Reshulle, Rebuild and Rap

Rap born in the communities with bad economic and social conditions. The first 'rappers' were forced to cope with several problems. The bad socio-economic conditions of the most African American people in the 80s were a trouble for all the musicians and artist. You couldn't buy the necesary thing to play music, a bass, a trompet, or even a guitar were to expensive for the most of the people. The only real 'free' instrument that they had was the voice. They, with time, started to made some improvisation with the only instrument that they had availabe. The first African American 'rappers' also started to create their own ways and instruments to create their own music.   

I really belive that rap is a response of the black power to solve and cope with the diferent kind of problems. It is an example of pass over the problems and perseverance.

The interaction with the public in African American Music

Usually you see in all the concerts and musical presentations that there is a common dynamic in the stage. In the typical interaccion of a concert the artist is in an 'exalted' position, he is in up in a scaffold. There is a several distance between the public and the musician or artist. The musician is in a preference position,  he plays on a performance to the public but he is seen like a exalted person. 

In the African American Music the artist is one with the public, there is no such division between the musician and the rest of the people, I think that the reason for that is a cultural aspect. So, break the divison betwen the artist and the publicis one of the great achivement of African American Music. Now might think that this aspect just belongs to Rap songs or Hip-Hop culture, but in the next video you will apreciate this aspect in Jazz. 

See what I am talking: 

About James Brown

This is a really nice about James Brown that I want to share:


http://vimeo.com/45052672

A summary of the history of Jazz

This is a little "funny" summary of what I think is the history of Jazz in African American Music:

First of all the jazz cames from the traditional and cultural music of African American people: Ragtime

The first age - "The stone age" of Jazz:   New Orleans jazz -  1920

The "Classic age" of Jazz:                               Swing                   -  1930

The "Renaissance" of Jazz:                             Be-Bop                -  1940

The "Pre-modern age" of Jazz:     Cool Jazz / Hard Bop   -   1950

The "Modern" Jazz:                   Fusion / Free Jazz      -   1960

The "Contemporary" Jazz:       Avant-Garde           -    1970 / 1990

The "New" Jazz:      "Electronic Jazz" / "Modern Jazz -  1990 / 2012

 

The "White Guy"

There is a really interesting thing about the presentacion in concerts of African American Music. When you usually goes to a concert there is like a host or a presenter that shows the inicial presentation of the concert the people and greet to the people. That role, or face, we could denominate too, is an important person but specific person. The presenter plays the role of an intersting person, but was too, and more in the 60s to 90s, a fancy, gorgeous, eloquent, articulate and significant person. If we think that, all that caractheristics aren't the usual for African American people back in the 60s.

So, if you look very well on the presentations of all the concerts in the 60s - 90s, you are going to see a white guy that plays the role of an "interesting" person (fancy, gorgeous, eloquent, articulate and significant) and that guy is the one who presents the African American musicians and artists. That could be a relationship of insubordination, naturalazing in a incouncious way the racism ideals. 

A few years ago, almos all of the important roles were played by white guys. The presenter was a white face-role, meaning maestry and representating the ideals of appropiate. Back in time, the African American people were the artistic ones, but the fancy and adequate things were represented by white guys. Thing aboust almost of the guys with power in the music studios. Anyway, it was "better" to be that "white" guy than a "black" guy.

Greatest African American Drummers: Jack DeJohnette

Jack DeJohnette born in Chicago in 1942. He has been a great jazz musician. I think that he really change the way of the drummers to play jazz. He had played with great jazz musicians like Herbie Hancock, Bill Evans, Miles Davis, Chick Corea, Sonny Rollins, Dave Holland and Keith Jarret. He helped a lot to understand the drums not just as a percussion instrument but also like a melodic instrument. He broken the usual thinking of drums like an instrument away from the harmonic structure of music.I know it can be a pretty weird to understand, but when you listen him you are going to understand me.

