Focus: Exploring the relationship between the evolution of "jazz" and African American music with the sociopolitical milieu in which it developed in America. The class will circumscribe the historical context that contains African American music innovations and the sociocultural world of the progenitors of "jazz" and African American music. A balanced process involving listening (to recordings), critical viewing of film footage, reading, lecture discussions, and student team presentations will frame the course.

Evaluation of Student Progress: THERE ARE ABSOLUTELY NO MAKE-UP EXAMS. Each student will be evaluated upon LISTENING SKILLS, READING and CRITICAL THINKING criteria as follows:

Extra Credit: Approved Concert Reports - 4 pages (5% each) [These reports must include musical analysis of SELECT performances by master jazz musicians. Ample and appropriate musical terms must be used to describe the musical elements involved in your listening experience.

Guest Lecturers and Lecture/Demonstrations:

Professor Paul Ortiz: Oral Histories and the Social Politics of Music (Wed. October 9)

Dror Sinai: African and World Percussion (Wed. October 23)

Renata Bratt: Jazz Strings (Wed. November 6)

Eddie Gale: Innovators and The History of Jazz Trumpet (Wed. November 20)

Avotcja Jiltonilro: Jazz and the Spoken Word (Wed. November 27)

COURSE READING ASSIGNMENTS (For questions see Mariana Camargo): If a particular reserve book is checked out simply find another. All topics and musical terms are contained within the Recommended Text for your convenience.

Preparation for Midterm Exam (=25%) and Final Exam (=25%): These two multiple-choice exams will demonstrate students’ knowledge of historical and musical detail derived from assorted reading assignments and weekly lecture presentations. Midterm Exam will cover material from Week I to Week VI in Syllabus and the reading material (and vocabulary terms) from African, Early African American music and "jazz" from 1900 to 1940. The Final Exam covers "jazz" from 1940 to the present (and the reading material from Bebop to contemporary "jazz") as well as all vocabulary at the end of the syllabus (see VOCABULARY TERMS FOR FINAL EXAM). Most vocabulary terms will be discussed in lecture.

RESERVE READING and REFERENCE BOOKS LIST:

--- Carr, Ian; Fairweather, Digby; and Brian Priestley: Jazz -- The Rough Guide. London: Rough Guides, 1995. (REFERENCE: Use this book to find biographies of many jazz musicians discussed in class.

--- Nketia, J. H. Kwabena: The Music of Africa. New York: W. W. Norton & Company Inc., 1974. (READ: African Music: know terms within the following pages:

• Aerophones, etc. between the following pages: (p. 10, 92-97, 243): Some of the aerophones found in African music are the flute, reed pipes, horns, and trumpets.
• bells, clapper-less (p. 72-73)
• bows, musical, etc. between the following pages: (p. 98-99): One of the wide-spread, simple chordophones found in Africa is the musical bow, in its basic form consisting of a single string that is either struck or plucked.
• chordophones, etc. between the following pages: (p. 98-107, 243): Zithers, lutes, harp lutes, harps, and lyres are some of the chordophones commonly found in African music.
• design of music for dance, etc. between the following pages: (p. 215-17): When looking at the form, structure, and content of African music, one must consider, that the primary focus of attention is often the relation of music to dance.
• talking drums, etc. between the following pages: (p. 74, 198, 228): In Africa, talking drums are used for communication, messages, poetry, and instructing dancers.
• ensembles, instrumental, etc. between the following pages: (p. 111-115):
• idiophones, etc. between the following pages: (p. 69-84, 242)
• mbira, etc. between the following pages: (p. 23, 77-81, 119, 120, 121, 139, 242)
• membranophones, etc. between the following pages: (p. 85-91, 242)
• pentatonic scales, etc. between the following pages: (150, 160-161, 164)
• polyphony, instrumental, etc. between the following pages: (122-124)
• Pygmies, etc. between the following pages: (p. 48, 167, 241)
• Sistrum, etc. between the following pages: (p. 71, 72): The sistrum is a type of rattle with metal discs suspended on metal rods, commonly found in Ethiopia, ancient Egypt, and some parts of West Africa.
• Polyrhythms, etc. between the following pages: (p. 135-138)
• Slave trade, etc. between the following pages: (p. 14)
• Hocket, etc. between the following pages: (p. 52)
• Women, musical roles of (p. 36-38)
• Xylophones (p. 7, 77, 81-84)
• Call and response (p. 53, 140-143)

