Firing the Canon: Multiple Insularities in Jazz Criticism
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FIRING THE CANON: MULTIPLE INSULARITIES IN JAZZ CRITICISM By © 2014 Christopher Robinson Submitted to the graduate degree program in American Studies and the Graduate Faculty of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. ________________________________ Chairperson, Sherrie Tucker ________________________________ Randal Jelks ________________________________ Tony Bolden ________________________________ John Gennari ________________________________ William J Harris Date Defended: April 7, 2014 The Dissertation Committee for Christopher Robinson certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: Firing the Canon: Multiple Insularities in Jazz Criticism ________________________________ Chairperson, Sherrie Tucker Date approved: April 7, 2014 ii ABSTRACT Whereas many jazz scholars focus on jazz criticism's construction and implications of a single, or insular, jazz canon, this dissertation argues that what many jazz critics do is precisely the opposite. These critics disrupt the sense of a singular and insular jazz canon by challenging it through the creation of what I call an insularity, which is a bounded collection of artists and music with a definable tradition, values and established criteria which regulates what is suitable for inclusion. This dissertation argues that jazz does not consist of a single canon and music that exists beyond the canon's boundaries; rather, jazz contains multiple insularities that challenge the canon and vie for the opportunity to overthrow the canon in order to reach canonical status. This dissertation conceptualizes jazz critics as cultural authorities who create or deconstruct insularities through a variety of race, gender and nation projects. It examines the criticism of Leonard Feather, Val Wilmer and Nathaniel Mackey to highlight the numerous ways in which critics engage with multiple insularities. Feather believed that jazz was university and that it transcended social difference. As such, he worked to create an insularity where female musicians deserved acceptance by the jazz world. Wilmer emphasizes that jazz is a social practice and that it belongs to those who created it. Working to counter the marginalization of African American musicians, she constructed an insularity that showed musicians as real people as opposed to mythological figures. Mackey rejects the concept of insularities and this dissertation shows how his novel Bedouin Hornbook works to deconstruct insularities. Feather's, Wilmer's and Mackey's criticism attempts to solve perceived social exclusion marginalization wrought by the jazz canon. Multiple insularities in jazz criticism exist as a byproduct of the complexity of jazz's cultural space, the problems which exist in that space, and the multitude of ways in which critics attempt to address these problems. A heterodox practice involving iii innumerable methods and strategies to address social problems, jazz criticism, itself a diverse practice involving people of many social backgrounds and experiences, manifests itself in the construction and challenging of multiple insularities. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I once joked to my professor Randal Jelks, who I took my first seminar from at KU, that when I started this program I didn't know anything. While not entirely true, I was thrown into the deep end pretty quickly. Luckily, all of the great teachers, mentors and friends at KU helped me to stay afloat. I have learned a great deal here, and I am so thankful for that. I am blessed to have Sherrie Tucker as my adviser. Sherrie's extremely high standards, her tough, but always constructive feedback, difficult questions, support and encouragement, and her pushing me to places I wasn't sure I could go helped drive my development as a writer and scholar in ways I couldn't have imagined. Thank you Sherrie. To my committee: you are an all- star bunch. I first contacted John Gennari during my masters studies, and he has been a supportive ally and teacher ever since. To Randal Jelks, Tony Bolden and Billy Joe Harris: I have learned from you all in and outside of the classroom, and your lessons, feedback and intellectual stimulation has influenced and challenged my thinking and perspective, and will continue to so long into the future. Thank you all. The courses and seminars I've taken at KU have helped me learn, satisfy my intellectual curiosity, grow immensely as a thinker, and were invaluable to this dissertation. In addition to my committee members, thanks to Ben Chappell, Jake Dorman, Chris Forth, Brent Metz, Marta Vicente, Ann Schofield, Sheryl Williams, and Tanya Hart. It was a privilege to take your courses. In addition, the Special Collections librarians and staff at the International Jazz Collections at the University of Idaho provided much needed help during my research on Leonard Feather. I would