DOCSLIB.ORG

A New Kind of Blue: the Power of Suggestion & the Pleasure Of

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
A New Kind of Blue: the Power of Suggestion & the Pleasure Of A New Kind of Blue: The Power of Suggestion & the Pleasure of Groove in Robert Glasper’s Black Radio Guthrie P. Ramsey, Jr. Abstract: This essay places the important Robert Glasper Experiment recording “Black Radio” (2012) Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/daed/article-pdf/142/4/120/1831639/daed_a_00240.pdf by guest on 24 September 2021 within its artistic, commercial, and critical contexts. As a project that combines genres, “Black Radio” did more than challenge different communities of listeners; it invited them to see how Glasper’s sonic juxta- positions could be logically aligned. Jazz, hip-hop, R&B, and gospel merge in “Black Radio” to form a stylish, forward-looking contribution that won popular and critical successes. Glasper and his ensemble toy with the social contracts that have established boundaries around sonic language; indeed, he makes their territories feel seamless and natural. Because of the success of the project, we may be witnessing a post-genre moment that disrupts traditional ideas about music that have been preciously held in the industry since it emerged in the late-nineteenth century. “C hanging the game!” exclaimed the press photog- rapher at pianist Robert Glasper’s standing-room- only appearance at World Café Live in Philadelphia in the spring of 2012. “Yeah, no doubt,” a middle- aged man shot back in enthusiastic agreement. The midsized auditorium was ½lled with an interracial, intergenerational crowd of listeners enveloped in the mesh of sound worlds that Glasper presented GUTHRIE P RAMSEY JR with both commitment and ease. , ., is the The audience’s enthusiasm for the Robert Glasper Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Term Professor of Music at the Experiment’s landmark 2012 release Black Radio Uni versity of Pennsylvania. His (Blue Note)–and its accompanying promotional publications include The Amazing tour–was af½rmed by the American music indus- Bud Powell: Black Genius, Jazz History, try’s arbiters of taste. To much surprise, Black Radio and the Challenge of Bebop (2013), received a Grammy Award nomination in two cat- Race Music: Black Cultures from Be - egories: Best R&B Performance for “Gonna Be bop to Hip-Hop (2003), and the forth - Alright (F.T.B.),” featuring Ledisi; and Best R&B coming Who Hears Here?: Essays on Black Music History and Society. He is Album. Even before it debuted, there was steady also pianist, composer, and arranger buzz about what the recording’s aesthetic ap - for the Philadelphia-based band proach and its critical reception might mean to the Dr. Guy’s MusiQology. future of jazz. Now, in the wake of its release, it is © 2013 by Guthrie P. Ramsey, Jr. doi:10.1162/DAED_a_00240 120 clear that Black Radio’s influence extends their more traditional competencies in Guthrie P. well beyond the jazz world, as evidenced composition and performance, as well as Ramsey, Jr. by the R&B branding. Like Miles Davis’s in marketing and promotion. This new- pivotal 1959 album Kind of Blue, which found freedom has allowed ambitious signaled a new direction for modern jazz, musicians and producers to break out of Black Radio may indeed qualify as a game genre boxes and craft conceptually adven- changer. turous projects. Some creators intention- ally share their work free-of-charge on New York Times music critic Nate Chi- the social media sites Facebook, Twitter, nen wrote that Black Radio was “the rare and YouTube before they actually “drop” album of its kind that doesn’t feel strained through traditional commercial avenues. by compromise or plagued by problems Many recordings appear only in these on - Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/daed/article-pdf/142/4/120/1831639/daed_a_00240.pdf by guest on 24 September 2021 of translation.”1 Such a synthesis of line outlets and attract thousands of lis- styles is quite a feat given that jazz, R&B, teners without the help of a record label. and hip-hop have developed dissimilar A new music economy has been estab- social contracts with audiences, a chasm lished, in which record and marketing ex - made glaringly clear by hip-hop’s emer- ecutives no longer exclusively determine gence as a commodity in the 1980s and what music is entitled to