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African Music and All That Jazz

Julian Dorsey

Monday, March 12, 2012

Comparative Cultures

2 hen the !ord "#azz$ comes to mind, many connotations are dra!n up% rhythm, feelin&, soul, slo!, easy' listenin&, and many others( African'American is another related !ord( This is )ecause many people *no! that #azz has roots in African music, )ut may not *no! !hat effects these )lac* )e&innin&s had on #azz, as it is *no!n today( +n the study of the history of #azz, it is seen that many components of African music carried over into modern #azz such as rhythm, harmony, and improvisation( +n order determine the role that African music played in the influence and formation of #azz, the musical themes, concepts, and traditions that !ere present in African music must first )e discussed( A very important aspect of musical performance in Africa is that African musicians are *no!n to )e a)le to *eep time even !hen there is no apparent steady pulse( Many call this &ift the "metronome sense,$ !hich is the uni,ue a)ility to play e-tremely complicated rhythmic patterns !hile *eepin& perfect musical time(1 The fact that the )eat, or pulse, is never really emphasized or even played ma*es this feat that much more impressive(2 This a)ility allo!ed musicians such as con&a drummers to perform very comple- chronolo&ical parts( Co!)ell players performed a )asic time line for performers to follo! !hile other drummers )e&an to play at different places !ithin the measure( As a drummer, one !as never supposed dra! attention to oneself, )ut to "converse$ !ith his fello! drummers rhythmic communication( . Alon&side principles of rhythm are principles of harmonic and melodic systems uni,ue to African music( Musical temperature is an especially fascinatin& melodic system( +n this system, the incorporation of e,uidistant intervals is used to create musical
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/ofi A&a!u, "African Music$, Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience 2 A&a!u, "African Music$, Africana . David Coplan, "0otes on 0e! and 1ld orld African Drummin&% Just 2layin& +t li*e 3ou Mean +t +s 0ot 2layin&$, African Music, 4%105'106

. passa&es(7 This use of e,uidistance is also applied to African harmonies throu&h the "or&anum$ principle( This is !hen a melody parallel to the ori&inal is played a specific interval )elo! such as a 2erfect 7th or 2erfect 5th 8A9( hile this melody is )ein& played

in accordance !ith the first, it is important to remem)er that it is not harmonizin&, )ut is parallel(5 :ocal ensem)les also incorporate distinctive harmonic structures, the most common of these )ein& "call'and'response($ This is !hen a melody or "lic*$ is played and a second line "responds$ shortly thereafter( This system produces !hat is *no!n as counterpoint(; Thou&h there are many theoretical components associated !ith African music, there are many internal, more intan&i)le concepts and traditions that are personal to the performer( Certain aspects of African music allo! African musicians to connect more deeply !ith the music( This dra!s the a)ility of performers to create more freely( Most rhythmic patterns in Africa rotate in cycles of 12 or 27 )eats( <ecause of this, musicians are therefore a)le to en&a&e more profoundly !ith the music(4 This deeper involvement may allo! performers to create more openly and uninhi)itedly !ithin the conte-t of a piece( An e-ample of this deeper connection !ith music can )e seen in the !ay that Africans clap !hen listenin& to music( To forei&ners, rhythmic clappin& patterns may seem to )e clapped "in the =!ron&> places at the =!ron&> times($? @ome may interpret this as the African>s ina)ility to clap in time( 1thers may call it a &ate!ay to freer improvisation( As mentioned )efore, call'and'response is a uni,ue form in African music that possesses an interestin& polyphonic concept, )ut it also possesses an improvisational
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A&a!u, "African Music$, Africana

Ared arren and Bee arren, The Music of Africa: An Introduction 8Cn&le!ood Cliffs% 0J, 16409% 26 A&a!u, "African Music$, Africana 4 A&a!u, "African Music$, Africana ? arren, The Music of Africa, ..

