Jazz Synthesis Essay

Jazz has been called, among other things, America's "only original form," showing it's clear cultural roots in America. In addition, jazz historians have touted jazz's pedigree as "American's Classical Music." An appreciation and analysis of jazz history forces one to question both the "American" and "Classical" descriptors that past historians have used to label jazz music. Using primarily sources such as "From Somewhere in France" by Charles Delaunay and "An Interview with Wynton Marsalis" by Lolis Eric Elie, I argue that although jazz grew out from a distinctive African American tradition, the influx of influences in its development throughout the years as well as it's transcending appeal have made jazz much universal as opposed to American.
In addition, I argue that although labeling jazz as "Classical" gives it aesthetic credence, there is a real danger in downgrading jazz both in musical difficulty and musical value.

My first argument concerns the duality between seeing jazz as "American" and "universal." In "Somewhere in France," Charles Delaunay, one of the pioneers of French jazz criticism, makes the argument that jazz is universal, transcending it's American and African-American roots -- a result of "simple, direct, and natural" appeal and a product of "cultural fusion." Universalism benefited the "connoisseurs" (i.e. the French) of jazz by making it something to be appreciated by those who understood it, and not something of American exceptionalism. This, of course, treads dangerously close to "downgrading the artistry and artifice of musicians"; the "dehistorization" that grew out primitavism also does not account for the significant contributions in jazz history. This could arguably be interpreted as saying jazz would be the same without Duke Ellington or in a similar line of argument, that classical music would be the same without Beethoven. However, Delaunay does provide strong justifications for the universal nature of jazz, most notably by pointing out the evidence that jazz was "born in New Orleans," yet reflects evidence of Franco-Spanish and Anglo-Saxon culture as well as the "epic temperament of Negro Africa." In addition, there has been significant influences in jazz by Cuban and other Latin American music forms. As Wynton Marsalis, one of Jazz's most famous trumpet soloists, points out in Elie's interview, jazz truly has a "progressive" multicultural upbringing and should represent "brotherhood of man." If that is so, then jazz genuinely should be thought of as a universal form of music with an all-embracing audience, although it no doubt originated from black America.

My second argument addresses the label that jazz is America's "Classical" music.
This classification arguably stemmed from the traditional Cartesian mind/body split and the tendency to for jazz to fall on the devalued side due to it's physicality and sensuality. Categorizing jazz as a form of classical music would seemingly elevate it's aesthetic value by distinguishing it as cultural and appreciated by the mind. This innocent attempt to make jazz seem "on par" with classical music does have its dangers, though. For one, it assumes that classical music is the standard by which all music should be judged, which is clearly not true. Classical music was, for the most part, merely a European phenomenon, whereas jazz, as argued above, involved so much more. In addition, classical music should not be seen as the pinnacle of musical technical greatness either. Jazz, for example, incorporates improvisation, an aspect of music almost completely absent in classical music; jazz musicians also developed a host of new musical skills to suit their styles. Wynton Marsalis, himself a player of classical music in his earlier days states flatly that "classical music is not as difficult as jazz." To label jazz as "classical" is arguably a belittling insult disguised as a
complement.

Historians and the mainstream alike are most likely proud to have jazz in their heritage as "America's Classical Music." Perhaps they should be even more proud that jazz has grown in proportion and influence that the prevailing conception these days is that jazz is universal, and that jazz music's aesthetic value and technical difficulty is independent from classical music.