widespread dis- the almost contemporaneous “young semination. One of the most exciting lions” movement that shot Wynton Mar - results of this shift is that informal musi- salis and his co-conspirators of young, cal collectives have begun to work across mostly male jazz musicians to stardom. genre lines (those imaginary sonic bound - In public and private discourse, these neo - aries that exclude more than they invite), classicist hard boppers were pitted against creating new audience alliances as well. the sample-½lled digital soundscapes of Although he is contracted with Blue hip-hop producers (“they are not even Note, the label historically associated with ‘real’ musicians”) and their rapping, “straight-ahead” jazz, Glasper proves him - rhyming counterparts (“they are really not self in his latest release to be in the avant- musicians”). Although some critics could garde of this exciting new aesthetic wave. engage with each of these sound worlds, That is not to say that there are not many listeners remained wedged between sonic precursors to Black Radio’s appealing polarizing aesthetic discussions that in - new sounds. Chinen’s article mentions a spired a politics of division. few such milestone performers: Miles That was the 1980s. Dramatic changes Davis, Guru, A Tribe Called Quest, De La in the recording industry over the last Soul, and Roy Hargrove. Each artist/group ½fteen years have opened up new creative has produced projects that blend elements opportunities for artists, and musicians of jazz with those of other popular styles. are taking full advantage of them. Talented We can push the list back further in time independent engineers and producers, to include innovators like pianist Ramsey armed with relatively high-quality per- Lewis, the father of “soul-jazz,” who has sonal recording studios, have increased continued to build a vibrant career slid- exponentially; it’s now a literal cottage ing effortlessly across the jazz/pop con- industry. And because of the digital revo- tinuum. The clear-headed and creative ad - lution, which provided cost-effective ac - venturer Herbie Hancock, too, stands as a cess to cutting-edge technologies, many towering inspiration to genre-crossing musicians have become astute in engi- artists, both in spirit and in technical exe- neering and production in addition to cution. 142 (4) Fall 2013 121 A New And we must not overlook, as is all too criticism of his dual pedigree in hip-hop Kind of often the practice, the important women and jazz, while also providing ample space Blue: Robert contributors to this aesthetic shape-shift- for experimentation. Glasper’s ing sensibility. Gospel great Elbernita Beginning with an impressive set of trio “Black Radio” “Twinkie” Clark’s songwriting, singing, recordings in the tradition of, most obvi- and Hammond B-3 playing did much to ously, bebop pianist Bud Powell (always a set that genre on an unapologetic and litmus test for the modern jazz pianist), sonically ecumenical path throughout the Glasper’s recorded output gradually 1980s and beyond. Pianist and composer moved into other conceptual and sonic Patrice Rushen’s work boasted a pre- territories. Brands are powerful entities, scient eclecticism that surely provided particularly in the music industry. Al - R&B neo-soul rhythm and acid jazz tracks though he claims roots in gospel, , Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/daed/article-pdf/142/4/120/1831639/daed_a_00240.pdf by guest on 24 September 2021 some of their harmonic approaches. jazz, and hip-hop, Glasper entered into Bassist and songwriter Meshell Ndegeo- public awareness as a “jazz pianist,” and cello’s virtuosic musicianship and fluency it is hard to break away from that rubric in hip-hop, pop, funk, soul, and jazz–and once it sticks. The same is true for any artist the singular and courageous way she whose work is marketed in a system that combines the genres–must be consid- makes money from rigid predictability. ered a signpost in this discussion. This “agreement” becomes a social con- tract that ultimately seeks to dictate what As a subject of written criticism and artists produce, how companies sell con- promotion, as a live performance event, tent, and the spending and listening habits and as a recording, Black Radio deserves of speci½c demographics. Although Glas - our careful attention. But precisely what per was branded as a jazz musician, he has part of