7 one as !ell( +n these call'and'response forms, the leader often improvises the melodies repeated )y )ac*&round sin&ers( +t is these melodies, composed on instance, that are repeated ver)atim as opposed to pre'composed melodies memorized )y an entire &roup(6 There is also much sym)olism and reasonin& )ehind the performance of music in Africa( Much of African music stems from mysticism or natural history( +n the Ashanti Cmpire, it !as )elieved that a )ird !hich natives called the /o*o*yina*a san& the very first music( The )ird>s name comes from the son& it sin&s, "The Kokokyinaka is a )eautiful dar* )ird that fre,uents the forest +ts call is not unli*e the notes of the drums( +t is every drummer>s totem, they claim *inship !ith it and !ould not eat it or *ill it( +ts call is somethin& li*e *ro *ro *ro *ro *ro *yini *yini *yini *ro *yini *a *a *a The Ashanti say it tau&ht them to drum($10 Aurtherin& the spirituality present in the roots of African music is the Creator>s Drummer( Any player of a tal*in& drum !as called a Creator>s Drummer )ecause he !as seen as one of the first si&nificant people to )e created( They !ould sin& of stories of rulers and their nations( They supposedly played !ith the "Man on the Moon$ !ho !as seen as a drummer in African society( They also played !ith the Kokokyinaka(11 1ther spiritual people in Africa !ere doctors( +n Morrocco, Tunisia, and @udan, music !as performed to cure the sic*( The performers of this healin& music, *no!n as gnawa, essewa, and griots, !ere said to have supernatural po!ers( Aside from the mysticism that surrounded African music, there !ere also many practical reasons for its performance as !ell( Cvents such as )irths, comin&'of'a&e
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David Boc*e, "+mprovisation in est African Musics$, Music Educators ournal, ;;% 126 Ashenafi /e)ede, !oots of "lack Music: The #ocal, Instrumental, and $ance %eritage of Africa and "lack America 8Trenton, 0J% Africa orld 2ress, 16659% .6 11 J( D( 0*etia, "The Eole of the Drummer in A*an @ociety$, African Music, 1% .?
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5 ceremonies, maria&es, and funerals all incorporated music in some fashion(12 Also in African society !as the presence of military drummers, those !ho !ere commissioned )y the &overnment to perform at $un&ars, the instatement of ne! chiefs, and other state festivals( There !ere also reli&ious drummers in African culture that performed on the holiday of da&one, a forty'day cycle on !hich Africans remem)er and honor their ancestors and chiefs(1. ith this e-panded *no!led&e of the )asic principles of African music alone, the formation of #azz and its relationships to the music of Africa can no! )e discussed( The )e&innin&s of #azz can )e seen in the music of African slaves( hen slaves !ere !or*in&

in the fields, they san& !or* son&s, field hollers, and street cries( These forms of son& often conveyed slaves> attitudes of discipline and mastery over !or* !hilst performin& field duties(17 Eelated to these !or* son&s !as another ancestor of #azz% the )lues( The )lues could )e seen as the opposite of !or* son&s( hile field hollers represented the

actions of a slave>s !or*, the )lues offered a release for slaves to sin& of the pain, a&ony, hardship, and trial that !ere present in their everyday lives(15 As time pro&ressed, a ne! type of music emer&ed in the 1?60s called ra&time( This &enre of music is assumed to have roots in African'American fol* music( Ea&time !as the direct predecessor to #azz, lastin& from 1?60 until 1620 !hen it !as replaced )y #azz itself around the same time as the end of orld ar +(1;

Durin& the development of #azz, certain traits of African music !ere esta)lished into !hat are no! )asic concepts of #azz music( A very lar&e part of #azz that stems
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A&a!u, "African Music$, Africana 0*etia, "The Eole of the Drummer$, 17 Ted Fioia, The %istory of a'', 80e! 3or*% 1-ford Gniversity 2ress, 16649 15 Fioia, The %istory of a'' 1; Cric <ennett, "Ea&time$, Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience

