Jazz by Miles Davis and Reflection

Miles Davis and the Jazz Mentality

The Miles Davis Autobiography documents the life of an extraordinary individual revered not only for his development of jazz in some of the most innovative styles but also for his presence as a preeminent black artist and member of the black community. Therefore the ideas he touches on throughout his work reverberate further than musical and historiographical significance, they provide a basis from which to process and imbue the idea of black voice and tradition in the creation of a crucial aspect of American culture.  One of the important themes emphasized by Miles Davis then in his autobiography is his perception and his experience with the issues of race surrounding jazz and the black music community. His views pertaining to the effects of race on jazz music and musicians offer an in-depth perspective that I myself have not had previously in my experience with jazz music, and therefore embodies for me an education in an increased exposure to a more sophisticated dialogue about jazz music and black culture.

Throughout my life I have been interested and exposed to jazz music, from the time of when I was a child and my mother played John Coltrane and Miles Davis jazz in the house during the evenings, to when I began playing jazz in a small middle school combo, and up until now as I have continued playing jazz and become more versed in the vernacular of the jazz idiom and style. However, I had not yet had any experience or exposure to the racial themes that are strongly interwoven into the jazz story. While I had some historical knowledge of the musical styles and performers, I lacked the racial and cultural perspective from which to observe it. My preconceived notions on jazz were somewhat comprised of naiveté, as I had assumed that jazz was an art and a process free from racial prejudices and tension, while still maintaining a rich racial heritage. Therefore the education I have received from this class, epitomized in Miles’ thoughts on race, allowed me to overcome this line of thought and realize the integral nature race and race identity play in jazz, and understand the cultural weight and beauty jazz truly carries.

In his work, Miles references race relations and conceptions of jazz several times. One of these is his experience at the Juilliard school, where he went to study music while trying to embark upon the jazz scene with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. His experience at Juilliard reinforced his desires to pursue black music with “Bird” and “Diz” rather than the white music at Juilliard, “At Juilliard, after it was all over, all I was going to know was a bunch of white styles; nothing new. And I was just getting mad and embarrassed with their prejudice and shit” (Miles, 59). Miles makes a clear distinction between white and black music as non-homogenous styles, and also clearly realizes the uninformed prejudice that made up the white world of music. However this distinction he makes is not completely true, as he himself even criticizes the dogma of separation later on, “It's like a ghetto mentality telling people that they aren't supposed to do certain things, that those things are only reserved for white people. When I would tell other musicians about all this, they would just kind of shine me on” (Miles, 61).  The two sides of this argument expressed by one person exemplifies the unclear and complicated nature of race in jazz, and overall induced me to reassess how I understand the music, the culture, and community.

Commented On: Alex Fuessel

Jazz in the Community

 San Juan Hill and Leimert Park: The Communal Symbiosis

The novelty and beauty in jazz comes from its origins and development in the community. The fact that art is always in dialogue with the community surrounding it allows the potential of this symbiotic whole to be brought to its full fruition. Thelonious Monk’s upbringing in the culturally rich district of San Juan Hill and the blossoming of jazz culture in Leimert Park both demonstrate the lasting nature of this quality. Therefore through examining these communities this relationship can be fully understood.

Thelonious Monk was raised and instructed in the vibrant cultural cauldron of San Juan Hill in New York. The neighborhood was affluent in its diversity, and “[w]ith a diversity of people came a diversity of cultures. On West 63^rd Street alone, the aroma of Southern-style collard greens…of Jamaican rice and peas and fired ripe plantain. English was the main language in the community, but it came in a Carolina twang and a West Indian singsong lilt, in addition to a distinctive New York accent. Spanish and French were also spoken on those streets, with German and Yiddish along the white-dominated avenues” (Kelley, 18). This intense mixture provided the background for Monk from which his jazz could flourish. The combination of culture is inherent in the jazz idiom, and has provided for many of the memorable styles and motifs in the music. San Juan Hill was also known for its violence and racial struggles as well, which left an impact on the young Monk. The racially driven tension resulted in outbreaks among blacks as well as between whites and blacks. As Monk commented, “…every block is a different town” (Kelley 19). The dissonance imbued in the community may have well contributed to the dissonance in Monk’s music, his work dedicated to creating overall synthesized harmony out of individually clashing chords.

The community of Leimert Park has developed under many of the same conditions that San Juan Hill did. Created as an area of middle-income housing in Los Angeles, it soon hosted a large Black population. The trials of racial violence affected it strongly, especially the race riots of 1992. The outside held perception of the world on the area was one of only violence and drugs. From this strained condition however, the community was moved to share a rhythm, and then a harmony. The introduction of art to the streets allowed for the community to take an interest in itself, and the interest of the people in each other. The interdependence that developed as the jazz scene began to develop bound the people together and made the place more enjoyable and fulfilling to live in. Local artists and community leaders acted as catalysts, opening galleries, forming jam-sessions, and opening venues for performances. This opened the dialogue between the community and its art, and made the distinction between the two almost indiscernible. Young people challenged with anger and loss are encouraged to express their emotion through word and song; music has become an integral and vital part to the community, strengthening both in the process.

The statement, “Jazz is New York, man!”, then reflects not just an apt descriptor of that city’s influence and history in the development of the music, but also a more simple and powerful notion; Jazz is community. There can be no jazz without the influences of community, and there can be no community without the unifying nature of its art, whether that be jazz or some other music, or some other art. I believe the relationship between art and community is best represented as two halves of a whole, each defined by the other, and not complete when apart. 

Commented on Jacob Weverka