the Black Radio project suggests also maintained highly visible collabora- that we are in the midst of a post-genre tions with the revered hip-hop producer moment, a wholesale realignment of the and beat-maker J Dilla (James Dewitt Yan - traditional social contracts governing cey) and the rapper Q-Tip (of the critically music creation, dissemination, and con- acclaimed group A Tribe Called Quest). sumption in the industry? Black Radio’s What we think of as the essence of jazz sense of aesthetic balance–of getting it today developed during the 1940s bebop just right–is key to our understanding, revolution. As historian Scott DeVeaux and it may be derived from two provoca- has explained: tive musical choices: 1) a self-conscious In the wake of bebop, we no longer think of foregrounding of digital technology in jazz improvisation as a way of playing tunes the soundscape, including tricked-out but as an exacting art form in itself that mixes and effects, among other tech- happens, as a rule, to use popular music as niques; and 2) a harmonic palette drawn a point of departure.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Sheets to Lull To
    Sheets to Lull To - Pratyaksh Gautam Lo-Fi? So, What’s Different? usic spawns countless genres, with new ones Most genres of music aim to grab your attention and Mpopping up by the dozens every few years. move you, or to make you move. Lo-fi established Among the genres to come to prominence in the last itself as a genre whose aim is to not draw too much few years, lo-fi stands out as one of the more “un- attention, as demonstrated by the title of the largest interesting” ones. It isn’t bizarre, avant-garde, nor is lo-fi live stream on the internet, ChilledCow’s 24x7 it dominating the top 40. It doesn’t have any artists “lo-fi hip hop radio - beats to relax/study to”. They’re who constantly make headlines for their fashion or repetitive, relaxed and laid-back beats, with rarely relationships. any comprehensible lyrics, to be played without It begs the much more “interesting” question, why needing to pay attention, as filler, think Phillip Glass is such a seemingly niche genre enjoying growing meets J Dilla. popularity? Simply put, lo-fi hip hop is this generation’s elevator Lo-fi, short for ‘low fidelity’ is a genre of music music, well suited for late-night study sesh’s, or drawing largely on hip-hop, with elements of other questionable activities best appreciated with sampling, classic old school drum machine sounds, a calm ambience. lo-fi has existed in some way or unquantised drums, slightly detuned synths, form for a long time, but has recently attracted a repetition, and repetition.
    [Show full text]
  • Music Video As Black Art
    IN FOCUS: Modes of Black Liquidity: Music Video as Black Art The Unruly Archives of Black Music Videos by ALESSANDRA RAENGO and LAUREN MCLEOD CRAMER, editors idway through Kahlil Joseph’s short fi lm Music Is My Mis- tress (2017), the cellist and singer Kelsey Lu turns to Ishmael Butler, a rapper and member of the hip-hop duo Shabazz Palaces, to ask a question. The dialogue is inaudible, but an intertitle appears on screen: “HER: Who is your favorite fi lm- Mmaker?” “HIM: Miles Davis.” This moment of Black audiovisual appreciation anticipates a conversation between Black popular cul- ture scholars Uri McMillan and Mark Anthony Neal that inspires the subtitle for this In Focus dossier: “Music Video as Black Art.”1 McMillan and Neal interpret the complexity of contemporary Black music video production as a “return” to its status as “art”— and specifi cally as Black art—that self-consciously uses visual and sonic citations from various realms of Black expressive culture in- cluding the visual and performing arts, fashion, design, and, obvi- ously, the rich history of Black music and Black music production. McMillan and Neal implicitly refer to an earlier, more recogniz- able moment in Black music video history, the mid-1990s and early 2000s, when Hype Williams defi ned music video aesthetics as one of the single most important innovators of the form. Although it is rarely addressed in the literature on music videos, the glare of the prolifi c fi lmmaker’s infl uence extends beyond his signature lumi- nous visual style; Williams distinguished the Black music video as a creative laboratory for a new generation of artists such as Arthur Jafa, Kahlil Joseph, Bradford Young, and Jenn Nkiru.