--- Gridley, Mark C.: Jazz Styles - History and Analysis. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1991. (READ: Chapters 1-4; 9-12; and 14-16)

--- Tirro, Frank: Jazz - A History. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1977. (READ: Chapters 2-4; 7-9)

--- Cole, Bill: Miles Davis - A Musical Biography. New York: William Morrow & Company, Inc., 1974. (READ: Chapters entitled "Biography" and "Style")

--- Floyd, Samuel A., Jr.: The Power of Black Music - Interpreting Its History from Africa to the United States. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995. (READ: Early African American Music on pages 38-56)

--- Southern, Eileen: The Music of Black Americans - A History. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1983. (READ: African and Early African American Music on pages 3-89; 107-139; 232-253; 309-323; Music between 1900-1910 on pages 293-96; 323-372)

--- Dahl, Linda: Stormy Weather - The Music and Lives of a Century of Jazzwomen. New York: Limelight Editions, 1989. (REFERENCE: Use this book to find many female jazz and blues musicians discussed in class.)

--- Hester, Karlton E.: The Melodic and Polyrhythmic Development of John Coltrane's Spontaneous Composition in a Racist Society. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press, 1997. (READ: Chapters 2-4)

--- Placksin, Sally.: American women in jazz : 1900 to the present : their words, lives, and music / Sally Placksin. New York : Wideview Books, c1982.1st ed. (REFERENCE: Use this book to find many female jazz and blues musicians discussed in class.)

--- Walton, Ortiz.: Music: Black, White & Blue; a sociological survey of the use and misuse of Afro-American music. New York, W. Morrow, 1972. (READ: Chapters 1 and 2)

--- Baraka, Imamu Amiri,: Blues People : Negro music in white America / by LeRoi Jones [i.e. Baraka, I. A.]. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 1980, c1963. (READ: Chapters 1-3 and 6)

--- Kofsky, Frank.: Black Nationalism and the Revolution in Music. New York, Pathfinder Press, 1970. (READ: Chapters 1 and 5)

--- Sidran, Ben.: Black Talk / Ben Sidran ; new foreword by Archie Shepp. New York : Da Capo Press, 1981, c1971. (READ: "Forward" and "Introduction"; Chapters 1,2 and 4)

RECOMMENDED Text: - Hester, Karlton E.: From Africa to Afrocentric Innovations Some Call "Jazz." Santa Cruz, CA: Hesteria Records & Publishing Co., 2002. (This book, also on reserve in the library and available for purchase in the Bay Tree Bookstore, follows the sequence of the entire course syllabus exactly)

II. CRITICAL THINKING (For questions see Peter Koht):

Team Oral paper (=10%): Each student will be a member of one of ten "critical thinking" teams. Each of the teams will present one oral presentation in class (on Mondays). The team report is a brief (1-2 pages) outline or summary based upon the team members' responses to assigned weekly films, lectures, guest lecturers, supplementary articles (stored on my faculty website: http://arts.ucsc.edu/faculty/hesterkarltone), and recordings. At each oral presentation, one representative of the team shares a brief summary of their team's thinking with the class.

Papers should reflect a balance between personal analysis and scholarly objectivity. [In other words, attempt to support your personal ideas and criticism (your personal voice should be clear and direct) with concrete musical and historical evidence.] Team oral papers are limited to 10-15 minute summaries. Each team submits their single written outline or summary to Peter Koht. All ACTIVE team members sign the final submission (written summary or outline) to assure that the full team acknowledges each individual contributor’s cooperation and participation. All members of the team receive the same group grade, so only those members who contributed equitably should sign the summary or outline (submitted at the end of the oral presentation).

III. LISTENING and FILMS (For questions see Alissa Roedig):

Listening and Musicianship Exams (=40%): To augment lectures, Friday film sections (coordinated by teaching assistants each week) are designed to provide visual examples of select musicians and issues discussed in class (and in you reading assignments). Some films are on reserve in the Film and Music Center of the McHenry Library. Those films shown in class that are not on the reserve list, will not be available for viewing after they are shown on film Fridays.

