The Use of African Music in Jazz From 1926-1964: An Investigation of the Life, Influences, and Music of Randy Weston by Jason John Squinobal Batchelor of Music, Berklee College of Music, 2003 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master in Ethnomusicology University of Pittsburgh 2007 i UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES This thesis was presented by Jason John Squinobal It was defended on April 17, 2007 and approved by Dr. Nathan T. Davis, Professor, Music Department Dr. Akin Euba, Professor, Music Department Dr. Eric Moe, Professor, Music Department Thesis Director: Dr. Nathan T. Davis, Professor, Music Department ii Copyright © by Jason John Squinobal 2007 iii The Use of African Music in Jazz From 1926-1964: An Investigation of the Life, Influences, and Music of Randy Weston Jason John Squinobal, M.A. University of Pittsburgh, 2007 ABSTRACT There have been many jazz musicians who have utilized traditional African music in their music. Randy Weston was not the first musician to do so, however he was chosen for this thesis because his experiences, influences, and music clearly demonstrate the importance traditional African culture has played in his life. Randy Weston was born during the Harlem Renaissance. His parents, who lived in Brooklyn at that time, were influenced by the political views that predominated African American culture. Weston’s father, in particular, felt a strong connection to his African heritage and instilled the concept of pan-Africanism and the writings of Marcus Garvey firmly into Randy Weston’s consciousness. While his father was a great influence on his early childhood, Duke Ellington, one of the most important musicians of the Harlem Renaissance, also influenced Weston. Ellington reinforced the importance Weston’s father placed on knowing their African roots. At the same time, Ellington, a dominant musical figure of the Harlem Renaissance, became an important musical influence on Weston. As Weston grew up, he looked up to the musicians of the bebop revolution. Thelonious Monk, one of the most significant contributors to the bebop revolution, befriended Weston and became a mentor to the young man. In Monk, Weston recognized the spirit of an African master. iv While Weston learned to interpret music similar to Monk’s style, he also developed a keener sense of African aesthetics through his relationship with Monk. Weston took every opportunity to hear and learn about traditional African music. He went to performances, listened to recordings and interacted with African delegates at the United Nations. Weston’s interest and research in traditional African music integrated with the growing cultural interest in Africa among the general African American population during the 1950s. The turbulence during this period of intense civil rights activism encouraged Weston’s attempts to merge African music with jazz and he composed Uhuru Afrika. All of the above influences helped Randy Weston to be conscious of his heritage. Through his musical output he was able to connect with that heritage in a way that was significant to him. v TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS.............................................................................................................. VI INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 IDENTIFYING AFRICAN MATERIAL IN AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSIC...................... 4 CHAPTER 1.................................................................................................................................. 8 HARLEM AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY................................................................... 10 HARLEM RENAISSANCE .................................................................................................... 12 MARCUS GARVEY............................................................................................................... 13 THE PERCEPTION OF AFRICA IN AMERICA DURING THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE........................................................................................................................... 15 MUSIC OF THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE........................................................................ 16 CHAPTER 2................................................................................................................................ 20 DUKE ELLINGTON............................................................................................................... 20 ELLINGTON THE COMPOSER............................................................................................ 21 ELLINGTON’S SIDEMEN..................................................................................................... 24 BUBBER MILEY.................................................................................................................... 24 JOE “TRICKY SAM” NANTON............................................................................................ 26 INFLUENCE ON WESTON................................................................................................... 26 CHAPTER 3................................................................................................................................ 28 BEBOP..................................................................................................................................... 29 THELONIOUS MONK........................................................................................................... 31 CHAPER 4................................................................................................................................... 38 CIVIL RIGHTS ....................................................................................................................... 38 THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NATIONALIST IDEOLOGY................................................ 41 vi THE BLACK ARTS MOVEMENT........................................................................................ 42 THE MUSIC OF THE BLACK ARTS MOVEMENT ........................................................... 44 MUSIC AND POLITICS......................................................................................................... 46 A LOVE SUPREME................................................................................................................ 46 UHURU AFRIKA ................................................................................................................... 48 CHAPTER 5................................................................................................................................ 51 COLONIALISM...................................................................................................................... 51 INTERCULTURAL ACTIVITY............................................................................................. 54 AFRICAN PIANISM............................................................................................................... 55 CHAPTER 6................................................................................................................................ 60 THE MUSIC OF RANDY WESTON ..................................................................................... 60 PAN-AFRICAN PIANISM ..................................................................................................... 60 CHAPTER 7................................................................................................................................ 75 ANALYSIS OF “UHURU KWANZA,” ................................................................................. 75 WESTON’S MUSICAL TRANSITION ................................................................................. 80 “CABAN BAMBOO HIGHLIFE”.......................................................................................... 81 CHAPTER 8................................................................................................................................ 86 CONCLUSION........................................................................................................................ 86 vii LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 1 “CONGOLESE CHILDREN” MELODY ............................................................................ 63 FIGURE 2 THE HIGHLIFE RHYTHMIC PATTERN USED IN “NIGER MAMBO.” .............................. 64 FIGURE 3THEMATIC REPETITION. .............................................................................................. 65 FIGURE 4 STANDARD TIME PATTERN........................................................................................... 68 FIGURE 5 FIRST PHRASES OF WESTON’S IMPROVISED SOLO ON “MYSTERY OF LOVE”............ 71 FIGURE 6 “CONGOLESE CHILDREN” MBIRA IMPRESSION.......................................................... 73 FIGURE 7 “KASBAH KIDS” IMPRESSION OF MBIRA ..................................................................... 74 viii INTRODUCTION In an article written in 1973 for the journal, Black Perspectives in Music, J.H. Kwanbena Nketia highlights the important and continual relationship between African and African American music. Nketia states “The relationship between African and Afro-American music is dynamic and unbroken at the conceptual level in spite of the differences in materials to which these concepts are applied.”1 This statement articulates the importance of understanding that African music was vital in the creation