The Contested Origins, Criticism, Performance Practice, And
CAUGHT BETWEEN JAZZ AND POP: THE CONTESTED ORIGINS, CRITICISM, PERFORMANCE PRACTICE, AND RECEPTION OF SMOOTH JAZZ Aaron J. West, B.M., B.S., M.M. Dissertation Prepared for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS December 2008 APPROVED: John P. Murphy, Major Professor Eileen M. Hayes, Minor Professor and Interim Chair of the Division of Music History, Theory, and Ethnomusicology Mark McKnight, Committee Member Graham Phipps, Director of Graduate Studies in the College of Music James C. Scott, Dean of the College of Music Sandra L. Terrell, Dean of the Robert B. Toulouse School of Graduate Studies West, Aaron J., Caught Between Jazz and Pop: The Contested Origins, Criticism, Performance Practice, and Reception of Smooth Jazz. Doctor of Philosophy (Musicology), December 2008, 273 pp., 10 figures, 30 musical examples, bibliography, 210 titles. In Caught Between Jazz and Pop, I challenge the prevalent marginalization and malignment of smooth jazz in the standard jazz narrative. Furthermore, I question the assumption that smooth jazz is an unfortunate and unwelcomed evolutionary outcome of the jazz-fusion era. Instead, I argue that smooth jazz is a long-lived musical style that merits multi-disciplinary analyses of its origins, critical dialogues, performance practice, and reception. Chapter 1 begins with an examination of current misconceptions about the origins of smooth jazz. In many jazz histories, the origins of smooth jazz are defined as a product of the jazz-fusion era. I suggest that smooth jazz is a distinct jazz style that is not a direct outgrowth of any mainstream jazz style, but a hybrid of various popular and jazz styles.
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