Is jazz American or international?

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The meat of their complaint was that the program gave a strong impression that jazz was an exclusively American conception, and that only Americans were capable of presenting jazz authentically. Not one foreigner was mentioned or quoted in the series. Grabowsky drew attention to the contributions of European luminaries such as Django Reinhardt and George Shearing. He might have gone further by mentioning a host of celebrated musicians such as Joe Zawinul and John McLaughlin. These immigrants had established themselves as the equals of native born Americans on their instrument.

Django Reinhardt

I believe, however, that the subtext of local critics was that Australia received no mention at all. Was this fair? Does Australia enjoy any reputation in the United States as a jazz nation?
For my part, the answer is 'no', Australia is not thought of in the US as having made any contribution to jazz. And I believe that this is grossly unfair. It seems to me that, even outside the USA, jazz tends to be regarded as an American art form which cannot be completely mastered by non Americans. In some quarters, indeed, it is perceived as an African-American art, incapable of being truly created by others outside that cultural and racial group.
But surely, this is racism. The United States of America is a racially divided country, and jazz is notorious for its history of bitterness and rivalry between black and white players. Even Duke Ellington abhorred the music of George Gershwin and, indeed, rarely performed any music not composed by himself or his alter ego Billy Strayhom. And the African American trumpeter Miles Davis treated the white pianist, Bill Evans, with scorn.
'Political correctness' may indeed ascribe the origin and development of jazz exclusively to African Americans. The great musicologist Gunther Schuller (jazz's most scholarly analyst) has demonstrated the rhythmic debt that jazz owes to the African origins of American slaves. But even his empathy goes far from asserting that jazz is the exclusive domain of African Americans. The reality is that Schuller, in his sequel to 'Early Jazz' (Musings: The Musical Worlds of Gunther Schuller New York, 1986) demonstrated that jazz is an eclectic art form drawn from many sources. Formally, it owes much to the polyphonic structures of European art music. 'Traditional' or 'classic' jazz consists of collective textures, based on contrapuntal interplay not dissimilar from medieval church music. The Christian religion can take credit for the Gospel tradition especially the Baptist chapels of the Southern States of the USA. Above all, Jewish and particularly European Jewish folk music had a great influence on the songs of Tin Pan Alley, Broadway, and Hollywood. These songs have formed the bulk of 'standard' material used by jazz musicians in the four or five decades since jazz's centre of influence migrated northwards from New Orleans to Chicago and New York City.
The New Orleans of the late nineteenth century, which claims to be the locus of the origin of jazz, was predominantly a Creole community. Even today the laws of Louisiana remain based on the Code Civil of France. A great number of American composers were either born abroad or were first generation Americans. Many anglicized their names to disguise this fact. The grossly underrated Harry Warren, for instance, who won three Oscars for film songs, and altogether wrote more than thirty songs that have become 'jazz classics', was born Salvatore Guarani, in 1893. George Gershwin was the son of a Russian immigrant named Gershovitz. His father changed the name to Gershvin. The composer himself replaced the 'v' with a 'w'. Gershwin's lyricist brother, Ira, went further. Until 1924 he called himself Arthur ostensibly so as not to confuse the public into thinking that he was his brother!