Here is a solo:

Here is a couple of songs played by The Gateway Trio (Dave Holland, Jhon Abercrombie, Jack DeJohenette):

African Amercian Music: Jazz

Hiding in the musical improvisation of the Jazz music, there is some things that could be related with the African American people. Improvisation is, in the most simple meaning, improve something. But, what we can set as improve? When somebody has troubles and is in a bad situation he, or she, is forced to find as fast as he can a solution to his problem. I really belive that this is the easy way to think about the meaning of improve.

When you improve, you know your limits and your resources. You know what you can do, and what you can't do. You can imagine what thing you want to do roughly and find a way to do it. Don't care how many problems do you have, you are going to find the way to do the thing you want to do. That is the truly essence of improvise.

Over the years, the African American People were in the conditions to improvise. All the dificulties of segregation and the racism forced them to find diferent ways and solutions to their problems in really limited conditions.

Now, when you think in jazz as way of improvement, you migth see that there is a lot of cultural stuff that makes the African American people more able than other cultures to improve.

The political meanings in music.

Usually we don't think about a relation betwen music and politic. They seem to be diferent kind of thing, but that is not like that. There are diferents relations betwen music and politics, specially when we are talking about African American Music. Think about the begining of African American Music: the slavery. There is a lot of politic in there. With the time, the African American Music had became in a cultural identity for the African American people. So, that kind of music does a especific part and function of the African American culture, and the politic does part of the African American culture as well. Among the history, the music became a tool for politic activism. Think about the "Black Power" and his consecuenses in the history of Hip-Hop and Rap as African American Music. Think about how many African American musicians supported the Black Panther Party in her music.

Here you have a video to see the political activism through the music and culture.

What Erykah Badu does is even a performance.

The most interesthing thing about this is the song Georgia in my mind. How a song by Hoagy Carmichael became an hymn and a symbol of national identiy? There is a lot of political things behind Georgia in my mind. Remember the segregation and Ray Charles.

Here is other song.

Greatest African American Drummers: Thomas Pridgen

Thomas Pridgen born in November 23, 1983 in California. He won a four year scholarship in Berkley College Music at the age of 15, becoming the youngest musician to recive a scholarship in Berkley. He also won the endrosement of Zildjian at the age of 10. He was the youngest recipient of the endorsement of Zildjian (a cymbal's company) in all the 400 years of company's history. He had became more popular when joined to The Mars Volta, a bran new contemporary metal band with Omar Rodriguez-Lopez. Nowadays, he started his new project: The Memorials. He parcitipated in events like Modern Drummer 2008 and Drumfest, and has played with greatest drummers like Thomas Lang.

Here you have a solo

Here you have a jazz fusion song with Christian Scott

Greatest African American Drummers: Tony Royster jr.

Tony Royster jr.

You will easily find the most impressive African American guitar players, singers, pianist as or other particular musicians. But it is more complicate to find the "most impressive African American drummers" Here you can find some of them.

Tony Royster jr. is a great drummer. Royster was born in Georgia, and started to play drums at the age of three. He become famous because he won the Drumm-off competition Hollywood at the age of eleven.

Greatest African American Drummers: Max Roach

Max Roach

Max Roach is one of the greatest drummers of African American music and jazz music. He was the first, in my opininon, to start the legacy of African American drummers. He is just great !!!  

Make silence and learn

There is an aspect that all African American people have learn troughout history. All the dificulties that they had through in the slavery were usefull and teached a lot of things. Think when you have to cope with several problemes, think that at the final... "What Dosen't kill you, makes you stronger". They learnt a lot of things and they become stronger. In the past we forced the silence of all the African American people, now  it have been necesary make a little of silence so we can hear them. 

Bob Marley and the voice of reason

Bob  Marly is one of the most popular reggae artist. He song about free and life.

Old pirates, yes, they rob I;

Sold I to the merchant ships,
Minutes after they took I
From the bottomless pit.
But my hand was made strong
By the 'and of the Almighty.
We forward in this generation
Triumphantly.

This is an important artistic expresion of slavery and African American people condition over the years. But the most important thing, i think, is this: "Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery; None but ourselves can free our minds."

