Swing, Swing, Swing

Before attending this class, I had a very narrow minded view of jazz. I was entirely unaware of its history, concepts, and even its artists were unknown to me. I was unaware that jazz had strong racial ties. I always assumed it was coincidence that the majority of jazz artists were black.  The course has definitely changed my perception and opinion of jazz and its performers. My opinion of jazz has changed entirely, this whole time I thought jazz to be “cool”. I didn’t realize that there was a “hot” type of jazz. I assumed it to be slow with small quintets. I never realized that the New Orleans big bands were a type of jazz. To be honest, the only jazz I was familiar with was the music from the film Chicago. And that music is entirely modern and has a pop feel to it. But what changed the most was my perception of swing.

            The concept that has changed the most for me was swing. After seeing the movie swing kids, I thought swing to be only an upbeat, fast-moving type of sound. I thought it to be its own genre apart from the classification of jazz. I also never realized that it took a big band sound to create a real swing sound. With rhythm sections and strong emphasis on percussion. I also heard the greatest song ever created while being in this class. Sing, Sing, Sing by Benny Goodman, in my personal opinion is the best jazz song ever. And I had no idea that it existed because I was unaware of jazz and its history. I also didn’t know that the clarinet could be used in jazz, along with the guitar. There is a plethora of instrument that are used in jazz, especially swing and now I know.

            So basically my entire perception of jazz has changed, and the biggest impact was my perception of swing. 

Monk: Bro of the Community

The community of San Juan Hill portrayed well in many aspects of Monk’s life. Although an incredibly diverse location, the city was divided into separate enclaves. In the first quote, Monk briefly mentions the separation between the blocks, and how strong the dividing lines are. But this separate community really shaped Monk as artist and played a strong role in his sound. With all the diversity in San Juan Hill, there was always a variety of music. “The cultures of the West Indies and the Southerners blended despite tensions.”(Kelley, 23) Monk soon adopted the ways of Caribbean music, and it can be heard in his early jazz sound in songs like “Bye-ya” and “Bemish Swing”. Monk’s piano refinement also came from within his community. Alberta Simmons is said to be a huge impact on Thelonius as his piano instructor, even though she had never recorded music. (Kelley, 27)

            Monk transcended racial politics through his lifestyle actions and musical sound. It is a given than San Juan Hill is a diverse place, but Monk’s approach to the racial separation made him wiser than most. He states that people all over the world come to New York and contest each other’s rights to be there. (Stewart, Feb. 28, 2013) Monk opts to not limit himself to the black and white dichotomy because violence between races is a given. (Stewart, Feb. 28, 2013) Although the streets of San Juan Hill were bounded by race and class, the community as a whole began the early days of blurring the racial lines. And Monk’s music is representative of that. (Stewart, Feb. 28, 2013) I feel as though this is represented the Delaware trial with Nica and Rouse. From the Philadelphia arrest, I have gathered that Monk is aware of race, but does not see it. Since coming from the strong community of San Juan Hill, he is more expectant of tolerance to a certain degree. Because in New York even if you are a different race, you are still equals. And in the south, they do not share that same view. But Monk’s ignoring of these racial lines fostered a community that was spearheaded by acceptance. He helped spur a progressive society and acted as a role model for better times.