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Course Logistics and Administrative Schedule

  • Canvas Structure:

    • The course utilizes two separate Canvas portals: standard Lecture Canvas (1200) and a dedicated Recitation Canvas.

    • The lecture syllabus and master schedule are located on the Lecture Canvas (1200).

  • Syllabus Revisions and Key Dates:

    • The master schedule accounts for Fall Break on October 9 (10/910/9).

    • Recitations will feature two group presentations per session to accommodate schedule adjustments.

    • Group 1 receives an additional week of preparation time, allowing Group 1 and Group 2 to contrast and juxtapose their respective topics during the same recitation block.

    • No recitation meetings occur during Fall Break or Thanksgiving.

  • Presentation Requirements:

    • Group Presentations: Held during Friday recitations.

    • Individual Presentations: Each student must deliver a 5-minute presentation on a musical topic negotiated with their recitation instructor.

    • Topic Selection: Students unfamiliar with jazz may select from pre-approved example lists provided in Canvas modules. Students familiar with jazz are encouraged to propose recent, contemporary recordings or releases to introduce new music to the instructional staff.

  • Attendance and Assessment Mechanics:

    • Quizzes: Periodic 10-point quizzes (consisting of 5 questions) are administered at the end of lectures every other week.

    • Top Hat System: Quiz credit requires active check-in via the Top Hat platform during the lecture session to verify physical attendance.

Course Materials and External Resources

  • Canvas Module Artifacts:

    • Jazz/Not Jazz: A core reference collection by scholar Abe (associated with the New Jazz Fellowship) addressing genre categorization and boundary definitions.

    • Columbia University Listening Guide: A foundational resource detailing jazz characteristics, structural components, and listening strategies for beginners.

    • Columbia University Jazz Glossary: A reference list covering technical terminology, including concepts such as chromaticism.

  • Content Warning:

    • Course content includes explicit language, historically sensitive themes, and triggering topics directly tied to the historical and social conditions surrounding American music and society.

Historical Origins, Etymology, and Pre-Jazz

  • Etymology of "Jazz":

    • 1912 Print Origin: The word "jazz" first appeared in print in 1912 within the context of baseball reporting, used as an adjective to describe an energetic or unpredictable pitch (e.g., a "big jazz pitch").

    • Adjectival Meaning: Prior to identifying a musical genre, "jazz" denoted energy, spice, flavor, vitality, or elevated spirit ("jazzed things up").

    • Noun Transition: The term was later applied as a generic label for specific musical styles emerging in the early 20th century.

  • Early Terminology and Community Origins:

    • Musicians in the early 20th century did not originally self-identify as "jazz musicians." For roughly twenty years, they predominantly categorized their style as ragtime.

    • The hybrid style that became known as jazz originated as an artistic expression rooted in the African American community.

    • Black musicians took familiar musical material, altered its rhythmic energy and structural delivery, and adapted it into a unique, expressive medium.

  • Early Recording History and Segregation:

    • 1913–1914: Early pre-jazz figures, such as James Europe, recorded music around this period.

    • 1917: The Original Dixieland Jass Band (a white ensemble) made the first commercial audio recording explicitly labeled as "jass" or "jazz."

    • Systemic Segregation: African American musicians were structurally barred by record companies from recording popular commercial music until the 1920s, when labels recognized a profitable market for Black recordings.

Cultural Meaning, Power Structures, and Genre Boundaries

  • Subversion of Dominant Power Structures:

    • At its inception, jazz functioned as a musical subversion of dominant social hierarchies and cultural power structures in the United States.

    • Authenticity and authority in jazz are tied to its roots as an expressive outlet for marginalized African American communities.

  • The Interrelation of Jazz and Hip-Hop:

    • Hip-hop and jazz share deep historical, structural, and cultural continuity; hip-hop can be framed as a modern subgenre or cultural extension of jazz.

    • Both genres originated within marginalized African American communities as alternative, subversive expressions against dominant commercial sounds.

    • Both underwent eventual commercialization, commodification, and integration into mainstream popular culture.

    • Categories like jazz, hip-hop, ragtime, blues, and emo are external taxonomy labels imposed by gatekeepers, critics, and industries rather than rigid boundaries felt by practicing artists.

Analytical Listening Case Studies ("Jazz vs. Not Jazz")

  • Case 1: Modern Pittsburgh Hip-Hop (e.g., Mac Miller track):

    • Listener Consensus: Classified as