Ira and George Gershwin

Vernon Duke, composer of Autumn In New York and April in Paris, was a bona fide musician; a symphonic composer who had studied at the Kiev Conservatory under the Slav name of V1adimir Alexandrovichbukelsky. Jule Styne, who composed amongst other great songs Just in Time, was born Julius Kerwin in London. Irving Berlin entered the world as Israel Baline, the son of a Russian cantor. The most academically distinguished immigrant composers were Kurt Weill and Friedrich Loewe, both of whom had studied in Berlin until their twenties before furthering (some might say prostituting) their skills in America. There they composed songs of the utmost melodic beauty and harmonic complexity which were delightedly seized on by American jazz performers.
Many lesser-known jazz composers either wrote songs in Europe or were strongly influenced by the European tradition. In my view, the principles and practices, forms and harmonic progressions of European art music formed the basis of their songs. Foremost amongst these practices was the theory, central to the German Lied, that the words and the music of a song are inextricably linked. Accordingly the accompaniment, be it individual or ensemble, is integral to the understanding of the sentiment behind each song. Music and words are of equal importance. For this reason, the songs of the composers became the staple diet of the Swing Era's big bands, which usually were fronted by a prominent solo singer. For the most part these jazz 'standards' were not composed by jazz musicians. There are exceptions such as Johnny Green, the composer of Body and Soul and I Cover the Waterfront, who led a small jazz ensemble in the 1930s. But even he generally wrote his songs for torch singers such as the English diva, Gertrude Lawrence.
In more recent times, composers such as Frenchman Michel Legrand, and Berlin-born pianist, and conductor Andre Previn remind us of the debt that jazz owes to the European tradition of art music.
The following are non-American jazz players who have established an international reputation playing within the USA:
Luis Russell (Panamanian pianist);
Jean Luc Ponty (French violinist);
John Stevens (English trombonist),
Oscar Peterson (Canadian pianist);
Diana Krall (Canadian singer);
Cleo Laine (English singer);
Annie Ross (English singer);
Derek Bailey (English guitarist);
Sato Babieri (Argentine saxophonist);
Andrew Hill (originally Hillel, Haitian bebop pianist);
Jan Garbarek (Norwegian wind player);
Gil Evans (Canadian pianist and arranger);
George Shearing (English pianist);
Marion McPartland (English pianist);
Neils Henning Orsted Pedersen (Swedish bassist);
Josef Zawinul (Austrian pianist);
John McLaughlin (English guitarist);
Victor Feldman (English drummer, pianist, and vibraphonist);
Monty Alexander (Jamaican pianist).
What is characteristic of the above players is that they all made it in the punishing, competitive jazz milieu of the United States, fitting comfortably into American bands and accepted as equals by American musicians. They belong to the limited corpus of jazz greats who are household names. Sadly, the list does not contain one Australian!
There are, of course, non-American players who attained international stature based largely on their performances outside the USA. This category is necessarily selective and more likely to be judged on subjective criteria. A few jazz greats have built and sustained a reputation without basing themselves in the States. Some have performed occasionally in America, often as guest artists, but they have never been domiciled there. The list I have drawn throws light on the status of jazz in the respective countries of origin of the players:
Stephane Grappelli (French violinist);
Django Reinhardt (Belgian guitarist),
Humphrey Lyttleton (English trumpeter);
Martin Taylor (English guitarist),
Georgie Falne (English singer);
Courtney Pine (English saxophonist and clarinettist);
Ronnie Scott (English saxophonist);
Dave Holland (English Bassist);
Abdullah Ibrahim (South African pianist);
Kenny Wheeler (Canadian trumpeter, based mainly in the UK);
Stan Stacey (English pianist);
Albert Mangelsdorff (German trombonist);
Antonio Carlos Jobin (Brazilian pianist and composer),
Sergio Mendes (Brazilian pianist and composer).

Sergio Mendes

This list may be open to the criticism that it is biased towards the United Kingdom. This may be simply because I have less knowledge of the great players from Scandinavia, the Netherlands, France and Italy. Again Australia is absent from the list. But I do not believe that this lacuna is misguided. Latin America is represented by Brazil, although perhaps exclusivity does injustice to Mexico and Cuba.
The following list consists mainly of expatriate Americans who have felt more comfortable with the jazz scene of their adopted country. Again, the choice of names is subjective. 1 have, however, sought to include players whose presence and performances have had a significant impact on the local scene:
Sidney Bechet (saxophonist and clarinettist) settled in France in 1949; appeared in a French film in 1955 and played regularly in Paris until his death there in 1959;
Dexter Gordon (saxophonist) lived in Europe from 1962, where he exercised considerable influence as a teacher and performer;
Bud Powell (pianist) settled in Paris in 1959, and, in effect, acclimatized Parisians to bebop;
Don Cherry (trumpeter and cornettist) made frequent visits to Europe, setttling in Sweden in 1971; Jackie McKelop (saxophonist) toured Japan in 1965 and settled in Paris in 1975,
Johnny Griffin (saxophonist) settled in Paris in 1962, and then bought a farm in Holland! He frequently appeared at European jazz festivals, seemingly taking delight in showing European musicians how modern jazz should really be played;
Nina Simone (singer) deserted the USA for France, living there until her death in 2003;
Josephine Baker (singer), whose humanitarian adoption programme as well as her vocal powers endeared her to the French, just as it had alienated her from her native America. Miss Baker spent most of her adult life in Paris.
The above list suggests that Paris has been the European Mecca for American expatriates. The visits to this city of many other American jazz performers such as Louis Armstrong are of critical importance to jazz history. So, indeed, did American composers such as Aaron Copeland and Virgil, Thomson, who became pupils of the famous composition teacher, Nadia Boulanger. Cole Porter, celebrated in the recent biopic De-Lovely was an habitue of Paris, a city that exercised much influence on his music.
Visits of American bands to European countries also exercised profound influences on the development of new styles of jazz. Their impact was particularly notable in the years following World War II, in that performances by aliens were severely rationed by the draconian policies of the Musicians' Union, protective of their own members. The rare occasion when such entry was allowed thus stimulated local band leaders to imitate their styles. For instance, the appearance in England in the early 1950s of Stan Kenton's orchestra, comprising over forty players, led the European band leaders Vic np. Hm to form almost a facsimile, playing Kenton's compositions and including elements that, at the time, were regarded as startlingly avant-garde. The visits to Europe in the 1950s and early sixties of the small groups of Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck and the Modem Jazz Quartet were seminal successes.
1 have tried to demonstrate that the view that jazz is incapable of being competently performed only by Americans is patently false. While American musicians may be accorded maximum publicity and may indeed have been leaders in some fields of jazz performance, jazz is capable of being mastered by musicians of all countries.
As far as Australia is concerned, there is no doubt that the standard of jazz is very high. To an extent this is due to the rise of jazz conservatories and prestigious jazz courses at institutions such as the Victorian College for the Arts.
In this multicultural country the talent exists to incorporate elements of the indigenous music of many countries and cultures to enhance and push the boundaries of that wonderful art form generically labelled 'jazz'. In this way, without compromising its fundamental values, jazz can expand its frontiers to develop as an acknowledged World Music.