also be remiss to not thank the coolest librarian ever, Tami Albin, whose consultation session - which came with complimentary magic markers and doodle pad, helped sort out some of the major organizational problems I was having. I would also like to v thank Val Wilmer, Gee Lees and Dan Morgenstern for agreeing to talk to me and for sharing their experiences and expertise. Thanks to all my wonderful friends in and their partners for all the great hangs, musical collaborations, late night trips to do work in coffee shops, teaching collaboration, conversations, arguments which ranged anywhere from the Royals to critical theory, running, pickup basketball games, epic video game sessions, record shopping trips, dog parties, motivation and support, being an audience for my occasional rants, providing advice on how to make it through a doctoral program without losing my sanity, and so much more. To my mom, my sister Jessie and the Dugases, grandma, my aunts, and the rest of my family: your love and support and faith in me has kept me going, and I could not have finished without it. To the Huntimers: thanks for taking me into your family and making me one of you, and for the perfectly timed and much needed vacation, which set me up for the final push to bang this sucker out. To my dog Julian, my faithful, bouncy, at times obsessive and neurotic friend, who has ridden shotgun for the whole of this dissertation and beyond. To my cat Dr. Herman Eutics - over the last three and a half years you have provided countless naps and warmed my lap while writing innumerable times, for which I am very appreciative. Finally, when I first saw Mary she was holding her silver alto saxophone, which, being the super saxophone nerd that I am, made me go up and ask her what it was. Little did I know that I had found the most supportive and loving partner I could ever hope to have. Never afraid to tell me that a paragraph or sentence I had written didn't make sense, or if my saxophone playing sucked, Mary's astonishing and unflinching love and support helped get me through this process intact, even when I wasn't sure I would. Mary, your influence is felt throughout this whole work, and it is much the better for it. Thank you, more than I can say. vi CONTENTS Abstract iii Acknowledgements v Introduction 1 Jazz Criticism as Field of Multiple Insularities Chapter One 26 The Practice of Jazz Criticism and the Stakes of Insularity Chapter Two 91 "Feather's Nest": Leonard Feather's Unintentional Reinforcement of Jazz as an Androcentric Space Chapter Three 141 "A Living Entity Rather Than a Piece of Plastic Stuck in a Sleeve": Val Wilmer's Standpoint Insularity Chapter Four 195 "Jazz Paracriticism" and the Anti-Insularity Project of Nathaniel Mackey's Bedouin Hornbook Conclusion 245 Why Multiple Insularities?: Mapping the Terrain and Political Advocacy Via Insularity Postscript 259 Bibliography 265 vii Introduction: Jazz Criticism as Field of Multiple Insularities When I was in high school I was deep into the band Phish, and I strongly remember having – conversations isn’t the right word, more like frustrated disagreements with my sister, who could not stand the band. While there was nothing that I could do to convince her to like them, I took a different tack, asking her if she at least appreciated their musicianship; I was in essence - foreshadowing my intellectual crush on Kant and his third critique - trying to steer her towards accepting that Phish was a good band, even if she didn’t like its music. No dice. Years after my high school Phish obsession, while deep into reading old Downbeat Blindfold Tests for my M.A. thesis on Leonard Feather, I remember having lengthy conversations with the archivist at the International Jazz Collections about what “good” music was and if music had to be “good” to have any kind of value. I.E., was Britney Spears’ music good because a lot of people enjoyed it? Who has the power, or even the right, to make judgments about the inherent quality and worth in any given piece of music, or any art form for that manner? Does relative popularity have any effect on something’s worth or aesthetic quality? While our discussion in no way brought up new points – in fact these questions have been asked and debated about in jazz criticism since the music’s inception – these issues have always interested me. After finishing my thesis I got the opportunity to consider these questions in a new way, as I began writing CD and concert reviews for Earshot Jazz and Downbeat. While writing my first review for Downbeat a whole new set of questions entered my mind: what if my opinion of the CD is "wrong"? How will I defend myself if I get angry letters from readers who disagree with my evaluation? Two questions were particularly worrisome: who am I to say whether or 1 not a performance by Joshua Redman is good or not? Who or what gives me the right to make this judgment? In short, the answers to these questions were relatively simple.