes between its birth in the 1900s through the 1940s. This movement was not just a music stream; it became a whole culture too, carrying values and principles such as tolerance, virtuosity, creativity, competitiveness and solidarity.
First of all, equality and tolerance are at the center of jazz’s culture. This musical stream bridged different communities together since its birth. Indeed, it allowed racial mixing between Whites and African-Americans, and therefore represents a mesh between Black traditions and White middle class ideals. Moreover, it helped the women’s emancipation movement. Jazz, as part of the entertainment industry, provided work for women, as performers. Bessie Smith thus became one of the most popular blues singers of her generation (1920-30s), and was one of the first females known in the medias. Thus, jazz instilled a sense of respect in the segregated society of the 1920s.
Jazz culture also recognized creativity. Duke Ellington (1914-1974), one of the most famous jazzmen of history, once said: “Put it this way: Jazz is a good barometer of freedom… In its beginnings, the United States of America spawned certain ideals of freedom and independence through which, eventually, jazz was evolved, and the music is so free that many people say it is the only unhampered, unhindered expression of complete freedom yet produced in this country.” Indeed, jazz represented a new freedom in a conservative society because it enhanced free expression of the individual. Originality was stresssed by the emphasis on the soloist part, where imagination, creation and innovation are encouraged. Also, individual expression is seen through the voluntary cooperation of players in bands. One of the greatest tenor saxophonists, Stan Getz, even compared a jazz session to a conversation, where musicians would interact, listen to each other’s personal ideas and cooperate. Competitiveness is present essentially in the jam sessions and pushes players to give the best of themselves, while respecting the rules of the band. Therefore, another fundamental principle of jazz culture is creativity and virtuosity. However, discipline and cooperation are also at the heart of this music stream.
Because it is based on solidarity and tolerance, jazz spirit is also the one of solidarity and togetherness. Because it carries values of togetherness and unanimity, the great musician Dave Brubeck and United States’ first lady Michelle Obama both compared jazz to a democracy. Indeed, jazz requires life-long practice and discipline, and can only be created through interactive and collective improvisation. Everyone is treated evenly and has equal rights. Isn’t that the definition of a true democracy?
Thus, through time, jazz has kept the values that built it: tolerance, individual creativity and solidarity.
So, jazz has emerged in the United States and has accompanied the Civil Rights movement. From a simple music stream, it became a whole culture that influenced American social changes. Jazz was therefore shaped by the people, and it shaped them as well. This double dynamic is also seen in other art forms. Indeed, jazz has had such a power over the musical world that it has even inspired other artists, who gave to the music a face and a visual aspect.
The trumpeter Wynton Marsalis once said: “Music is the art of all the invisible things that are real” . This quotation is very real for jazz, since this music inspired artists in paintings or drawings. Piet Mondrian, Henri Matisse and Jackson Pollock gave to jazz a visible, distinct form: the one of pictorial art.
First of all, cubist Piet Mondrian painted Browdway Boogie Woogie and Victory Boogie Woogie in 1947. As its name suggests, Mondrian worked on the boogie-woogie musical form, derived from jazz. Its characteristics are a repetitive bass line and an association with dancing, and therefore syncopation. The variation between large and small rectangles in these two works imply such a sense of unexpected and improvised rhythm. Mondrian portrays New York’s atmosphere, moved by the freedom of jazz during this epoch. The strong and bright colors such as yellow, red and blue represent the warmth of jazz, its pulsating and colored spirit. The dynamics of the piece are nervous, complex, and portray the improvisatory nature of jazz.
Mondrian, Piet. Victoria Boogie Woogie. 1942-44. Oil and paper on canvas. Gemeente Museum, La Haye. Dimensions: 127 cm × 127 cm (50 in × 50 in)
Mondrian, Piet. Broadway Boogie Woogie. 1942-3. Oil on canvas. Museum of Modern Art, New York City. Dimensions: 50 x 50″ (127 x 127 cm)
Through Broadway Boogie Woogie and Victoria Boogie Woogie, Piet Mondrian created a visual experience of jazz. Henri Matisse also designed an entire project, called “Jazz”.
In these cut-outs, Matisse used a very singular method. He first painted large sheets of paper with bright colors, cut them into forms, and arranged them until he achieved a harmonious juxtaposition of pure colors. At first, Matisse intended to title the series of cutouts “Cirque.” However, as the work progressed he noted an affinity between his chromatic picture-making and musical improvisation and therefore titled the portfolio Jazz. This innovative process, both in the literal and figurative way, resulted in very unconventional and modern pieces, as jazz was at the time: new and original. Through this cut-outs technique, Matisse also reworked his art like jazz artists would change their melody in sections of improvisation. Three pieces are in my opinion very percutant and representative of jazz spirit: Le Toboggan (The Slide), Le Cauchemar de l’elephant blanc (The nightmare of the white elephant) and, finally, Les Codomas (The Codomas).