    [Show full text]
  • Baker Eastman School of Music [email protected] I
    A Cyclic Approach to Harmony in Robert Glasper’s Music Society for Music Theory Columbus, OH November 7, 2019 Ben Baker Eastman School of Music [email protected] I. Introduction Robert Glasper hip-hop R&B jazz neo-soul gospel I. Introduction Robert Glasper Blue Note releases: Canvas (2005) piano trio In My Element (2007) piano trio + R.G. Experiment Double-Booked (2009) Black Radio (2012) R.G. Experiment Black Radio 2 (2013) piano trio Covered (2015) R.G. Experiment ArtScience (2016) I. Introduction Robert Glasper “…probably the most prominent jazz musician of his generation. He’s gotten there by playing within and without jazz, and pushing the music to reconsider its boundaries.” -Russonello (NYT, 2018) I. Introduction Glasper’s Harmonic Language diatonic collections clear tonal centers tertian harmonies root motion by: 3rd (ex. Imaj7 - vi7 - IVmaj7 - ii7) descending 5th (ii7 - V7 - Imaj7) two primary chord qualities: major 7th chords + upper extensions minor 7th chords I. Introduction “Rise and Shine” (Canvas, 2005) Fmaj9 Dbmaj9 Bbm9 Gm11 ™ ™ C œ œ œ bœ œ œ œ j œ œ &b œ J bœ œ œ ˙ ˙ œ Dmaj9 Gm11 D/F# Fmaj9 ™ ™ b œ œ œ j Œ & ˙ J œ œ œ œw ˙ œ œ Dbmaj9 C7 F Bbm11 Gm11 ™ ™ b œ œ œ œ œ œ œ b˙ œw w & bœ œ œ œ œ œ œ J œ 1. Gm11 Dm11 ™ j ™ &b w œ œ œ œw w w 2. Gbmaj9 C7alt F7sus4 ™ b˙ bwœ w ˙ &b ˙ œ œ œ œ œ œ &b∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ I. Introduction “Rise and Shine” (Canvas, 2005) Fmaj9 Dbmaj9 Bbm9 Gm11 ™ ™ C œ œ œ bœ œ œ œ j œ œ &b œ J bœ œ œ ˙ ˙ œ Dmaj9 Gm11 D/F# Fmaj9 ™ ™ b œ œ œ j Œ & ˙ J œ œ œ œw ˙ œ œ Dbmaj9 C7 F Bbm11 Gm11 ™ ™ b œ œ œ œ œ œ œ b˙ œw w & bœ œ œ œ œ œ œ J œ 1.
    [Show full text]
  • 'Black Radio Is Like No Station You've Ever Heard, and That's Precisely Its
    JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012 ISSUE MMUSICMAG.COM REVIEWS HOLE RNobody’sOBERT GLASPER Daughter EXPERIMENT [Universal] Black Radio [Blue Note] The first album released under the Hole moniker since 1998’s Celebrity Skin is really frontwoman Courtney Love’sTo Robert Glasper, there’s no reason for traditional jazz, contemporary hip- second solo album—co-founder,hop and R&B not to be best friends. Glasper fuses those elements expertly songwriter and lead guitarist Eric Erlandson isn’t involved,on Black Radio; the keyboards include synths, Rhodes and piano, and nor is any other previous Hole member. So it’s Love andan three array of guests adds to the mix, from Meshell Ndegeocello and Musiq ringers on 11 new songs—10 of which Love wroteSoulchild with to rapper Lupe Fiasco. Glasper and collaborators offer a continually collaborators like Billy Corgan,shifting Linda sonic Perry landscape, and new from the smooth soul of “Afro Blue,” the Mongo guitarist Micko Larkin. (Perry gets full credit on one tune, “Letter to God.”) Santamaria-penned jazz classic sung here by Erykah Badu, to the harder, Much of the riveting intensity of the group’s 1990s heyday appears to havebeat-centric left along with pastiche her former that comprisesDaniel Jackson Mos Def’s title track. But the final two bandmates, but there are fl ashes here of the snarling Too often, though, the slower songs trip her up. While once fury Love deployed to suchtracks devastating are arguably effect back Black in the day.Radio they’s mostwere showcases intriguing: for harrowingcovers ofdisplays David of nakedBowie’s emotion, She spits out her vocals semi-obscurewith vengeful disdain “Letter on “Skinny to Hermione,” Little Love drivensounds bymore Bilal’s dispassionate sensual these vocal days.
