FACULTY OF EUROPEAN STUDIES, INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND AMERICAN STUDIES

JAZZ & CHARLIE PARKER

THE AESTHETICS OF JAZZ
andru Carmen Gabriela

Thesis Statement

This paper is going to deal with the aesthetics of Jazz music, the most genuine form of art in America, in relation to Ken Burnss documentary entitled Jazz and, also, in relation to the famous musician, Charlie Parker.

Introduction Jazz saxophonist Ahmad Alaadeen once said Jazz does not belong to one race or culture, but is a gift that America has given the world1. By saying so, he summarized how much this kind of music means to American history in particular and to worlds music history in general. Jazz music is considered to be a genuine African-American music gender and Americas classical music. It is the music of life experience, Americas only original art work. To specialists, Jazz is a set of skills and rhythm, a particular way of using melody and beat that are different from other music genders such as blues or rocknroll. These experts also think that Jazz represents both a kind of music and a way of creating it. The personality of a Jazz artist cannot be separated from the music gender itself, because this music is mostly a way of expressing ones personality. This way of expressing oneself is consistently incorporated in Jazz music through a simple process called improvisation. Jazz musicians adapt their instruments as extensions of themselves, making each solo as distinct as a signature or fingerprint2. Looking up in the dictionary, the term of jazz appears defined as being a style of music native to America, characterized by a strong, but flexible rhythmic understructure with solo and ensemble improvisations on basic tunes and chord patterns and, more recently, a highly sophisticated harmonic idiom3. Of course, Jazz music has much more to its meaning than this. However, this is the way to begin to understand the term that is going to be discussed throughout this paper. The purpose of American director and producer of documentary films, Ken Burns,

1 2

www.allaboutjazz.com/php/jazzquotes.php Giddins, Jazz at the Dawn of its second century, p. xviii. 3 http://www.thefreedictionary.com/jazz

was to build a jazz culture among the people that was accessible and easily available for anyone interested. Ken Burnss documentary, Jazz, offers a great insight into the fascinating world of this type of music. He teaches us that Jazz can be understood in different ways. As a consequence, it can be considered to be the art of negotiation within a man or conversation in the language of music. Jazz is the expression of freedom, of liberation and individualism, which are features of the American society. The origins of Jazz music are still reason of debate. The roots of this kind of music appear to go back to the 19th century. However, this is reason to debate. Jazz begun with music brought from Africa to America during times of slave trade. Jazz music grew as a fusion of both musical and cultural notions. It contained elements related to work, church, folk songs, classical songs, popular songs. Jazz music was born as a fusion of musical and cultural elements from diverse fields. These fields were, mostly, target of the expression of those who were oppressed by poverty or racism, very specific at that time in American history. Jazz music can be considered the very essence of the cultural mainstream in America. Its importance derives from the way in which similarities and differences between African and American cultures are conceived. Thanks to this, a bridge was built between these two cultures. So, they influence each other easily. The fusion between the two cultures results in a musical mix. The influences are bidirectional, covering both of them. Jazz is a type of music with origins in New Orleans at the beginning of the 20th century. It developed through increasing complex systems, propulsive rhythms, polyphonically assemble play, improvisations, vivid solos, melodic freedom, different harmonic idioms, chromatics and atonality. New Orleans began to prosper and doubled its population due to the Louisiana Purchase. This had many influences in the United States, among which a cultural influence regarding entertainment. The high demand for it led to this mix between the European and the African civilizations.

I. Ken Burnss Documentary Ken Burnss documentary was first aired on BBC in the year of 2001, on January 8th. It is composed of 10 episodes, a 19 hour series, that was completed in a 6 years period. The documentarys costs were of approximately 13 million dollars. A third of this sum came from General Motors4. Kens documentary on Jazz music is the biggest ever made on this theme. This was realized with the help of the historian Geoffrey C. Ward. According to Ken Burns, Jazz music is the story of great men and women. G. C. Ward contributed with the narration of Jazz history. The story of Jazz starts with the slave music, with plantation songs. It continues with marching bands and blues music. Finally, this music gender explodes as jazz in New Orleans at the beginning of the 20th century. The phenomenon migrates to Chicago and New York. The documentary ends with a review of key figures and themes that dominated 70 years of jazz history in between 1900 and 1970. The central talking figure is black musician, director of the Jazz Institute, W. Marsalis who delivered illustrative explanations throughout the documentary. Ken Burnss intention in realizing this documentary was that of promoting certain characters and themes in order to preserve a general line of the story of Jazz. He wanted to promote this music among the general public, and not among specialists in the domain.