Adapted with permission from Tirra Lirra magazine

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How to get a well-paid gig

The Band Biography

When writing a bio it is important to remember what it is for. You are trying to put a positive picture of the group in the minds of agents or others who might consider hiring the group. In a bio of this nature you are not talking to punters, so forget the fan magazine model. Likewise forget the in-depth anguished artist interview as all-too-frequently seen in the so-called “serious” music press.

The aim is to convince agents and employers that you can deliver "bums on seats" (if this phrase means nothing to you then go back to Part 1 of this series in issue 4 of "the Dues"). With this in mind, details such as how long the band has been together and a list of high-profile gigs the band has done are obviously important. Details of individual members can be useful if kept brief. These should refer to experience, previous bands played in and perhaps even studies in music (uni or TAFE yes, music exams at school no!). All of these help to give a picture of an experienced professional unit.

A trawl through band sites on the internet will show you plenty of examples of bios ranging from the excellent to the truly abysmal. Read lots of these. Try to put yourself in the position of a booker or and agent and see if they work for you.

Never under any circumstance lie in a bio. Murphy's law says you will always get caught out and the damage to your credibility could be terminal. Putting a positive spin, however, is not only OK but almost always necessary. Here's an example.

BAD:
"Woodlice" have only been around for about six months. They met while doing a music course at TAFE but they are enthusiastic and are hoping for a big career in the music industry."

GOOD:
"Forged at one of Australia's top music colleges, highly trained in the professional skills that today's music industry demands, "Woodlice" can deliver what you need."

Get the most literate member of your group to write the bio. If you don't have one, find one amongst your friends, family or acquaintances. Bad spelling and grammar still irritate some people even in this post-literate age.

Finally, approach the bio as you should your demo. Short is sweet. Agents and bookers are busy people and probably see hundreds of these. Don't make yours any longer than it needs to be.

The Band Poster

There are any number of printing and design firms who will produce a poster for you. There are two problem with this approach:

1. It will cost you money (see part 4, issue 7).
2. You will probably have to get hundreds of posters, the bulk of which will live for the next twenty years in the back of your wardrobe because the lineup (or the name or the image or…) of the band changes.

Developments in domestic computer software mean that a respectable poster can be produced on a DIY basis particularly if you have access to someone with a bit of graphics savvy. This will save you design costs at least. Reproduction at home is usually limited to A4 size but A3 sized printers are not that uncommon. You could even get a few posters printed at this size commercially. The cost per unit would be pretty high but overall it would not be a great outlay (and the back of your wardrobe would stay uncluttered!). A3 is about the size that people start to take a poster seriously, larger sizes than this could be done on short runs using the method just described. You other alternative is to explore DIY silk screen printing (the Musicians' Union have a program to help bands with this)

Poster for a Johnny Cash tribute band

The standard poster has either a photo or a logo or both in the top half and a space to "texta in" individual gig details in the bottom half. Simplicity and maximum impact are said to be the hallmarks of a good poster. Cast your eye over any city wall to see and evaluate some examples. Remember that the poster, as part of your promo pack, has to impress the booker or agent first.

Tune in next issue for more promo pack secrets.

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