Each lecture will also advance your listening skills through constant practice with analyzing musical examples from all stylistic periods. No prior musical background is needed to master the music listening aspect of the course. Don’t let the new music vocabulary deter you. We will gradually acquire terms and musical concepts that will be better understood, with constant classroom practice and individual study, as the term progresses.

You are expected to listen to select musical examples from the course CD Compilation Set of musical examples on reserve in the Film and Music Center of the McHenry Library. You will have 4 listening exams. The musical examples on the exams will be derived from music played and discussed in class.

Video Reserves for Music 80E: History of "Jazz"

1) DVD 160: Charles Mingus - Triumph Of The Underdog

2) VT 7147: "Tryin' To Get Home: A History Of African-American Music In Song" (by

Kerrigan Black)

3) VT 7018: Jazz Women on Video : Foremothers, volume 1

4) VID 1173: Thelonious Monk : American Composer

5) VT 2711: Lady Day : the Many Faces of Billie Holiday

6) VT 7662: Duke Ellington and His Orchestra, 1929-1941 : Stars of the Cotton Club

7) VT 3405: Celebrating Bird : The Triumph of Charlie Parker

8) VT 888: The Coltrane Legacy

9) VT 7266: Rhythm and Blues at the Apollo / Storyville Films

10) VT 1070: Mingus (Charlie Mingus) 1968

Additional Course Videos (not on reserve)

11) Miles In Paris

12) The Wonderful World Of Louis Armstrong

13) Harlem Hellfighters (History Channel)

14) Jazz Band Ball

15) Miles and Trane - New York 1959/66 - Germany 1961

16) Mary Lou Williams: Music on My Mind

17) African Music

18) VT 4059:1: Africa (Egypt, Uganda, Senegal) / JVC/Smithsonian Folkways

IV. Supplementary Articles -- These articles are all available on my faculty website: http://arts.ucsc.edu/faculty/hesterkarltone (For questions see Juan Guillen):

Prologue: The Afrocentric Origins of "Jazz"

The Term "Jazz"

Contemporary Politics and Labeling in African-American Culture

Hesterian Analysis of African American "Jazz" [KEH]

John Coltrane and Other New Approaches to Spontaneous Composition

John Coltrane - The Formative Years and First Period [KEH]

Joe Henderson - obituary [KEH]

A Historical Summary

Echoes of a Culture [NEH]

Image Gallery: Echoes of a Culture

The Age of the Freelance Musician

Interview: Dr. Nelson E. Harrison on Oral Tradition

The Contemporary Midwestern "Jazz" Scene

Interview: Pamela Wise

Panel Summary: Pamela Wise, Akua Dixon & Adela Dalto

Rap and Hip-Hop Culture

The New School Hip Hop Revolution [JKR-aaaa]

Contemporary Politics & Labeling African-American Culture

Panel: Dr. Billy Taylor, Dr. Donald Byrd, a.o.

Elektrokineticmusicim [KEH]

Mo' Better Reviews [KEH]
 
 

First Assignment:
Please read the Prologue in Hester, Karlton E.: From Africa to Afrocentric Innovations Some Call "Jazz."

(copy available at http://arts.ucsc.edu/faculty/hesterkarltone)

* The Afrocentric Origins of "Jazz"

* Eurocentric Documentation and Control of African-American Music

* The Impact of Sexism and Racism

* Summary

Background

Week I. Traditional African Music

* Africa Before the European Slave Trade

* Ancient Music Of Northern Africa

Ancient Egyptian Music

Ancient Nubian Written Music

* Early African Contact With Europe

* Women, Music, And Religion In Africa

North African Women Musicians

* Formulating An Approach To Understanding African Music

* Stylistic Regions Of Sub-Saharan Africa

* The Function Of African Music In African Culture

* An Overview Of Musical Style

* Characteristics Of African Music

Musical Instruments

Structures Of African Rhythms

Classes Of African Musicians

* Stylistic Regions Of African Music

i. Eastern Cattle Area

ii. Congo Area

iii. The Pygmy

iv. Guinea Coast Area

v. Khoisan Area

vi. Sudan

* European Methods Of Examining African Culture

Friday Film(s): 17) African Music, 18) VT 4059:1: Africa (Egypt, Uganda, Senegal)

Week II.

