All The Things You Are: Jazz Music, Pathways Analysis, and a Theory of Cultural Flows by Tyler Harris, BA. A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts Communications School of Journalism and Communications Caiieton University Ottawa, Ontario Canada July 19, 2006 ©Tyler Harris, 2006 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 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All the Things You Are: Jazz Music, Pathways Analysis, and a Theory of Cultural Flows by Tyler Harris Abstract This thesis seeks to utilize the history of jazz music to provide an alternative model for the study of cultural phenomena. Traditional histories of jazz music tend to focus exclusively on the role of music and musicians, while neglecting many of the other non-musical factors which have contributed to the development of the music. Jazz music further provides a complicated example of culture, because it has functioned on many different levels of culture: folk, mass, and elite. Historically, there has also been great difficulty in understanding cultural phenomena which operate on more than one level. These shortcomings can be avoided by paying attention to the pathways through which jazz music travels to reach an audience. An analysis of pathways draws attention to the ways in which messages can be reshaped by factors (media interests, institutions, commercial interests, and critics) encountered along pathways, as well as why certain types of culture operate at certain cultural levels. ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Acknowledgements It has been argued that with the onset of rampant digital downloading, most people will stop buying musical albums. One of the reasons I think I will always continue is because I love reading liner notes, understanding some of the supporting cast who has played a role in the realization of the project. And with this in mind I would like to share some of my own debts. First and foremost, this thesis has been inspired, subject and outcome, by my father. Some of my earliest memories are of watching my father practicing his trumpet; listening with him to jazz and classical records. He has been thoroughly involved in this work from the beginning, and we have shared innumerable discussions about what it is that I wanted to do. His questions of impact have challenged me and will continue to shape my directions. I would also be remiss if I did not thank the members of my committee for their participation. Paul Attallah has been nothing short of amazing in his editorial coachings. His responses to my chapters and nervous questions have been both quick and incredibly enlightening. He has shown me ways to think and write clearly, and to spend this time with him has been a great learning experience. Charlene Elliott has been a cherished professor during my years at Carieton. I have greatly appreciated her genuine interest in my work, and her willingness to treat me more like a colleague than a student. And I am humbled by the appearance of Will Straw on my committee, who took the time to read and contribute towards an unknown Masters candidate. Finally, there has been a host of others who have inspired, assisted, and contributed. Mike, my saxophone teacher, has brought me closer and closer to my iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. subject material. Royd has aided me with the frustrations of editing, and called out my choices of style and voice. I have valued greatly my discussions with Krista, especially in her sharing with me her own theorizing, and our common questions about the role and future of the arts in our society. And it has been a joy to share the discoveries of this journey and the process of co-miseration with the other MA students in my class (Angela, Kathleen, Lee-Ann, Melissa). Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Table of Contents Introduction - Complicating Culture 1 Chapter One - Abbreviations and Appropriations 17 Definitions 19 The Narrative Tradition of Jazz 23 Recent Directions 27 Great Men of Jazz 30 Solutions 35 Chapter Two - Theories of Culture and Communications 42 The Critique of Mass Culture 43 Cultural Categories 52 The Process of Exchange 58 Factors of Influence 72 The Importance of Pathways Analysis 82 Chapter Three - From Folk To Mass 86 Jazz as Folk Culture 88 The First Cultural Transformation 99 Chapter Four - From Mass To Elite 117 Jazz as Popular Culture 119 The Second Cultural Transformation 132 Chapter Five - Elite and Everything After 156 Jazz as Elite Culture 158 Fusion as a Popularizing Movement 178 Neo-Classicism as an Elitist Movement 188 Chapter Six - Justifications and Implications 205 Outlining the Theory 208 Limitations and Further Considerations 230 Implications 241 Conclusions - All the Things You Are 249 Endnotes and Bibliography 261 V Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Introduction: Complicating Culture There are legends of the Orkney Islands that introduce the character of the Selkie- folk. The Selkie-folk are seal people, creatures that can shed their skin and assume human form. However, their transformation into human form is not a complete one; they always long to return to the sea and their original shape. The legend of the Goodman of Wastness is one such folktale.1 It explains how a certain gentleman came upon a number of Selkie- folk in human form, playing and basking in the sun. He manages to creep up on them unnoticed and steal one of their skins. The female Selkie whose skin has been taken (and is therefore trapped in human form) follows the Goodman home and begs to have her skin returned. The man! falls in love with the seal-maiden and, refusing to return her skin, convinces her reluctantly to leave her people and become his wife. The two live together for years, but everyday, when the man goes out fishing, the seal-maiden searches the house for her seal-skin (which would allow her to resume seal form and return to the sea). Finally one day, with the help of her children, she retrieves the skin and rushes back to the sea, leaving her husband and transforming once again into a seal, with the parting statement: “Fare thee weel, Goodman o’ Wastness. I liked thee weel enough fur thoo war geud tae me bit I love better me man o’ the sea.” The Selkie-folk of this legend all exhibit an ability to shift back and forth between forms; they can become, completely, another species, though they retain characteristics and longings of their former selves. In other Selkie tales, the Selkie can be seduced away from their original seal-forms to become human by offerings of wealth. However, no matter whether they end up on the human or seal side of the divide, the Selkie are always tempted by a desire to return to the other form. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. These fables can also be interpreted as allegories of the metamorphic nature of cultural phenomena. Much like the Selkie-folk of legend, cultural phenomena can also be seen to exhibit the same transitory properties. Even a cursory history of culture over the last century uncovers many examples of transition. Interestingly enough, however, a particular social group’s preferences for a certain cultural form may not remain constant. The various cultural forms, styles, shades, and phrases reviled by one social group can quite suddenly become worthy of praise for another group or at another time. And likewise, certain types of culture celebrated by another group, may become tainted and unworthy.