Lessons Learned

Honestly, I knew very little about the history of jazz before entering this class. I had heard of Louis Armstrong. I knew jazz had been an important part of American music history, and I believed it had played a role in influencing other forms of music like rock, hip-hop, and R&B. I also assumed jazz had predominately African-American origins. However, I was surprised that we could trace the evolution of jazz all the way back to Africa. It is amazing that we can see African principles like call-and-response, vital aliveness, and propulsive rhythm alive and vibrant in our music today (Thompson, 9-27). This class also showed me how prominent, long-lived, and influential jazz music has been. I had no idea that it had dominated American music for over half a century, nor that it had evolved so many times (Gioia, 200). It was also enlightening to see why and how these evolutions occurred looking through the lenses of history. Although it should not be surprising, I was impressed by how much culture and history influence music. Before this class I assumed that music influences culture much more than culture influences music; but, now I believe that culture influences music just as much, if not more, than music influences culture.

Before this class, I considered genius to be connected solely to the sciences. In my mind, genius produces increases in economic efficiency - most often through inventions and improvements in existing technology. I suppose that I believed in the existence of musical, literary, and artistic genius like Mozart, Shakespeare, and Michelangelo all demonstrated through their work; however, I never considered "feeling [to be] a form of knowledge. It's not just this mental trip." (lecture 1/24). That simple understanding was an epiphany, and it will probably be my biggest take-away from the course. It is so true. I also never stopped and considered genius to be dependent upon time and space. Samuel Johnson made the argument that genius "is only to be produced by a collision with a proper subject." Although I do not entirely agree with his argument, I do agree more with Professor Stewart's clarification that "genius emerges when it finds its proper context, its proper environment, its proper audience" (lecture 1/29). The setting must be just right in order for invention to occur and genius to manifest itself and be recognized. We have seen this theory demonstrated numerous times throughout the course. For example, in order for jazz to be born, it needed the syncretism and freedom of New Orleans (Gioia, 30-34). Likewise, Miles Davis genius, and Bebop music itself, benefited from a "collision" in New York of 52nd street, Greenwhich Village, Minton's, and Julliards (Lecture 2/21). However, sometimes genius can be manifested outside of its ideal environment; but in this case, it will often lack its proper recognition. Scott Joplin faced this issue when he composed ragtime ballet and opera. "His audience was ill prepared to understand the nature of such hybrid effects" of bringing African-American vernacular music in sync with mainstream traditions of Western composition (Gioia, 27). Despite this, his work was still incredible, and it laid the foundation for the work of many future jazz artists. Hence, genius can be produced at any point in time and space; but, it benefits, and is recognized most, in its ideal context.