; directly from Africa is the use of ")lue notes($ <lue notes are usually seen as flattened .rds and 4ths 8<9( These notes !ere once descri)ed as "playin& the crac*s )et!een piano *eys$ )ecause in African music, they !ere never a perfect pitch as reco&nized in estern

culture(14 1ften !hen these ")lue notes$ are used, it is difficult to determine !hether a #azz piece or improvisation is in a ma#or or minor *ey( This is also very common in African music( @ome #azz pianists !ill even stress this concept )y stri*in& ad#acent *eys simultaneously(1? Jazz vocalists also utilize ")lue notes($ @ome may "!orry$ the third note in a scale )y &lidin& the tone )et!een natural and flat(16 This can also )e seen as a form of tone manipulation, or shapin&( Jazz sin&ers are *no!n to use various methods of shapin& tone influenced )y African sin&ers( A )asic techni,ue is to )e&in a lon& tone !ith a smooth sound and &radually transition to produce a hoarse tone, and re&ress into a smooth tone once a&ain to complete the lon& note(20 <illie Doliday>s "@tran&e Aruit$ is a prime e-ample of this techni,ue( Miss Doliday &enerates a sli&ht &ro!l !hen sin&in& certain !ords to &ive emphasis and e-press emotion(21 Aside from chan&in& the ,uality of sound, the manipulation of tones can also )e seen in chan&in& pitch( This can )e accomplished )y simply )e&innin& !ith one note and end !ith another( hat ma*es this techni,ue more

interestin& is that the chan&es of pitch !ould )e performed at different times !ithin an improvisation rather than at predicta)le places on the )eat(22 Jazz sin&ers are not the only musicians that chan&e the overall tone of music( Jazz
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Mar* Cl( Fridley, "To!ards +dentification of African Traits in Carly Jazz$, The "lack (erspecti)e in Music, 12% 5. 1? Fridley, "African Traits in Carly Jazz$, The "lack (erspecti)e***, 12% 5.'57 16 illiam Tallmad&e, "<lue 0otes and <lue Tonality$, The "lack (erspecti)e in Music, 12% 155'1;5 20 Fridley, "African Traits in Carly Jazz$, The "lack (erspecti)e 12% 52 21 "<illy Doliday H @tran&e Aruit$, 3ouTu)e 22 Fridley, "African Traits in Carly Jazz$, The "lack (erspecti)e 12% 7?

4 instrumentalists have also )een influenced )y African techni,ues of tone manipulation( Many instrumental #azz musicians !ill )e&in a tone !ith a slo! vi)rato and increase speed as time pro&resses or lo!er pitch as the note decays( <oth of these methods had roots solely )ased in African music(2. +t is also #azz instrumentalists that have found innovative !ays to produce uni,ue )uzzin& or rin&in& tones from their instruments( Trumpeters and trom)one players use mutes to &enerate a )uzz( ood!ind players such

as sa-ophonists my hum and )lo! into their instruments to create a raspy &ro!l( Drummers have even found !ays to alter the sounds of their drums( @ome put chains or rivets on cym)als to produce a perpetual rin& or hissin& sound( @ome horn players produced a hoarse or &ro!ly tone all the time( <en e)ster !as *no!n for this and his

raspy techni,ue can )e heard in a video recordin& of "Cotton Tail($27 ithout the mi&ration of African slaves to the Gnited @tates, #azz and many other &enres of music may have never )een formed( @o many aspects of African music have carried over into modern #azz that it !ould )e impossi)le to recreate !ithout these )lac* elements( Most interestin&, ho!ever, is that these African techni,ues and concepts have )een influential to #azz for so lon&I that #azz musicians are loo*in& )ac* to the roots of #azz !hen it !as first created and mimic*in& !hat they heard( Jazz is and al!ays !ill )e a ma#or part of African and African'American history(

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Fridley, "African Traits in Carly Jazz$, The "lack (erspecti)e 12% 52

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C<@TCE = Cotton Tail = JJJ$, 3ouTu)e