Class 5 (Historicism, Marsalis, Moran, some Scofield))

Historicism, Historicist Principles, Other Perspectives,

Historicism in the context of jazz is the idea that jazz builds on and engages with its own past when exploring new ideas. Historicism doesn’t define any certain era, but it presents itself in certain works and musicians.

Some musicians deliberately practice historicism principles, such as the movement of neoclassical musicians of the 80s. These musicians viewed old traditions, styles, and works as homages to the past, and sometimes thought that other current modernist idioms were not truly jazz.

Recently as well as in general, the practice of historicism typically falls into 3 principles:

1. Revivals of entire idioms - often where musicians get music from the past and attempt to recreate it, some believing that strict traditions are what defined “real” jazz.

2. Celebrating the musical past with original music - often through extending the spirit or energy of old musicians in new pieces, or building on an idea from the past. Many of these musicians aim to pay homage to classic greats.

3. Modernist interpretations of jazz classics - often through covers of original pieces with a new spin or own personal flair.

Other perspectives like new historicism, in the context of jazz, suggests that to truly understand jazz you must be aware of the cultural and historical events surrounding it. Conversely, New Criticism believes that the study of art like jazz should strictly be applied to its content, not to its context. One of the main jazz historians, Martin Williams, practiced new criticism, but education has since moved away from that perspective.

Wynton Marsalis

A leader of the neoclassical approach of the 1980s, Wynton Marsalis is a great classical and jazz musician who has won Grammys in both categories and even won a Pulitzer for his album Blood on the Fields.

Marsalis has been highly opinionated about avant-garde, fusion, and modernist approaches to jazz, believing they don’t truly represent jazz and are hardly related. He preferred to present himself like a Swing Era musician, and emphasized jazz’s connection to its past by playing old classics and following the traditions of mainstream jazz. His playing is most akin to the revival of idioms historicist principle.

He became a decent celebrity, but little could be done to reignite the public’s interest in traditional jazz. As well, the interest he did manage to create sparked competition between jazz and its own past, with many opting to purchase the classics rather than the interpretations or revivals. This made record sales plummet, and many labels like Columbia dropped him and jazz altogether.

Marsalis didn’t give up though, and has committed to to educating people on jazz, stressing the importance of its history, and leading Jazz at the Lincoln Center.

A good example of Marsalis’s neoclassical approach is his rendition of the piece “The Pearls.” This piece was written by Jelly Roll Morton, and Marsalis does a good job at playing the piece almost 1-for-1 with an added modern sound and a looser swing section in the middle.

Jason Moran

Jason Moran is a successful contemporary jazz pianist-composer who is great at reimagining and paying homage to jazz pieces and classic musicians. He has been important to historicism in that he often extends the energy of classic jazz pieces while embedding elements of his own upbringing, or is able to create imaginative pieces in the spirit of jazz heroes.

His style most closely represents the historicist principles of celebrating the musical past and conducting modernistic interpretations of jazz classics.

He didn’t initially play jazz, but heard Thelonious Monk’s “’Round Midnight” and became engrossed in a variety of jazz musicians and especially pianists ranging from James P. Johnson to Cecil Taylor.

One of his most notable historicist approaches to a piece is his cover of James P. Johnson’s “You’ve Got to Be Modernistic,” in which it is clear he is playing the piece, but enjoys many liberties that reflect his own stylistic development.

John Scofield

John Scofield is a jazz guitar player who enjoyed a career of historical tributes to great musicians like Ray Charles and Jimmy Nolen. He is a great example of a musician who is capable of looking to the past for inspiration while still creating new ideas.

One of the most notable of his homage pieces was “Chank,” in which he drew inspiration from the great rhythm guitar player Jimmy Nolen whose percussive style had him dubbed “Chank.” He recorded the piece with Medeski, Martin, and Wood, but interestingly lends the melody to the organ, likely to respect the role Nolen had.