    [Show full text]
  • Why Jazz Still Matters Jazz Still Matters Why Journal of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences Journal of the American Academy
    Dædalus Spring 2019 Why Jazz Still Matters Spring 2019 Why Dædalus Journal of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences Spring 2019 Why Jazz Still Matters Gerald Early & Ingrid Monson, guest editors with Farah Jasmine Griffin Gabriel Solis · Christopher J. Wells Kelsey A. K. Klotz · Judith Tick Krin Gabbard · Carol A. Muller Dædalus Journal of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences “Why Jazz Still Matters” Volume 148, Number 2; Spring 2019 Gerald Early & Ingrid Monson, Guest Editors Phyllis S. Bendell, Managing Editor and Director of Publications Peter Walton, Associate Editor Heather M. Struntz, Assistant Editor Committee on Studies and Publications John Mark Hansen, Chair; Rosina Bierbaum, Johanna Drucker, Gerald Early, Carol Gluck, Linda Greenhouse, John Hildebrand, Philip Khoury, Arthur Kleinman, Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, Alan I. Leshner, Rose McDermott, Michael S. McPherson, Frances McCall Rosenbluth, Scott D. Sagan, Nancy C. Andrews (ex officio), David W. Oxtoby (ex officio), Diane P. Wood (ex officio) Inside front cover: Pianist Geri Allen. Photograph by Arne Reimer, provided by Ora Harris. © by Ross Clayton Productions. Contents 5 Why Jazz Still Matters Gerald Early & Ingrid Monson 13 Following Geri’s Lead Farah Jasmine Griffin 23 Soul, Afrofuturism & the Timeliness of Contemporary Jazz Fusions Gabriel Solis 36 “You Can’t Dance to It”: Jazz Music and Its Choreographies of Listening Christopher J. Wells 52 Dave Brubeck’s Southern Strategy Kelsey A. K. Klotz 67 Keith Jarrett, Miscegenation & the Rise of the European Sensibility in Jazz in the 1970s Gerald Early 83 Ella Fitzgerald & “I Can’t Stop Loving You,” Berlin 1968: Paying Homage to & Signifying on Soul Music Judith Tick 92 La La Land Is a Hit, but Is It Good for Jazz? Krin Gabbard 104 Yusef Lateef’s Autophysiopsychic Quest Ingrid Monson 115 Why Jazz? South Africa 2019 Carol A.