The policy affects on a direct way on the social understanding and reality life and social construccion. The slavery  became  an important aspect that  affects directly the cotidian life of the people. An example of that is the racial segregation. The slavery started to reside in the subjective relations and constitution of African American people and American people. Was necesary, and still being, a long process of recognition and apologies to help to heal the damages and pain suffered in the slavery.

I leave you with a couple of prhases of Mandela:

 "I am what I am because of who we all are" and  "For­give­ness is the very path one must travel to know free­dom."

Max Roach - Abbey Lincoln "Freedom Day"

"Freedom Day"

In the whole African American Music there is a kind of specific speech that is directly influenced for the history of African American people.The slavery is a cultural factor that can't be denied, that factor made several consequences in the African American people and their culture. They have been claiming for freedom since they were taken from their home. The several musical expresions are a way to express the call to freedom.

Freedom is not so simple as say free or liberty. The speech of freedom is involved with politics characteristics. This freedom speech means freedom to build and help to develope their country, freedom to be a competitor of the politic, freedom to be active citizens. That kind of speech of freedom mean be involved like active partaker of her country and the project of her nation.

Lyrics:

Whisper, listen, whisper, listen. Whispers say we're free.
Rumors flyin', must be lyin'. Can it really be?
Can't conceive it, can't believe it. But that's what they say.
Slave no longer, slave no longer, this is Freedom Day.
Freedom Day, it's Freedom Day. Throw those shackle n' chains away.
Everybody that I see says it's really true, we're free.
Whisper, listen, whisper, listen. Whispers say we're free.
Rumors flyin', must be lyin'. Can it really be?
Can't conceive it, don't believe it. But that's what they say.
Slave no longer, slave no longer, this is Freedom Day.
Freedom Day, it's Freedom Day. Throw those shackle n' chains away.
Everybody that I see says it's really true, we're free.
Freedom Day, it's Freedom Day. Free to vote and earn my pay.
Dim my path and hide the way. But we've made it Freedom Day.

The different uses of the African American music like a channel of communication

Back in 1774, the most songs of black people assume the work on their songs. Levine says: 

“In 1774, an English visitor, after his first encounter with slave music, wrote in his journal: In their songs they generally relate the usage they have received from their Masters in a very satirical style.” (Levine. 2005: 592). 

Levine,L. (2005). “African American Music as Resistance”. African American Music: An Introduction. (p. 587-598). New York Routledge.

So, back in 1774 they used to sing based in the slavery. In the 1895, after the civil war and the black rights, they sang: “White man goes to college, Niggers to the field; White man learns to read and write; Poor Niggers learns to steal…” In the 1895, different to the 1774, they didn´t sing in relation with the slavery, they were singing for a social cause, because even in that time the racism, and the black exclusion, were present.

But the music can’t be based in a response or relation to the American people or the slavery. But, in fact, it’s true that the music is in direct relation to the slavery, and it becomes a channel of communication and expression for the Black people and culture. So the music, away to be only an instrument of resistance, becomes a channel were the African American people could communicate themselves, and with the American people. In this way, every gender of Black music is not only based on the rhythm or harmonics, it has a specific way of communication. The genders were created in the same relation that the Black and Withes were being communicating. African American Music evolves as the same time as the racial social relation.

"Swing Of Change"

"Swing Of Change" 

The project of nation and the future of the Unite States of America was, back in the 30's, conformed by singular and particular objectives with specific characteristics. The African American people were anything but the desirable, with the time they had been creating a diferent relations and the influence of African American people in the project of nation has changed.

I think that this video is the right example of that. The American people learnt, with the time, to be in a relation of acceptance and dialogue with the African American people. Nowadays there is the first African American president of the United States of America. 

The perception of the African American people in the 30's

The perception of the African American people in the 30's

The general perception of the African American people was, back in the 30's, an aspect that we can't put away from the analysis. In the 30's there was a kind of social perception that put the African American people as uncivilized and primitive race, they were less than American people. 

