Download Jazz and Popular Music: A Symbiotic Relationship

Jazz and Popular Music: A Symbiotic Relationship
One can not talk about Jazz as a genre without a discussion of popular music. This is because
jazz has not only, in various forms, been the popular music of United States and abroad, but because
popular music and jazz have cross pollinated with one another so extensively. They are inextricably
linked. From early ragtime to the big band craze to the smooth stylings of Grover Washington Jr., jazz
has been a constant presence in the American household. A discussion of the genre itself necessitates a
discussion of the semantics of the term “Jazz.” For all intensive purposes in this paper, jazz will be
defined as African American improvised music with early roots in American blues. As we will see, one
could also use this as a definition for many genres of pop music. The following discussion will end with a
brief discussion of current artists. In the present day there is a beautiful tapestry being woven as artists
typically considered “jazz” musicians create music that most would not define as such. This essay will
consider different genres within jazz and popular music by moving chronologically throughout American
history and by comparing the crossover between their respective aesthetic modes. Similarly, this essay
will briefly summarize perspectives regarding the supposed commercialization of the genre in borrowing
elements from pop music.
Ragtime was the first genre of African American music that was brought to audiences outside of
the area it was created in. It is considered a predecessor to jazz because though it has the the
syncopated energy of jazz, it was pre­composed. Early country blues and spirituals were for in­group
members only, and not commercialized for a wider public as blues is now. Ragtime was able to reach a
wide audience through the vaudeville circuit, which was the primary means of entertainment for most
low and middle income Americans. There was an extensive network of vaudeville theatres that booked
acts for weeks on end. The music for these shows was often played by African American musicians,
who, lacking other career outlets, were actually heavily employed in the entertainment business on a
variety of roles. The black pianists who are credited with developing ragtime worked in bars, clubs, and
brothels. This simple fact informed the antiquated opinion that jazz was “low­class” entertainment and
“devil’s music.” In an early manifestation of a trend that has continued to the present day, the first to
publish an instrumental ragtime piece was a white composer named William H. Krell. His piece
“Mississippi Rag” was sold commercially and was available for sale in various music stores. Krell was
not, however, the first to compose a ragtime piece. African American Ernest Hogan wrote rough sheet
music for ragtime pieces that were down on paper as early as 1895. The most famous ragtime
composer was, of course, Scott Joplin, the composer of the ubiquitous “Maple Leaf Rag,” Joplin was
an African American pianist (the “King” of ragtime) trained in classic piano performance technique, but
also enamoured with black American music. This is all to say that black musicians were, as early as
1895, popularizing a genre that would later morph into stride piano, which is still a common technique in
jazz pianists’ repertoires. At this point in time, ragtime was not a full on popular genre of music. Blues,
however, was a different story.
Jazz is often cited as the first truly American genre of music. I feel that this characterization
doesn’t give due credit to the blues. Though heavily rooted in African sensibilities, the blues was not a
genre that existed in Africa; it came to be freed American slaves got access to guitars and constructed
other ad hoc instruments. Blues, developing around the same time as ragtime, become a popular music
in the United States at about the same time that swing and big band jazz became popular. Blues was
influential in the development of jazz, because of the inflections and spirit that are so characteristic of
blues singing and guitar playing: the slides, moans, and wails that convey emotion to the fullest.
When people talk about jazz being America’s popular music, they are referring to the “Jazz
Age,” a period of about ten years when jazz, specifically big band jazz, was the most popular genre of
music. Books like the Great Gatsby capture this era vividly, although there was more to the picture than
rich white aristocrats hiring jazz orchestras to play private parties. In fact, jazz orchestras toured across
the country, played at dance halls and in venues traditionally associated with classical music. In the
1920’s, jazz lost the stigma that came from its origins in houses of ill repute in New Orleans. When it
lost this negative connotation white middle class Americans felt comfortable enjoying it. Similarly, this
coincided with the onset of large scale radio broadcasting in 1922. This style of big band jazz was
popular not only as music for listening, but for dancing, too. Dances like the Charleston that were
invented by African Americans were appropriated by white teens, who sought an outlet through which
to rebel against their more conservative parents. This was the first time that African American culture
was exposed to middle class white American to such an extent, and because of this, cross pollination
occurred. White musicians increasingly began to form jazz orchestras. Some of the most popular groups
of the era were white­led bands. Another factor that led to the popularity of jazz in this era was
prohibition, which created a fertile black market for “speakeasies” or hidden venues where forbidden
alcohol was sold, and often, where jazz was performed to delighted patrons. This “golden age” for jazz
Louis Armstrong’s stint in Fletcher Henderson’s pioneering big band. In this band Armstrong brought
his unique concept of solo improvisation. Jazz would never enjoy quite the same level of popularity as
during the roaring 20’s, however the 30’s had much in store for this great music.
