The
evolution of the music called Jazz came in progression. It all started with the
slave songs which developed into the Blues and then came into confluence with
the sound of the Marching Bands to create new music that is all encompassing,
diverse and full of quality.
The
progression of the music from the swing era with ragtime, to modern jazz,
announced the arrival of jazz musicians who were modernist in their approach to
music and served as daring exponents of the new and bold.
Jazz
music is all about creativity, innovation and talent. Very often, connections
are drawn between Jazz and African music, but it is important to note that the
griots of West Africa aimed to preserve their musical tradition as it is handed
down to them.
This
is not a mere aesthetic choice, but a cultural imperative. The griots are the
historians of society and must maintain the integrity of their precious musical
heritage. Such an attitude defies casual experimentation and any modification
in the music is viewed as a risky act, never encouraged and at best tolerated
with anxiety and distrust. The concept of progress plays a very modest role in
most ethnic music, but in the world of Jazz progress is always being sought and
innovation is the order of the day.
Almost
from the very beginning, jazz players embraced a different mandate, accepting
their role as entertainers while pursuing experimentation with an ardent zeal.
This created a paradoxical foundation for Jazz which is still as relevant
today; for the jazz musician proved to be a restless soul, at one moment
fostering the tradition just like the West African griot, at another shattering
it, mindless of the pieces. It is interesting to note that this progressive
attitude among early jazz players came from America’s most disempowered
underclass. We would like to recall that this music was not accepted by the ruling
class and was often belittled and derided even within the ranks of the black
community.
In light of this hostility, the task of
preserving the African American vernacular music heritage would seem difficult
to achieve, but to have advanced the jazz idiom to produce an Ellington or an
Armstrong was truly a major accomplishment, taking into account that all this
happened in the span of one generation bringing about a rapid and dramatic
transformation from folk music to art music.
This
was simply an extension of jazz’s inherent tendency to mutate, to change and
grow. As early as 1931, journalist were comparing Ellington to Stravinsky and a
few years later, Benny Goodman was making a more overt attempt to affiliate
himself with contemporary classical music. Other modernist leanings surfaced
with the likes of Art Tatum and Coleman Hawkins.
The
irony of modern jazz is that it did not spring from none of these roots.
Although it drew bits and pieces of inspiration from all these developments,
the leading jazz modernist of the 40’s developed their own unique style, brash
and unapologetic, in backrooms, after hour clubs and jam sessions. Modern jazz
or bebop as it soon came to be called, rebelled against the popular trappings
of swing music and brought about a radical change of how traditional jazz
instruments were played. The boppers were not formalist; they were preoccupied
with content and not form with instrumental solos being at the heart of each
performance. The individualism of beboppers was fired further by the fact that
those who were involved in this progression were African Americans who were
marginalized at a critical juncture in U. S history.
The
first generation of jazz players had succeeded as entertainers, and white
America was content with that, and celebrated them on that level. However, the
black jazz players of the 40’s wanted more. They demanded acceptance as artists
and esteemed practitioners of a serious musical form. The birth of modern jazz
emerged at a strange crossroads: drawing on one side from the roots and rhythms
of Kansas City jazz and while delving into the atmosphere of high art. One of
the leading exponents of modern jazz was a guy called Charlie Parker.
He
was born in Kansas City, Kansas, but raised in Kansas City Missouri. He attended
Lincoln High School where at the age of fourteen, he joined the school band,
using a rented instrument to practice. He is a saxophonist and composer. In the
1930’s, Parker began to practice diligently and mastered the art of
improvisation which lead to the development of some of the ideas that led to
bebop.
He
once told an interviewer that he spent about 3 to 4 years practicing up to 15
hours a day. Bands led by Count Bassie and Bennie Moten greatly influenced his
musical direction, and he would play with local bands in jazz clubs around
Kansas City, Missouri, taking time to perfect his technique with the assistance
of a musician called Buster Smith. In 1938, Parker joined pianist Jay McShann’s
Terriitory Band and toured nightclubs and other venues of the southwest, as
well as Chicago and New York City. His professional recording debut began with
McShann’s band.
As
a teenager, Parker developed an addiction to morphine while in hospital after
an automobile accident. He acquired the nickname “Yardbird” early in his
carrier which inspired the titles of a number of his compositions, such as
“Yardbird Suite”. He was an icon for the subculture generation and was seen as
an uncompromising artist and intellectual rather than just an entertainer. In
1939 Parker moved to New York City to pursue a carrier in music where he met
the likes of Art Tatum, Earl Hines and Dizzy Gillespie joining them at jam
sessions whenever possible. He joined a group of young musicians and played in
after hour clubs in Harlem with an attitude that demonstrated their interest to
“play music that white bandleaders could not play”.
Early
in its development, this new type of music was rejected by many of the
established traditional jazz musicians who disdained their younger
counterparts. During the mid-forties, much of bebop’s early development was not
captured for posterity. It was not until 1945 that Parker’s collaborations with
Dizzy Gillespie and Max Roach began to hit the airwaves and made an impact on
the jazz world. On November 1945, Parker led a record date for the Savoy label,
recording as Charlie Parker’s Reboppers, the record was marketed as the
“greatest jazz session ever.” In November 1949, Norman Granz arranged for
Parker to record an album of ballads with a mixed group of jazz and chamber
orchestra musicians. The releases from these sessions included “Charlie Parker
with Strings”, “Just Friends” and “Everything Happens to Me”.
Parker’s
associated acts are with Miles Davis and Max Roach. His musical carrier was
short-lived because of his addiction to heroin which also caused him to miss
many gigs and lose work.
He
finally succumbed to this condition and died in March 1955. He leaves a legacy
rich with quality and a whole generation of musicians still trying to emulate
his style.
The
life of Charlie Parker cannot be captured in full here, but we featured him
only to show his pivotal role in the development of Modern Jazz.
This
article is dedicated to Antouman Gaye esq, a man of the word and a true jazz
enthusiast.
Thank
you for continuing to read this column.
