Violence in Jazz Novels

Drawn to the Slaughter: Violence in Jazz Novels H.L. Ianniello Doctorate of Philosophy Thesis University of Western Sydney Writing and Society Research Centre June, 2013 Volume 1 of 2 Acknowledgements I would firstly like to acknowledge the incredible support and teaching of my principal supervisor, Professor Hazel Smith at the Writing and Society Research Centre. I owe my greatest debt to Hazel who has provided me with continued and thorough feedback throughout the writing of both the critical and creative components. Her feedback has not only helped bring the work together as a whole, but has taught me much about writing, research and creative practice. I would also like to thank the cohort of co-supervisors who, individually and collectively, helped me define and develop many of the ideas throughout the thesis and novel: Associate Professor Anna Gibbs, Professor Nicholas Jose, Professor Michael Atherton, Dr Sabrina Achilles and Professor Roger Dean. In particular, I would like to give thanks to my husband, Marco Ianniello, whose emotional and intellectual support made this work possible, and his feedback on the novel was invaluable. In addition, I would like to thank other supportive and critical readers of my work: Deborah Beck, Jim Croke, James Croke and Tessa Lunney. iii Statement of Authentication The work presented in this thesis is, to the best of my knowledge and belief, original except as acknowledged in the text. I hereby declare that I have not submitted this material, either in full or in part, for a degree at this or any other institution. …………………………………………… Hannah Lucille Ianniello i CONTENTS Volume 1 Abstract ................................................................................................................. iii Chapter 1– Introduction .............................................................................................. 1 Beginnings .............................................................................................................. 2 Theories of Violence .............................................................................................. 4 Saying Something: Jazz and Improvisation ........................................................... 9 Violence Times Three: The Framework .............................................................. 14 Research Methodology ......................................................................................... 17 ‘Swing’: A Novel ................................................................................................. 22 The Pages Ahead .................................................................................................. 26 Chapter 2 – Origins: Systemic Violence .................................................................. 29 From Blues to Freedom: Historical Foundations of Violence ............................. 30 Racial Systemic Violence ..................................................................................... 38 Economic Systemic Violence ............................................................................... 56 Gendered Systemic Violence ............................................................................... 62 Suffering for Empathy .......................................................................................... 71 Chapter 3 – Cults: Intimate Violence ....................................................................... 73 Romantic Myths ................................................................................................... 75 Turning the Violence Inwards .............................................................................. 78 The Jazz Life and the Bohemian Life .................................................................. 80 The Precipice ........................................................................................................ 86 Isolation and the Wilderness ................................................................................ 90 Craving an Escape: Addiction .............................................................................. 95 Cult of the Artist ................................................................................................... 99 Towards Performative Violence ......................................................................... 100 Chapter 4 – Creativity and Destruction: Performative Violence ........................ 103 Performative Violence ........................................................................................ 104 A Life in Crisis ................................................................................................... 109 Causes: Personal History .................................................................................... 110 Causes: Narrative Development ......................................................................... 115 When Performative Violence Occurs: Making and Destroying ......................... 117 Fighting with Structure ....................................................................................... 119 The Audience ..................................................................................................... 122 A Fusion ............................................................................................................. 128 ii Chapter 5 – Conclusion ........................................................................................... 129 Towards ‘Swing’ ................................................................................................ 133 References ................................................................................................................. 136 Volume 2 Swing…………………………………………………………………………….....1 Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………..150 iii Abstract This two-part thesis examines the representation of jazz musicians and violence through a critical study and a short novel, ‘Swing’. The interaction between the two parts of the thesis manifests itself through the exploration of three key areas common to both: the relationship between violence and music; the novel as a vehicle for the representation of jazz; and the characterisation of the jazz life. In the critical study, I argue that novels about jazz musicians frequently include some violence in one or more of three forms: systemic violence; intimate violence; and performative violence. Systemic violence refers to social and political violations relating to race, gender and economics. Intimate violence relates to self-harm and violence towards friends and relations. Finally, performative violence is a term for any violence that occurs to, through or by musicians in the act of performance. Performative violence is the least common form of violence in these novels, yet it is often the most powerful. This is because the representation of violence through performance has the capacity to simultaneously reflect the social and personal history of the performer, while also exploring the musicians’ potential to create new sounds through the destruction of conventional ideas. The benefits of using this theoretical framework as the basis for the approach to the study of these novels are threefold. Firstly, this framework allows for an examination of how the personal and social history of these characters affects their music. Secondly, through the examination of intimate violence, it is possible to address how and why recurring themes of self-harm and obsession are perpetuated through the novels. Finally, the framework gives significant import to the concept of performative violence, which enables a discussion of the relationship between the performer and the audience. I suggest that authors who explore the lives of jazz musicians use violence or destruction as a metaphorical tool to aid the representation of the creative process. Characters in jazz novels break apart their music and often their lives to develop new sounds and explore new ways of living. This results in a narrative pattern of destructive events that lead to creative acts. The violence or destruction does not occur in the same way in every novel, and nor does it necessarily with iv the same narrative purpose, but there are themes and stylistic tendencies that are common. Michael Ondaatje’s Coming Through Slaughter is a pivotal text in this study. The other novels that have formed the basis of the analysis include Dorothy Baker’s Young Man with a Horn (1938), Ann Petry’s The Street (1946), John Clellon Homes’ The Horn (1958), Herbert Simmons’ Man Walking on Eggshells (1962), James Baldwin’s Another Country (1962), Jackie Kay’s Trumpet (1998), Bart Schneider’s Blue Bossa (1998) and Rafi Zabor’s The Bear Comes Home (1998). ‘Swing’ is a novel that was written in response to the jazz fiction of the twentieth century. It follows a year in the life of an Australian double-bass player, Chester Nelson, who is a mediocre performer struggling to balance the different styles of jazz that he performs. Chester is violent at times, but does not always remember what he has done, and as a result both his music and his relationships become unpredictable and unsustainable. By incorporating modes of violence and attempting to write against stereotypes, I present a less romanticised perspective on the life of a jazz musician, while maintaining an element of drama and examining the complexities of psychological deterioration. Both the novel and the critical study examine the representation of the social history of jazz, the personal conflict of the characters and the

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