A. The Sociocultural Context In Which African-American Music Emerged

* The Natives Of America

* Africans’ Limited Access To Musical Instruments and Performance Venues In America

* Slave Era Music And Cultural Cross-Fertilization

* African-American Music Convergence Affected By Sex And Marriage

* Sociocultural Influences On Seventeenth Century African-American Music

* Eighteenth-Century Sociocultural Changes

* Witch Craze

B. Traditional African-American Music

* Music Evolves During The Struggle For Independence And Equal Rights

* American Folksongs And The Blues: Pre-Civil War

Juba

The Cakewalk And Children’s Game Songs

* American Folksongs And The Blues: Post-Civil War

* Marches

* Minstrel Shows

* The Dawn Of Ragtime

* The Term "Jazz"

* Musical Influence On Religion, Racism, And Revolution

Voodoo

* Jim Crow Segregation Perpetuates Segregated Musical Styles

• Summary

Week III. Innovators Emerging Between 1900 And 1910

* Ecumenical Music Retention

* The Continuation of Double Entendre And Other Modes of Communication

* Afrocentric Dance and Musical Cross-Fertilization

* Early Blues

Gertrude "Ma" Rainey?"Mother Of The Blues"

William Christopher Handy?"Father Of The Blues"

* From Vaudeville To Ragtime

Scott Joplin

James Scott

Thomas Million Turpin

James Reese Europe

* New Orleans?Dixieland "Jazz" ("Traditional Jazz")

"Buddy" Bolden

William Gary "Bunk" Johnson

"Jelly Roll" Morton

"Papa" Celestin, "King" Oliver, And Freddie Keppard

Other New Orleans Instrumentalists

* Turn-of-the-Century Women Musicians

* New York?Tin Pan Alley

* African Musical Influences In The Americas

The Evolution of the Drum Set

The Double Bass Evolution

Friday Film(s): 13) Harlem Hellfighters (History Channel), 14) Jazz Band Ball ----- LISTENING EXAM #1

The Evolution of Classic "Jazz" Forms

Week IV.  Innovators Emerging Between 1910 and 1920

* The Blues Continue to Evolve

Two Influential Rural Blues Musicians

Classic Blues

Bessie Smith

* Ida Cox and Migrations to Northern Cities

Mamie Smith

Other Women Instrumentalists

* Sidney Bechet and the Early Transition from Clarinet to Saxophone

* Evolution of the Early Piano

* Politics and the Twentieth-Century African-American Church on the Eve of the Harlem Renaissance

Friday Film(s) 3) VT 7018: Jazz Women on Video : Foremothers, volume 1 6) VT 7662: Duke Ellington and His Orchestra, 1929-1941 : Stars of the Cotton Club

Week V.  Innovators Emerging Between 1920 and 1930

* Snapshots of American Society

* The Effects of Changing American Demographics on Music

* New Orleans and the Movement East

* Swing and Its Precursors

Fats Waller

New York During the Harlem Renaissance

* Chicago Dixieland

* The Jelly Roll Morton Documentary

* Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong and His Associates

Joe "King" Oliver

Lil Hardin Armstrong

Bix Beiderbecke

* Big Bands and the Approaching Swing Era

African-American "Jazz" Bands

Commercial and Middle-of-the-Road Bands

Big Bands Swing

* The Media Continues to Burgeon

Friday Film(s) 12) The Wonderful World Of Louis Armstrong------------------------ LISTENING EXAM #2

Week VI.  Innovators Emerging Between 1930 and 1940

* The New "Swing" Bands

* Women's Bands during the Early Twentieth Century

Ina Ray Hutton and Her Melodears

International Sweethearts of Rhythm

Other Women's Bands

* Emma Barett

* Other Women Artists

* Toward Greater Individual Expression

Art Tatum

Mary Lou Williams

* The "Age of the Sax Masters" Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young

Coleman Hawkins

Lester Young

* The Voice Continues to Be a Strong Influence

Billie Holiday

Ella Fitzgerald

* Ellington's Afrocentricity and the European "Mirage"

