History of Jazz

This paper is a response paper to the article “Jazz and the White Critic” by the playwright, jazz musician and activist Amiri Baraka (Leroi Jones). The article will be handed out in class. Your response paper should be a minimum of 2pages, double-spaced. This paper is not about the music but the response to it in print and the role criticism can play in influencing culture awareness either with or without bias. In his article Baraka states that jazz criticism is white male dominated and where the white jazz musician has “come to learn that Negro music is an expression of an attitude about the world” the white jazz critic is “anything but an intellectual… mostly hobbyists and boyishly brash members of the American petit bourgeoisie”. Those were bold claims in the mid 60’s when the article was written and still to this day ruffle many feathers in the jazz industry, even as some of his opinions still may ring true. For your assignment, I want you to respond to Baraka’s article by discussing a trend of your choice which you discover in modern jazz criticism. First, visit the website, allaboutjazz.com and click on ‘today’s cd reviews’or jazztimes.com and click the reviews menu. On that page you will be able to scroll through the last month or so of new cd releases. You should read several reviews of black jazz artists and of white jazz artists both men and women. Most of the reviewers are still white males but if you can find any written by someone of another race or gender, read a few of their reviews as well. Be sure to read dozens (they are short) reviews to get a sense of industry trends. Ask yourself this questionsto help pick a focus: are there any trends (biases perhaps) in these reviews that you can pick up on in their writing style towards artists of different background or jazz style? If so, do these patterns tend to support Baraka’s ideas in his article about jazz criticism or do they contradict his opinions? For example, do the writers spend time discussing the music and the meaning behind it, or do they talk about superficial things like the artwork, song titles, their personal reflections about what jazz is, waxing poetic about culture etc…? Do they make a special point about the artist’s roots or where ‘they are coming from’? If you read reviews about re-releases (old recordings by a jazz legend, Miles Davis or Charlie Parker for example) is there a different tone in the criticism than for a new release? And if so, why do you think so? If you find any reviews by someone other than a white male, do those reviews set a different tone or approach to the artists and the music? And if so, how?–Pick one of the above questions to focus on for your article. Be specific and edit your thoughts and research to explore thoroughly your chosen angle in response to Baraka’s article.