I have great
pleasure in recalling the following artcile I had written several years
ago, in which I had highlighted the fact that the common element between
jazz and Carnatic music (viz. the classical music of South India) is
the tremendous scope for improvisation which exists in the mutually
alien systems.
THE HINDU
Friday Review
14 Nov. 2008
A century of Jazz
“The
Carnatic musician improvises, and the immediacy of that approach to
invention ensures that the message comes from the heart. At the same
time, the depth and scope of the Carnatic language... make that
communication as deep and articulate as musical expression can be...” — John Edward Hasse, Curator of American Music at the Smithsonian Institution, U.S.
If
you are wondering how Mr. Hasse had obtained such a clear and deep
insight into the true nature of Carnatic music, let me confess that I
have taken a liberty and substituted the word ‘Carnatic’ for ‘jazz’ in
the above quotation from the book Jazz, The First Century, which
is edited by Mr. Hasse and contains an impressive collection of
revealing essays and reflections (including his own) on the musical
manifestation called jazz. And let me call you as a witness for the
defence: doesn’t that modified statement sound absolutely true?
Of
course, there’s no resemblance at all between the governing spirits of
jazz and Carnatic music, which have a socio-romantic and religious
perspective respectively.
The
striking similarity is in the tremendous scope for improvisation which
exists in both systems. We had considered some significant aspects of
the concordance between these mutually alien cultural phenomena in a
series of essays on an imaginary musical excursion called Tyagaraja-Jazz Suite in this column ( www.thehindu.com,
Chennai edition, June 22, July 6 and 20, Aug. 3, 2007). Moreover,
there’s a certain resemblance in a historical sense also. It was in the
first half of the 20th century that Carnatic music in its present mode
of performance and presentation evolved in South India, just as the
early styles of jazz had evolved in the U.S., mainly in New Orleans,
Chicago and New York.
Twin discoveries
Personally,
I had discovered the magnificent dimensions and qualities of classical
jazz and Carnatic music almost simultaneously around the middle of the
century, thanks to a wonderful daily radio programme called Music USA —
The Voice of America Jazz Hour, which could be heard anywhere in India
in static-free and crystal-clear short-wave broadcasts relayed from
Tangier, Manila or Colombo. It was presented by the legendary radio host
Willis Conover.
Willis
Conover’s contribution to the world-wide dissemination of jazz, even
penetrating the Iron Curtain into Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union,
has been summed up as follows by Tad Lathrop, who is the author of the
book, This Business Of Music Marketing And Promotion, and is one of the many contributors to Jazz - The First Century
: “Conover, as the personality who most frequently brought jazz abroad,
was one of the United States’ most effective diplomatic and foreign
policy tools during the Cold War... From his first Music USA broadcast
in 1955 to his last [broadcast] 40 years later, Conover may have done
more for the global spread of jazz than any other single person...”
Cultural influence
And
now let us see how Mr. Hasse of the Smithsonian Institute sums up the
progress and cultural impact of jazz within the United States of
America, in the admirable book edited and partly written by him: “A new
form of musical expression emerged at the outset of the 20th century.
One hundred years later, it was still vital... And somehow, in the
intervening years, it had become the most expansive and influential
approach to music introduced during that time.
“That
music was jazz. And the idea behind it was powerful. Employ
improvisation, hot rhythm, and other enlivening devices in the
performance of music from an array of sources — in effect, making
something new and exciting from something old and familiar... The music
grew accordingly... Jazz not only mirrored social and cultural change,
but also brought it on. Long before American society was racially
integrated, jazz musicians were recording in multi-hued bands and
becoming celebrities across the colour line.
Jazz
moved many African-American musical practices right into the musical
mainstream, thereby transforming American music and spurring the
creation of new styles, including rock and roll... “Jazz did all those
things because, at its core, it’s about honest, instantaneous,
high-level communication. The jazz musician improvises, and the
immediacy of that approach to invention ensures that the message comes
from the heart. At the same time, the depth and scope of the jazz
language... make that communication as deep and articulate as musical
expression can be... It wouldn’t be that way if not for the freedom jazz
affords and encourages.”
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