* The European Image of "Jazz"

European "Mirage" and "Jazz" Politics

* Benny Goodman

* Other African-American Dance Bands

• A Glance at the Development of the Guitar in Early "Jazz"

MIDTERM EXAM -- Friday, October 25 **************

Week VII.  Innovators Emerging Between 1930 and 1940

* Basic Blues and Early Precursors of Modern "Jazz"

* Bebop Ties to Past and Present Cultures

* Bebop Begins to Evolve

Progenitors of the Bebop Revolution

Charlie "Bird" Parker and "Black" Music Downtown

* Misfortune, Drugs & Alcohol Imposes Upon The Bop Scene

* Bop Brass Instrumentalists

Dizzy Gillespie

Melba Doretta Liston

Howard McGhee and Others

* Bebop Pianists

Earl ‘Bud’ Powell

Thelonious Monk

Women Bop Pianists

Other Bop Era Pianists

* Women Vocalists and Instrumentalists During the 1940s

Sarah Vaughan

Carmen McRae

Pauline Braddy (Williams)

Mary Osborne

* "Progressive Jazz"

Friday Film(s): 7) VT 3405: Celebrating Bird : The triumph of Charlie Parker ………………………………….

The Creation of Free, Fusion and Reconstructive Modern Styles

Week VIII.  Innovators Emerging Between 1950 and 1960

* Continued Resistance to African-American Freedom

* Changes

* Miles Davis and "Cool Jazz"

* Louis Jordan and Sonny Rollins

* John Coltrane and Other New Approaches to Spontaneous Composition

* Ornette Coleman

* Cecil Taylor

* Sun Ra

* Charles Mingus

* Two "Jazz" Harpists in the 1950s

Dorothy Ashby

Corky Hale

* Art Blakey

* Phineas Newborn

Friday Film(s): 4) VID 1173: Thelonious Monk : American Composer--------------- LISTENING EXAM #3

Week IX.  Innovators Emerging Between 1960 and 1970

* Evolution of Innovative Music for 1960s Audiences

* Restructuring Musical Approaches

* Artistic Expression or Entertainment?

* Betty Carter

* Alice Coltrane

* Eric Dolphy and the "Jazz" Critics

* Albert Ayler

* The Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians

* The Emergence of the Art Ensemble of Chicago

* Dewey Redman, Art Davis, and the New York Scene

* Amina Claudine Myers

* Pharaoh Sanders

* Archie Shepp

* Joanne Brackeen

* Charles Tolliver

* Toshiko Akiyoshi

* "Traditional Jazz" Continues

* 1960s Music Outside African-American Culture

* Summary: The American Society That 1960s Music Reflected

Friday Film(s): 15) Miles and Trane - New York 1959/66 - Germany 1961
 
 

Week X.  Innovators Emerging Between 1970 and 1980

* Changes around the World

* Spiritual "Jazz" and New Musical Settings

* Changing Attitudes in Europe

* Connecting Fusion, Miles Davis, and Jimi Hendrix

Jazz-Funk Fusion

Jazz-Rock Fusion

Donald Byrd

* The Crossroads of Stylistic Evolution

* More Conceptual Expansion

Charles Mingus Re-emerges during the 1970s

Anthony Braxton

The World Saxophone Quartet

Joe Henderson

McCoy Tyner

* Instrumental Style Continues to Evolve

The Evolution of the Flute

Other Instrumental Evolutions

Classical-Jazz Fusion and Other New Approaches

Santeria and Musical Freedom

* A Historical Summary

Friday Film(s): 1) DVD 160: Charles Mingus - Triumph Of The Underdog

Week XI.  Innovators Emerging Between 1980 and 2000

* African-American Music in American Marketplace

Emphasis Moves from Innovations to Youthful Image

* Families of Musicians

* The Age of the Freelance Musician

* Snapshot: Bay Area "Jazz" in the Early 1980s

* The Contemporary Midwestern "Jazz" Scene

* Rap and Hip-Hop Culture

• Contemporary Politics & Labeling African-American Culture

FINAL EXAM -- See UCSC Final Exam Schedule**************