Discuss whether we can rebuild a more perfect democracy by studying the interactions of performing musicians? Can this perfection be found in a song like “Amazing Grace” which is about transformation, but written by a slave holder and confessed rapist of women and girls? Wynton Marsalis believes so, do you? Write a compelling argument for or against. I have supplied resources for your review to gain greater insight into this concept. After reviewing, you are tasked with explaining this concept to me on paper as a demonstration of your understanding. You may use sources to undergird your position, but you must cite them at the end of the paper. Write as much as you feel you need to make your case. Bonus 50 points: How do you know that you are truly free, if you have not experienced the full benefits of citizenship – that which makes one American? Dr. King lamented this denial of citizenship through his writings which could be characterized as an elongated blues. He talked about the blues and jazz when he gave the opening address at the 1964 Berlin Jazz Festival: “God has wrought many things out of oppression. He has endowed his creatures with the capacity to create-and from this capacity has flowed the sweet songs of sorrow and joy that have allowed man to cope with his environment and many different situations.” “Jazz speaks for life. The Blues tell the story of life’s difficulties, and if you think for a moment, you will realize that they take the hardest realities of life and put them into music, only to come out with some new hope or sense of triumph. This is triumphant music.” “Modern Jazz has continued in this tradition, singing the songs of a more complicated urban existence. When life itself offers no order and meaning, the musician creates an order and meaning from the sounds of the earth which flow through his instrument.” “It is no wonder that so much of the search for identity among American Negroes was championed by Jazz musicians. Long before the modern essayists and scholars wrote of racial identity as a problem for a multiracial world, musicians were returning to their roots to affirm that which was stirring within their souls. Much of the power of our Freedom Movement in the United States has come from this music. It has strengthened us with its sweet rhythms when courage began to fail. It has calmed us with its rich harmonies when spirits were down. And now, Jazz is exported to the world. For in the particular struggle of the Negro in America there is something akin to the universal struggle of modern man. Everybody has the Blues. Everybody longs for meaning. Everybody needs to love and be loved. Everybody needs to clap hands and be happy. Everybody longs for faith.” “In music, especially this broad category called Jazz, there is a stepping stone towards all of these.” Wynton Marsalis: Democracy & Jazz on Vimeo or What Do Democracy and Jazz Have in Common? – BillMoyers.com http://jazzdemocracy.com/ Links to an external site. A. Democracy Democracy is a government in which power and responsibility are vested in the people and exercised by them; according to Abraham Lincoln, democracy is a government “of the people, by the people, and for the people” (for more on democracy, click hereLinks to an external site.). Democracy – Wikipedia B. Democracy and Freedom Although the terms democracy and freedom are often used interchangeably, they are not the same; democracy is individual freedom but with responsibility to the group. 1. In a democratic society, individuals have the freedom to do whatever they wish as long as it doesn’t interfere with anyone else. 2. In a perfect democratic society, what the individuals happen to freely choose to do enhances the whole group. 3. If all people freely chose to work hard, not commit crime, be fair, and not discriminate, we would have a perfect democratic society. a. Unfortunately, not all people think this way. b. Things like greed, people wanting power, and racism get in the way. C. A Jazz Combo as a Society A jazz combo is an example of a perfect democracy. 1. Each player has the freedom to play whatever he/she wants. a. But, at the same time, each player wants to play something that will not only please himself/herself, but make the whole group sound better as well, enhancing the overall sound. b. Jazz musicians work together on this, supporting each other while not compromising their own artistic individuality. 2. The best jazz bandleaders (e.g., Miles Davis) want their fellow musicians (AKA sidemen) to express themselves the way they want and not just do the bandleader’s “bidding.” a. In jazz, the best bandleaders encourage their sidemen to think and play however they wish, knowing that the entire group, in turn, will get more ideas and be inspired to play better individually and collectively; the leader and the sidemen work through each song as a team, learning from, complementing, and enhancing each other as they go along. b. This is the same for the rhythm section and soloist – the rhythm section players want to support, complement, excite, spur on, interact with, and enhance the soloist; the soloist, in turn, wants to interact with, inspire, and be inspired by the rhythm section. 3. Jazz musicians realize that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. a. Each individual part is enhanced by the group, i.e., each individual player gets better and comes up with more musical ideas because of the others in the group. b. Together the musicians can do so much more than they could ever do individually. c. They need each other to accomplish their individual and collective goals. d. Jazz musicians realize the music is better because each player is different – it brings something new to the music. e. If everyone in the band were the same, the music would probably be boring (there wouldn’t be much give and take, learning from one another, or enjoyment). f. In a jazz group, it doesn’t matter what color you are or what your ethnicity is; what matters is who you are inside and how you play. D. Listen Listen to any recording by Miles Davis;1 see if you can “hear” democracy at work. E. Imagine Just imagine how it would be if our society worked like a jazz group
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