Nothing good can be from the African American people, they are noticed as people with cultural and folklore aspects. But those aspects are qualified as lower and primitive. Being the American people who had the monopoly of the media and communication, they put in there all the stereotypes and social perception of the African American culture.

All that represent the African American people and culture is indesirable and primitve. Then, the African American Music is, as well as the African American People, undesirable. That music represents all the thing that aren't include in the desirable or progress. 

The cultural aspect and the expression aspect

The cultural aspect and the expression aspect

The bondage of the African American people was a strong way to create a kind of cultural and political social control. In fact, the bondage was the best way to make a breakdown in the relation of the white-black people. It couldn´t be that the black people saw the white as their masters. Counter to the white people, the black one just didn´t think in a master-slave relation. They just felt the pressure and social control that the white, with the slavery, did to them.  In that way, the black people hadn’t rights or vote, they weren´t citizens or civil subjects, they didn´t have rights or ways of communication.

Because of that, they saw the music like a way of expression. By the music they were able to express by themselves without being excluded. Lawrence Levine talked about that: 

“It wouldn´t distort African American music to argue that it has functioned primarily or even largely as a forum for protest. Black Americans have not spent all of their time reacting to the Whites around them. (…) But it would be an even greater distortion to assume that a people occupying the position that African Americans have in American society could create so rich and varied music with a few allusions or responses to their situation” (Levine. 2005: 586).

In: Levine,L. (2005). “African American Music as Resistance”. African American Music: An Introduction. (p. 587-598). New York Routledge. 

Then, there is a couple of thing around the African American Music that I would like to resume. For one side, the origins of the music of the African American people is a form of cultural expression that is cause of the repression and segregation in America. But for the other side, we can't say that it is just for that aspect, the African American Music is too a natural cause of a cultural product and folklore. 

Photography taken from: http://www.michaelpsmithphotography.com/jazzfest/pages/jazz1.htm

"Michael P.Simth PHOTOGRAPHY"

So, we have two aspects that are important in our analysis: the music as a way of expression, cause of slavery, segregation and repression; and the music as a cultural product and cause of folklore. That two aspects, i believe, is the most important to bear in mind in a analysis of African American Music. Otherwise, that doesn't means that there aren't no more aspects to see or to analyze, there are, in fact, other things that affect  the African American Music such as historical changes, wars, civil rights movements, policy makers, and politic aspects.

About the "cause and effect rule" of the African American Music 

In a general way, we used to believe that the music is only a cultural thing, we don't think in the deep construction and formation of the music. Each cultural product has their own cause, has, in this way, a group of characteristics that are important to understand the constitution of their structure. The things in the social world, in a academic observation, are not meaningless, the cause and constitution of the social  aspects are not because yes. The thing are by the way that are because there is a reason that supports that. So, the African American Music is a cultural product that response a series of causes and reasons, has their own political and social causes. 
Then, just to make a metaphor, you could imagine the dominoes effect. When you see al the dominoes pieces in the ground, usually, you think how they get there. You can even imagine all the process of the dominoes effect. Cause and effect rule, in the reality the things are not just like that, but is a good way of explain it. 

Now, I do believe that the main cause of the African American Music is the slavery. All the African people had brought to the American territory by the Americans and became the slaves of the American People. That cause started a long and complicate relation between the American people and the African American people. Nowadays, the being of the African American people in the United Estates of America is a very important aspect that is enough to affect the political life either the cultural and social life.

And there were slaves that affect the usual, political, and cultural life of the United States of America. The slaves are a real fact, and it has their own consequences, the slaves, had their own cultural aspects and forms. When they came here they started to act as their culture set like usual. But, the question is that they were not in their original land. The African American people were immigrants, that means that they were in a new land, had been acting and doing  according traditional aspects of their old life and old lands. I mean, they were acting as their traditional folklore set as usual, and were doing cultural things in a new context. That could cause a several effects on the structure of their tradition, and could be the cause of the being of the African American Music.