II. Charlie Parker

The famous documentary dedicates an entire episode to Bebop and the eventful but rather short career of Charlie Parker, reason why the episode number 8 is entitled Risk. Parkers performance clips show him as a person without feelings who plays rapid and beautiful solos. Charlie Parker influenced all jazz musicians who came after 1945 up until 1965. He is considered to be the god of postwar jazz. The period before Charlie Parker was the swing era, which lasted from 1935 up until 1945. Then, changes happened due to the social, economic and political systems existing and changing at that time as a result of the Second World War.
4

Commonly known as GM (General Motors Corporation before 2009) is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan; world's largest automaker, by vehicle unit sales, in 2011, employing 202,000 people; business in some 157 countries

Alongside with other changes, Jazz changed. It was no longer a dance and a popular type of music. Modern was the new way of seeing the world and Jazz as well. This music was a special music for dancing. This happened until the appearance of Bebop. This changed the artistic percentage, focusing more on musical elements and the expressive abilities of the artist. The audience viewed the music as a form of art, created by artists only. Bebop appeared as a consequence of the Swing Era. World War II led to this evolution due to the high impact that existed on the Black Community in America. The Bop Era was an internal revolution and an evolution from the Swing Era. Charlie Parker, known as Yard bird or Bird, first experienced music when he was about 10 years old. By the time he was 15, he managed to support himself and his narcotic habits developed at such an early time of his life. Parker found the Quintet Format that became the modern jazz equivalent to Louis Armstrongs Hot Five of the Traditional Era. Parkers format became the Bop standard. This is available up until nowadays. From what the Bird influenced, Hard Bop dominated the second half of the 50s, the purest bop, characterized by harmony and instrumental and technical perfection. Bebop is a form of jazz characterized by fast tempos, virtuosic technique and improvisation. Charlie Parkers importance is given also by the innovation he brought to jazz music, even by combining it with other genres such as blues, Latin and classical. Miles Davis, American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader and composer, once said: You can tell the history of Jazz in four words: Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker 5, showing, in this way, the importance and the influence of the two musicians throughout music history. Alongside with this, his value cannot be contested as he was the icon of the hipster culture and later the Beat Generation, rejecting the received standards, innovating styles and using drugs, characteristics of that period in American history. Besides talent, hard work was what led to the mastery of jazz. Charlie Parker admitted that he used to practice 15 hours per day for 3-4 years. He lived an exciting life, as it is stated in Ken Burnss documentary. Charlie Parker began using drugs on a regular basis after a car accident. This addiction contributed to death and, also, it became a habit among his fellow musicians.

Griffin, Farah Jasmine; Washington, Salim (2008). Clawing at the Limits of Cool: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and the Greatest Jazz Collaboration Ever. New York: Thomas Dunne Books. p. 237.

Ken Burnss documentary is far from being considered exhaustive. However, Jazz is an educational story for everyone, created with the thought that American culture gets made with the help of television. The documentary also dedicates one episode to racial issues by bringing the figure of Charlie Black in, a white Texas teenager who saw Armstrong performing in the 30s. He later became famous by working for the emancipation of Afro-Americans. This showed that Jazz music has a cultural side for each American and it influenced the burning of the bridge built between these two cultures. It was implied that Black Americans used Jazz as a way of entering the society.

III. Conclusion

Playing jazz music implies a variety of instruments, such as flute, percussion, strings. This music has a unique sound ideal. This uniqueness can be observed from the features present in the music- African and American- with emphasis on rhythm and beat, use of syncopation, love of instruments, vocal and improvisatory techniques, harmonic structure and musical forms. The name of Jazz Age was given by F. Scott Fitzgerald to name a fascinating era which was more about attitude than about the music. The country was swept with excitement thanks to this new music. Its evolution was helped by two newly formed technologies- the record and the radio. Ken Burnss documentary received criticism from jazz critics, and not from the regular audience, as the documentary was well received among them. Personally, I find the documentary interesting and captivating due to the fact that it is an important part of the American way of life and American history. I find Jazz to be useful for common knowledge and for the development of the feeling of appreciation for the beauty of this music and this special part of history. Concluding, Jazz music is an important part of the American history, consisting of Genius and Soul. Ken Burns shows us how music reflected political and social issues in the 20th century and how it followed the course of history. Jazz has seven great episodes about a vital part of the past and its effects on the worlds music. The discussed documentary is an educational way of presenting accessible history for everyone interested. The history of Jazz is a cultural history of the United States. We must not forget that Jazz is not about facts; it is about

people and the times they lived in. Jazz, the documentary by Ken Burns, is a celebration of the one unique American art form and of the people that made it so.

Bibliography Books: Gary Giddins, Weather Bird: Jazz at the Dawn of its Second Century, Oxford University Press, 2004. Michael Morangelli, JazzA Short History, 1999. Documentaries: Ken Burns, Jazz, 2001. Internet: www.allaboutjazz.com www.pbs.org/jazz/biography/artist_id_parker_charlie.htm