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• 1 2016-04-14T10:12:34-07:00 Race, Jazz, and Digital Humanities 21 plain 2016-05-14T13:42:55-07:00 In our modern society, race and the issues stemming from it are, unfortunately, as pervasive as they’ve ever been. We objectively categorize people based on the color of skin, and treat it as a distinguishing feature in labelling these individuals: you “are” one race, and “are not” the others. Using race in this way provides us a convenient, defining baseline for all individuals from which we have developed pre drawn conclusions about their characters, cultures, and ideologies. Yet, physiological appearances aside, there is no scientific basis for our broad definitions of race. Michael Yudell, a public health professor, notes that race is, simply put, a “crude concept” that has a “social meaning, [but] interferes in the scientific understanding of human genetic diversity.” Genetically speaking, 99.9% of the human genome is common across the entire population, and of that remaining 0.1% variability, there is “no gene or cluster of genes” that specifically codes for what we define as race; no commonalities exist for all persons that we so readily group together (Onwuachi-Willig, 2015). From this, it seems blasphemous to consider the notion of race as a biological trait; rather, it is clearly a construct that we have developed socially.
  But how have we developed these boundaries, and why do we continually allow them to carry overbearing weight in our characterizations? Omi and Winant (1986) posit that this “racialization” has been an ongoing, constantly evolving process that has stemmed “from the struggles of competing political projects and ideas seeking to articulate similar elements differently.” We have constructed the notion of race from “institutional and structural features” in our society that have generated its definition as a “social, cultural, and political category,” (1986) yet it is often culture that falls by the wayside as a result of this. For instance, various African cultures are improperly labelled as “black,” leaving their cultural differences oft-ignored in favor of these primitive designations. Our inability to recognize our own social racialization has fed our ignorance for others’ ways of life and the inherent differences that undoubtedly exist within these groupings, and this issue’s presence is no less felt in the jazz realm or in that of digital humanities. Etta Jones discussed issues of race in an interview with Monk Rowe:
  

  Race & Jazz

  It can be argued that this classification system that we have derived, and the subsequent racial tensions it has produced, perhaps played a role in the early development of jazz music. From its roots in New Orleans, to the renaissance in Harlem, and everywhere in between, the history of jazz is inherently “black,” arising from racial divides between groups. In New Orleans, tensions between both slaves and their masters, as well as between blacks and Creoles, spawned the need for an outlet for individual expression (Marty, 2010). Moving north, racial composition and divisions created essentially two separate “Harlems,” only furthering this desire for an alternative means of creative articulation. Theologian James Cone most aptly summarizes jazz in its infancy as “an artistic rebellion against the humiliating deadness of western culture... through song,” creating “a new political consciousness, … one antithetical to the values of white society.” Even as the years have passed and the style of jazz has adapted to the ever-changing social and political landscape, it has maintained its relevance as a call for social reform. In the 20s, it evolved to an amalgamation of “ragtime, blues, and New Orleans parade music” (Haber, 2006) through the music of greats such as Armstrong, Ellington, and Basie that drew on certain European traits while still holding true to the emotions of old. The invention of the radio brought about a new form of musical segregation in the 1930s, in which black musicians found themselves competing with whites, once again, for airplay and recognition in the industry (Marty, 2010). From the 40s through the post-WWII economic upswing, we see the rise of different forms of jazz such as swing and Charlie Parker’s bebop, paying tribute to the style’s African roots while still conveying the frustration felt by so many concerning the social outlook of the era (Haber). Certainly jazz’s evolution has resulted in an expansion that now includes musicians and artists of varying race and cultural origins, yet the inherent tensions remain constant in the face of change, particularly the technological change and advancements sweeping our current generation. 
  

  Race & DH

  These advances, though an effort to improve the lives of the many, do little to eliminate the “covert racism” inherent in fields such as the digital humanities (McPherson, 2012). In her work, McPherson laments the need for redesign, or innovation, of our current technological systems, so that they no longer solely promote race in these “narrow registers.” (McPherson) Stemming from our “post-WWII computational culture,” the current structure of web-based information and the methods by which it is presented serves only to further “underwrite the ease with which we partition off our considerations of race” in our digital studies (McPherson). Too often is our consideration of racial issues and divides kept so blatantly separated from technological innovation and development, attracting very different audiences and largely remaining distinct from one another in scope. The technological desire for “modularity,” as McPherson describes it, has only furthered this divide; where the web is often thought of as a blank canvas that promotes freedom of expression, in reality it serves to only strengthen this singular, standardized view (McPherson). Still, despite these inherent structures, McPherson notes that they are not so much “intentional” as they are “systemic.” Nonetheless, the need for “common languages that link the study of code and culture” (McPherson) are necessary now more than ever, particularly if we are to move from our covertly racist tendencies of early technologies such as UNIX and move towards a more cohesive & inclusive study of the humanities, both scholarly and digital.
• 1 2016-04-27T19:01:45-07:00 Phoebe Jacobs & Jackie Harris 11 plain 2016-05-14T13:47:26-07:00