    [Show full text]
  • The 2018 NEA Jazz Masters Tribute Concert Honoring the 2018 National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters
    4-16 JAZZ NEA Jazz.qxp_WPAS 4/6/18 10:33 AM Page 1 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts DAVID M. RUBENSTEIN , Chairman DEBoRAh F. RUTTER, President CONCERT HALL Monday Evening, April 16, 2018, at 8:00 The Kennedy Center and the National Endowment for the Arts present The 2018 NEA Jazz Masters Tribute Concert Honoring the 2018 National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters TODD BARKAN JOANNE BRACKEEN PAT METHENY DIANNE REEVES Jason Moran is the Kennedy Center Artistic Director for Jazz. This performance will be livestreamed online, and will be broadcast on Sirius XM Satellite Radio and WPFW 89.3 FM. Patrons are requested to turn off cell phones and other electronic devices during performances. The taking of photographs and the use of recording equipment are not allowed in this auditorium. 4-16 JAZZ NEA Jazz.qxp_WPAS 4/6/18 10:33 AM Page 2 THE 2018 NEA JAZZ MASTERS TRIBUTE CONCERT Hosted by JASON MORAN, Kennedy Center Artistic Director for Jazz With remarks from JANE CHU, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts DEBORAH F. RUTTER, President of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts The 2018 NEA JAzz MASTERS Performances by NEA Jazz Master Eddie Palmieri and the Eddie Palmieri Sextet John Benitez Camilo Molina-Gaetán Jonathan Powell Ivan Renta Vicente “Little Johnny” Rivero Terri Lyne Carrington Nir Felder Sullivan Fortner James Francies Pasquale Grasso Gilad Hekselman Angélique Kidjo Christian McBride Camila Meza Cécile McLorin Salvant Antonio Sanchez Helen Sung Dan Wilson 4-16 JAZZ NEA Jazz.qxp_WPAS 4/6/18
    [Show full text]
  • The Portrayal of African American Women in Hip-Hop Videos
    Western Michigan University ScholarWorks at WMU Master's Theses Graduate College 6-2005 The Portrayal of African American Women in Hip-Hop Videos Ladel Lewis Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses Part of the Sociology Commons Recommended Citation Lewis, Ladel, "The Portrayal of African American Women in Hip-Hop Videos" (2005). Master's Theses. 4192. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/4192 This Masters Thesis-Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate College at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE PORTRAYAL OF AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN IN HIP-HOP VIDEOS By Ladel Lewis A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of The Graduate College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Department of Sociology Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, Michigan June 2005 Copyright by Ladel Lewis 2005 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to thankmy advisor, Dr. Zoann Snyder, forthe guidance and the patience she has rendered. Although she had a course reduction forthe Spring 2005 semester, and incurred some minor setbacks, she put in overtime in assisting me get my thesis finished. I appreciate the immediate feedback, interest and sincere dedication to my project. You are the best Dr. Snyder! I would also like to thank my committee members, Dr. Douglas Davison, Dr. Charles Crawford and honorary committee member Dr. David Hartman fortheir insightful suggestions. They always lent me an ear, whether it was fora new joke or about anything.
    [Show full text]
  • Marc Shapiro
    ADELE The Biography MARC SHAPIRO ST. MARTIN’S GRIFFIN NEW YORK adele. Copyright © 2012 by Marc Shapiro. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010. www .stmartins .com Design by Steven Seighman ISBN 978- 1- 250- 02516- 6 (trade paperback) ISBN 978- 1- 250- 02547- 0 (hardcover) ISBN 978- 1- 250- 02515- 9 (e-book) First Edition: July 2012 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 10. NO BALLAD, NO CRY dele began writing new material for her follow- up record in April 2009. But not before she agreed to take a fl yer as an actress with a guest shot on the hit tele vi- sion sitcom Ugly Betty. It seemed like a harm- Aless diversion from all the drama and pressure in her life. She reasoned, how hard could it be to play herself? In the episode, Betty is dancing with her husband at their wedding when the couple is suddenly interrupted by Adele. Th ere is some harmless banter and the next thing we know Adele is up on stage singing the song “Right As Rain.” Adele realized that that kind of promotion in America was well worth the eff ort, but would later acknowledge in Vogue that the Ugly Betty experience cured her of any future acting aspirations. “I can’t watch it. I was so uncomfortable. I am the worst actress of all time.” But Adele was thankful for the momentary respite from Marc Shapiro her day job as singer-songwriter on the rise.