Matisse, Henri. Le Toboggan (The Slide). 1947. One from a portfolio of twenty pochoirs. Museum Of Modern Art, New York City, US. Dimensions: composition (irreg.): 13 x 11 7/16″ (33 x 29.1 cm); sheet: 16 5/8 x 25 11/16″ (42.2 x 65.3 cm) Portfolio: “Jazz”
In The Slide, eleven colors are combined, and form a certain integrity. Such a diversity is united in a balance, as in jazz numerous brass instruments, pianos, voices, are incorporated in the same musical piece and blend into a beautiful and consonant ensemble. Spatial improvisations are very present in this work, and it almost looks like an “organized cacophony”, as jazz is harmonious in its anarchy and disorder.
Matisse, Henri. Le Cauchemar De L’éléphant Blanc (The Nightmare of the White Elephant). 1947. Plank engraved in color done withg stencil. Centre Pompidou, Paris, France. Dimensions: 42,5 x 65,5 cm Portfolio: “Jazz”
In Le cauchemar de l’elephant blanc, the spectator can imagine that Matisse focused on the individual player in the jazz orchestra: the soloist. He is almost transcended by his music, as shown by the red lines going through his body and his position witnessing a state of liberation and freedom. He seems surrounded by the other players, forming a black frame around him and enhancing his whiteness and uniqueness.
Matisse, Henri. Les Codomas. 1947. Plank engraved in color done withg stencil. Museum Of Modern Art, New York City, US. Dimensions: composition (irreg.) and sheet: 16 5/8 x 25 5/8″ (42.2 x 65.1 cm) Portfolio: “Jazz”
Finally, Les Codomas inspire a sense of euphoria. The colors are bright, every element seems to be in movement. The two elements looking like frames and therefore trapping convention are thrown away, expressing the free spirit of jazz. Every element is blending with another, they are juxtaposed and almost melting into one another, like the red cut-outs on an orange base on the left. The two central yellow shapes represent an encounter… the one of racial mixing?
Another artist who had a real affection for jazz was American Jackson Pollock. Critic Ellen Landau describes Pollock’s relationship to music: “What undoubtedly attracted him to this type of sound was not just its rhythm and tempo, but its naked presentation of honest and deeply felt emotion…Pollock could tell his wife that jazz was “the only other creative thing happening in the country”. Regarding jazz’s influence on Pollock’s painting, the comparison of this artist to a jazz soloist can be valued. Indeed, abstractedly, Pollock took great freedom in his art-making with his pouring technique and his belonging to the abstract-expressionism movement, which celebrated the improbability and accidents of art, and glorified painting. However, this painter still used a certain structure in order to build a harmonious ensemble. The soloist posture is quite similar: his musical liberty is framed by the orchestra in which he belongs, because he has to guarantee the unity of the music piece.
Visually, although the large-scale canvases in which Pollock poured flowing lines may seem disorganized and accidental at first, Pollock’s method was in fact structured: following a line of color leads to the realization that its path has been deliberately and carefully constructed.
Therefore, Pollock’s paintings and a jazz player’s solo seem completely free and the result of raw emotion only, but as a matter of fact, both are created within a certain mind structure.
Pollock, Jackson. Autumn Rhythm (Number 30). 1950. Oil on canvas. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, US. Dimensions: 8′ 9” x 17′ 3″(266.7 x 525.8 cm).
Pollock, Jackson. Autumn Rhythm (Number 4). 1950. Oil on canvas. Not Specified, n.p.
To conclude, Mondrian, Matisse and Pollock are all artists profoundly inspired by jazz. They imitated the music’s construction and structure, but, most importantly, added jazz spirit in their creation, and transmitted this particular musical emotion in their artwork.
In conclusion, jazz is not only music, but also the soul of the musicians that shaped it. African-American found in this music the way to emancipate themselves and to create their own culture in a segregated society. Jazz offered them a new voice, a voice that was heard by Whites, and that shaped a socially new America by transmitting values and principles. Jazz ‘spirit crossed borders and soon inspired many artists all around the world. Still today, after Ella Fitzgerald, Johnny Hartman, or Billie Holiday, people and artists like Amy Winehouse continue the tradition of jazz, enjoy its unique rhythm and richness, and evolve with it in the modern world. Perhaps bebop pianist Thelonious Monk summarized it best when he told an interviewer: “I don’t know where jazz is going. Maybe it’s going to hell. You can’t make anything go anywhere. It just happens.”