  Phoebe Jacobs

  Phoebe Jacobs was born on June 21st, 1918 in New York City. Jacobs developed a passion for music at a young age. Her uncle owned a nightclub in which performers such as Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, and Louis Armstrong would come and play. Still wanting to get a solid education, Jacobs majored in English and has desires to be a journalist.
  After graduating from high school, Jacobs got married at the young age of 18. Her and her husband immediately started to attend the New York City club scene. She began to meet stars such as Billie Holiday and Nat King Cole and Sy Oliver, who gave her first job at Decca Records. Jacobs was in charge of contracts with musicians and appointment for recording sessions.
  This is when Jacobs career took flight. She became very involved in the behind-the-scenes jazz business. Jacobs eventually became publicist for Ella Fitzgerald, Sy Oliver, Peggy Lee, Sarah Vaughan, Duke Ellington, and Della Reese. Later she also was the presenter of the Rainbow Room at Rockefeller Plaza, in which she hosted concerts.
  In the last years that Jacobs ran the publicity, she became very close to Louis Armstrong. After his death in 1971, Jacobs founded the Louis Armstrong Educational foundation. She was the executive vice president and looked after the financing programs. Jacobs also helped organized the naming of the Louis Armst rong Stadium in Flushing Meadows.
  Jacobs worked feverishly to provide high school and college students through various non-profit organizations, and she played a major role in launching the Jazz for Young People Concert Series at Jazz Lincoln Center. In 1989, she helped establish the Jazz Foundation of America, a non-profit organization that provides support to musicians in need.
  Phoebe Jacobs was an icon of the 20th century jazz world. She spent her life giving to and helping others. Jacobs passed away on April 9th, 2012. There was a memorial concert celebrating her life in New York.

  Jackie Harris

  Jackie Harris is native to New Orleans and got involved with jazz at a very young age.  That being said, she entered the world of jazz through a different and interesting channel.  Instead of entering into jazz through the entertainment side, Jackie Harris decided to take the business route.  Throughout her young adulthood, Harris worked in the service industry and as well for an oil company, picking up valuable skills along the way.  Her first job within the jazz industry was with the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. She worked for the Heritage Festival for nine years, which was followed by her appointment to lead the city of New Orleans’s Music and Entertainment Commission.  She worked in that position for eight years and had great success in re-positioning New Orleans as an entertainment Mecca and marketing it’s rich cultural legacy as the, “Birthplace of Jazz.”  Harris is now the executive director of the New Orleans Arts and Cultural Host Committee meanwhile is also the founder and director of Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong Summer Jazz Camp.  She has spent the last 25 years providing convention planning, festival/music production, program administration, coordination, and event management services to clients both domestic and abroad.  Ultimately, Jackie Harris has devoted her life to preserving the cultural legacy of jazz in New Orleans and informing the youth of this rich history in order to keep it alive. She discusses her career and its New Orleans influences in her interview.
  
  
  Attached is a transcript of an interview between Monk Rowe & Phoebe Jacobs/Jackie Harris.
  
  
• 1 2016-04-14T10:13:57-07:00 Spotlight: New Orleans 8 plain 2016-05-14T13:48:39-07:00

             As has been already discussed, jazz was created in New Orleans in the 1890s by the melting pot that lived there at the time.  The cultures of these different people came together and created a new genre of music that had influences from all over the world.  What is rarely talked about however is the emergence of female jazz musicians in New Orleans.  Female jazz musicians were paramount in the growth of jazz music and the permeation of the up-and-coming genre throughout the country, especially to our second spotlight, New York.  The most sensible way to look at the female contribution to the advancement of jazz is to look at it in a timeline format, to be able to see chronologically the impact that women had and still have.

             1890s- Rural black Southerners migrate to New Orleans to escape racist violence

             1897- Storyville is established by City Ordinance.

             1910s- Ann Cook performs in Storyville, sings jazz songs.

             1917- City Ordinance attempts to racially segregate Storyville, does not succeed, but Storyville eventually closes.

             1917- Camille Nickerson founds the B-Sharp Club to harvest a place where people could play “Negro Music” while focusing on African American and Creole songs.

             1918- Jazz is more widely accepted amongst New Orleans bourgeoisie.

             1924- Lil Hardin and Louis Armstrong marry.  Armstrong goes to New York while Lil creates Lil’s Hot Shots.

             1927- Ann Cook is one of the few musicians to record in New Orleans in the 1920s.

             1935- Harlem Playgirls, an all female African American group plays Mardi Gras concerts in New Orleans.

             1948- New Orleans Jazz Club founded, promotes the origins of jazz, allows for a place for jazz musicians to work.

             1961- The Jazz Museum and Preservation Hall open.

             1967- Emma Barrett becomes a band leader at Preservation Hall.

             1970- New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival is started (continues to this day).

             1972- Charlotte McCullom Boutney is the first black board member of the New Orleans Jazz Club.

             1987- Bule Lu Barker receives an honor on her 74th birthday by an all-woman radio crew.

             1994- January 13th is deemed “Blue Lu and Danny Barker Day.”

             1998- Blue Lu Barker dies and receives a full jazz funeral.

   

  Women were vital to the melting pot that was New Orleans and the creation and manifestation of jazz.  Ann Cook, Camille Nickerson, and Lil Hardin were among the pioneers in the conception of jazz as a genre.  Without these women in New Orleans, jazz would not be anything like it is today. Below, Germaine Bazzle and Jackie Harris discuss New Orleans.