    [Show full text]
  • Traditional Funk: an Ethnographic, Historical, and Practical Study of Funk Music in Dayton, Ohio
    University of Dayton eCommons Honors Theses University Honors Program 4-26-2020 Traditional Funk: An Ethnographic, Historical, and Practical Study of Funk Music in Dayton, Ohio Caleb G. Vanden Eynden University of Dayton Follow this and additional works at: https://ecommons.udayton.edu/uhp_theses eCommons Citation Vanden Eynden, Caleb G., "Traditional Funk: An Ethnographic, Historical, and Practical Study of Funk Music in Dayton, Ohio" (2020). Honors Theses. 289. https://ecommons.udayton.edu/uhp_theses/289 This Honors Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the University Honors Program at eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of eCommons. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Traditional Funk: An Ethnographic, Historical, and Practical Study of Funk Music in Dayton, Ohio Honors Thesis Caleb G. Vanden Eynden Department: Music Advisor: Samuel N. Dorf, Ph.D. April 2020 Traditional Funk: An Ethnographic, Historical, and Practical Study of Funk Music in Dayton, Ohio Honors Thesis Caleb G. Vanden Eynden Department: Music Advisor: Samuel N. Dorf, Ph.D. April 2020 Abstract Recognized nationally as the funk capital of the world, Dayton, Ohio takes credit for birthing important funk groups (i.e. Ohio Players, Zapp, Heatwave, and Lakeside) during the 1970s and 80s. Through a combination of ethnographic and archival research, this paper offers a pedagogical approach to Dayton funk, rooted in the styles and works of the city’s funk legacy. Drawing from fieldwork with Dayton funk musicians completed over the summer of 2019 and pedagogical theories of including black music in the school curriculum, this paper presents a pedagogical model for funk instruction that introduces the ingredients of funk (instrumentation, form, groove, and vocals) in order to enable secondary school music programs to create their own funk rooted in local history.
    [Show full text]
  • Jazz and Radio in the United States: Mediation, Genre, and Patronage
    Jazz and Radio in the United States: Mediation, Genre, and Patronage Aaron Joseph Johnson Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 2014 © 2014 Aaron Joseph Johnson All rights reserved ABSTRACT Jazz and Radio in the United States: Mediation, Genre, and Patronage Aaron Joseph Johnson This dissertation is a study of jazz on American radio. The dissertation's meta-subjects are mediation, classification, and patronage in the presentation of music via distribution channels capable of reaching widespread audiences. The dissertation also addresses questions of race in the representation of jazz on radio. A central claim of the dissertation is that a given direction in jazz radio programming reflects the ideological, aesthetic, and political imperatives of a given broadcasting entity. I further argue that this ideological deployment of jazz can appear as conservative or progressive programming philosophies, and that these tendencies reflect discursive struggles over the identity of jazz. The first chapter, "Jazz on Noncommercial Radio," describes in some detail the current (circa 2013) taxonomy of American jazz radio. The remaining chapters are case studies of different aspects of jazz radio in the United States. Chapter 2, "Jazz is on the Left End of the Dial," presents considerable detail to the way the music is positioned on specific noncommercial stations. Chapter 3, "Duke Ellington and Radio," uses Ellington's multifaceted radio career (1925-1953) as radio bandleader, radio celebrity, and celebrity DJ to examine the medium's shifting relationship with jazz and black American creative ambition.
