Spring 2013 and Blues in America

"Jazz washes away the dust of everyday life." Art Blakey

Instructor: Dr. Martin Rokeach e-mail: [email protected] Office: Syufy 220 Office phone: 631-4682 Office hours: T/Th 3-4; W 2-3 and by Appt.

Textbook: none On DVD: Sections of Ken Burns' ten-part series: "Jazz" and “American Roots Music;” we will watch some sections in class, others you can see on Youtube or stream from Netflix; hard DVDs available in the library. Selected Readings from Deep Blues by Robert Palmer.

This course will examine the evolution of jazz and blues from their precursors in West Africa, Europe and nineteenth century America to the present. We will become familiar with both the music and the social milieu from which it arose. The artists we will become familiar with include:

Blues Robert Johnson, Furry Lewis, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Muddy Waters, Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Howlin’ Wolf, John Lee Hooker, Big Mama Thornton, B. B. King, Little Walter, James Cotton, , Jimi Hendrix

Jazz Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong, Bix Beiderbecke, Sidney Bechet, Billie Holiday, , , Sarah Vaughn, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Teddy Wilson, Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Charlie Christian, Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, Miles Davis, the Modern Jazz Quartet, Dave Brubeck, Art Blakey, Wayne Shorter, Charles Mingus, McCoy Tyner, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderly, Bill Evans, Ornette Coleman, Stan Getz, Tito Puento, Arturo Sandoval, Pancho Sanchez, Weather Report, Cecil Taylor, Marcus Roberts, , Josh Redman, Regina Carter.

Learning Outcomes -- by the end of the semester you will: • be familiar with the greatest artists of jazz and blues. • be able to hear jazz and blues with more depth and understanding, and articulate what you hear in writing with specific, jazz-appropriate vocabulary, using the norms of artistic criticism rather than personal taste as the basis for critique. • distinguish by ear the two most common forms in jazz, 12-bar blues and 32-bar form. • perceive the form and follow the phrases to access a work’s core content, i.e. its ‘meaning.’ • identify the style and historical era of unfamiliar jazz. • acquire an enriched understanding of American history through its music. • analyze aspects of social diversity and and structures of power and demonstrate how these aspects of social diversity affect jazz, blues and rock and roll. • explain how the impact of social categories on the human person are conveyed musically. • distinguish specific elements in the lyrics of blues songs and rock and roll and explain how they relate to social categories and structures of power. • Understand the role of resistance to structures of power inform music.

Tentative Schedule week of: 2/10 some techniques of listening to jazz; jazz precursors: West African songs, work songs, spirituals, folk songs, country blues, ragtime 2/17 the blues proliferate: barrelhouse, boogie woogie; city blues, stride 2/24 Dixieland 3/10 The Swing era 3/17 midterm exam 3/24 ; Urban Blues 4/7 Spring Break 4/14 The 1950s: Cool, 3rd Stream, Modal Jazz 4/21 More on the 1950s: Hard Bop. 4/28 Still More on the 1950s: JohnColtrane; Latin jazz 5/5 Free Jazz, Avant-Garde, Bossa Nova, Fusion; Rhythm and Blues and Rock and Roll 5/12 jazz and blues today 5/17 jazz and blues today; final exam review 5/22 final exam

Three Required Concerts 1. Arturo Sandoval Yoshi’s at Jack London Square (Oakland) Thursday, April 2 8 p.m.

2. The Saint Mary’s College Jazz Band, directed by John Maltester Thursday, April 30 8 p.m. Soda Center

3. Your choice of one of the following: • The SMCChamber Singers and Glee Club, directed by Julie Ford, Wed. May 13, 1 p.m., or May 14, 8 P.M., SMC Chapel

• The SMC Chamber Musicians, directed by Martin Rokeach, featuring classical repertoire performed by student musicians; Mon. May. 11, Noon or 8 P. M., SMC Chapel

Grading Two analytical papers 25% Midterm Exam 25% Final Exam 25% Quizzes 25% (almost weekly; lowest one will be dropped)

Homework will consist of focused, concentrated listening, light reading, watching videos.