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West African Music in the Music of Art Blakey, Yusef Lateef, and Randy Weston

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West African Music in the Music of Art Blakey, Yusef Lateef, and Randy Weston West African Music in the Music of Art Blakey, Yusef Lateef, and Randy Weston by Jason John Squinobal Batchelor of Music, Music Education, Berklee College of Music, 2003 Master of Arts, Ethnomusicology, University of Pittsburgh, 2007 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Ethnomusicology University of Pittsburgh 2009 ffh UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES This dissertation was presented by Jason John Squinobal It was defended on April 14, 2009 and approved by Dr. Nathan T. Davis, Professor, Music Department Dr. Akin Euba, Professor, Music Department Dr. Eric Moe, Professor, Music Department Dr. Joseph K. Adjaye, Professor, Africana Studies Dissertation Director: Dr. Nathan T. Davis, Professor, Music Department ii Copyright © by Jason John Squinobal 2009 iii West African Music in the Music of Art Blakey, Yusef Lateef, and Randy Weston Jason John Squinobal, PhD University of Pittsburgh, 2009 Abstract This Dissertation is a historical study of the cultural, social and musical influences that have led to the use of West African music in the compositions and performance of Art Blakey, Yusef Lateef, and Randy Weston. Many jazz musicians have utilized West African music in their musical compositions. Blakey, Lateef and Weston were not the first musicians to do so, however they were chosen for this dissertation because their experiences, influences, and music clearly illustrate the importance that West African culture has played in the lives of African American jazz musicians. Born during the Harlem Renaissance each of these musicians was influenced by the political views and concepts that predominated African American culture at that time. Imperative among those influences were the concept of pan-Africanism, the writings of Marcus Garvey and the music of Duke Ellington. Additionally, Thelonious Monk, Kenny Clarke and Dizzy Gillespie three of the most important contributors to the bebop revolution made great impressions on Blakey, Lateef, and Weston. All three musicians traveled to West Africa, and while each visited Africa for different reasons, all three were greatly influenced by the music they heard and the musicians they interacted with. All of these influences led to significant use of West African music in the works of Blakey, Lateef and Weston. Blakey, Weston, and Lateef became professional musicians in their own rights during a period of intense civil rights activities in the United States. Civil Rights activism along with the liberation of African Nations inspired compositions and performances by these three musicians that incorporated elements of West African music with jazz. Through these activities Blakey, Weston, and Lateef were able to provide artistic commentary on the strides being made for the civil rights of both Africans and African Americans. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS PART I: METHODOLOGY AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ................................. 1 1.0 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION.................................................................................... 2 2.0 CHAPTER 2: TERMINOLOGY, THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK, AND METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................. 11 2.1 TERMINOLOGY .................................................................................................. 13 2.2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK........................................................................ 20 2.3 METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................ 24 3.0 CHAPTER 3: LITERATURE REVIEW...................................................................... 28 3.1 WEST AFRICAN TRADITIONAL MUSIC ........................................................ 28 3.2 SIGNIFICANT JAZZ SCHOLARSHIP............................................................... 40 3.2.1 Summary..................................................................................................... 66 PART II: SOCIAL, CULTURAL, AND MUSICAL INFLUENCES OF ART BLAKEY, YUSEF LATEEF, AND RANDY WESTON......................................................................... 68 4.0 CHAPTER 4: THE GREAT MIGRATION AND EARLY CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES...................................................................................................................... 69 4.1 THE GREAT MIGRATION ................................................................................. 69 4.2 EARLY CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES OF WESTON, BLAKEY AND LATEEF ......................................................................................................................... 75 v 5.0 CHAPTER 5: THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE ......................................................... 82 5.1 MUSIC OF THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE ..................................................... 88 6.0 CHAPTER 6: THE INFLUENCE OF DUKE ELLINGTON, AND HIS SIDEMEN . 93 6.1 ELLINGTON’S SIDEMEN................................................................................... 98 6.2 ELLINGTON’S INFLUENCE ON WESTON ................................................... 100 7.0 CHAPTER 7: HARLEM RENAISSANCE MUSIC IN PITTSBURGH AND DETROIT ............................................................................................................................. 102 7.1 EARLY MUSICAL INFLUENCES OF ART BLAKEY ................................... 106 7.2 DETROIT AND MCKINNEY’S COTTON PICKERS ..................................... 109 7.3 LATEEF’S EARLY MUSICAL INFLUENCES ................................................ 113 8.0 CHAPTER 8: THE BEBOP REACTION .................................................................. 116 8.1 THELONIOUS MONK ....................................................................................... 118 8.2 KENNY CLARKE............................................................................................... 126 8.3 DIZZY GILLESPIE AND BILLY ECKSTINE’S BIG BAND.......................... 131 8.4 LATEEF AND BEBOP........................................................................................ 134 9.0 CHAPER 9: THE IMPACT OF ISLAM AND THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT ............................................................................................................................................136 9.1 CIVIL RIGHTS ................................................................................................... 140 9.2 THE AMERICAN “BLACK” ARTS MOVEMENT ......................................... 145 10.0 CHAPTER 10: TRIPS TO AFRICA AND THE INFLUENCE OF AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSICIANS ON HIGHLIFE ....................................................................... 148 10.1 BLAKEY GOES TO WEST AFRICA.............................................................. 150 10.2 WESTON AND THE STATE DEPARTMENT ............................................... 155 vi 10.3 LATEEF’S NIGERIAN FIELD WORK........................................................... 158 10.4 HIGHLIFE: A POINT OF INTERCULTURAL EXCHANGE....................... 160 10.5 INTERACTION OF WEST AFRICAN POP MUSICIANS AND AFRICAN AMERICAN JAZZ MUSICIANS................................................................................ 168 10.6 HIGHLIFE IN NIGERIA.................................................................................. 172 10.7 FELA AND WESTON....................................................................................... 173 10.8 BABATUNDE OLATUNJI ............................................................................... 175 11.0 CHAPTER 11: THE MUSIC OF THE BLACK ARTS MOVEMENT................... 180 11.1 BLAKEY’S EXTENDED WORKS................................................................... 182 11.2 MUSIC AND POLITICS................................................................................... 187 11.3 UHURU AFRIKA .............................................................................................. 188 11.4 LATEEF............................................................................................................. 192 11.5 SUMMARY OF PART II .................................................................................. 193 PART III: MUSICAL ANALYSIS ...................................................................................... 196 12.0 CHAPTER 12: INTRODUCTION TO PART III .................................................... 197 12.1 THE NATURE OF CHANGE IN WEST AFRICAN TRADITIONAL MUSIC ..................................................................................................................................198 12.2 THE TRANSITION FROM TRADITIONAL DRUMMING TO POPULAR DRUMMING ................................................................................................................ 216 12.3 INTRODUCTION TO MUSICAL TRANSCRIPTIONS................................. 222 13.0 CHAPTER 13: THE MUSIC OF RANDY WESTON: INTERCULTURAL MUSICAL SYNTHESIS ...................................................................................................... 227 13.1 AFRICAN PIANISM—INTERCULTURAL MUSICAL SYNTHESIS.......... 229 vii 13.2 THE MUSIC OF RANDY WESTON ............................................................... 233 13.2.1 Direct borrowings of thematic material from traditional African sources .......................................................................................................................236 13.2.2 Thematic repetition................................................................................
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