Swing big bands were popular throughout the 30’s, playing dances as big bands had in the
1920’s. The difference between swing bands and earlier big bands lay in the differing emphasis put on
improvisation and arrangements. Bands of the 1920’s were still in the New Orleans tradition of
collective improvisation, where horn players soloed simultaneously. Bands in the 1930’s followed in the
footsteps of Louis Armstrong, who set the trend of featuring individual soloists in between prewritten
sections of arranged material. The importance of the individual soloist is a feature of jazz that would
increase in importance into the bebop era. Duke Ellington was an important figure in this era. Though he
preferred not to define his music as jazz, the band he led is certainly in line with this tradition. Ellington
instead preferred the term “American music” or as African music in an American context. Other band
leaders during this time set a precedent for further integration of the music industry. Benny Goodman
was famous for being one of the first to integrate his band to include black members in addition to the
original white members. Goodman used his popularity to bring attention to black musicians and
arrangers such as Fletcher Henderson and vibraphonist Lionel Hampton. Also of note is the source from
which musicians were drawing their music at this time. In the early days of jazz, music was being
composed by the performers themselves. This, however, began to shift, as “tin pan alley” and Great
American Songbook music made its way into jazz repertoire. Composers like Irving Berlin, George
Gershwin, and Richard Rodgers composed music that became just as crucial as earlier compositions
like “Maple Leaf Rag” did to the genre as a whole. On the whole, Great American Songbook includes
Tin Pan Alley writers, but also songwriters from Hollywood films and musical theatre in New York City.
The influence of Broadway music is perhaps the most clear cut example of the interplay between
American popular music and improvised African American music. Songs such as “Stella by Starlight,”
“Days of Wine and Roses,” and “Night and Day” are all songs from the American Songbook whose
interpretations by Miles Davis, Oscar Peterson, and Frank Sinatra, respectively, became signature
works in the jazz canon. This is an interesting thing to note, that there was a shift from performing
original music, to taking music from popular songwriters.
Nowadays it seems that there is a healthy balance between the writing of original music and a
reverence for this golden age of American Song, when jazz artists were drawing heavily from Broadway
writers. One sees a contemporary example of borrowing from popular music in artists like Gretchen
Parlato, who regularly covers music written by R&B groups that she grew up listening to. As mentioned
before, this reinterpretation is an essential part of the jazz tradition. Similarly, jazz has taken influences
from contemporary rock and hip hop genres by blending musical characteristics. For example, pianist
Robert Glasper plays with a drummer named Chris “Daddy” Dave who is an experienced hip hop
player, specializing in heavy backbeat grooves. Similarly, pianist Tigran Hamasyan utilizes distorted
electric guitar on some of his albums. The guitar adds a level of intensity to his music that he explains as
being influenced by his years growing up listening to Led Zeppelin. There is a sense nowadays that jazz
does not have to be limited to just music that has a walking bassline and a “swing” drumbeat, but can
include influences from all over the world and sonic spectrum. It is an exciting time for popular music as
well, as artists like Harry Connick Jr. work with singers on television shows like American Idol to help
them understand the history of the American Songbook.
Jazz as a genre has changed in its popularity over the years. What has not changed however is
its level of innovation and spontaneity. Ahmad Jamal’s recordings of American Songbook standards
sound just as fresh today as they did in the early 1960’s. Another element that has not changed is the
degree to which jazz borrows from popular music. This has been happening ever since the Jazz Age of
the 1920’s. Similarly, American popular music as it stands today owes a great debt to jazz musicians of
the past century. There would have been no model for popular crooners like Bing Crosby and even
Michael Jackson were it not for Louis Armstrong. Similarly the trend of covering popular songs was an
important contribution of Armstrong’s. It is safe to say that the face of American music would be
entirely different, dare I say less vital, without the contributions of great jazz pioneers.
Works Cited
Barlow, William. 1995. "Black music on radio during the jazz age." African American Review 29, no. 2:
325. America: History & Life, EBSCOhost
Schmidt­Jones, Catherine (2006). "Ragtime". Connexions.