    [Show full text]
  • Robert Glasper's In
    ’s ION T T R ESSION ER CLASS S T RO Wynton Marsalis Wayne Wallace Kirk Garrison TRANSCRIP MAS P Brass School » Orbert Davis’ Mission David Hazeltine BLINDFOLD TES » » T GLASPE R JAZZ WAKE-UP CALL JAZZ WAKE-UP ROBE SLAP £3.50 £3.50 U.K. T.COM A Wes Montgomery Christian McBride Wadada Leo Smith Wadada Montgomery Wes Christian McBride DOWNBE APRIL 2012 DOWNBEAT ROBERT GLASPER // WES MONTGOMERY // WADADA LEO SmITH // OrbERT DAVIS // BRASS SCHOOL APRIL 2012 APRIL 2012 VOLume 79 – NumbeR 4 President Kevin Maher Publisher Frank Alkyer Managing Editor Bobby Reed News Editor Hilary Brown Reviews Editor Aaron Cohen Contributing Editors Ed Enright Zach Phillips Art Director Ara Tirado Production Associate Andy Williams Bookkeeper Margaret Stevens Circulation Manager Sue Mahal Circulation Assistant Evelyn Oakes ADVERTISING SALES Record Companies & Schools Jennifer Ruban-Gentile 630-941-2030 [email protected] Musical Instruments & East Coast Schools Ritche Deraney 201-445-6260 [email protected] Advertising Sales Assistant Theresa Hill 630-941-2030 [email protected] OFFICES 102 N. Haven Road Elmhurst, IL 60126–2970 630-941-2030 / Fax: 630-941-3210 http://downbeat.com [email protected] CUSTOMER SERVICE 877-904-5299 [email protected] CONTRIBUTORS Senior Contributors: Michael Bourne, John McDonough Atlanta: Jon Ross; Austin: Michael Point, Kevin Whitehead; Boston: Fred Bouchard, Frank-John Hadley; Chicago: John Corbett, Alain Drouot, Michael Jackson, Peter Margasak, Bill Meyer, Mitch Myers, Paul Natkin, Howard Reich; Denver: Norman Provizer; Indiana: Mark Sheldon; Iowa: Will Smith; Los Angeles: Earl Gibson, Todd Jenkins, Kirk Silsbee, Chris Walker, Joe Woodard; Michigan: John Ephland; Minneapolis: Robin James; Nashville: Bob Doerschuk; New Or- leans: Erika Goldring, David Kunian, Jennifer Odell; New York: Alan Bergman, Herb Boyd, Bill Douthart, Ira Gitler, Eugene Gologursky, Norm Harris, D.D.
    [Show full text]
  • The Modality of Miles Davis and John Coltrane14
    CURRENT A HEAD ■ 371 MILES DAVIS so what JOHN COLTRANE giant steps JOHN COLTRANE acknowledgement MILES DAVIS e.s.p. THE MODALITY OF MILES DAVIS AND JOHN COLTRANE14 ■ THE SORCERER: MILES DAVIS (1926–1991) We have encountered Miles Davis in earlier chapters, and will again in later ones. No one looms larger in the postwar era, in part because no one had a greater capacity for change. Davis was no chameleon, adapting himself to the latest trends. His innovations, signaling what he called “new directions,” changed the ground rules of jazz at least fi ve times in the years of his greatest impact, 1949–69. ■ In 1949–50, Davis’s “birth of the cool” sessions (see Chapter 12) helped to focus the attentions of a young generation of musicians looking beyond bebop, and launched the cool jazz movement. ■ In 1954, his recording of “Walkin’” acted as an antidote to cool jazz’s increasing deli- cacy and reliance on classical music, and provided an impetus for the development of hard bop. ■ From 1957 to 1960, Davis’s three major collaborations with Gil Evans enlarged the scope of jazz composition, big-band music, and recording projects, projecting a deep, meditative mood that was new in jazz. At twenty-three, Miles Davis had served a rigorous apprenticeship with Charlie Parker and was now (1949) about to launch the cool jazz © HERMAN LEONARD PHOTOGRAPHY LLC/CTS IMAGES.COM movement with his nonet. wwnorton.com/studyspace 371 7455_e14_p370-401.indd 371 11/24/08 3:35:58 PM 372 ■ CHAPTER 14 THE MODALITY OF MILES DAVIS AND JOHN COLTRANE ■ In 1959, Kind of Blue, the culmination of Davis’s experiments with modal improvisation, transformed jazz performance, replacing bebop’s harmonic complexity with a style that favored melody and nuance.
    [Show full text]